Doctor Who review: Kerblam! captures the Doctor Who formula very well

Kerblam! was quite a successful episode of Doctor Who this week. But why?

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

Kerblam! seemed to be quite the successful Doctor Who episode, based on what our writers think. Was it one of the stronger stories this series?

Kerblam! was quite the enjoyable slice of Doctor Who, wasn’t it? It may not have been one of the greatest Doctor Who stories ever, but it was certainly enjoyable.

It was also rather refreshing compared to other stories this series. We’ve had a nice mix of stories. We’ve had an introduction story for the TARDIS team; a classic space race scenario; a couple of historicals, and even an episode with giant spiders. So there’s been a mix of distinctive Doctor Who there.

And yet, a story about a giant warehouse for an online shopping service felt closer to Doctor Who than arguably any other episode this series. But why?

Was it the nice little references to previous adventures? The episode began with the Doctor getting a brand new fez, a clear nod to her Eleventh self. There was also a nice reference to The Unicorn and the Wasp, and the Doctor even used Venusian Aikido, just as her third self used to.

Or perhaps it was having a larger focus on monsters this story. While we had giant spiders in Arachnids in the UK, they somehow didn’t come across as threatening or creepy as the robots in this story. And it was nice to have creepy robots in Doctor Who again, even if they weren’t the main threat of the episode.

Or perhaps it’s for other reasons that make Kerblam! so distinctly Doctor Who. What do our writers think? Let’s find out.

Was Kerblam! one of the few episodes to get the Team TARDIS balance exactly right?

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

Raphael Kiyani – Contributor

Pete McTighe gets Doctor Who. He understands what makes it tick, what makes it fun, what makes it different to other science fiction properties. That’s the highest accolade I can award Kerblam! – a story that is solidly written Doctor Who. Not mind-blowing or noteworthy, but an honest slice of fun.

As mentioned, when watching Kerblam!, you quickly realise that McTighe is a fan of Doctor Who. Here he nails the essence and feel of what makes the programme special.

It simultaneously feels like New Who and Classic Who – it has plotting elements reminiscent of political serials like The Sun Makers, combined with McCoy era eccentricity (The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, Paradise Towers etc.). This is all underlined with a modern flair and boisterous script that would have fit right at home in the Russell T Davies era.

This is a huge underlying reason why Kerblam! works so well. Will it win any awards? No. Will I be hurriedly recommending it to my friends? No. But it’s a consistently energetic story that captures a classically Doctor Who sense of adventure.

It has a mystery that held my interest, it has stakes and a sense of peril, it has creepy robot antagonists, a cool setting, a quirky but morbid atmosphere and varied supporting characters. It has so many essential components and delivers them well. None of it was particularly special or even eventful, but it did grab my attention and had me grinning.

Like Arachnids in the UK before it, this story contains political undertones. But unlike Arachnids in the UK it didn’t feel tacked on or overly preachy. It was well defined and interwove the sci-fi premise naturally.

Kerblam! effectively critiques large corporations, artificial intelligence and workers rights without feeling shoehorned. The twist that the Kerblam Corporation wasn’t behind the murders subverts our expectations too by portraying a more morally complex scenario. It was a neat touch that allows for some thought provoking discussions after the credits roll.

A variety of characters

There’s a lot going on during this corporate espionage escapade, with a variety of characters interacting with Team TARDIS. In this way, I feel that this story is weakened by the run time. It would have worked better as a two-parter. This would have made me sympathise and care about the supporting characters’ relationships further.

Kerblam! would have benefitted from more world building too as it feels a little insular. More space to world-build would allow the audience to have a better grasp of the citizens and society that the Kerblam Corporation is a part of. It would layer the characters and setting – giving us an insight into their struggles with greater clarity.

Talking of interactions with Team TARDIS, throughout Series Eleven I have felt that our four person dynamic hasn’t worked and has undermined storytelling. McTighe, through some act of genius, has managed to write one of the most balanced stories this series. Each companion has something to do and something to say. This alone makes Kerblam! worth watching as the balance between our companions, and their charismatic dialogue this episode, makes for satisfyingly fun Doctor Who.

In conclusion, Kerblam! is a seriously fun story that serves our companions well and also creates enjoyable supporting characters. The setting and themes are interesting but would have greatly benefited from a longer run time. Kerblam! is bread and butter Doctor Who – not incredible, but a well made piece of science fiction.

Both the regulars were handled well in this week’s episode, and even the supporting characters like Dan stood out.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

Luke Molloy – Contributor

Doctor Who takes on space-Amazon. Were we to get a ham-fisted PC allegory about how bad and exploitive big corporations can be or a simple run-around with creepy robots? Somehow, we ended up with neither and Kerblam! benefited all the more for its uniqueness. This was a solid, entertaining Doctor Who delivery.

After weeks of simpler, more-straightforward stories, it was refreshing to have an episode with a few more items in its basket. People were going missing at Kerblam! and it looked like the robots were to blame. Yet, there seemed to be so many more questions (who sent the message? Why are people going missing? Who’s to blame?) and the Doctor cracked on with the case.

