Reseña de Doctor Who ‘La Revolución de los Robots’: Conoce a Belinda Chandra El comienzo de cualquier temporada de Doctor Who es importante, doblemente importante cuando hay una nueva coestrella que presentar. “La Revolución de los Robots” tiene que lograr que nos enamoremos de Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu), atrapar a nuevos fans y mantener enganchados a los que ya existen. Especialmente porque es la segunda de dos series que Disney pagó, lo que significa que tiene que funcionar lo suficientemente bien para mantener el flujo de dinero. Abrimos “hace 17 años” con Belinda Chandra mirando las estrellas junto a su novio, Alan Budd (Jonny Green). Es una cita adolescente incómoda, con Alan claramente tratando de ganarse el corazón de su amada comprándole uno de esos certificados de adopción de estrellas. En 2025, Belinda es ahora enfermera en un concurrido hospital de Londres donde, en segundo plano, el Doctor la está buscando. Belinda regresa a casa a dormir, y vemos que tiene el certificado de propiedad de la estrella enmarcado en la pared. Pero es despertada bruscamente por un escuadrón de robots retro-futuristas de los años 50 en un cohete Tintin que han venido a secuestrar tanto a ella como al certificado. El Doctor llega a su casa justo a tiempo para ver despegar el cohete, y comienzan los créditos iniciales. El certificado no era un regalo de broma, y ella es en realidad la reina del planeta BelindaChandra, poblado por los BelindaChandrianos (a partir de ahora los humanos). El Doctor persigue en la TARDIS pero tanto el cohete como la TARDIS quedan atrapados en una fisura temporal vagamente definida. Cuando Belinda llega, es recibida por la humana Sasha55, quien le dice que los robots están a cargo, habiendo derrocado y subyugado a la gente en un sangriento levantamiento una década antes. «Esto es un poco como ‘Jupiter Ascending'», escribí en mis notas. Belinda es llevada a una sala del trono donde le dicen que debe fusionarse con el malévolo superordenador gobernante del planeta, el Generador de IA. El Generador de IA, todo formas de cráneos y bobinas de Tesla, tiene la intención de fusionarse con Belinda. Se le muestra una demostración animada de su destino, mientras es envuelta en piezas de máquina y convertida en un cíborg inanimado. «Eso es como la parte aterradora de ‘Superman III'», escribí en mis notas. ¿Quién ha estado acechando en el fondo de la escena todo el tiempo? El Doctor, quien ha adoptado el título de Historiador Planetario. (Gracias a la fisura temporal, llegó aquí seis meses antes del cohete, los Robots se apoderaron de la TARDIS y ha estado trabajando con la rebelión. ¡Incluso tiene una nueva compañera, Sasha55, a quien prometió llevar a las estrellas cuando todo termine!) Él le dice a Belinda que los robots no pueden, por alguna razón, escuchar cada novena palabra pronunciada, y le da un mensaje codificado diciéndole que él, y la rebelión, están aquí para rescatarla. En la pelea subsiguiente, Sasha55 es vaporizada, para horror y pena breves del Doctor. Los rebeldes sobrevivientes, junto con un pequeño robot Roomba asignado para limpiar el camino de la Reina Belinda… «Como el robot limpiador de pisos M-O de Wall-E», escribí en mis notas. … escapan a un teletransportador, después de lo cual el Doctor desactiva el Roomba para asegurarse de que los robots no puedan rastrearlos, luego besa al ‘bot a modo de disculpa. Luego llega el momento de que el episodio se detenga mientras vemos al Doctor y Belinda interactuar adecuadamente por primera vez. El Doctor fue informado sobre la situación de Belinda por alguien de su futuro, y no puede decir más para no confundir las líneas temporales. Si el guion es la parte más débil del episodio, entonces el diseño de producción tiene que llevarse la corona a la parte más fuerte. Los robots retro-futuristas evocan un brillante Ford Thunderbird rojo o un Chevy Bel Air mientras que el robot limpiador está claramente diseñado con inspiración en un VW Beetle. Es un diseño bastante humanista que desearía que los fabricantes de robovacs de hoy emularan. Como mucha de la era Disney de Doctor Who, “La Revolución de los Robots” se siente sobrecargada hasta el punto de reventar. Por un lado, nada se queda más de lo necesario. Por otro lado, parece que el programa está quemando a través de una trama que valdría para una película a toda velocidad. Es difícil tener una sensación tangible de las apuestas dadas las prisas con las que todo se desarrolla, y hay mucho de contar, en lugar de mostrar. Nos dicen que el planeta está bajo el brutal pulgar de un malvado tirano pero se muestra como pequeñas naves rojas disparando a edificios en las pinturas digitales. Nos dicen que Alan es un cretino pero nunca realmente obtenemos una sensación de eso hasta después de que sea revelado como el villano. Nos dicen que el Doctor está operando con instrucciones de una figura de su propio futuro, pero sería agradable si algo de esto se representara. Davies fue fundamental en revivir Doctor Who y construir el gigante cultural que se convirtió bajo su liderazgo. Su papel en la historia del show está asegurado pero, aun así, sus series de la era Disney parecen estar cautivas del trabajo de su propio sucesor, Steven Moffat. “La Revolución de los Robots” presenta un macguffin encontrado dentro de un trinket mundano, una narrativa dividida y travesuras con el tiempo. No es que Moffat posea estas ideas pero casi se siente como si Davies estuviera tratando de doblar su estilo menos formal, más centrado en los personajes en algo más. Un cínico podría sugerir que Davies está reaccionando al desaire de no tener un solo episodio acreditado en la encuesta más reciente de la revista Doctor Who Magazine de los mejores episodios de la serie, mientras que Moffat tiene cinco. De hecho, no me sorprendería si la naturaleza un tanto frenética y desigual de este guion es un ardid deliberado para sentar las bases para el resto de la temporada. Pero, aun así, se siente un grado de esfuerzo por un modelo de narración que no termina de funcionar. Si el guion es la parte más débil del episodio, entonces el diseño de producción tiene que llevarse la corona a la parte más fuerte. Los robots retro-futuristas evocan un brillante Ford Thunderbird rojo o un Chevy Bel Air mientras que el robot limpiador está claramente diseñado con inspiración en un VW Beetle. Es un diseño bastante humanista que desearía que los fabricantes de robovacs de hoy emularan.

