**Spoilers** Series 8, Episode 3 - "Robot of Sherwood"

Wibbs

pixelburp wrote: »

If anything, last nights episode made me think a multidoctor story featuring Smith and Capaldi could be a riot There'd be sparks for sure!

I never thought I'd type these words out, but after rewatching the three Capaldi outings and really trying hard to get on board... Smith would charm Capaldi right off the screen and out act him too(WTF?), as would Tennant and Ecclestone by a goodly margin. So far anyway I'd put Capaldi somewhere south of McCoy and about on Colin Baker's level in the role. Present, but not really there. Someone speaking clumsy lines in clumsy scripts, clumsily.

And like I said I never thought I'd type those words as I really thought he would have been a real charm for the role, that would bring back a taste of the old Who. He's a fcuking fantastic actor and a lifetime fan. I'm thinking WTF, I really am.

IMH his performance so far as far as charm goes is up there with the farting aliens, without the schoolyard sniggers. Never mind the scripts and direction and art/effects departments. Indeed I blame that lot more than Capaldi(because I like him that much as an actor). The scripts so far are all bloody awful rehashes of well trodden ground and sloppily written and well boring at this stage. The direction is lacklustre and the visual vibe is amateur hour.

The joke is I am actually a big fan. In my bones and from childhood history, so it's been a big part of my life where Star Trek and Wars etc wasn't to nearly the same degree. Now I don't get bogged down in the "nerdy" stuff too much, I just enjoyed the general concept and wonderful silliness within and just got carried along for the ride, but on the strength of these three episodes? Yea, like I said before I'm likely the lone voice here, but for me anyway; Shark jumped.

Maybe The Master is right(Ironic on more than one level ) and the next eppy will bring it back home and I really truly hope it does. *crosses fingers*

Frank Lee Midere

You might be expecting too much being a HUGE fan of both Who and Capaldi.

I am a fan of the first, but only the reboot, and didn't see Capaldi before. I think he's doing ok. I even enjoyed the Dalek episode.

Doctor DooM

No offence Wibbs, but despite protestations to the contrary, you sound exactly like you did when Smith started

TBH the series has been about as weak/strong as the 3 other modern Doctors first runs have been IMO. Least we haven't seen CGI Mickeys (oo-er,) bombs diffused because of happy memories, or violent Christmas trees...

Wibbs

Doctor DooM wrote: »

No offence Wibbs, but despite protestations to the contrary, you sound exactly like you did when Smith started

Well DD.... digging back what I actually said was;

I wonder if the new lad will have that presence. Too early to say yet though. Hes kinda like a peter davidson type. In that he has to fill a helluva big pair of shoes.

Matt smith seems too human to me? I dont believe him so much when he gets all "knowing" and alien. Not so far, but he doesnt disagree with me as much as I would have thought. Then again maybe its an age thing. I'm more the previous versions of the Doctor's age so it could be I just dont take him as seriously because of that?

He wasnt too bad. Better than I thought he'd be TBH. It'll be interesting to see if hes got legs over time though.

That was after his first two outings. He won me over pretty quickly. Whereas Capaldi really hasn't and unlike with Smith who I was dubious about at the start I was looking forward to Capaldi, actively wanting to like him.

Maybe it's the scripts? I found the first one didn't know what it wanted to say half the time and went over old ground, the second was a rehash of several previous dalek stories, at least Robot of sherwood was a good old fashioned yarn with some humour dropped in. The whole series arc bint in "heaven" is a bit tired at this stage. IMH a fop to nerds like ourselves to work it all out. As The Master suggested maybe next weeks episode will seal the deal? Looks like classic horror Who where Capaldi will find his feet. I truly hope he does.

Doctor DooM

Wibbs wrote: »

Well DD.... digging back what I actually said was;







That was after his first two outings. He won me over pretty quickly. Whereas Capaldi really hasn't and unlike with Smith who I was dubious about at the start I was looking forward to Capaldi, actively wanting to like him.

Maybe it's the scripts? I found the first one didn't know what it wanted to say half the time and went over old ground, the second was a rehash of several previous dalek stories, at least Robot of sherwood was a good old fashioned yarn with some humour dropped in. The whole series arc bint in "heaven" is a bit tired at this stage. IMH a fop to nerds like ourselves to work it all out. As The Master suggested maybe next weeks episode will seal the deal? Looks like classic horror Who where Capaldi will find his feet. I truly hope he does.

You're being a bit forest and trees man. You're saying about both of them "I don't like this guy, here's all the things I SHOULD like him for but I don't like him".

