The time that alot of us have been waiting for is now here as the new episode of the latest series of Doctor Who has finally dropped. With this series actually giving a much more better start time to it's home UK audience then what the previous series did and well then you all just knew that I had to check out this episode the very chance that I got and so then join me as I give you SPOILER FILLED review of the episode that has an old face play a new companion with the episode in question being called simply just "The Robot Revolution" enjoy.
The plot of this episode is when us she is kidnapped by Alien robots Belinda Chandra it's up to The Doctor to rescue her before it's far to late. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was i all honesty not that bad but at the same time it's also not as good nor is it as bonkers as the title would have you believe that it's going to be as just by going by the title alone you'd expect a plot that's very similar in tone to say Space Babies for example and yet what we got was a plot that was alot more darker in tone which is great for an episode as that's something that you'd want from the first episode of the main series but at the same time tho given the episodes tile you'd think that the episode would have a plot that's alot more out there which is something that it really could have done with given the fact that this is meant to not only introduce a new companion but to also set up the plot for this series and yet by playing everything straight it oddly makes the episode alot less fun to watch where as with Space Babies while yes it did have a plot that was more suited to a Christmas special rather then the plot of the main show that episodes plot at least new to be light enough to be a fun filled watch where as with this episode the plot is played super straight with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this episode is Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor , Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra and Jonny Green as Alan Budd. Also starring in this episode is Max Parker as Manny , Thalia Dudek as Kirby Blake, Stefan Haines as Jeffin Kunjumon , Belinda Owusu as A Receptionist , Tom Storey as Tombo , Stephen Love as Robot 1 , Robert Strange as Robot 2 , Nicholas Briggs as The Voice Of The Robots , Evelyn Miller as Sasha 55 , Charles Sandford as Robot 3 , Lucas Edwards as Robot 4 , Caleb Hughes as Scoley , Nadine Higgin as Shago and William Ellis as The Alien Prime Minister.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. With Ncuti Gatwa turning as good of a performance as the doctor as he did in series one with it being very clear that he's alot more comfortable and confident in the role now then what he was back in his first series of the show and while Varada Sethu was great in Boom as the main companion tho as with any new companion it will take some getting used to as even tho she is perfectly serviceable in this episode the episode itself doesn't really give her a chance to shine where as with Ruby Sunday she had the scene where she jumps onto ladder to save a baby here tho there's no scene like that and while she is good in this episode her acting in this episode does come across as the kind of acting that you'd find in alot of first episodes in new shows and while the episodes guest actors do indeed turn in some really good performances in this episode as well not one of them have any truly standout moments either with the best actors in this whole episode being Ncuti Gatwa who at this point is just acting circles around everyone he's on screen with him being to have chemistry with a piece of paper as he can and does have chemistry with anyone that he's on screen with with the acting that's in this very episode not really being helped by the fact that this episodes is just so bad as it gives none of this episodes actors absolutely nothin to work with interms of what it is that there respective characters personalities are even meant to he in the first place which is something that really does hurt the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.
For once it is actually hard to say just who it was that did the CGIA for this episode as there's no effects company listed anywhere online. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual actual CGU that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad for the most part a there are some scenes that do look a little bit to fake like the opening effect with the TRDIS at the start of the episode for example the episode on the whole does have some really decent CGI in it however tho it was hard to tell just where all of that Disney money was going as with not only the sixtieth anniversary specials but also in the first series and to a lesser extent Joy To The World as well you could see in the effects where that Disney money was going where as here you can't really see it as while yes there are one or two decent looking effects to be found in this episode it is quite literally just one or two with the rest of the episodes effects looking OK at best which would have been fine if this was made back in 2005 and had no Disney money coming into the show but it's not and while it's not uncommon for TV shows to have just OK CGI due to the fact that they have to spread that budget out over several episodes here since this was the first episode this is the one that should got a huge chunk of that effects budget as you only get one chance to make a good first impression and that is something that this episode didn't really do from an effects point of view.
SPOILERS START HERE!!!!!!!!!!
There was one name that was purposefully left of the cast list when it came to crediting the actors that are in this episode and that is Anita Dobson as Mrs. Flood. As she shows up very early on in this episode with it being reveled that she lives right next door to Belinda however what is noticeable is that she leaves right before The Doctor gets a chance to see her which is enough to make you wonder if the version of the character that we're seeing in this episode is the same one that lives next door to Ruby Sunday or is it a different version of her as we know due to how the last series ended that she has special and violent plans in place for earth and it's destruction and so it would make sense for there to be multiple versions of her all around the world as that way she can scout the earth for any weaknesses and attack when ready with one theory about the character that was also present during the first series but has kind of come back in the lead to this series being the fact that she is actually The Rani with this theory only coming back because the trailers for the show had a red light coming out at the end similar to how there was yellow light coming out at the end of the last series trailers which is something that would explain why she knows all about the TARDIS and why she hates The Doctor and even The Rani herself is a good enough actress that she could pull off playing her full time but weather or not the show decides to bring back what is quite possibly a really obscure classic Doctor Who villain does remain to be seen.