Spoilers for “The Robot Revolution.”

The start of any season of Doctor Who is important, doubly so when there’s a new co-star to introduce. “The Robot Revolution” has to get us to fall in love with Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu), ensnare new fans and keep existing ones hooked. Especially since it’s the second of two series that Disney paid for, meaning it’s got to do well enough to keep the money flowing.

We open “17 years ago” with Belinda Chandra staring at the stars next to her boyfriend, Alan Budd (Jonny Green). It’s an awkward teenage date, with Alan clearly trying to win the heart of his beau by buying her one of those star adoption certificates. In 2025, Belinda is now a nurse at a busy London hospital where, in the background, the Doctor is searching for her.

Belinda goes home to bed, and we see that she’s got the star ownership certificate framed on her wall. But she’s rudely awoken by a squad of retro-futuristic ‘50s robots in a Tintin rocket who have come to abduct both her and the certificate. The Doctor reaches her home just in time to see the rocket take off, and cue the opening credits.

The certificate wasn’t a gag present, and she is actually queen of the planet BelindaChandra, populated by BelindaChandrians (I’m calling them humans from now on). The Doctor gives chase in the TARDIS but both the rocket and TARDIS get caught in a vaguely-defined time fissure. When Belinda arrives, she’s greeted by the human Sasha55, who tells her the robots are in charge, having overthrown and subjugated the people in a bloody uprising a decade prior.

“Oh, this is a bit like Jupiter Ascending,” I wrote in my notes.

Belinda is taken to a throne room where she’s told that she must merge with the planet’s evil ruling supercomputer, the AI Generator. AI Generator, all skull shapes and Tesla coils, intends to bond with Belinda. She is shown an animated demonstration of her fate, as she is wrapped in machine parts and made into an unthinking cyborg.

“Oh, that’s like the scary bit from Superman III,” I wrote in my notes.

Who’s been lurking in the background of the scene all along? The Doctor, who has adopted the title of Planetary Historian. (Thanks to the time fissure, he arrived here six months ahead of the rocket, the Robots seized the TARDIS and he’s been working with the rebellion. He’s even got a new companion, Sasha55, who he’s promised to take to the stars when this is all over.) He tells Belinda the robots can’t, for some reason, hear every ninth word spoken, and gives her a coded message telling her he, and the rebellion, are here to rescue her. In the ensuing fight, Sasha55 is vaporized, much to the Doctor’s admittedly brief horror and grief.

The surviving rebels, along with a little Roomba bot assigned to clean Queen Belinda’s pathway…

“Oh, like the floor-cleaning robot M-O from Wall-E,” I wrote in my notes.

… escape to a teleporter, after which the Doctor disables the Roomba to ensure the robots can’t track them down, then kisses the ‘bot by way of apology. Then comes time for the episode to stop while we see the Doctor and Belinda interact properly for the first time. The Doctor was told about Belinda’s plight by someone from their future, and he can’t say more lest he muddle the timelines.

