The British sci-fi show “Doctor Who” is entering its 62nd year on the air, and the 20th anniversary of Christopher Eccleston’s ninth Doctor coming on air to revive the show.
In case you aren’t familiar with “Doctor Who,” the show revolves around the Doctor, a time-traveling alien from the planet Gallifrey; their companions, people and creatures the Doctor picks up on his travels; and the TARDIS, the Doctor’s bigger-on-the-inside time machine which looks like a 1960s British police box.
The show follows the Doctor and their companions as they fly around time and space solving mysteries and saving people (despite the Doctor having a strict non-interference policy). The plot device that has enabled “Doctor Who” to run since 1963 is called regeneration, which changes the physical appearance of the Doctor to a new actor while the character stays the same. From 1963 until now, the Doctor has had 17 on-screen appearances: 15 numbered Doctors, as well as the War Doctor and the Fugitive Doctor.
“Doctor Who” has a reputation for being a campy, fun sci-fi show with the occasional deeply terrifying or immensely sad episode. The current doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, is entering his second year of playing the 15th Doctor, debuting alongside David Tennant’s 14th Doctor in 2023’s final 60th Anniversary special.
Gatwa has been stellar as the 15th Doctor so far, and the first episode of his second season only enhances his reputation as a great Doctor. “The Robot Revolution” premiered in the U.S. on April 12, and is a strong start to a season which looks promising.
The episode focuses, as most first episodes do since 2005’s “Rose,” on the Doctor’s new companion. The companion, Belinda Chandra, played by Varada Sethu, is a nurse in London, who is abducted by red, 1950s-style robots after they mistake her for being queen of their solar system due to her boyfriend naming a star after her. The Doctor tracks Belinda down, rescues her from the robots and helps put an end to the robot takeover of the planet Missbelindachandra One.
While the episode tries to do too much with the robots, it does successfully introduce Belinda and the main problem of the season: breaks and pockets in time which even the TARDIS cannot navigate.
“Robot Revolution”’s strengths lie in its actors. Sethu does great as Belinda, breaking a trend of companions, with her resistance to traveling with the doctor. Gatwa is, of course, great as the Doctor. Anita Dobson returns to play the mysterious and psychopathic Mrs. Flood, joining an ensemble of actors who will make you care for them in the five minutes between their introduction and death.
The show is just fun. Even if it’s shallow, even if it tries to do too much, it succeeds in the core need of an episode of “Doctor Who” by being entertaining.
I highly recommend checking out “Doctor Who.” The first 13 seasons of the 2005 revival are available on HBO Max, and the current seasons are available on Disney+.