In previous weeks we would have had the questions listed out to us and ticked off one-by-one. It was nice to just zip along with the story for a change and uncover it all naturally with the characters. Although Kerblam! had a similar cast size to Arachnids in the UK, there was a purpose and a point for them to belong in Kerblam! – something I can’t say about the latter.

A strong supporting cast

I really did enjoy the supporting cast too. Lee Mack was fascinatingly sweet in his short screen time as Dan, and Claudia Jessie did such a good job of portraying the innocence of Kira that her sudden death was devastatingly sickening. I’m truly gutted she didn’t survive, and that’s brilliant. It seems like everyone I do care about in this series gets bumped off. (Graham O’Brein – don’t you dare!)

Graham got shifted towards the back of the pecking order this week but Bradley Walsh is so good (something I feel obliged to write every week) that no-one probably noticed.

And when you least suspect it: Good afternoon Yaz! She had more character development in five minutes with Dan than she did in the entirety of her Grandma’s past.

I’m happy to report that there’s positives for the Doctor too. She felt more leader-like and actually saved the day this week (*pulls party popper and Celebrate by Kool and the Gang plays*).

That tougher side of the Doctor was on show – she didn’t waste too much time on convincing Charlie to get away from the bubble-wrap bombs and didn’t waste any-time mourning him once he’d gone. He flagged himself as a creep almost instantly (“have you smelt her?”) but it somehow avoided being suspect – a sign of good writing.

The conveyer belt scene was a favourite of the series and supplied some much-needed action when the episode felt like it was slowing. The effects were genuinely impressive (once again) and it was balanced with Doctor Who-esque humour, with Ryan hi-fiving Charlie down to another belt. Just brilliant.

And the nods to older Who were very much appreciated. The Fez was a welcome reference, Agatha Christie was a pleasing namedrop and bubble-wrap turning out to be deadly… Well it gave this Ark in Space fan a very big smile.

(Not) the robots of not death?

I’ve not even mentioned the robots – the robots were fantastic. It wouldn’t have suited where the story eventually went, but I just wish we’d seen them be a bit more evil. Such a creepy design combined with that wicked voice, it was another element that felt brilliantly old school.

However, it does mean that this is another story in Series Eleven where the monster is actually benevolent, and humans turn out to be the villain. It suited the themes of Rosa, it wasted the Thijarians in Demons and it’s somewhere in the middle for Kerblam!.

It was such a well plotted story that it’s hard to criticise the robots as a waste. For all that, it’s another week this series where I’m pining for a truly evil monster.

By the looks of it Kerblam! is one of the best critically received episodes of this series. The robots’s design and their unnerving presence was one of the best things in Kerblam!.

So, for Series Twelve: how about a sequel set on Kandoka, were the robots have been hacked for evil purposes? Bring them back and make them kill! Delivery killer robots rampaging throughout the galaxy. Order from Kerblam! – your death will be delivered. That would be something to get excited about.

In all, Kerblam! was a great little package in itself. It was unique and sparked with fresh ideas, while echoing everything that is-or-ever-was Doctor Who. For anyone wanting to watch a good instalment of Doctor Who (and especially Series Eleven), I would recommend they add this one to their basket.

4/5

Slade turned out to be quite the surprising character in Kerblam!

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

James Aggas – Site Expert

What a fantastic episode! I really enjoyed Kerblam!, and it could be one of my favorites this series. True, it’s not quite as touching or important as Rosa was. But it was a very strong Doctor Who story. It had an intriguing mystery, some very sympathetic characters, and an excellent Doctor Who monster. Something I’ve been itching for all series.

Admittedly, it was of course revealed that the robots were being controlled by a human villain. And of course, there was also the twist that the System was behind the call for help. But it didn’t take away from just how creepy those robots were. Especially when they arranged the death of Kira, which was a shocking moment.

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Actually, that’s something else I really appreciated about this episode: the fact that it had some very strong twists and turns. There were quite a few moments that genuinely surprised the audience.

Charlie’s motivation for wanting the deaths of so many people might not have been one of the strongest that we’ve had from a villain, but it still felt like a deep betrayal when he revealed himself to be the bad guy after all. We wanted him and Kira together by the end of the episode. It was a bold move to play, but I think Charlie will stick out as one of the more memorable villains this series because of it.

It was also enjoyable watching the episode unfold with plenty of red herrings along the way. Especially with Mr. Slade. It was actually refreshing to see that, despite his rude manner towards his employees in his first scene, he genuinely cared enough about his staff to go looking into their disappearances personally.

One of my favorite one-off characters from the Classic Series is Uvanov from The Robots of Death, for similar reasons. He also started out as a rather nasty, selfish, shallow character, before we gradually saw the hidden depths to him in the final episode.

Slade doesn’t quite match him, but Uvanov had been given more room to develop. And honestly, it’s nice to have a character along similar lines, at least.

Overall, Kerblam! was a very enjoyable Doctor Who story. It was fun and at times even creepy. But it also had the power to surprise and shock the viewer, too. This was a very, very strong script from Peter McTighe, and I really hope that we get a lot more episodes from him in the future.

Next. Re-Watch: Old-school bubble wrap horror in The Ark in Space. dark

Did you enjoy Kerblam! as much as we did at Doctor Who Watch? What was your favorite element of it? Do you want to see more episodes from Peter McTighe? Let us know in the comments below.

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