Review by Daniel Mansfield

---

Doctor Who is back! Season Two kicks off with The Robot Revolution by Russell T Davies, which sees the return of a familiar face in an unfamiliar role. Varada Sethu made her Who debut in last year’s Boom, playing Anglican Marine Mundy Flynn, but here returns to the Whoniverse full time as new companion Belinda Chandra. In a post-2005 Who first, Belinda is a reluctant TARDIS traveller, unable to get home to Earth. Just why that’s the case, we’ll find out in the weeks to come. For now, though, it’s time to meet Belinda and see if her first adventure with the Doctor is one to remember.

---

The Doctor and the Nurse

In publicity material for this series, we were promised a very different Doctor/companion dynamic to the usual and from what we’ve seen in this episode, this has turned out to be very much the case. While previous companion Ruby was best friends with the Doctor from the off, falling in love with her new life of adventure, Belinda is far more skeptical of the Time Lord, challenging him in ways her predecessor didn’t and actively wanting to go home rather than travel in the TARDIS.

Older, working as a nurse and unafraid to speak her mind, Belinda is more of an equal to the Doctor than Ruby, asking him difficult questions that cause him to re-evaluate his lifestyle. Refusing to be coddled, she tells the Doctor off for shushing her, stands up for herself when Manny blames her for the death of the rebels, makes the decision to surrender herself to the robots without telling anyone, and even pushes back when the Doctor attempts to convince her to travel with him, pointing out that he is dangerous, putting people’s lives at risk and crossing boundaries without asking.

It’s great to have the Fifteenth Doctor challenged in this way, much like the Thirteenth Doctor’s companions often took issue with her secrecy and closed-off nature. Like with Thirteen, this injects a bit of danger into the series – travelling with the Doctor isn’t just fun and games; there are lives at stake and terrible decisions to be made in the name of peace. The character of Sasha is perfectly used to illustrate this, Belinda bringing up that, because of her trust in the Doctor, she ended up losing her life. While we do see how this affects the Doctor, as he sheds a silent tear for her in the rebel base, it’s interesting that Belinda brings it up again as it shows how this has clouded her view of who the Doctor is.

Despite being fiercely independent and resistant to the Doctor’s charms, Belinda isn’t all doom and gloom. She takes everything in her stride, proactively helping to treat the injured rebels and fearlessly facing off against the AI Generator, while also showing hints of burgeoning wanderlust towards the end of the episode, when she sees the TARDIS for the first time. While Ruby was certainly no wallflower, standing up for herself and saving the day on many occasions, Belinda is feisty in a refreshingly different sort of way, refusing to let her own brilliance and opinions be cowed by those of the Doctor.

There’s also an intriguing story arc set up here. What is connecting the Doctor and Belinda? Is it a coincidence that he’s met Mundy, and now her descendant? Who told him to go after her in the first place? And (assuming this isn’t a production error), how did she know what the TARDIS was called without the Doctor telling her? Something tells me we’re in for a twist or two with her character in the episodes to come.

---

Robots and Rebels

This story has a gorgeous 50s B-movie aesthetic, drawing on the likes of Dan Dare and Flash Gordon to give us a world unlike any we’ve seen in Doctor Who before. Central to this are the titular robots – gorgeous, hulking, shiny red automata that look like something out of a comic book. While their movements are sometimes a little clumsy, this adds to their charm, as does the grumpy yet polite voice provided by Nicholas Briggs.

Though we do see them disintegrate several rebels (and a cat!), the robots never actually feel very dangerous. This is particularly evident at the episode’s climax, where the Doctor is restrained by a robot, but it doesn’t really feel like he’s in any danger. This is a shame, as it means the episode lacks in threat when it matters most.

The same is true of the AI Generator. While the execution is impeccable, from the prosthetics to Jonny Green‘s unhinged performance, we never feel that he’s really any danger to Belinda. I liked how the character boiled down to basically being an incel who is so frustrated with a perceived lack of control in his life that he turns into a megalomaniac, and how well this was signposted by some of Alan’s misogynistic remarks in the first scene, but he’s dealt with so quickly and easily he doesn’t end up being the most memorable of villains.

A lot of the villains’ weaknesses come from the fact that the rebels, who we are supposed to be rooting for, aren’t characterised very well. This means we never really learn what life under the AI Generator is like on Missbelindachandra One aside from ‘bad’, so we don’t particularly sympathise with the Missbelindachandrakind in the fight against their oppressors. There’s an attempt to flesh Manny out a little, but he mostly just makes snide remarks at Belinda, and none of the other rebels get enough screen time to make much of an impact. Maybe with some more focus on their characters, the robots and AI Generator would have felt more of a threat.

---

Direction and Music

Who veteran Peter Hoar is on directing duty here, and does a great job. Highlights include the angle changes during the ‘every ninth word’ sequence, which subtly indicate which specific words we are supposed to be listening to, and the surreal time-slip sequence when the two Star Certificates touch, where the characters silently scream, age and de-age set against flashing colourful backdrops and a gorgeous juddering synth score by Murray Gold.

The special effects here are also brilliant. The spaceship landing in Belinda’s garden was excellently done (though how exactly did all the plants not catch on fire if the engines were that close?), as were the sequences showing the surface of Missbelindachandra One. While the previous attempt at an alien city in Dot and Bubble very much looked like Cardiff with some small digital tweaks to make it look futuristic, Missbelindachandra One feels like the real deal, with an orange sky, spires and domes, and flying saucers zooming around all over the place dropping Missbelindachandrabombs. Breathtaking stuff.

---

Other Observations

• So Mrs Flood is Belinda’s neighbour too. Is she following the Doctor’s companions around? She seemed annoyed to see him, which implies to me that she wasn’t expecting him to show up. The mystery deepens…
• I loved the return of Murray Gold‘s sinister string music from Space Babies to signify that something is wrong. What a great piece!
• Scoot (the ‘polish-polish’ robot)’s role in the climax is well set-up, though part of me thinks Belinda should have just kept the certificate rather than the Doctor passing it to her to save the day. It would have made her even more active in defeating Alan
• Scoot is also very, very cute. I want one.
• The final scene is great, setting up one of the most intriguing mysteries we’ve had in Doctor Who for a while. Why can’t the Doctor get Belinda home? And why are broken pieces of Earth floating around in space?

---

Final Thoughts

A much stronger season opener than Space Babies (though I rewatched it recently and it has grown on me somewhat), The Robot Revolution kicks off this new era of Doctor Who with style and flair. Belinda makes an instant impression – defiant, headstrong and skilled at what she does – leaving me excited to see where both her character and Varada Sethu‘s excellent performance go in the weeks to follow. While the plot isn’t the most groundbreaking, it’s at least fun, and the SFX, costumes and prosthetics that bring Missbelindachandra One to life are absolutely stunning. Overall, The Robot Revolution isn’t up there with the very best of season openers, but it’s far from the worst too. A solid start to Season Two.

The Robot Revolution is available to watch on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on Disney + in the rest of the world