Doctor Who’s 15th season opener has been called “fun” yet “predictable” ahead of its highly-anticipated return.
BBC’s sci-fi series returns on Saturday (April 12) as the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) continue their journey across the galaxy, with the pair making a new acquaintance in the form of Belinda ‘Bel’ Chandra (Varada Sethu).
The season premiere, ‘The Robot Revolution’, sees the Time Lord thrust into an adventure as they seek to rescue Bel, who has been kidnapped and escorted to a world where everything is named after her.
Ahead of the episode’s airing this weekend, the first reactions for ‘The Robot Revolution’ have landed, with the general critical consensus being that the instalment is a breezy affair despite its relative narrative familiarity.
You can read a selection of reviews below:
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What to Read Next
The Times
“It is a fun, fast-paced hour of TV, laced with trademark Davies wit and the joyous surprises you expect from a man who still clearly longs for that blue box to come and sweep him far, far away.”
Variety
“‘The Robot Revolution’, an initially predictable plot has an unexpected and pretty ambitious twist in the third act, which it manages to land. The last few seconds of the first episode are particularly spine-tingling.”
TechRadar
“‘The Robot Revolution’ gets Doctor Who season 2 off to a fairly strong albeit predictable start. The dynamic between Ncuti Gatwa's Time Lord and Varada Sethu's Bel is already looking and sounding great, but it'll need more than a great lead dynamic to ensure the iconic sci-fi series is back to its very best.”
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Radio Times
“‘The Robot Revolution’ is a fun concept that could have been executed a lot better. Would there have been better ways to start the season? Most certainly. But episode 1 has done its job and now, hopefully, we await more thrilling adventures to come.”
Mashable
“Twenty years after rebooting the show, Russell T Davies launches his boldest season arc yet with a curious take on AI... Davies has given himself a mountain to climb here with a companion who rejects all Doctor Who tropes, including the endearing quips.”
Doctor Who airs on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Classic episodes of Doctor Who are available on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
