Series 8 Script Analysis: Robot of Sherwood

Richard Forbes is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Richard Forbes continues his study of Series 8’s leaked post-production scripts. Past articles from this five part series include:

Series 8 Script Analysis: Deep Breath
Series 8 Script Analysis: Into the Dalek

Robot of Sherwood brings us to the sunny greenery (too green?) of Sherwood Forest; a tale of heroes and the folklore which follows in their wake. It’s been an absolute pleasure to review this script — an opportunity to see the inner workings of Mark Gatiss’ story and learn from his technique and quirks, however inimitable, but also an opportunity to appreciate its joy and light heart.

Robin of Sherwood

Robot of Sherwood is an anomaly in, not only Series 8, but Doctor Who, the show, in that it centres around, not a historical event or a real life figure, but a fictional character from outside Doctor Who. Robin Hood, the historic outlaw, may have been a real life person (as historians still debate) but for Robot of Sherwood, Robin Hood presents itself as a challenge – hundreds of years of retelling the tale of Robin Hood, thousands of recitations, countless performances as the greatest archer of the land has left Robot of Sherwood’s script and its writer, Mark Gatiss with the difficult challenge of unpacking that mythology and capturing a story, a retelling of Robin Hood which is universal, compelling, fun and most importantly, true to the show, Doctor Who.

Ask yourself, what is your connection to Robin Hood? What’s the most memorable performance of Robin Hood? When you think of Robin Hood, who and what do you think of? Perhaps your culture touchstone to this beloved character is… Errol Flynn? We all have different understandings of what the character entails, that is: what Robin Hood should be like, because we’re inundated with different versions, different retellings of this same legendary tale. Younger readers might be familiar with the BBC’s recent Robin Hood series featuring Jonas Armstrong or Russell Crowe’s glum turn as the prince of thieves or Kevin Costner’s take on Robin Hood.

I ask this question because it serves as an important preface to a discussion on Robot of Sherwood: this is a character so mythological that any depiction of him is bound to disappoint someone, such that the writer must simply be satisfied with meeting expectations of most viewers. In many ways, it’s like trying to win over an entire fanbase with a single performance as the Doctor (comparisons between Robin Hood and the Doctor are in no short supply with this script) when we have different expectations for a portrayal of the Doctor. When thinking back on my childhood, my own acquaintance with Robin Hood and its legend is a pretty uncultured one: Disney’s take on Robin Hood (1973), full of adventure, laughs and led, of course, by an anthropomorphic fox with an oddly clear and present sex appeal.

This is how the post-production script for Robot of Sherwood introduced its Robin Hood:

THE DOCTOR

(CONT’D)

No pretty castles. And no such thing as Robin Hood!

Thwakkkk!

FX: The arrow thuds into the TARDIS door, missing THE DOCTOR’s face by an inch.

He whips round. Standing on the other side of the glade, quivering bow in hand is a strapping, handsome, devastatingly sexy young man in beautifully cut Lincoln Green tunic, feathered hat and tights. He smiles a winning smile and winks.

ROBIN

(OS)

You called?

10:02:21 TITLES SEQUENCE INCUT TO:10:02:54

It’d be unfair, grossly unfair even to criticize Tom Riley’s performance as Robin Hood for not staying true to the script. Rather, whatever misgivings you might have for his performance are better directed towards Mark Gatiss himself since Riley executed and perfectly breathed to life the character as written in the post-production script: an impossibly handsome, charming hero with a keen sense of mischief and a thirst for social and poetic justice. It’s a Robin Hood that fits for what it is that Robot of Sherwood strives to be; not a dark or deeply historical take on the folklore but a breezy, fun adventure which captures the contemporary essence of the legend – hitting those fundamental, universal expectations we might have of a Robin Hood tale (e.g., merrymen, shenanigans, laughter, golden arrows, archery) but draped in colour and the quirky science and fantasy of Doctor Who. The spirit of this world, Gatiss captures with only a few lines when he introduces Sherwood Forest below.

THE DOCTOR

(CONT’D)

But you’ll only be disappointed...

DISSOLVE TO:

10:01:49 EXT. SHERWOOD FOREST. GLADE -DAY 1

A babbling stream with a ‘bridge’ across it -in fact little more than a log connecting each bank. On the far side, a beautiful, sylvan glade, bathed in Hollywood sunshine. Everything is a saturated, Technicolour green.

