The newest season of Doctor Who opens as the series often does — with an unsuspecting human stumbling into some alien strangeness that doesn’t make any sense until an odd yet charming Time Lord shows up in a police box ready to save the day. The premiere episode, “The Robot Revolution,” feels like classic Doctor Who as it pits the Doctor and his new companion against an army of killer machines from another planet.
## The Robots’ Motivations
For most of the episode, you’re led to believe that Belinda’s robot captors are just hunks of metal hoping to use her presence as a way to quell a pesky, human-ish rebellion. But in its closing scenes, “The Robot Revolution” flips the script by revealing that Missbelindachrana-1’s machine overlords are actually acting on orders from Al, who has turned himself into a human-machine hybrid hellbent on merging with Belinda because he thinks he’s entitled to do so.
## Critiquing AI and Incels
AI and incels have both been the subjects of fierce debates over how society is changing and the role technology plays in radicalizing people. But rather than just treating AI as being innately malevolent, Davies felt that it was important for “The Robot Revolution” to dig into the ugly facets of society that are coded into AI by dint of it being a human creation. It’s not just that the robots of Missbelindachrana-1 are evil — Al’s long-standing resentment of and desire for Belinda are foundational parts of them.
## The Doctor’s Mission
“Everything I write has to have some of the modern world in it, because that’s the entire reason and purpose of science fiction,” Davies explained. “If you look at those who are programming AI and wonder about their nature, that leads you very swiftly through the stages of what Belinda discovers on the planet Missbelindachrana-1.”
## Confronting Racism
In an upcoming episode, the duo are travelling through time to Miami circa 1952, and while Belinda’s “absolutely wide-eyed at that,” for obvious reasons, the journey forces her to confront the era’s racism. “What Belinda hasn’t thought about, especially because she’s a British woman, are the segregation laws of the time,” Davies said. “Brittain’s not without our problems in this country, but we never had segregation laws like the US did in 1952, and that becomes a very interesting story that’s also very classic Doctor Who in that there’s a monstrous being on the loose.”
## Conclusion
In “The Robot Revolution,” Davies uses the Doctor and Belinda to explore the darker aspects of society, including the ways in which technology can be used to further harmful ideologies. By confronting the uglier aspects of human nature, the episode offers a thought-provoking commentary on the state of our reality.
## FAQs
Q: What is the main theme of “The Robot Revolution” episode?
A: The episode explores the darker aspects of society, including the ways in which technology can be used to further harmful ideologies.
Q: What is the significance of Missbelindachrana-1’s machine overlords?
A: The machine overlords are acting on orders from Al, who has turned himself into a human-machine hybrid hellbent on merging with Belinda because he thinks he’s entitled to do so.
Q: How does the episode critique AI and incels?
A: The episode critiques AI and incels by showing how they are connected to the way people relate to the world around them, and how they can be used to further harmful ideologies.
Q: What is the significance of the upcoming episode set in 1952 Miami?
A: The episode will explore the era’s racism and segregation laws, and how Belinda will confront these issues as a British woman traveling through time.
