Robot of Sherwood (TV story)

 was the third episode of the eighth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales. It explored the legend of Robin Hood.

Synopsis
Clara is offered the chance to choose the next destination for herself and the Twelfth Doctor. They go and meet the English folk hero Robin Hood, much to the Doctor's disbelief in the existence of someone who's supposed to be a mere folk tale story. Travelling through Sherwood Forest in 1190, they soon realise that something is amiss, as the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham and his malevolent robot knights set in motion a plot that could rewrite the course of history for the worst.

Can the last of the Time Lords put aside his doubts and forge an unlikely alliance with the legendary Prince of Thieves?

Plot
The Doctor offers Clara the choice of their next destination. Clara points out that the Doctor will say her choice does not exist, but she wants to meet Robin Hood. As she thought, he does not think that Robin Hood is real. Clara listens as the Doctor lists off other destinations they could visit; however, she adamantly points out that it is her turn, not his. Seeing he cannot win, the Doctor sets course for Sherwood Forest, "1190ish".

While Clara changes her attire, the Doctor exits the TARDIS, smugly observing that where they have landed there are no damsels in distress, no castles, and "no such thing as Robin Hood" - just as an arrow pierces the TARDIS door. The Doctor turns to find the man who shot it across a river, saying that he answers to "Robin Hood". The Doctor removes the arrow as Robin exclaims his amazement in seeing the TARDIS materialise; he then says he'll take it from the Doctor.

Clara exits the TARDIS in a fancy dress, surprised to already be meeting Robin Hood. Robin challenges the Doctor to defend his property, drawing his sword as he invites the Doctor to do the same. The Doctor shows Robin that he carries no such weapon on him, but does have... a large spoon. They duel on a makeshift bridge over a river. Countering Robin's sword, the Doctor feigns surrender, only to knock Robin into the river. He and a concerned Clara look for Robin, who pushes the Doctor in from behind.

Robin takes the Doctor and Clara to his campsite, where he introduces them to his Merry Men: Will Scarlett, Friar Tuck, Alan-a-Dale, Walter, and John Little, who was also known as Little John, according to Robin. The Doctor, however, is still convinced that Robin is a fake, and is constantly taking blood samples and tasting the apples to make sure everything is real. The Doctor notices that for September, it is awfully sunny with lots of green vegetation; from this he deduces that they could only be inside a Miniscope, and now is obsessing about that. Clara and Robin have a quick chat about who they think the Doctor really is.

Meanwhile, in a nearby village, helmeted knights are taking away villagers. In one house, Master Quayle is pleading the Sheriff of Nottingham to take him and spare his young female ward. When the Sheriff refuses, Quayle then spits in his face. The Sheriff says he will live to regret that, immediately correcting himself to say, "Actually, no. You won't." He then abruptly plunges a sword into Quayle's abdomen, killing him straight away. The knights take the girl away screaming.

At the campsite, the Doctor and Clara continue to argue about Robin Hood being "real". The Doctor maintains that Robin Hood did not exist and questions Clara on when she started believing in "impossible heroes". Clara smiles and asks "Don't you know?"

Robin announces the Sheriff is holding an archery contest to find the most skilled archer, who will receive a Golden Arrow as the prize. Clara immediately tells Robin not to enter, as it is a trap. However, Robin knows it is a trap, which he will gladly enter.

Robin proceeds to enter the archery contest, where he - under the guise of Tom the Tinker - exceeds in every activity and, in the final competition, is pitted against the Sheriff, whose own bow skills are "astounding," comments the commentator. The Sheriff asks his guards to carry the target back to the very end of the field, which they do, and he shoots the arrow right in the middle. Robin then shoots an arrow at the same target and splits the Sheriff's arrow, winning the contest. He is presented with the Golden Arrow, but immediately after Robin's arrow is cut by another entree: the Doctor.