There was no way that I could do a review about this episode and not talk about the new companion Belinda Chandra. As while she does seem like she would be a really fun edition to the team we the audience don't really get the chance to find all that much about her character which does make it hard to form a connection with her which granted was always going to be really hard to do in the first place given that this is the first episode of a new series but from a writing standpoint this episodes writer Russell T. Davies really should have given us a reason to want to see her get home as we don't really get that in this episode with it instead coming across as her being quite bossy and just telling The Doctor what to do and while the character can at times be seen as being quite spunky and quite opinionated she comes across as a character that would have felt right at home in 2020 but feels out of place in 2025 due to alot of the language that she uses just to eb clear she's not that bad of a character as she does have moments where she can be quite fun and funny to watch as well but we the audience aren't really given a reason to care for her which would be find if she was a one off companion but for a full time companion there does need to be a reason given in there debut episode as to why we the audience should want to see more of her as we're being asked to spend several episodes with her as a character and while yes granted she might improve as a character in later episodes this first episode does leave alot to be desired or her character.
As was pretty much expected when they announced that Varada Sethu was returning to play the companion in this series. They do connect her to her previous Doctor Who character Mundy Flynn by saying that Mundy is one of her many descendants which was a nice little easter egg for the fans but then again it just wasn't something that needed in the episode as while yes they did the same thing back in series 3 with Freema Agyeman who played a different character in "Army Of Ghosts" back in series two of modern Doctor Who but then was cast to play the new companion at the start of the very next series with it being explained that her character in Army Of Ghosts was in fact the cousin of her Marth Jones character but just like that reveal this reveal doesn't add anything to the plot of this episode and is there just incase a few fans spotted that it was the same actress playing a different character and while the connection to Boom was a nice touch as that was by far one of the more better episodes of the previous series it's not something that was needed in this episode as this is an episode that should have been all about setting up Belinda as a character and fully fleshing out her character and yet connecting her to a much more better written character just felt like something that Russell T. Davies chose to do as he and Steven Moffat are good friends and not because of the fact that it adds anything to quite literally either character as that connection could be removed from either character and nothing would be changed and while it could also be argued that the same thing is also true for Freema Agyeman as well in her case they were cousins where as here they quite literally share the same DNA something which The Doctor rather gleefully points out.
Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly forty six minuets and two seconds. Which is pretty much the exact grand total running time for the show at this point and to this episodes credit it really does have just the right amount of plot there to cover that amount of running time even if this episode is just giving of very strong Smith And Jones vibes alot of the time however tho this episode really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as the plot of the episode isn't as fully developed as it really could have been with the plot of the episode coming across as being a bit on the weak side as it just comes across as things happening for little to no reason and while the episode does have some good ideas to it like the fact that the robots can't hear every ninth word is a really good idea it's one that's not really all that fully developed and so it just comes across as an excuse to get the rebels into the throne room with out the robots even realizing what's going on in the first place and none of this episodes side characters are fully developed either with the best of example of this being both the muscle bound vest guy who does have a name but is so forgettable that it's not even worth looking up what it is and Sasha 55 who despite her death being the main emotional force for The Doctor in this episode we the audience don't get to spend alot of time with her as a character and so what was meant to be seen as this bein emotional moment instead just comes of as being hollow as we the audience were never given a reason to care for her character in the first place but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is an action show that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. With this episode having a really well done action scene near the middle of the episode where The Doctor and some rebels basically storm the throne room and try to take out a bunch of robots just to save Belinda which was a really well done sequence with it being clear as day that all of the actors that were involved with that sequence where just having a blast filming it as it's something that you see all over there faces but in saying that it would have been alot more better if we got to knew some of the rebels characters that don't make it out of that sequence as that would have made there deaths all the more impactful and given that this Doctor carries on his own tradition of carrying at the end of it it would have made him carrying make alot more sense if we did get to see him and Sasha 55 spend alot more time together like we did in the Christmas special with him and Anita Benn from Joy To The World where we got to see them together for alot of the episode and so it hurt all the more when we saw them go there separate ways it should have been the same thing here with him and Sasha 55 but credit where it's due tho the action scene that her death takes place in was not only a really good action scene in it's own right but was also the best action scene in the whole entire episode as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
SPOILERS END HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Overall while it is great to see this show back on the air again who knows when or even if the show will return for a third batch of episodes and so regardless of the quality of the episode we all owe it to this show to watch this episode on either BBC IPlayer or on Disney+ as early as we can do and those that don't have BBC IPlayer go and watch it on BBC One and then call up all your friends and family and get them to watch it where ever they can because right now the show really needs us more then ever with this episode being a pretty solid start to the new series as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7.5 out of 0 from me.
Now then interms of where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Doctor Who fandom wiki page , IMPM Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great the official Doctor Who fandom wiki page really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them being better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on the official Doctor Who fandom wiki page are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.