Robot of Sherwood

"Robot of Sherwood" is the third episode of the eighth series of the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who''. It was written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Paul Murphy, and was first broadcast on BBC One on 6 September 2014.

In the episode, the alien time traveller the Doctor and his companion Clara (Jenna Coleman) arrive in Sherwood Forest in 1190, where they encounter legendary hero Robin Hood ( Tom Riley) as well as the gold-plundering Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Miller), who has allied himself with robotic knights. The episode was watched by 7.28 million viewers in the UK and received generally positive reviews from television critics.

Plot

The Twelfth Doctor and Clara land in Sherwood Forest in 1190, where they are met by Robin Hood. Robin challenges the Doctor to a duel which the Doctor wins by knocking Robin into a river. Clara learns that Robin is looking for his Maid Marian, but the Doctor believes there is something wrong. Robin competes in an archery contest held by the Sheriff of Nottingham where the prize is a golden arrow. The Doctor interrupts the contest by exploding the target with his sonic screwdriver. Intrigued by the Doctor's power, the Sheriff commands his robot knights to capture the Doctor. The Doctor allows the robots to capture him, Robin and Clara so he can learn more about the Sheriff's plans.

The Doctor and Clara learn that the Sheriff intends to use a crashed spaceship (disguised as part of a castle) and its robot knights to take over the world. The Sheriff and the knights have plundered the countryside to collect enough gold to repair the engines' circuits, but the engines are too damaged and will create an explosion that will destroy half of England. The Doctor is initially convinced that Robin is a creation of the robots in order to give the oppressed peasants hope using the legends of Earth, but ultimately learns that he is real. Clara and Robin escape the castle, but the Doctor is taken prisoner again. The Doctor leads the prisoners in a revolt against the robots. Most of the robots are destroyed, and the prisoners flee. Robin returns to save the day. The Sheriff challenges Robin to a duel, which Robin wins by knocking the Sheriff into a gold vat using a trick the Doctor taught him.

The spaceship, controlled by the remaining robots, takes off but still lacks the power to make it off the planet. The Doctor decides to fire the golden arrow into the engines to give the ship a power boost to reach orbit. Since Robin's arm is injured (and the Doctor cheated during the archery contest), the Doctor, Clara, and Robin work together to fire the golden arrow from the contest into the ship, allowing it to reach orbit and harmlessly detonate. As he prepares to leave, the Doctor admits that Robin will be remembered as a legend rather than as a man which Robin is content with. When the Doctor continues to find Robin's story hard to believe, Robin, having learned of the Doctor's history from Clara, points out that the Doctor is of a similar background who started his adventures for the same reasons as Robin did. The Doctor and Robin mutually deny they are heroes; Robin suggests that their role is to inspire others to be heroes in their name. The Doctor and Clara depart; the Doctor leaving Robin with Maid Marian, who was a prisoner freed in the revolt.

Continuity

Sceptical about the reality of Robin Hood, his men and their environment, the Doctor initially believes that he and Clara might be in a miniscope. A miniscope was featured in the Third Doctor story ''Carnival of Monsters'' (1973).

Production

Writing

In an interview with '' Doctor Who Magazine'', writer Mark Gatiss stated that his intent with the episode was "to do the Doctor and Robin Hood in 45 minutes". He went on to state: "The premise is inherently funny, but I didn’t think of it as the funnier episode when I was doing it. It’s still asking big questions. But it’s definitely more frivolous."

Filming

The read-through for the episode was on 20 March 2014. Filming for the episode began on 25 March 2014, with location filming taking place in Fforest Fawr on 15 April 2014, and later at Caerphilly Castle on 17 April. Both Fforest Fawr and Caerphilly Castle had previously served as locations for ''Doctor Who'', the former as a setting for scenes from "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End", and the latter for " Vampires of Venice" and "Nightmare in Silver". Several external shots of Bodiam Castle were also used. Filming completed on 3 May 2014.

One of the images of the Robin Hood myth that the Doctor shows to the real Robin is that of Patrick Troughton in the 1953 TV series ''Robin Hood'', the first TV appearance by the character. Troughton played the Second Doctor between 1966 and 1969.

Cut scene

On 4 September 2014, the BBC
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