When the Doctor gets a message asking for help she accepts to do something about it and she takes her companions (Graham, Yaz and Ryan) to investigate the warehouse moon orbiting Kandoka, and the home of the galaxy’s largest retailer. An institution fully automated, run by a system using robots, but it’s forced to hire 10% of its employees human – the law says that and the human in the management enforce this even the activities could be automated too.
One man is not please with it, he wants more jobs for people and more money for them, and he kills people to get what he wants: to discredit the company and to make it hire more people to replace the robots considered inefficient. But the system reacts to this and it tries to stop him, including by calling for specialized help like the Doctor.
The episode could be better. There was mystery, there was surprise (the identity of the terrorist), there was tragedy (some innocent people dead), but the action was lazy. Again. And the characters of the plot (it was more like a plot than a detective story solving a mystery) ignore some elementary things when they had to get into places they shouldn’t have. The episode was more for kids than for fans of all ages (as other episodes of this series) searching more or less to get new fans for the show.
Directed by Jennifer Perrott, written by Pete McTighe.
Cast: Tosin Cole (Ryan Sinclair), Callum Dixon (Jarva Slade), Leo Flanagan (Charlie Duffy), Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan), Matthew Gravelle (Kerblam (voice)), Julie Hesmondhalgh (Judy Maddox), Claudia Jessie (Kira Arlo), Lee Mack (Dan Cooper), Bradley Walsh (Graham O’Brien), Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor).
Next episode, The Witchfinders: arriving in 17th Century Lancashire, the TARDIS team become embroiled in a witch trial. With the arrival of King James I, the hunt for witches intensifies. However, could something more dangerous be at play? Can the Doctor, Graham, Yaz and Ryan keep the populous of Bilehurst Cragg safe from the forces surrounding the land?