Warning: Spoilers ahead forDoctor Whoseason 15, episode 1, “The Robot Revolution.“When the Cybermen appear inDoctor Who, the episodes tend to have certain hallmarks, and “The Robot Revolution” has almost every one while lacking the cybernetic villains themselves.Doctor Whoseason 15, episode 1’s complex timelinedoesn’t feature the Cyberman at all, but it feels very much like an installment that would have suited them. It’s been a while since they last appeared, and it looks as though we’ll be waiting a little longer before we see them again. However, as one of the mostcommonly recurringDoctor Whovillains, they’re a big part of the show’s legacy.
As well as quietly highlighting theconnection between Belinda Chanda and Mundy Flynn- both of whom are played by Varada Sethu -“The Robot Revolution” introduces new settings and charactersthat don’t reference anything from before the era of Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor. That being said, the installment still finds ways to make itself feel oddly familiar, mostly thanks to the incidental nods to the Cybermen.
“The Robot Revolution” Has The Bare Bones Of A Cyberman Episode
Russell T. Davies has written an episode that wouldn’t need much tweaking to feature the Cybermen
Cyberman episodes tend to revolve around a very similar premise. They often begin with a free society that goes on to find itself under the control of the infamousDoctor Whovillains during the course of the story.Doctor Whoseason 2’s “Rise of the Cybermen” two-parter is a great example of this, asDavid Tennant’s Tenth Doctorrescues an alternate version of Earth from this exact scenario. From there, the unfortunate souls of whatever community is oppressed are converted into cyborgs - a process known to the Cybermen as being “upgraded.”
“The Robot Revolution” even goes as far as “upgrading” Jonny Green’s Alan Budd into the AI Generator, making him part man and part machine - just like a Cyberman. Plus, Nicholas Briggs voices both the Cybermen and the season 15 Robots.
When reading down a list of cliff notes that would describe a Cyberman episode, “The Robot Revolution” initially appears to fit into the category.The episode’s Robots are the overlords of the organic beings on Missbelindachandra One, just as the Cybermen have been countless times on Earth and other planets. “The Robot Revolution” even goes as far as “upgrading” Jonny Green’s Alan Budd into the AI Generator, making him part man and part machine - just like a Cyberman. In a way, he becomes the Robots' version of the Cyber-Controller.
Why Doctor Who Couldn’t Use The Cybermen For “The Robot Revolution”
At first,it seems a bit confusing that showrunner/writer Russell T. Davies didn’t just bring back the Cybermento serve the villains in “The Robot Revolution.” Upon further reflection, I realize the main reason why he didn’t, and it comes down to the Robots' relationship with the humanoid inhabitants who live on their planet of origin.The Doctor’s encoded conversation with Belinda in the throne roomreveals that the Robots and Missbelindachandrakind lived in harmony for millennia before the war broke out, and that would never happen if the Cybermen were part of the story instead.
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“The Robot Revolution” needed the arrival ofAlan and his journey to become the planet’s dictator as the AI Generatorto serve as the catalyst that brought about the oppression of Missbelindachandrakind. Plus,the return of the Cybermen is sure to be a landmark occasion whenever it inevitably happens. If they had appeared in “The Robot Revolution,” it would have pulled focus from Belinda’s debut and the mystery surrounding her connection to the Doctor and her place in the show’s canon. So, new characters with less dramatic baggage were introduced instead.
Ncuti Gatwa Still Hasn’t Faced One Of Doctor Who’s “Big Three” Villains
Even though the size of theDoctor Whouniverse allows for infinite possibilities when it comes to new villains entering the fray, the show tends to return to three of them far more often than others.The Daleks are obviously the main villains to have returned countless times, but the Cybermen and thevarious versions of the Masteralso have an impressive number of appearances. Despite their frequent resurgences since evenDoctor Who’s classic era, Gatwa’s version of the Time Lord hasn’t encountered any members of the otherwise ubiquitous trio.
Hopefully, Gatwa gets to do battle with one of the big three before he steps away asDoctor Who’s leading man.
Other than the Doctor’s reunion with theToymaker (Neil Patrick Harris)in “The Giggle” and Sutekh’s return at theend ofDoctor Whoseason 14, pretty much every other bad guy with whom Fifteen has crossed paths has been completely original to Gatwa’s era. This could be to keep the show more accessible to new viewers, but that also means they’re missing out on a big part of the long-running British sci-fi show’s history. Hopefully, Gatwa gets to do battle with one of the big three before he steps away asDoctor Who’s leading man.
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“The Story and the Engine”
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