Suddenly, the TARDIS materialises in the shade of a huge oak tree. The deer bolts.

THE DOCTOR

(O.S.)

No damsels in distress.

Take care in noticing in just a few sentences how Gatiss can paint such a pretty iconic and memorable world – it’s an introduction filled with wit for the reader (a ‘bridge’) and a clear, almost Disney vision of Sherwood Forest for the director to produce for viewers at home which Paul Murphy does competently. Gatiss always writes throughout his script with such powerful language: a ‘babbling’ stream, ‘Hollywood’ sunshine – his masterful vocabulary and good judgement allows him to say precisely what he wishes to convey in a few words with precision and poetry. That dangerous double act of artfulness makes for an expert style of prose which would be nigh impossible to achieve with a mere amateur’s imitation.

Take for example the scene below.

10:05:45 EXT. SHERWOOD FOREST. VILLAGE -DAY 1

A scream!

A village green. In stark contrast to Sherwood Forest, this is a filthy, muddy, Gilliam-esque place of crook-backed medieval houses. Skinny dogs and ducks roam everywhere.

From out of a guildhall troop three KNIGHTS, followed by a fat, distressed man, QUAYLE. The KNIGHTS are dressed in the classic chain mail and tabard of the Knights Templar with bucket-like helmets which totally obscure their faces. Between them, they’ve taken prisoner a young woman, QUAYLE’s WARD -and are carrying wooden boxes.

QUAYLE

I beg you! Stop! Stop this! Please! By all that’s holy. Take our monies. Our treasure.But spare my ward!

We begin with naught but a scream (note how this is indicated with a simple ‘scream!’ – no ‘a-aaaaah’ from Gatiss). Again with only a few, wisely chosen words, the author can very expertly paint the scene of a dingy, oppressed village – the word I’m most drawn towards is Gilliam-esque. An actual word (if you were wondering, Pythonesque is also in the Oxford English Dictionary too), Gilliam-esque conjures up the image of filthy, frightfully muddy peasantry in this context; a reference to Terry Gilliam, one of the members of Monty Python, whose penchant for surrealism and a keen artistic vision has been admired for years. Here especially, Gatiss is likely referring to the village life depicted in Monty Python and the Holy Grail whose grubby peasants were the butt of several jokes. There’s also just some wonderfully colourful words there to describe the dilapidation of the props and scenery in the scene like ‘distressed’ and my favourite, ‘crook-backed’. You can pick up a lot from a screenplay like this one; words you may find yourself using in an everyday context, this is … if you don’t mind looking too pretentious!

As this scene continues Gatiss introduces the Sheriff of Nottingham too.

SHERIFF

(O.S.)

Would you now?

QUAYLE whirls round. Seated on a magnificent horse is a magnificent man. Tall, dark and moodily handsome, he’s dressed all in black. This is THE SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM.

SHERIFF

(CONT’D)

Or are you as milk-livered as your name suggests, Master Quayle?

With a magnificent parallelism, the description begins. Take note of how an introduction to a new character in a script, the reveal that is, of a pivotal character (a legendary one in this case) can be done as Gatiss has with plain but dramatic exposition: ‘THIS is the ….’ Likewise, keeping with Gatiss’ penchant for a well phrased description, the phrase ‘moodily handsome’ perfectly invokes the instability of his Sheriff of Nottingham, played so convincingly by Ben Miller – Gatiss writes him as a man who would be attractive if not for his moody demeanour which swings from anger to ambition at the drop of a hat. Another word of Gatiss’ that I’m quite fond of is ‘fey’:

Next a slightly fey man with a lute steps forward.

ROBIN

Er, this is Alan-a-Dale. A master of the lute and with the voice of an angel.

He beams and plays a sweet chord on his lute.

Speaking here of the story’s lutenist, the word ‘fey’ could mean a few things: it could be a reference to the fact that the Doctor suspects he will die soon, it might also be a reference to powers of a visionary or more likely that he presents himself in a ‘otherworldly air or attitude’. A word, cleverly chosen, can express what might otherwise take several sentences to convey.

Such words are sprinkled through Gatiss’ work.

Quick cut-away of ROBIN shooting a venomous look at THE DOCTOR.

