The Robots of Death

The consistent run of quality stories continues. Based on the last 8 episodes I’ve seen I am at as loss as to why Chris Boucher is not a widely celebrating figure in the Doctor Who universe.

The Robots of Death is Agatha Christie in space, on a stylish spaceship with a varied and interesting array of inhabitants - including iconic looking robots. The world building and work out into the interpersonal relationships between characters is what makes this story special. You never feel like you are watching a run of the mill, sterile vision of space - rather it is messy and exciting.

The visuals are particularly strong in this story in all aspects - including the detailed model shots, that gives the setting a grand sense of scale. Also the rudimentary CGI which turns the robots eyes red is very effective.

If there is one thing that stops it from being quite as good as The Ark in Space or The Seeds of Doom it’s that Dask’s reveal as the main villain is a bit perfunctory. It should have been a grand climax with a look of shock on Leela and The Doctor’s face, but instead it’s just a shot of Dask in shiny makeup, which didn’t honour the complexity and detail of the overall story. After the resolution The Doctor and Leela leave without any kind of debrief from the team - some final words would have been nice. Regardless, this is still one of the best we’ve seen.