I think you've a little bit of cognitive dissonance going on because it's something new in something beloved

Really, genuinely, I think this is about as good and about as bad as Smith's first couple for pretty much the same reasons.

I would agree with you that some ADR is needed. Did they run out of time or money? Capaldi is muffled in parts.

Das Kitty

Bloop bloop bloop.

Loved the episode and how campy it was. Ben Miller was a perfect Sheriff.

The to-and-fro snarking between Robin and the Doctor was perfect. The Errol Flynn gag made me giggle as dick jokes tend to.

My take on Capaldi at the moment is that he's trying to remember who he is. The whole resetting of the regeneration cycle has left him unsure. His reaction to the kiss on the cheek from Marian, for instance. It was like he was remembering some feeling or other.

The Promised Land... didn't half look like Gallifrey.

Very excited about next week. My four year old is already terrified and hiding behind pillows. Lucky for him, his bed's a divan and sits directly on the floor!

Greyjoy

I enjoyed the episode overall but it was very...flimsy. It was unfortunate that the decapitation scene had to be removed as it might have filled in some of the unanswered questions - "why did the robots mindlessly obey the Sheriff?" "how was the Sheriff so familiar with future tech such as the touchscreen".

The bickering between Robin & the Doctor was entertaining even if it did get a tad repetitive as the episode wore on. The story had two big drawbacks for me - 1) there wasn't a satisfactory explanation for why Robin & his band were such pantomime depictions of their characters. It made the Doctor's suspicions feel entirely justified. It would have been funnier if Robin's character had been toned down a bit to a more 'realistic' version but still the Doctor refused to accept him. (They could have had a subplot of Robin discovering his future 'legend' and striving to be more heroic like the stories).

2) the golden arrow - this was one of the laziest resolutions to an episode I've ever seen. Even my wife, who normally chides me for nitpicking details exclaimed out loud while watching it "that makes absolutely NO sense even by Dr Who standards".

Beano

where was the deleted scene supposed to fit? We see the sheriff and robin duelling on the beam. Robin then does the same trick that the doctor pulled on him and knocks the sheriff into the pot of molten gold. So at what point was the beheading supposed to come in?

Das Kitty

Beano wrote: »

where was the deleted scene supposed to fit? We see the sheriff and robin duelling on the beam. Robin then does the same trick that the doctor pulled on him and knocks the sheriff into the pot of molten gold. So at what point was the beheading supposed to come in?

Before that. It was supposed to show he was the titular Robot of Sherwood. He popped is noggin back on and went up on the beam for the spoon-off.

Beano

Das Kitty wrote: »

Before that. It was supposed to show he was the titular Robot of Sherwood. He popped is noggin back on and went up on the beam for the spoon-off.

robin was human was he not? as was the sheriff?

Das Kitty

Beano wrote: »

robin was human was he not? as was the sheriff?

The sheriff was a robot. It would have been clear had the beheading scene stayed in.

It also makes Robin being human questionable. The Rick Deckard of Sherwood Forest.

Beano

Das Kitty wrote: »

The sheriff was a robot. It would have been clear had the beheading scene stayed in.

It also makes Robin being human questionable. The Rick Deckard of Sherwood Forest.

Now i'm even more confused. Did the sheriff not say that he was the first to figure out how to control the robots and hence how he had all his power? Surely if he was a robot he would want to continue on to the promised land like the rest of the robots did.

pixelburp

Here's a breakdown of what was cut:
http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/robot-of-sherwood-what-was-cut-66300.htm

If nothing else, looks like the episode happily lost a piece of clumsy exposition

Das Kitty

In the edited version, the climactic fight scene sees Robin Hood (Tom Riley) and the Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Miller) have a sword fight. Eventually Robin tricks the Sheriff up on to a high beam, and neatly boots him over the edge to a fiery death.

In the unedited version, things were more complicated than that. Partway through the sword fight, the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) threw a large cloth over the Sheriff’s head. Unable to see, the Sheriff became easy prey for Robin, who beheaded him with his sword.

The Sheriff’s head rolled across the floor, but then carried on talking: it turned out that it was the Sheriff, not Robin as the Doctor had suspected, who was a robot. At least, partly a robot.


The now-decapitated robot Sheriff took Clara hostage, with the head on the floor threatening her life unless Robin gave in.

But clever Robin came up with an instant plan. He picked up the head and threw it to the decapitated robot, which of course let go of Clara in order to catch it. Then the robot restored its head and carried on with the swordfight… which then picks up with the edited, transmitted version, and Robin’s triumph on the high beam.

Indeed even in the edited version, the Sheriff had a line of dialogue, as he swung up to the high beam, which referred to his true nature (but must have seemed a bit odd to viewers who had not seen the edited portion). ‘I’m too much for you, outlaw,’ he said. ‘The first of a new breed: half man, half engine.’