THE DOCTOR

(CONT’D)

I honestly think me might die of sheer fright. Like a tiny, shivering little mouse.

ROBIN gives a mutinous growl as part of his moaning, an attempt to warn THE DOCTOR.

THE DOCTOR

(CONT’D)

Oh dear, I think he’s soiled himself.

Here a ‘mutinous growl’, a curious Victorian phrase, displays Robin’s growing ‘mutiny’ with the Doctor and his approach for misleading the jailer. As the scene continues their situation does not improve, however…

THE DOCTOR

No, I’ll get them.

They move as one towards the keys -but manage to knock them across the floor.

They try again – both men’s boots banging into the keys – which skitter over the grating of a drain!

The keys are balanced precariously over oblivion –

-and then fall.

There is a distant plop of the keys landing in water.

The two men: aghast.

THE DOCTOR

(CONT’D)

Well there is a bright side.

ROBIN

Which is?

THE DOCTOR

Clara didn’t see that.

It’s worth mentioning the precarity that the author captures (‘over oblivion’). He spaces out the action with an expert’s approach; here developments as they arrive are shown as a kind of slug, one line after an another – each space allows for the script to be read at the pace for which the scene would develop at – to be read as it would be seen. Gatiss is not just a visual writer and a wordsmith, however. He seems to especially be focused on the sounds of a scene, as shown in other excerpts above, where he’s indicated screams and various sounds, so much so, even that part of the experience of reading Robot of Sherwood is its foley and its onomatopoeia. With some imagination we can hear the sound of the key grating against the drain before splashing in the waters below. A brief note of exposition, ‘the two men:’ then shifts the focus, demanding a close-up in fewer words, to show their horror.

What Mark Gatiss accomplishes with this surprisingly rewarding screenplay to read is to write a screenplay that reads from front to back with a quickened pace; it’s tightly woven and kinetic – it’s as if it knows precisely what it is: a fun adventure to fill the spaces between the premiere and Moffat’s Listen and it does so, determined to make the journey a pleasant one indeed. There’s no time to waste for such a busy story to tell, so the episode dives right into its set-up. I suppose that’s what I personally admire about Robot of Sherwood, its unpretentiousness; the story begins with no convoluted backstory as to why the characters are here, it begins instead with a simple question: where in all of time and space do you wish to visit? And Clara answers. You would think a moment like this would be common in the TARDIS, after all the Doctor and his companions are always travelling, yet Robot of Sherwood is one of the few stories which depicts these jaunts across the universe earnestly, even innocently.

10:00:00 INT. TARDIS-DAY 1

THE DOCTOR

Take a punt!

THE DOCTOR is in the upper gallery of the TARDIS, eating a yoghurt and scribbling impossible equations on his blackboards. CLARA is below, by the console.

CLARA

(OS)

Right.

THE DOCTOR

Your choice. Wherever. Whenever. Anywhere in space and time.

CLARA

(shyly)

Well. There is something. Someone... I’ve always wanted to meet. But I know what you’ll say.

THE DOCTOR stops writing, looks down.

THE DOCTOR

Try me.

CLARA

You’ll say he’s made up. That there’s no such thing...it’s...it’s Robin Hood!

Beat.

THE DOCTOR

Robin Hood?

CLARA

Yeah!

CLARA

(CONT’D)

I love that story. Always loved it. Ever since I was little.

THE DOCTOR

Robin Hood, the heroic outlaw who robbed from the rich to give to the poor?

CLARA

(giggles)

Yeah!

THE DOCTOR

He’s made up. There’s no such thing.

He scrapes out the last of the yoghurt, pockets the spoon and carries on scribbling.

CLARA

You see!

THE DOCTOR

Old fashioned heroes only exist in old fashioned story books, Clara.

CLARA

What about you?

THE DOCTOR

Me?

CLARA

Yeah, you. You stop bad things happening. Every minute of every day. That sounds pretty heroic to me.

THE DOCTOR

(shrugs)

I’m just passing the time. Hey, what about Mars?

CLARA

What?

He flips the blackboard. There’s a chalk drawing of a vast honeycombed structure.