The Sheriff, Robin and the Doctor then keep splitting each other's arrows on the same target, until it is so full that not even Robin Hood's arrows can get through. The Doctor is then presented with the Golden Arrow trophy; throwing it aside, he wants enlightenment on what is going on instead. Robin prepares to fire another arrow, but the Doctor points out that "this is getting silly" and blows up the target with the sonic screwdriver. Slightly amazed, the Sheriff orders his knights to seize the Doctor, Clara and Robin. Robin then reveals to the crowd who he really is before the knights attack, and Robin begins to fend them off with his fencing skills. He then cuts off the arm of one, and Clara quickly discovers that the knight didn't feel any pain at all because of the robotic sparks flying around the dislocated body part. All of the Knight's helmets open, revealing their unemotional, robotic faces.

The Sheriff realises his game is up, and the Doctor, Clara and Robin are swiftly captured and placed in the dungeon, chained to a post, staring at a skeleton. Robin and the Doctor exchange snarky remarks about who will last longest, with the Doctor boasting to have genetic superiority.

Deep in the castle, one of the peasants falls down from exhaustion. The young female ward taken earlier goes over and helps him stand. A Knight comes over and declares that the peasant's work capacity has been broken down, and he is no longer useful. They then proceed to disintegrate him, much to the girl's horror.

The Doctor and Robin Hood start arguing, much to Clara's irritation. She finally loses her temper when they start shouting for a guard and tells them both to shut up. The Doctor and Robin Hood protest for who has the best escape plan, but Clara wants to hear Robin's first. He does not have one. Then, she turns to the Doctor, and says that his plans cannot include the words "sonic" and "screwdriver" because the Sheriff confiscated it. The Doctor gives up and states that he doesn't have a plan.

Annoyed with each other, the Doctor and Robin are still arguing and insulting each other, making Clara very cross. Then, a guard comes in, and reveals that he has been assigned to listen at the door to find out who the ringleader is. The Doctor and Robin both point at each other - but the guard takes Clara away instead. Both are left confused as to why neither of them was believed to be the leader.

After having a bite to eat, Clara is able to goad the Sheriff into revealing his past - that he witnessed a spaceship crash and has been trying to repair it by collecting all the gold in the nearby land to repair the ship's circuits. He then plans to use it to travel to London and take over the kingdom. He tells her that every King needs a Queen, and leans in to kiss her. She wiggles out, threatening, "You do that again, and you'll regret that."

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Robin continue arguing; both decide one of them has to fake being in terrible pain to call the guard back in to steal his keys. Despite Robin insisting the Doctor act, due to his aged appearance adding to their plan, he is forced to do so. As the guard inquires what is happening, the Doctor insults Robin by saying he's afraid of enclosed spaces and always acts so. He then says that Robin has a valuable secret. The guard leans in close to hear it and is knocked out by a headbutt. However, when the Doctor and Robin both try to reach the keys, they end up knocking it into a grate. Both hope Clara never hears of that little mistake...

They ultimately decide to uproot the posts and, at a blacksmith's forge, break their chains before locating the spacecraft inside the castle. It is there that the Doctor discovers that the ship, originating in the 29th century, was set to reach "the Promised Land." He then confronts Robin Hood and shows him photos from books, stories and television shows that follow his adventures. He now believes that Robin is a robot, like the knights, but then the Sheriff arrives with Clara and some of his robots. Robin escapes with Clara and jumps into the water with her, leaving the Doctor to get knocked out and chained in the bowels of the castle.

Back at the campsite, Clara comes to. Robin greets her, but his demeanour has changed to a serious one. He demands to know who the Doctor is, and what he knows about Robin Hood's life. Clara is confused that she's being interrogated.

The Doctor wakes up and finds he is chained across from the young female ward, who encourages him to think up a plan to escape. He has rallied the peasants and has wriggled himself free, just as a knight comes up and declares that he is ready for work. Its cannon starts to warm up, but the Doctor holds up a plate, deflecting the blast and decapitating the knight. The other knights then become aware of the revolution, and start randomly firing, but their blasts are sent back at them by peasants, who are all holding shiny plates.

