Robot of Sherwood (TV story)

 was the third episode of the eighth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales.

Synopsis
Clara is elated when offered the chance to meet the English folk hero Robin Hood, despite the Twelfth Doctor's insistence that he is nothing more than a legend. Travelling to a sun-drenched Sherwood Forest in 1190, they soon realise that something is amiss as the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham and his sinister robot knights plot to rewrite the course of history.

Can the Doctor put aside his doubts and stir up an unlikely friendship with Robin Hood?

Plot
As the Doctor scribbles down sceinfific calculations on his chalkboard, he offers to let Clara choose their next destination. Clara, at first hesitant, believing the Doctor to dismiss him as a historical person, excidetly asks the Doctor to take them to meet the historical outlaw, Robin Hood. Clara reveals that Robin Hood was her childhood hero and had always wanted to meet him. The Doctor explains that he is nothing but a legend, and tries to convince her to choose something else, such as Mars. Clara persuades the Doctor to listen to her. Giving in, the Doctor sets a course for Sherwood Forest, 1190.

The TARDIS materialises by a lake in Sherwood Forest. Exiting the time machine, the Doctor yells out that there are "No damsels in distress, no Bridget Castles, no such thing as Robin Hood!" Then suddenly, an arrow strikes the side of the TARDIS. A man in green tights rises out from behind a log. As the Doctor stares blank-eyed, the man winks at him. The Doctor rips the areow out of the TARDIS as the man crosses the lake. The manndemands that he give up his 'magic box.' The Doctor refuses, but Clara appears, wearing a 12th century dress. Not believing what she's seeing, she congratulates the Doctor for finding Robin Hood. The Doctor points out that he's not Robin Hood. The man unleashes his sword and challenges the Doctor to a duel. The Doctor dons a glove and unleashes...a spoon!

The two battle onnthe lake's walkway whilst Clara cheers them on. As the two seem evengly matched, the man counters the Doctor's next move and alices off a button kf his jacket. The Doctor raises his arms and seemingly gives up. As the man is about to finish him off, the Doctor tricks him and trips him up, making him fall into the lake. The man sneaks up behind the Doctor and shoves him into the lake, annoying him.

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
 * 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 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.

Ratings
to be added

Filming locations

 * Fforest Fawr, Brecon Beacons National Park


 * Caerphilly Castle, Castle St.

Production errors

 * Despite portraying a highly competent archer, actor Ben Miller's technique was rather flawed when firing his arrows.
 * Clara closes the Tardis door when first meeting Robin Hood but when Robin and The Doctor duel its open.

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)
 * 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 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 Doctor and Robin Hood escape the cell by feigning a possession in the same way as Ben and Polly did in TV: The Smugglers.
 * The Tenth Doctor also had an arrow hit his TARDIS in London in 1599. (TV: The Shakespeare Code)
 * A different account about the appearance and the fate of Robin Hood was referred in PROSE: The Thief of Sherwood.
 * 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)
 * The Doctor observes that the crashed spaceship is from the 29th century. His previous incarnation visited the Starship UK, which was launched in that same period to escape the solar flares threatening the Earth. (TV: The Beast Below)

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

Blu-ray releases
to be added