Doctor Who #Throwback: 5 Moments of Robot in Sherwood

Doctor Who//BBC

This is it, Time Ladies and Time Lords, our first Doctor Who #throwback Top 5 moments. This week, we’re talking about Robots in Sherwood.

It’s not necessarily a critically acclaimed, fantastic episode, but it’s a fun one. It’s nice to see Clara completely nerd out when she sees Robin Hood, and the doctor has some great one-liners in the episode. It’s one of the fun ones of Doctor Who!

I don’t want to give too much away because that’s what this is about! In case you don’t remember these posts, they’re for after we watched an episode. We go through what we liked about the episode, especially those small moments that people might have missed.

Robots in Sherwood is a great episode for dipping our toes back into this because almost every moment is a great one. It’s a good standalone episode, good for a laugh, and while there are obvious issues with some things, if you don’t take it too seriously, it’s just a great episode.

Also, it’s likely that this will mostly be about Clara because this was also probably one of the best episodes for her.

BBC

Clara gets into Nottingham culture

In my opinion, companions don’t dress up enough anymore. Too often they wear their 21st-century clothing and go running around and people don’t notice. Ironically, that’s always been something that bothers me. I know that companions, like the Doctors, seem to get their iconic outfits, but it’s always nice to see them shake it up from time to time.

Clara’s red dress was beautiful, and it definitely said 1190 AD. She even had hair extensions! If this also isn’t a great nod to how great the TARDIS can quickly do up your hair, makeup, and clothing, I don’t know what is. Also, obviously, the hair and makeup department on Doctor Who!

Also, can we all appreciate how much Clara fangirls when she sees that there actually is a Robin Hood? While most of, well, the entire, episode convince the Earl of Loxley is a trick, Clara falls right for the man. And who wouldn’t? A handsome man right in front of you, full of 1100 AD diseases!? Worth it.

The glove

I don’t even need a picture, or a gif because it’s now become an infamous part of Twelve’s era. The time that Peter Capaldi almost gave Robin Hood the finger. Now, I get it, in reality, this was only the third episode of his era, he was still trying to figure out who he was. The show runners were still trying to go with a “darker doctor” perhaps a “more mature” Doctor. We were also still getting used to

We were also still getting used to the new Doctor so anything was on the table. It is definitely a weird throwback though. Would teacher/lecturer Doctor be throwing around the finger? Probably, but not as likely.

Even still, this small gesture right before the fight between the two is now one of Twelve’s best moments. And for good reason as well! Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss were definitely pushing the envelope there!

BBC

Clara is a leader

One of the many best parts of this episode of Doctor Who is that between the bantering on Robin’s side, and the fighting on the Doctor’s side, it’s time for teacher Clara to step in. She’s here to step in and take care of the two boys who won’t stop fighting over…over their ego.

Think about it, this is 1190. It’s obvious that women aren’t thought of as anything, especially a leader of two men. She showed her ability to be what she always was to the doctor — the calm in the storm. She was able to keep her head up and form a plan (by herself!!) and not get distracted by what was going on.

So when the guard comes in and takes one of them to the Sheriff of Nottingham, of course, it would be Clara! And Clara continues to be fantastic at being the leader as she absolutely twists the arm of the Sheriff, and plays him like a puppet to get her all the information she needs. Out of all the episodes where she’s taken the lead, I’ve counted her the best in this one.

BBC

Robin Hood and his Merry Men (and bantering)

This one is a bit of an Easter Egg for those who don’t know an absurd amount of information on Mark Gatiss like I do. (I’m not obsessed, I swear!) In this episode, Mark Gatiss’s partner Ian Hallard played Alan-a-Dale, the swoony lute player of the Merry Men. He also has a bit of a nice voice about him as well!

Of course, if you’re going to make Robin Hood, you have to factor in his Merry Men! And Ian Hallard was the perfect Alan-a-Dale. The other members of his Merry Men, Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, all played their roles perfectly. Even if they were to basically back up Robin Hood with their laughing, and yes, their bantering.

Gatiss did this episode incredibly well, especially considering that the Doctor was still cooking. Maybe not literally — his regeneration had taken full effect. But we were still wondering, who was the Doctor? And to put a dark Time Lord with quite the opposite, a hero among heroes in sunny Nottingham was a great way to put the Doctor in an absurd situation.

The scene with the Doctor examining each of the Merry Men is still, today, one of my favorites.

"“If you were real, you’d be dead in six months!”“I am real!”“…Bye.”"

The Doctor’s spoon

Despite the fact that Capaldi’s original view was to have a Doctor that was “Dark and Mysterious” time lord. If we look back, we can see that from the beginning, the Doctor was never going to be too dark. He was a little rougher than in proceeding seasons. He was cross. They were definitely playing up the Scottish thing a bit, but when the Doctor fights Robin Hood off, and wins, with a spoon, there’s still a bit of all the other predecessors there.

The fighting in and of itself was amazing. I don’t care if it’s a Doctor’s 3rd episode or 30th. We’ve talked a lot about how different the episode was than episodes today, but that was fantastic choreographing. I have no idea how they did it, or how they were able to stay on a patch of land (they had to be on something, cause they fall!). It was great to see the way the Doctor fights.

We don’t often see the Doctor show off like that. Even with Twelve, I would say that and in World Enough and Time when he flips the Blue Man, are two times that he’s used an older way of fighting, rather than just knocking someone off.

And of course, why use a sword when you have a spoon?

Honorable Mention: Clara and the Doctor

Feel free to ignore this honorable mention if you’re not a fan of seeing Clara and Twelve in any kind of romantic setting, but I did love Gatiss’s mention of it. When he asks Clara when she started believing in impossible heroes and she says “Don’t you know?” And then at the end when Robin Hood tells the Doctor he’s her hero. Ah! My shipping heart!