From: Forbes

Beano

jeez, i'm glad they cut that out. it sounds terrible. It made much more sense with the sheriff being a human who figured out how to control the robots.

brianon

Loved this episode (though I still hate the golden arrow thing even if it was kinda fun at the end with all three of them firing it at the ship).

I feel Capaldi is settling in to the role. But it's like the Doctor is settling into his latest regeneration so it kinda works.

Art_Wolf

Das Kitty wrote: »

Indeed even in the edited version, the Sheriff had a line of dialogue, as he swung up to the high beam, which referred to his true nature (but must have seemed a bit odd to viewers who had not seen the edited portion). ‘I’m too much for you, outlaw,’ he said. ‘The first of a new breed: half man, half engine.’

From: Forbes

This had been very confusing, "Never aging"??

Coldzone

I'm just rewatching the episode and think I've figured out the gold arrow bit. The Doctor said they were making a matrix of gold to fix the circuitry so when the arrow hit the ship it cut into the circuitry and added the extra boost needed.

Coldzone

And at the end when Robin says bitter man born into wealth and privilege find the plight of the oppressed and weak too much to bear. Do you think this has to do with the doctors origins from a wealthy family type thing?

tommy2bad

Coldzone wrote: »

And at the end when Robin says bitter man born into wealth and privilege find the plight of the oppressed and weak too much to bear. Do you think this has to do with the doctors origins from a wealthy family type thing?

Yes, it's the counterpoint to the similarities between the doctor and the daleks and the clockwork robots. Reminding the doctor that he is 'a good man'.

jasonb

Coldzone wrote: »

I'm just rewatching the episode and think I've figured out the gold arrow bit. The Doctor said they were making a matrix of gold to fix the circuitry so when the arrow hit the ship it cut into the circuitry and added the extra boost needed.

Ignoring the chances of the arrow managing to go through the ship and connect with the circuitry, the question remains: Why would the Sheriff hold a competition to give away a gold arrow when gold is the one thing he needs more than anything else, to fix the ship?

J.

Angron

jasonb wrote: »

Ignoring the chances of the arrow managing to go through the ship and connect with the circuitry, the question remains: Why would the Sheriff hold a competition to give away a gold arrow when gold is the one thing he needs more than anything else, to fix the ship?

J.

Because in some of the stories of Robin Hood, that was the actual prize of the competition.

pixelburp

jasonb wrote: »

Ignoring the chances of the arrow managing to go through the ship and connect with the circuitry, the question remains: Why would the Sheriff hold a competition to give away a gold arrow when gold is the one thing he needs more than anything else, to fix the ship?

J.

Simple, because Mark Gatiss isn't always a good writer, and someone wasn't paying attention when reviewing scripts

jasonb

Angron wrote: »

Because in some of the stories of Robin Hood, that was the actual prize of the competition.

I didn't actually know that, so that's a good point, and a nice nod to the 'legend' of Robin Hood. It's just a pity that it still clashes so much with the plot, and what the Sheriff and Robots need most.
J.

Das Kitty

jasonb wrote: »

I didn't actually know that, so that's a good point, and a nice nod to the 'legend' of Robin Hood. It's just a pity that it still clashes so much with the plot, and what the Sheriff and Robots need most.
J.

Well the sheriff only offered it as a prize to lure Robin Hood in to arrest him. So he wouldn't have been handing over the arrow.

Even in this episode, he didn't give it away, the Merry Men pinched it.

Das Kitty

Das Kitty wrote: »

Well the sheriff only offered it as a prize to lure Robin Hood in to arrest him. So he wouldn't have been handing over the arrow.

Even in this episode, he didn't give it away, the Merry Men pinched it.

Hah hah!

Beano

Deleted User wrote: »

Hah hah!

dont you start with the over the top laughing :pac:

pixelburp

Das Kitty wrote: »

Well the sheriff only offered it as a prize to lure Robin Hood in to arrest him. So he wouldn't have been handing over the arrow.

Even in this episode, he didn't give it away, the Merry Men pinched it.

Oh yeah, that makes sense, I retract my own dissing of Gatiss so

WomanSkirtFan8

yes indeed. I also loved the episode. Love how when Clara (looking absolutely gorgeous in that dress!) she kept gushing all over robin hood only for the doctor to kept repeatedly telling her "he doesn't exist! He's not real!"

Great stuff! Well done Mark Gatiss!

Mr.Saturn

Did think Robin's parting 'I'm as real as you are, Doctor' was a heart-warming tribute to both characters.