Review by Tim Robins
When robots from Outer Space kidnap Nurse Belinda Chandra, the Doctor embarks on an epic intergalactic quest to get his new friend back home to Earth…
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
At times, The Robot Revolution, Doctor Who’s Season Two (2025) opener, ran at such breakneck speed that I failed to keep up with the plot, but the story was quite a lot of fun, with its heady mix of unrequited love, robots on the loose and nursing.
Sadly, in the UK, the story garnered the series’ lowest “overnight” ratings since such records began, but those figures play only part in establishing just how big, or small, an audience a TV show now reaches. Many ‘Mundane’ kept telling me, in tones of great authority, that Doctor Who had been cancelled. Of course, it hadn’t – at least not yet.
The robots in the quaintly old-school story title appeared comical and menacing. In fact, more menacing, precisely because they looked comical. Their design was a mix between robots from 1950s film posters and more modern day manga. They also wielded retro-laser pistols, that seemed inspired by “Dan Dare”, or on the shelves of 1950s’ toy shops.
Early in the episode, one of these robots vaporised a passing cat – a bold decision by the production team just for a sight gag. But, Chandra’s request to a neighbour had me in tears of guilty laughter, “Do you know Lucy at number 7? Tell her, her cat’s gone to live on a farm!”
The story then went on to rack up a distressingly large “human” body count. It was enough to move The Doctor to tears again.
“The Robot Revolution” turned out to be a cautionary tale of “boys and their toys” – a critical expression that I can assure you goes totally over the heads of many men. Here, the boy in question was Alan Budd (Jonny Green), who we first meet on a park bench where he is awkwardly courting Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) who, 17 years later, is destined to accompany the Doctor and an ancestor of Mundy Flynn from last year’s “Boom”, by virtue of the fact that she’s the same actress.
When the Doctor sees Chandra’s future double, he puts the resemblance down to strong DNA. I’m not sure DNA works that way. (On the other hand, I know someone who bears a striking resemblance to their Great Aunt who was an organiser for Mosley’s Black Shirts, and who he resembles facially and fascistic-ally).
Budd’s attempts at wooing Chandra were excruciating to watch in a “been there, done that” kind of way. Budd “romantically” gives her a certificate naming a star after her (designed, incidentally, by Sophie Cowdrey, recently interviewed here). I almost did this for a couple’s wedding present, until I found out the International Astronomical Union is the only internationally recognised authority for assigning stars’ names, and doesn’t recognise the commercial practice of selling fictitious star names by commercial star naming companies.
Also, most stars are designated by somewhat boring combinations of letters and numbers, those with proper names are in the minority. However, in this case, Chandra discovers her also has a planet named after her- Missbelindachandra One – and its ruling, bio-mechanical generator wants her for its bride.
Varada Sethu’s Belinda Chandra is the most compelling character in the story. As a nurse, we actually see her practicing her profession and interpreting the Doctor’s behaviour in terms of personal and professional ethics. The character’s set-up recalled the introduction of Ruby in “The Church on Ruby Road”. Chandra even has Mrs I-honestly-don’t-care-who-you-are-Flood as a next door neighbour. Sethu is also the most compelling performer, taking the usual expository dialogue and emoto-babble in her stride. In contrast, Ncuti Gatwa seems dialled back a bit, and their scenes together already have me interested in how their relationship will develop.
Max Parker played “Manny”, a muscle-manly type whose character seemed to be making a point about something or other. I think he was supposed to be a counterpoint to the nerdy Budd. In this, he reminded me of “Pex” in “Paradise Towers” (1987), but where Pex had an exaggerated physical self-image, Manny seemed to actually embody the masculine ideal that Budd and Pex imagine women want.
Evelyn Millar played Sasha-55, an heroic member of the resistance who has a heartfelt relationship with the Doctor that has developed over six months while The Doctor worked his way up the hierarchy of the enslaved. This revelation was one of the times that I wished the story had more time and space to develop. I’m all for the Doctor’s emotional bonds, but I’d rather not just hear about them from expository dialogue.
The story had a lot to offer. There was some interesting wordplay around the term AI. Mind you, it was nothing compared to America’s Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who recently referred to AI as A1 throughout a speech delivered at the 2025 Global Silicon Valley (GSV) and Arizona State University (ASU) summit!
The story also managed to allude to the problems of so-called “incels” – the self named Involuntary Celibate – characterised as angry, isolated young men. Sadly, they have adopted the notion of being “red pilled”, a term taken from The Matrix, as a sign that they are awakened to “the truth” behind their situation. It’s not a debate that I’m going to take up here. Budd’s coded reference to the fact that, beneath his cyborg exterior, he was in pain, was a surprisingly empathetic moment.
“The Robert Revolution” had its weaknesses, but it was, as a whole, a lot better than many episodes from the last season. It wove together the really dark subject of men’s “coercive control” of women with a typical Doctor Who tale of resistance against oppression, while incorporating a clever use of time and space chicanery and big, colourful robots. What’s not to love? Although, in the end, it was less Call-Me-Kenneth’s robot revolution from the pages of 2000AD and more a rather creepy riff on the lyrics to Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al?
Tim Robins
Doctor Who in all its many iterations is available on BBC iPlayer in the UK. The Robot Revolution and other recent stories stream on Disney+ internationally
Dear reader, a review is an opinion. Other opinions are available, including yours
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A freelance journalist and Doctor Who fanzine editor since 1978, Tim Robins has written on comics, films, books and TV programmes for a wide range of publications including Starburst, Interzone, Primetime and TV Guide.
His brief flirtation with comics includes ghost inking a 2000AD strip and co-writing a Doctor Who strip with Mike Collins. Since 1990 he worked at the University of Glamorgan where he was a Senior Lecturer in Cultural and Media Studies and the social sciences. Academically, he has published on the animation industry in Wales and approaches to social memory. He claims to be a card carrying member of the Politically Correct, a secret cadre bent on ruling the entire world and all human thought.
Categories: Doctor Who, downthetubes News, Features, Other Worlds, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television
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Quote: “even if its occasional tone of heart warming vibes and buddies in space-time was less 2000AD’s Call-Me-Kenneth robot rebellion and more Neil Simon’s Call-Me-AL?”
You mean PAUL Simon’s Call Me Al. Playwright Neil Simon wrote Barefoot in the Park among other classics.
I see you corrected it. And now with the addition of “creepy” …? Intriguing.
While we’re in editorial mode there’s a reference to “The Robert Revolution” which should probably be “Robot” (unless it’s a clever referene to Fireball XL5).
OK, “reference” …