When the last one has been defeated, the Sheriff arrives, and the Doctor tries to get him to confess that Robin is a robot created by the knights. The Sheriff does not know what he's talking about, and the Doctor realises there's no reason the robots would create a fake enemy to fight - Robin Hood is the real thing! Just then Robin Hood and Clara arrive, seeming to be on friendlier terms again, and the Sheriff proposes a final reckoning between him and Robin. He accepts, and after a short sword fight, Robin uses the same "surrendering" technique that the Doctor taught him and tricks the Sheriff into coming at him. He clips him on the back and sends him tumbling into a vat of molten gold, where he freezes eternally.

The ship is about to take off, and the Doctor, Clara and Robin escape and watch (with Robin's Merry Men) the spaceship rise from the castle. Two Knights are at the controls, and the Doctor says that in a few seconds it will explode and devastate half the country. The Doctor realizes that if they shoot the golden arrow from the archery contest into the ship, the gold content will give the ship the boost it needs to reach orbit and detonate harmlessly. However, Robin is unable to fire the arrow as his arm is injured, the Doctor cheated at the contest using technology and cannot really fire a bow and Clara has too little experience - so Robin suggests they work together to fire it. With Clara and the Doctor aiming the bow for him, Robin fires the arrow into the ship's engines. The plan works: the ship reaches orbit and explodes harmlessly.

As the Doctor and Clara prepare to leave, the Doctor admits to Robin that he accepts his story is real, and that the fact that he was a real man will be lost to history. Robin takes a moment to accept this, and then reminds the Doctor, based on the stories that Clara told him, that he is a hero of similar background as well. When the Doctor continues to deny this, Robin Hood suggests that their role is not to be heroes themselves, but to inspire others to take on that role. Clara then offers him a few words of encouragement before they depart. Inside the TARDIS, Clara goads the Doctor to admit that he actually likes Robin. The Doctor admits that he did leave him a present...

As the TARDIS dematerialises, Robin looks at a picture of Maid Marian in his locket. Once the TARDIS vanishes, the young female ward is seen standing there - she is revealed to be Maid Marian. The Doctor brought her here to reunite with Robin. Overjoyed, Robin races to where the TARDIS was, shouting praise for the Doctor to the sky.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Peter Capaldi
 * Clara - Jenna Coleman
 * Robin Hood - Tom Riley
 * Quayle - Roger Ashton-Griffiths
 * Quayle's Ward - Sabrina Bartlett
 * The Sheriff of Nottingham - Ben Miller
 * Alan-a-Dale - Ian Hallard
 * Friar Tuck - Trevor Cooper
 * Little John - Rusty Goffe
 * Little John 1 - Matthew Dale (Uncredited)
 * Will Scarlett - Joseph Kennedy
 * Walter - Adam Jones
 * Herald - David Benson
 * Guard - David Langham
 * Knight - Tim Baggaley
 * Voice of the Knights - Richard Elfyn

Story notes

 * A scene in which the Sheriff of Nottingham was beheaded, revealing him to be a robot, was edited out of this episode's broadcast as it was deemed inappropriate in light of recent events in the news — namely, the beheading of two American journalists by the terrorist group . The cut can clearly be seen in the finished programme, when the tapestry behind Clara and the Doctor vanishes before Robin cuts the rope and rises to the wooden gantries. However, the admission of the Sheriff that he was "half man, half engine" and the scene showing his hands in the vat of molten gold makes up for the editing gap.
 * One of the images brought up on the computer screen is of Patrick Troughton, the actor who portrayed the Second Doctor, and also the first actor who played Robin Hood on television.
 * Actors David Benson and Ian Hallard also appeared together in AUDIO: Invaders from Mars, which was also written by Mark Gatiss. Benson later appeared in AUDIO: Wildthyme at Large, a story which also featured Robin Hood.
 * This is the first episode since TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS to not have any scenes set on present-day Earth (the TARDIS's location when the Doctor asks Clara where she wants to go next is unspecified).
 * The archery tournament and the Golden Arrow is a staple of the Robin Hood legend, including the ballads A Gest of Robyn Hode and Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow.
 * The episode title references the ITV series, which competed against Doctor Who 's twenty-second season on Saturday nights during its second series in 1985.
 * Clara indicates that she is from Blackpool, which is the real life hometown of actress Jenna Coleman.
 * As revealed in Doctor Who Extra, Peter Capaldi's 56th birthday was celebrated during the filming of this episode. In particular, he was presented with a Dalek-themed birthday cake.