First, I must again emphasize how sudden an introduction this scene serves as to begin the story and launch us into its narrative; a simple ‘take a punt’ is all it takes for Robot of Sherwood. But also: using parentheses underneath the dialogue, as Gatiss has here, gives the cast and crew some subtle hints as to the delivery and the movement of his characters. You can easily place the ‘shyness’ of Clara’s response, her giggles, the Doctor’s shrugs – elements of the performance that help to sell the innocence of the scene. These kinds of directions through parentheses can come to shape a scene. Although writers, especially amateurs oft overuse them. When Robin comes to explain his circumstances to Clara, once more Gatiss makes use of these directions to their fullest effect:

He looks deep into CLARA’s eyes. She looks back.

CLARA

Why are you so sad?

ROBIN

Why would you think me sad?

CLARA

Because the Doctor’s right. You laugh too much.

ROBIN

I do not live this outlaw life by choice, my Lady. You see before you Robert, Earl-

CLARA

Earl of Loxley!

ROBIN

(puzzled)

Yes.

CLARA

Sorry. Do go on.

ROBIN

I have my lands and titles were stripped from me when I dared to speak out against Prince John. (sighs) But I spoke too late. And lost the thing most dear to me...

CLARA

What was she called?

ROBIN

So very quick! How does the Doctor stand it?

CLARA

Marian?

ROBIN

You know her?

CLARA

(Smiles, so happy -it’s all true)

Oh, yes, I have always known her.

ROBIN

It was Marian who told me that I must stand up and be counted. But I was afraid. Now this green canopy is my palace and the rough ground my feather bed. One day, perhaps I can return home. Until then, until that day it is beholden on me to be the man Marian wanted. (His hand strays to the locket round his neck) To be a hero for those this tyrant Sheriff slaughters.

Suddenly THE DOCTOR looms up in between them.

The smiles and the direction concerning their eyes directs the focus and the mood of the scene. The author goes to the length even of describing the motivation behind the happiness of Clara’s mile. As the scene advances the production notes indicate that Robin’s mood ‘brightens’ too…

ROBIN

(brightening)

Well, you must excuse me!The Sheriff has issued a proclamation. Tomorrow, there’s to be a contest to find the best archer in the land! And the bounty: an arrow of pure gold!

CLARA

NO, no, don’t go! It’s a trap!

ROBIN

Of course it is! But I can never resist a challenge! A contest to find the best archer in the land?

(To his men)

Why, there is no contest!

Parentheses can also indicate that a speaker is talking to someone in particular as Robin is here with his merrymen.

Action, nevertheless, is a key component of this post-production script. The sword fighting bookends the story and captures the spirit of the story; its light, romantic air.

The sword fighting can be dramatic, but here, with its ‘spoon fighting’ it serves as a bit of slapstick for audiences:

THE DOCTOR

(CONT’D)

En garde!

ROBIN laughs -and they set to.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sword hits spoon. Back and forth they go over the log bridge. ROBIN lunges, THE DOCTOR parries. He’s coolly, casually absolutely brilliant at it.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

CLARA

(impressed)

You’re...amazing.

THE DOCTOR

I’ve had some experience.

(shrugs)

Richard the Lionheart...

Clang!

THE DOCTOR

(CONT’D)

Cyrano de Bergerac...

Clang!

THE DOCTOR

(CONT’D)

Errol Flynn.

Clang!

THE DOCTOR

(CONT’D)

Had the most enormous –

Clang!

THE DOCTOR

(CONT’D)

-ego.

CLARA

Takes one to know one.

THE DOCTOR executes a neat move, trips up ROBIN and sends him into the stream with a huge splash!

CLARA

(CONT’D)

Doctor...

Once more Gatiss paints the scene with close attention to the sounds of the scene. The author leaves the specifics of the action, the choreography, to the imagination and more importantly, the expertise of a fight director. Besides, a screenplay would be poorly paced if each strike and blow were described. Instead, this script ‘clangs’ along, measuring the fight with the sounds of clanging metal rather than a more precise exposition. Gatiss demonstrates that nothing particularly specific needs to be written, instead each ‘clang’ paces the scene – one line after another – spaced not with pauses but stage combat. The romance of Gatiss’ script is also, present, however with its camera direction; the drama of the episode’s final swordfight, a classic encounter between the Sheriff and the prince of thieves begins with a curious production note:

ROBIN

(O.S.)

