Christopher Morley delves into the Doctor's past - visiting stories including the season 26 mythological adventure Battlefield - and considers what might be to come in the upcoming series 8 story currently known as Robots of Sherwood.
The announcement that the Twelfth Doctor is set to take Clara off to Sherwood Forest to meet a certain Robin Hood in the Mark Gatiss-penned Series 8 episode Robots Of Sherwood really got us thinking (& not just about Ms Oswald in that lovely red Maid Marian-ish dress, honest). Though it & its wearer are indeed exquisite. But there's more to it than that.
The announcement that the Twelfth Doctor is set to take Clara off to Sherwood Forest to meet a certain Robin Hood in the Mark Gatiss-penned Series 8 episode Robots Of Sherwood really got us thinking (& not just about Ms Oswald in that lovely red Maid Marian-ish dress, honest). Though it & its wearer are indeed exquisite. But there's more to it than that.
Hasn't the Doctor
already once taken a lady companion into the heart of myth &
legend? Of course he has! Only that time he was in his Seventh
incarnation, he had Ace in tow & the events of Battlefield
would tell us a little more about his alleged part in the rise of
King Arthur- he was Merlin! Or at least, its heavily implied he was.
Either way, the
sorceress Morgaine wasn't too happy to see him. So, rroll up your
sleeves as we take a look back & quite possibly throw in a few
Sherwood titbits in
the process!
After attending The Greatest Show In The
Galaxy, Seven & Ace find
themselves thrown into the mother of all historical intrigues when
they encounter UNIT ( for the first time in a long time from the
Doctor's perspective, & indeed properly the first time from
Ace's). A craft from another dimension has crashed in the picturesque
countryside of merrie olde England, & it currently lies on the
bed of Lake Vortigern.
Lying within it
in state, & indeed in a form of suspended animation alongside his
prized sword Excalibur, is Arthur himself! And someone's come back to
help him- the faithful knight Ancelyn. Inevitably though, there's a
rival to be fended off. He arrives in the form of Mordred ( son of
Morgaine)- though actually, according to the ' proper' Arthurian
legends he was the son of Arthur himself & Morgause, sister of
Morgain ( who is in turn the basis for Morgaine).
Got it? We're not
sure we have, either, but let's press on regardless as all the best
knights do. Once we get back to Camelot we can have a bit of a song &
dance...
Both knights are
able to recognise the man in the pullover as Merlin on sight despite
never actually having clapped eyes on the Doctor in his current body.
Which makes Ace's question here...
...seem a tad redundant. He could indeed be, have been or about to be the famed wizard- really doesn't help a lot.
...seem a tad redundant. He could indeed be, have been or about to be the famed wizard- really doesn't help a lot.
But could it be that
this sort of knowledge just might help Twelve out of any pickles he
finds himself in in the company of Hood & his Merry Men? After
all, for all we know ' Friar Tuck' might actually turn out to be a
very clever alias adopted by one very slippery Monk (think along the
lines of The Time Meddler
& The Daleks' Master Plan).
If it does indeed
come to pass that Mortimus is now going by the name of Tuck & has
somehow influenced or even built these particular Robots
himself as a cover for his own fiddling with time, potentially
curtailed prematurely by the arrival of the newest incarnation of the
Doctor, it could be quite a clash between the former Academy
classmates.
Could an appeal
to Hood's inherent humanity (as the Eleventh Doctor tried to great
success with the android Professor Edwin Bracewell in
Victory Of The Daleks) be enough
to help win brave Robin over to his cause & allow the famous
outlaw to redeem himself in some way, however small? Might keep the
Sheriff of Nottingham off his tail at least.......
Maybe he won't be
afraid to die- his circuits ripped out & his head blown up, &
his leg torn off & arms destroyed...
Perhaps Twelve or Clara will show off by watching Monty Python & The Holy Grail in its entirety before descending into the Forest, too?
Perhaps Twelve or Clara will show off by watching Monty Python & The Holy Grail in its entirety before descending into the Forest, too?
If there's a
three-headed knight in the mix we can only hope the resulting battle
doesn't conclude with the Doctor's death at his hands after a cup of
tea without biscuits. Ah yes. Where, pray tell, have we seen an epic
battle between the forces of mythology & the modern/' real world?
