Doctor Who Series 11 Episode Review

Kerblang! - Review

Just last week, Imused on how the revamped Doctor Who has mostly rejected conventional 'Doctor vs the monsters' tales in favour of more obtuse musings on human nature. Repeatedly, the show's played the "It turns out it's man!" card, suggesting it's *us* that are the real monsters.

That's all well and good, but variety has obviously been the show's greatest strength. And if you've been craving something more traditional, then 'Kerblam!' is the special delivery you've been waiting for.

Intercepting a cry for help, the Doctor and pals land on a warehouse moon owned by the galaxy's largest retailer, only to discover that Kerblam has been compromised, with the corporation's delivery bots having gone seriously off-book.

Evil robot postmen is a quintessentially Doctor Who concept from writer Pete McTighe, and it's backed by strong design work – with their fixed grins and glowing eyes blazing through the darkness, the delivery bots manage to be both cute and sinister at the same time.

It's not just these more 'standard' monsters that'll feel familiar to fans, either: there are power drains affecting the Kerblam complex, authority figures in denial over the threat they're facing, and a base under siege (while a picture of the larger universe in which the story is set is painted by exchanges between our leads and the supporting cast).

It's all very trad Who – perhaps not as innovative as other recent episodes, but thoroughly enjoyable. Comparing 'Kerblam!' to 'Rosa' is a bit like comparing comfort food to nouvelle cuisine: two very different experiences, but both wonderful in their own way. And sometimes all you want is comfort food.

Presenting us, and the Doctor, with a more tangible threat also addresses one of the issues that some have had with this series: too few outright villains for Jodie Whittaker's Time Lord to stand up to. She gets that opportunity here, rallying against bullies and injustice and in the process revealing a pleasing steeliness to her Doctor that we've previously only glimpsed.

Having our four leads split up to play detective as they investigate corruption at Kerblam ensures that each of them get a chance to shine this week, while a stellar supporting cast breathe real life and charm into McTighe's one-off characters. Julie Hesmondhalgh brings warmth and endearing eccentricity to "head of people" Judy Maddox (W1A vibes, there), with winning performances from Claudia Jessie and Lee Mack – yes, really – securing instant sympathy for impossibly sweet Kira and good-hearted Dan.

The plot holds genuine surprises, too – 'nice but dim' Charlie (Leo Flanagan) being unmasked as a tech-phobic terrorist, plotting to launch an attack via delivery bot and so erode the public's trust in "imperfect technology", is a terrific twist. All right, so it does mean that, technically, man is once again to blame for all the universe's ills, with the very clear message of 'Kerblam!' being that it's people exploiting systems, rather than the systems themselves, that are the real problem.

But this week we get 'proper' monsters alongside the philosophy, stalking corridors and preying on innocents. And how perfect that, after years of being used behind the scenes in the construction of various creatures, bubblewrap actually gets to be a Doctor Who monster.

The bow on top of this gift of an episode is a satisfying and morally murky climax, as the Doctor is forced to sacrifice Charlie, who's misguided, and has done terrible things, but isn't pure evil, to save many, many more. In fact, the only real bum note comes immediately prior with the death of Kira – in an episode that's otherwise tonally spot-on, having such a sunny, optimistic character meet a grisly demise feels off.

'Kerblam!' remains, though, a near-perfect package, blending action, scares, and just a dash of satire to great effect. (The company at its centre being a thinly-veiled Amazon proxy, there are digs at some of the firm's alleged practices.)

Consider us satisfied customers.

Return next week for Episode 7, The Witchfinders!