Too kind!

They all look up.

HERO CLOSE UP. In the minstrels’ gallery at the top of the huge banner stands -ROBIN!

ROBIN

(CONT’D)

And this legend does not come alone!

A ‘hero close-up’ here is one way to mark the arrival of Robin; a rare direction which indicates special attention towards the hero in a light that obviously highlights their heroism – a towering, imposing shot to lead Robin into battle. While Gatiss uses camera directions far less than other writers in this series, certainly there are some interesting choices in Robot of Sherwood as far as directing how the episode should look is concerned. One transition in the post-production script that I found particularly interesting was a scene where the main characters suffered a blow to the head. You’ve seen these kinds of scenes before… the hero is whapped on the head by surprise:

He looks up as the KNIGHT raises its chain-mailed fist high in the air.

Then brings it down on the back of THE DOCTOR’s neck.

BLACKOUT

And groggily, the main character awakes…

10:33:37 EXT. SHERWOOD FOREST. ENCAMPMENT -DAY 3

CLARA’s blurred POV. At last she comes round. ROBIN is towards her, toying with the golden arrow from the tournament, his face expressionless.

CLARA manages a weak smile.

CLARA

Hi.

ROBIN

The time for games is over.

CLARA looks worried.

CUT TO:

I just found it especially interesting to see how simple the script had made it to express such a transition; no particularly drawn out prose, just a ‘BLACKOUT’ and an indication that the scene was from a character’s POV served as an adequate production note. One similar production note that made me snicker was from an earlier scene (see below) as the author describes a montage of media.

FX: His fingers dance again and the screens before them are suddenly filled with images of ROBIN HOOD. Storybooks, (non-copyright) movies, engravings, paintings. On and on and on they go.

THE DOCTOR

(CONT’D)

Ship’s data banks. Full of every myth and legend you could hope for. Including...Robin Hood! Friend of the poor!

Copyrighted material poses a serious challenge for screenwriters and here Gatiss is covering his butt, so to speak, by avoiding specifying any particular versions of Robin Hood – all of these decision have to be made later by the director – writers as such, avoiding copyrights and song rights and royalty fees etc., rarely if ever specify the appearance of, say, particular tracks or outside media.

As with all of these post-production scripts, however, they do go to great lengths to aid in the actors and actresses’ performance; these notes give insight into the characters’ thoughts or their motivations in a scene and help a performer capture the spirit of a scene even more precisely but the notes are also just rather interesting too for the casual reader. Like, for example, when Clara is frustrated with Robin and the Doctor, Gatiss goes out of his way to describe in what way she presents her anger:

On CLARA: at frustration boiling point!!The words now rip from her – full on schoolteacher!

CLARA

(Roaring)

Will. You two. SHUT!!! UP!!!!!

They both fall into startled silence. Look at her.

Here the camera direction signals a focus on Clara, describing her delivery as resembling a frustrated schoolteacher. It’s notes like these that I find give me a better feel for Clara, the character. Perhaps because we weren’t introduced to ‘Clara the Schoolteacher’ first, but only later introduced to this new Clara (so to speak) really in Deep Breath (although we saw her teaching earlier in The Day of the Doctor), I often forget Clara –is— a schoolteacher and it’s through moments like these, hints through delivery that the author intends to remind audiences of just who the Doctor is dealing with for a faithful companion. Other notes don’t have to be so final, so to speak, however.

SHERIFF

Tell me yours!

CLARA

Oh, but you have to go first.

SHERIFF

Why so?

She leans into him, a little flirtatious. Perhaps runs a finger round his jaw.

CLARA

Because great men always precede.

While the above is a bit unusual as far as this series of scripts are concerned, I find it interesting that the author is essentially requesting that a gesture be tried, although ultimately leaving the decision on whether to keep it up to other authorities – presumably, Gatiss was unsure whether a stroke of a finger might look too flirtatious or be too much on screen. Ultimately, Gatiss’ reluctance to print the stroke proved right since in the final cut of the episode, the crew decided to use a shot of Clara simply touching the Sheriff’s hand instead.

We see Gatiss’ wit in full display earlier with some smashing exposition for the classic ‘Golden Arrow’ tournament, too. Once more, a universal aspect (the tournament) of Robin Hood retellings, retold here with Gatiss’ own breezy, casual wit and charm…

The target is shifted quite a way back.

