20 Worst Moments In Modern Doctor Who

Kerblam is one of the strongest episodes in Jodie Whittaker’s first year as the Thirteenth Doctor, but oh boy does it fumble the bag at the end.

Given the current AI boom the story almost feels ahead of its time in its warnings about 90% of jobs being overtaken by machines. “They want us to be grateful that ten percent of people get to work?” bemuses maintenance worker Charlie, in one of many examples of the episode sticking up for the working man and woman.

That is until writer Pete McTighe decides to pivot and give two big thumbs-up to the bloodsucking corporation by having the Doctor declare, “the systems aren’t the problem”, before doing very little to prevent Charlie from being blown to smithereens.

McTighe either didn't understand his own message or worse, wilfully ignored it. For the Doctor to not acknowledge that Kerblam exploiting its workers and treating them like dirt is the problem is just bad writing, and very un-Doctor-like, resulting in a clunky and muddled end to the episode.