Ratings
7.28 million (DWM 479)

Filming locations

 * Fforest Fawr, Brecon Beacons National Park


 * Caerphilly Castle, Castle St.

Production errors

 * Clara closes the TARDIS door when first meeting Robin Hood, but when Robin and the Doctor duel it is open.
 * The instruction plate on the left-hand TARDIS door has a clearly broken letter E at the end of the word "use".

Continuity

 * The Doctor suggests to Clara that they are inside a miniscope upon encountering Robin Hood and his Merry Men in Sherwood Forest. (TV: Carnival of Monsters)
 * He also hypothesises that they may be in a futuristic recreation or fun house. (TV: The Chase)


 * This is not the first time that the Doctor has encountered a spaceship disguised as a castle. (TV: State of Decay)
 * The spaceship was headed for the destination of "the Promised Land." The Half-Face Man also claimed that he was waiting to reach the Promised Land. (TV: Deep Breath)
 * The Doctor uses Venusian aikido to disarm Robin Hood, complete with "Hai!", as his third incarnation commonly did. (TV: The Mind of Evil, Inferno, The Claws of Axos et al.)
 * The Doctor is still a superb swordsman, having notably demonstrated the skill in his third, fourth, fifth, and tenth incarnations. (TV: The Sea Devils, The Masque of Mandragora, the Androids of Tara, The King's Demons, The Christmas Invasion, et. al.)
 * The Doctor previously encountered a ship that needed gold to repair the engines; in his fifth incarnation the Djinni used the gold the Black Guardian horded from the Caliph and compressed it to make a warp manifold, the fifth segment to the Key to Time. (AUDIO: The Destroyer of Delights)
 * Once again the Doctor likens a foolish person's thought processes to pudding. (TV: Deep Breath)
 * King Richard the Lionheart and his brother Prince John of England are mentioned. Meanwhile in 1190, King Richard is fighting the Crusades, where he met the First Doctor. (TV: The Crusade) The Fifth Doctor would meet the android Kamelion masquerading as the then King John in 1215. (TV: The King's Demons)
 * The Twelfth Doctor and Robin Hood escape the cell by feigning a possession in the same way as Ben and Polly once did. (TV: The Smugglers)
 * The Tenth Doctor had an arrow hit his TARDIS in London in 1599 (TV: The Shakespeare Code) and an arrow fired by Lady Peinforte hit the Seventh Doctor's TARDIS in Windsor in 1988 (TV: Silver Nemesis). However, unlike other times when an arrow tip left a lingering hole in the TARDIS shell where it punctured (TV: Evolution of the Daleks), the TARDIS shell immediately repaired itself upon removal of the arrow.
 * In London of 2050, K9 Mark 2 would encounter a virtual reality simulation of Robin Hood in a recreation of Sherwood Forest inside a museum. The view held at this point is that there was indeed a real Robin Hood, a sentiment affirmed by K9 who claims to have met him in his original incarnation. (TV: The Last Oak Tree)
 * The Twelfth Doctor is still writing obscure calculations with chalk, (TV: Deep Breath) on the TARDIS blackboard. (TV: Into the Dalek)
 * Clara tells Robin about the Doctor's origins - that he stole a TARDIS, as witnessed by one of her fragments (TV: The Name of the Doctor), and that he was "born into wealth and privilege".
 * Having previously been identified as being from Lancashire, (TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS) Clara implies to the Sheriff that she is from the town of Blackpool, a town she previously mentioned. (TV: The Rings of Akhaten)

DVD releases
The episode will be released as part of the Complete Series 8 in November.

Blu-ray releases
to be added