The SHERIFF takes out an arrow and expertly threads it into his long bow. He pulls back the bowstring and aims, narrowing his eye. The crowd are hushed, expectant.

He fires. And hits the bullseye first time! The crowd cheer.

ROBIN steps forward. There are murmurs from the crowd. Surely he doesn’t stand a chance?

SHERIFF

(CONT’D)

Now, tinker. Let’s see your true face...

ROBIN takes out an arrow from his quiver and prepares to fire. In the crowd, CLARA looks on anxiously.

CUT TO:

The bowstring creaks. ROBIN’s eye narrows.

CUT TO:

Whoosh!

FX: We follow the arrow as it shoots through the summery air –

– and it splits the SHERIFF’s arrow in two!

CLARA spontaneously applauds.

The SHERIFF scowls.

ROBIN turns to CLARA and winks, devastatingly.

CUT TO:

HERALD

Ye Gads! He has split the arrow! Truly, he is the finest archer in all England!

The crowd cheer.

I love too how this scene is paced; it’s always parsed one moment at a time. It’s ‘He pulls back the bullstring…’ then ‘the crowd are hushed, expectant’… then ‘he fires’ and, as if waiting for the result to unfold, Gatiss responds in kind with the following sentence ‘And hits the…’ – the pacing here allows the reader to visualize the action unfolding as if it is happening because not only is it told in a fluid, present tense but it’s almost told as a kind of running commentary. As if even the author doesn’t know what’s coming next, that is, until it’s come. This scene has all the earmarks of Gatiss’ style; the well chose prose, the handsome phrases (‘devastatingly’) and the occasional sound effect. Note how Gatiss controls the focus of the scene from quick references (‘In the crowd…’) to more direct exposition like ‘We follow the arrow…’ – this latter line marked with an FX indicator is a reminder to all writers to bear in mind the feasible of their scenes; here Gatiss has indicated that, although it may be a practical effect, some kind of special effect will be needed to accomplish the splitting of an arrow – a miraculous feat, indeed!

Sometimes to control a scene’s focus too, the use of CUT TO, as Gatiss has done here, can indicate a new moment in a scene’s development and complement a fast moving scene. The exposition of these scripts though is what I really what I enjoy; here Gatiss describes the thoughts of the murmuring crowd in plain detail (‘Surely he doesn’t stand a chance?’) and in scenes like below, the author seems to enjoy witty exposition – a laugh or two – at the expense of its characters; here he mocks Robin’s disguise:

He throws off his ‘disguise’.

ROBIN

(CONT’D)

Robin Hood!

The crowd go mental. Cries of ‘ROBIN!’ ‘Tis ROBIN Hood!’

Special to Robot of Sherwood, however, among these leaked scripts is an unreleased scene. While shooting scripts normally contain some scenes that go unused in the final product (filming extra ensures that after editing, a show’s length isn’t too short – reshooting is an outcome that production teams want to avoid, after all.) However these scripts are the last place I would look for deleted scenes since these scripts are, as I’ve noted, not shooting scripts but post-production scripts and appear to have been edit to be accurate as far as the final version is concerned with one significant exception. As some of our readers may know, a brief scene (shown below) which features a beheading was left on the cutting room floor out of respect for Steven Sotloff and James Foley; journalists tragically beheaded by ISIS.

ROBIN

No. I rather think it’s you that’s facing the final curtain!

The SHERIFF turns to see THE DOCTOR tearing down the tapestry. In one elegant gesture, he flings it over the SHERIFF. He flails helplessly around.

ROBIN seizes the SHERIFF’s sword and, swinging it round in an enormous arc, decapitates the SHERIFF!

His head, wrapped in the tapestry, rolls across the floor. The SHERIFF drops to his knees –

CLARA

Brilliant, Robin, Brilli –

FX: -and then the SHERIFF’s headless body gets up again!!

CLARA

(CONT’D)

Oh, come on.

FX: The SHERIFF’s severed head rolls from under the tapestry and speaks!

SHERIFF

I forgot to mention, my Lady, that the skyship fell on me. And my rude Mechanicals took good care of me. Very. Good. Care.

CLARA

You’re a robot, too??

