Doctor Who Robot Of Sherwood: 8 Continuity References You Might Have Missed
2. The Spaceship Leaves
Thanks to television being a visual medium, writers and directors are spoilt for choice in how they can reference other works; with the two most common ways being a reference in dialogue, and a visual homage like including an old prop in the background or replicating a certain shot. Or alternatively, incorporating a story element of what youre paying homage to into your own narrative. And for the climax of Robot Of Sherwood, Mark Gatiss outdoes himself by combining the latter two into one sequence. The Robot Knights ship is disguised as part of the Sheriff Of Nottinghams castle, detaches from the main structure on takeoff, and explodes after it reaches orbit thanks to the Doctor, Clara, and Robin giving it a little power boost with the golden arrow from the archery tournament. A visual and plot point lifted from the Fourth Doctor story State Of Decay (1980). At the climax of Part Four; the Doctor modifies the Vampires ship (disguised as part of the landscape) so that it takes off and then crashes to the ground, killing the last true Great Vampire before it can be unleashed. Which is a lucky consequence of the Vampires having a rocket with a massive spire on the nosecone. A plot point and visual repurposed very efficiently and at no cost to the overall story. Though thankfully the Robot Knights ship managed to make it to orbit before blowing up. Another exploding castle caused by the Doctor would have been a pretty big dent in history.
JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.