That's right,
boys & girls. It's Battlefield!
Having had his retirement rudely interrupted, Brigadier
Lethbridge-Stewart gladly chucks himself back into the fray against
the Destroyer, a demon summoned by Morgaine. He proves himself not to
have lost the fighting mentality of the natural soldier, too...
Makes the so-called 'final war' referred to by Ancelyn (an anticipated skirmish between the forces of Arthur & Morgaine/Mordred) look like no more than a petty squabble. But Seven won't have to attempt to distract the rightful King from any quests with discussions on whether swallows & coconuts migrate - he's a little bit dead & in no way whatsoever resembles Graham Chapman.
Though it might
go some way to explaining how Twelve could have the necessary
know-how to distract the Monk by using coconuts to fool his old foe
into thinking a mighty army's coming to apprehend him on
horseback..the mind boggles.
Turning back to
Battlefield, we do
indeed see a hand emerge holding Excalibur in triumph, but its not
the one you might expect. It's the girl who up to now has been more
used to handling Nitro-9! Somewhat disappointingly she never even
for a second considers trading the stuff in for the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.
No killer rabbits
with big pointy teeth either, unless they've all migrated to Sherwood
& lie in wait to give Twelve a good nibble. In which case he
should probably panic. He might be too busy trying to keep Hood's
robot hands off Clara after the man in the green tights decides the
Doctor's newest female companion might be better off staying with him
as his faithful consort, though!
Could be the ideal opportunity to show off
how brilliant he's been programmed to be in combat situations too if
the need arises, & something like this
could be quite spectacular...
Throw in the
possibility of a few well-chosen nods to The Time Warrior,
the Third Doctor's own 13th
century scrap with the robber baron Irongron & the Sontaran Linx,
& yet more layers of intrigue are added! Its entirely possible
that Seven & by extension Twelve both drew on their younger
self's prior knowledge of this corner of space & time in their
own excursions into it.
After all there's
a robot knight involved in part of it- & the memory of his defeat
of it could spur on the senior of the three mentioned incarnations of
the Doctor in his efforts against Robin...
Not to mention his duel with Linx himself, the creator of what is effect a walking suit of armour...
Not to mention his duel with Linx himself, the creator of what is effect a walking suit of armour...
Perhaps we should bring things bang up to date at least for a while with a look at Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman & Da Vinci's Demons main man Tom Riley (in the role of Robot Hood, & rather wonderfully fulfilling a childhood dream by appearing in an episode of Who. Yay for him!) on location in Forest Fawr in Wales, which is doubling for Sherwood itself.
Note the 'Robin Hood & The Golden Arrow'
subtitle, also, Could it be some sort of nod to Silver
Nemesis? Take a look & judge for yourself...
If we may close by running with the Nemesis theme, a further link could become apparent. What if during the course of her time in Sherwood, Ms Oswald were to gain Lady Peinforte-like magical powers?
If we may close by running with the Nemesis theme, a further link could become apparent. What if during the course of her time in Sherwood, Ms Oswald were to gain Lady Peinforte-like magical powers?
It might be more
of a stretch to suggest that she could gain the knowledge of who the
Doctor really is, as the Lady claims she has - all part of the general hinting of the Cartmel Masterplan that the
Oncoming Storm was ' more than just a Time Lord' & indeed part of
Gallifrey's initial ruling triumvirate as the mysterious ' Other'
alongside Rassilon & Omega.
But how Clara would use such
potentially dangerous power were it to appeal to a hitherto unseen
darker side of her nature is quite a question to ponder. After all you
don't just use remnants of the pre- Time Lord age power of the Cult
of Pythia without some thought ( the Sisterhood of Karn also
receiving some of the awesome implied gifts of the much-worshipped Pythia, who kindly
sent what remained of her base of followers there as her powers
faded).
More background on the whole state of affairs can be found in
the Time's Crucible
book of the Cat's Cradle
series featuring the Seventh Doctor ( also by Andrew Cartmel,
containing further elements of his Masterplan) , part one of a
trilogy also containing Warlock &
War Child.
However you look
at it there's a lot to take in should you be inclined to do so! But
it just might make Robots Of Sherwood
that bit more awesome, not that it'll need much help in the
excitement stakes, when it finally does come to our screens. Huzzah!