SHERIFF

Half of me, my Lady. The rest is talent and pure flair!

FX: The headless body grabs CLARA and points its sword at her throat.

SHERIFF

(CONT’D)

Surrender! Or the wench dies!

THE DOCTOR and ROBIN exchange glances, then –

FX: ROBIN scoops up the SHERIFF’s severed head and tosses it to the headless body – which promptly lets go of CLARA and clicks its head back on!

SHERIFF

(CONT’D)

Thank you!

ROBIN

Call it a sporting gesture!

SHERIFF

And one which will cost you your neck!

He swishes his sword.

Certainly it’s a joy seeing the vision that Gatiss had for the scene here – the shock that the audiences should have felt when the Sheriff recovered from his decapitation is conveyed here in the exposition, exclamations abound. But the real question is whether the deletion of this scene detracts from Robot of Sherwood – whether knowing, that is, the Sheriff’s true nature adds to the story? The following line (‘Half man, half engine’) does make very little sense without the context that this script provides, however, I’m not sure that the deletion of this scene really hurt Robot of Sherwood, perhaps because the damage had already had been done, so to speak. You see one thing I would say is I felt the backstory, the narrative as far as the robots are concerned was undeveloped – so undeveloped even that what little more we learnt of the robots and their intentions wouldn’t have helped. The robots themselves seem to be, as characters, riding on the coattails of the series arc in ‘searching for the promised land’ but provided little in the way of depth or further character exploration. Case in point, the robots aren’t even given a proper name in the script besides the ‘KNIGHTS’; here’s how Gatiss describes them in the script while introducing them to readers –

FX: -and the KNIGHTS suddenly change. Their helmets shift, Transformer-like, revealing blank, scary faces like tomb effigies. A gleaming purple light glows into life within, projecting a cross, like a sniper’s sight onto the PEASANTS.

FX: Purple lasers streak out -boom! boom! boom!

FX: Archery targets burst into flame as the lasers strafe the courtyard. Screams. Panic.

– visual clues here help paint the picture of the robots (which I give credit to the production team for beautifully capturing) with their blank, sepulchral faces that transform and transfix onto their targets with those distinctive laser crosshairs; as we move to a scene featuring the interior of their spaceship, Gatiss goes on to describe their spaceship with a shimmer despite its damaged goods –

10:29:12 INT. CASTLE. ‘BRIDGE’ -NIGHT 2

--into --

The bridge of a spaceship! Instrument consoles glitter and hum. At the centre of the room, a vast sphere like a Sun. It’s cracked and leaking steam.

ROBIN

By all the saints! What is this place?

What should we expect from characters like the Knights in Robot of Sherwood? I do wonder if the story could have been improved with further characterization of the Knights. Perhaps they could have possessed ‘adaptive technology’ – designed to fit in, adapt with local cultures – but even if they’re nomadic, that is, homeless now, robots have to originate from somewhere and they (unless they’re really extraordinary) have to be the invention of someone or something else. Thinking along the lines of adaptive technology, perhaps the Knights were reconnaissance drones from a long dead, abandoned mission. But perhaps, alternatively, it doesn’t matter either way. Gatiss made a conscious decision to cut out an extended backstory for the Knights. Does the story suffer because of said decision? It’s hard to say other than to repeat what I wrote earlier that Robot of Sherwood is a retelling of Robin Hood that aims to please universally and thus, in some ways, the robots of the stories simply serve as an excuse, a quick and easy justification for combining the Doctor Who universe with Sherwood Forest and in that respect, the author succeeded resoundingly with its easygoing, relaxed approach.

My favourite scene comes during Robot of Sherwood’s final moments, a final conversation between Robin Hood and the Doctor.

THE DOCTOR is with the rest of the MERRY MEN, saying goodbye.

ROBIN approaches.

ROBIN

(CONT’D)

So is it true?

THE DOCTOR

Is what true?

ROBIN

That in the future I am forgotten as a real man. I am but a legend.

THE DOCTOR

I’m afraid so.

ROBIN

Good. History is a burden. But stories can make us fly.

THE DOCTOR

I’m still having a little trouble believing your’s I’m afraid.

ROBIN

Is it so hard to credit, that a man born to wealth and privilege should find the plight of the weak and the oppressed too much to bear ...

