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Though a bit familiar, Doctor Who S02E01: "The Robot Revolution" is a stronger season opener than season one's: funny, camp, and serious.
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Doctor Who S02E01 "The Robot Revolution": Strong Yet Familiar Return
Though a bit familiar, Doctor Who S02E01: "The Robot Revolution" is a stronger season opener than season one's: funny, camp, and serious.
This is a spoiler-free review of the premiere episode of Doctor Who season two. Yes, it's back, and so is Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, this time with a new companion. Varada Sethu is Belinda Chandra, an A&E (that's British for "ER") nurse in a London hospital. She's thrown into the thick of an adventure in Space and Time when she's suddenly grabbed by robots from outer space because she's been crowned the queen of their planet. It's all very Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with a mix of camp silliness and death. That's a feature of Doctor Who, not a bug, and you're either in for the ride that Russell T. Davies designed, or you're not.
New Companion, Feels Like a New Show That's Still Doctor Who
"The Robot Revolution" feels like a new pilot for Doctor Who, but every time a new companion is introduced, the show feels new again, like a new Doctor's first episode. The character dynamic is different this time since the companion is an adult professional lady instead of a teenager. Belinda already has a busy life dealing with patients every day in the hospital before going home to mildly irritating flatmates who eat each other's food and don't do the washing up. Then the goofy but deadly robots from outer space show up and grab her because they declared her their queen and take her back to their planet to take the throne, and it's one civilization where being the queen really sucks. Fortunately, the Doctor has been tracking her and is already undercover to help and help take down the evil robot overlords and free the people, because that's what the Doctor does. But things don't never go as planned and Doctor and new companion have to improvise wildly to save the day.
This is Doctor Who as a well-oiled machine with a big Disney budget to show for it. It feels like a tighter re-do of the last season. Russell T. Davies concocted a timey-wimey plot that feels like he took cues from his buddy Steven Moffat, and nothing wrong with that. The Doctor-companion dynamic is different this time because not only is Belinda an adult who's not besotted with the Doctor, but she did not volunteer to go on a crazy space-time adventure that could get her killed. She calls out the Doctor in ways he has never been before, and it's long overdue. It creates some welcome drama and conflict between them rather than having a companion agree with him all the time. If there's a flaw in this opener, it's that it feels a tad familiar now because longtime viewers are familiar with the camp whimsy that Davies and Moffat have made part of the series' flavour throughout the 2000s. But comfort food is what we come to Doctor Who for, and what's wrong with that?
Doctor Who is now streaming on Disney+.
Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 1: "The Robot Revolution"
8/10
A strong, if familiar season premiere with a new companion and a new central character dynamic for BBC and Disney+'s Doctor Who. The script vibes like comfort food to longtime viewers with familiar tropes and plot points, this is still a fun, tightly-plotted timey-wimey story that feels like Davies has taken more cues from Steven Moffat, and it's still funny and pointed in its satire and social commentary. Overall, a much stronger start than the first season.
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