"Perhaps we will both be stories. And may those stories never end." - Robin Hood
It's always an exciting moment when the Doctor encounters an historical figure and he formed an unlikely alliance with one in Robot of Sherwood. The only problem was, this historical figure never existed! Doctor Who is a show that requires its audience to suspend their disbelief but a lot of viewers found it particularly difficult to in this scenario. Assuming that the events of Doctor Who take place within the 'real world', it breaks all kinds of fictional fourth walls to be presented with an adventure in which the Time Lord is seen joining forces with one of English folklore's most iconic creations. Tom Riley was an inspired choice to take on the role of the notorious outlaw but his portrayal should have been less reliant on exaggerated stereotypes in order to make him feel more believable as a genuine character in his own right. Within the relativity of the Doctor Who universe, though, Robin Hood should unequivocally not exist. It's a premise that would've sounded plausible in its initial pitch but one which ultimately failed to translate as such on screen. Despite that, the suggestion that there's no such thing as an impossible hero - as long as one believes - is a nice one and Mark Gatiss manages to draw some intriguing parallels between Robin and our titular Time Lord. It's an idea which may be expanded upon in this year's Christmas Special, Last Christmas, which will see the Doctor and Clara joining forces with none other than Father Christmas himself (who Steven Moffat has revealed will be "absolutely real"...). The overriding suggestion that heroes only serve to inspire others is an interesting idea, but perhaps the episode would have had a more satisfying "sciencey-wiencey" conclusion if Robin Hood had turned out to be a pawn in a timey-wimey trap featuring characters from the universe's favourite stories, à la The Land of Fiction. In conclusion, Robot of Sherwood serves as a nice bit of standalone escapism but it's not one for those who tend to over analyse the Doctor's adventures. Still, the fact that Robin Hood has now been introduced as a real person presents some exciting possibilities for future Doctor Who encounters. Harry Potter for Series 9, anyone...?
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.