THE DOCTOR

I know –

ROBIN

... till one night he is moved to steal a TARDIS and fly among the stars to join the good fight.

THE DOCTOR stares at him -what??

ROBIN

(CONT’D)

Clara told me your stories.

THE DOCTOR, taken aback. Almost floundering.

THE DOCTOR

Well ... she shouldn’t have told you any of that ...

ROBIN

Once the stories began, I could hardly stop her. You are her hero, I think.

THE DOCTOR

I’m not a hero.

ROBIN

Well, neither am I. But if we keep pretending to be, perhaps others will be heroes in our name. Perhaps we will both be stories. (Extends his hand to shake the Doctor’s) May those stories never end.

THE DOCTOR shakes ROBIN’s hand.

ROBIN

(CONT’D)

Goodbye, Doctor, Time Lord of Gallifrey.

THE DOCTOR

Goodbye, Robin Hood, Earl of Loxley.

ROBIN

And remember, Doctor. I’m just as real as you are.

A smile between them. Almost complicity.

When Robin describes the Doctor’s tale as beginning as one from ‘wealth and privilege,’ Gatiss invokes the economics of the folklore: a hero forgoes his titles, wealth and riches to help the oppressed. Oddly enough, the ‘folk’ don’t seem to embrace stories of their own helping their own class; a crossing of classes, a valiant and noble sacrifice of a comfortable, privileged position in society is what endears a hero to its people. A socialist might argue this is simply a replication of the class structure: a bourgeois myth (like Gatiss’ reference to Marx’s ‘opium of the masses’) that the poor require the charity, the heroism of members of the higher classes; under that view these legends only serve to lull the masses and reinforce the notion that the poor need to be saved by higher powers and the rich are in some way special and individually significant in any pursuit of justice they may wage. Funny enough, Robot of Sherwood largely avoids depicting thievery, despite it playing an important role in Robin Hood lore; however, I found it especially interesting that the Doctor’s background here was being hinted as being a wealthy one. Given past episodes, especially those with the Master, it’s been hinted that the Doctor lived on a wealthy estate, whereas Listen shows the Doctor living in peasantry and squalor, it could be said then that there are still lots of questions remaining with regards to the early prospects and the circumstances of the Doctor’s upbringing.

Is the Doctor a self-made man or a prince of good fortune?

 

The comparison between Robin Hood and the Doctor however is central to Robot of Sherwood and in this scene, the author lays out that comparison through Robin as a voice for those thoughts. The comparison works on two levels: a meta-discussion on Doctor Who and as insight into heroism as an idea. With regards to the former, Robot of Sherwood, in making the comparison between its two classic heroes, reminds us that the Doctor could grow and survive as a folk story for generations as Robin Hood has. About heroism, Gatiss also makes a very brave point: that even if we may not always be convinced we are the good people that others think we are, the inspiration it brings can ultimately change the world for the better. The message that Robot of Sherwood departs us with is a simple one, that a hero is the sum of the good deeds he or she inspires others to pursue. It’s an important step in the Doctor’s series long self-inquiry which finally culminates with the ‘I’m an Idiot’ speech in Death in Heaven.

I gained a lot more respect for Mark Gatiss and his approach to writing for Doctor Who after reading this gorgeous post-production script; it’s frightfully witty and (deceptively) makes the task of writing such an episode out to be such a breeze. For whatever reason, be it resources, time, energy, an album is made of songs we might consider ‘A’ and ‘B side’ tracks – Gatiss has time and time again been given the challenge as he was here with Robot of Sherwood to write some of the ‘B stories’ of Doctor Who, the filler episodes perhaps, between the most anticipated of stories. After reading Gatiss’ work in all of its cleverness, I have to admit I wonder if that’s been a waste of his potential, but regardless we have these stories now to enjoy, fun in and of themselves, like Robot of Sherwood which ‘whooshes’ along here as its script does, full of humour and adventure, before ending as all good storybook tales should: happily.

ROBIN

Marian?

ROBIN races towards her and they kiss.

Then ROBIN breaks away, laughing in his hearty way.

He jumps up onto a rock, hands on hips. Then he threads an arrow into his bow and fires it. We zoom along its length as he shoots it towards the camera.

THWAKKKK!!

The post Series 8 Script Analysis: Robot of Sherwood appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.