The time fracture both vessels passed through has caused plenty of time-bending issues, like the fact the robots have their own copy of Belinda’s star certificate. But it’s not a copy, it’s the same object from another point in time, and nobody knows how or why they have it. Belinda, like Ruby Sunday before her, is trope-aware enough to know that two of the same object from different points in time cannot occupy the same space, lest it cause an explosion.

“Oh, like in Timecop!” I wrote in my notes.

There are wounded at the base, and Belinda instantly kicks into nurse mode, grabbing IVs and treating patients. She’s quick to take charge and has no patience for nonsense, quick to defend herself from any hint of condescension when the Doctor suggests something “timey-wimey” is going on. She refuses to allow anyone to fight her battles for her and is determined to grab the narrative and shape it her way, no matter the cost. So, she sneaks off, reactivates the Roomba and offers herself to the robots in exchange for them sparing the lives of the rebels.

Belinda and the Doctor are taken to meet the AI Generator which turns out to be… the AL Generator. When Belinda was kidnapped by the robots, she mentioned her ex Alan had bought the certificate, and so they went to kidnap him as well. But the time fracture meant Alan arrived a decade earlier, fused with the machine (becoming a creepy cyborg) and started the robot uprising.

Even so, Belinda’s happy to sacrifice herself to him until she spots Alan holding his copy of the star certificate. She opts to Timecop the two pieces of paper together, causing a big timey-wimey explosion that only the Doctor can pull her out of. Belinda is safe, but the Doctor mentions that he’s now intertwined with Belinda’s timestream. Alan, meanwhile, has been regressed to a sperm on the floor that the Roomba bot quickly mops away.

Reunited with the TARDIS, the Doctor scans Belinda and reveals he’s already met her descendant — Mundy Flynn (also Varada Sethu) from last season’s “Boom.” Belinda may be curious as to how someone that far removed from her may be identical, but she’s not embracing the mystery. She’s angry with the Doctor for scanning her without consent and that he’s treating her like a puzzle to be solved.

Having seen Sasha55 die, she knows trekking around with the Doctor is dangerous, and wants to get back to May 24, 2025. But the TARDIS won’t land on present-day Earth, and even the Cloister Bell begins ringing a warning. They open the TARDIS doors to see empty space before the Doctor decides to take her back home “the long way round.”

Once the ship disappears, a series of objects start to float in front of the camera: A smashed up black cab, the twisted wreckage of the Eiffel Tower, Belinda’s star adoption certificate and a calendar with all the days in May but the 25th ticked off. Uh-oh.

It’s a lot to get through in such a short episode

Like a lot of Disney-era Who, “The Robot Revolution” feels overstuffed to the point of bursting. On one hand, nothing overstays its welcome. On the other, it feels like the show is burning through a movie’s worth of plot on fast-forward. It’s hard to get a tangible sense of the stakes given how rushed everything is, and there’s a lot of telling, rather than showing. We’re told the planet is under the brutal thumb of an evil overlord but it plays out as little red ships firing at buildings in the digital matte paintings. We’re told Alan is a creep but we never really get any sense of that until after he’s revealed as the villain. We’re told the Doctor is operating on instructions from a figure from his own future, but it’d be nice if some of this was depicted.

Davies was pivotal in reviving Doctor Who and building the cultural juggernaut it became under his leadership. His role in the show’s history is secure but, even so, his Disney-era series seem to be in thrall to the work of his own successor, Steven Moffat. “The Robot Revolution” features a macguffin found inside a mundane trinket, a split narrative and time-bending shenanigans. It’s not that Moffat owns these ideas but you can almost feel Davies trying to bend his less formal, more character-driven style into something else. A cynic might suggest Davies is reacting to the slight of not having a single credited episode in Doctor Who Magazine’s most recent poll of the series’ greatest, while Moffat has five.

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the slightly frantic, gappy nature of this script is a deliberate ploy to lay the framework for the rest of the season. But, even so, you can feel a degree of straining for a storytelling model that doesn’t quite work.

If the script is the weakest part of the episode, then the production design has to take the crown for strongest. The retro-futuristic robots call to mind a bright red Ford Thunderbird or Chevy Bel Air while the cleaning robot is clearly styled on a VW Beetle. It’s a rather humanistic design I wish the robovac makers of today would emulate.

Behind the scenes

Doctor Who is a regular source of gossip, especially given the permanently tenuous nature of the star role. It’s easy to say the lead is about to quit and for that to sound true, given they leave after three or four years in the role anyway. There are a number of recent reports suggesting Ncuti Gatwa has already quit the show, or is about to. Many of them also suggest the BBC and Disney are refusing to greenlight new episodes until they see how successful this season is. In addition, the BBC says funding cuts and inflation has seen its budget fall by £1 billion (around $1.3 billion) in real terms since 2010. It doesn’t help that, when asked directly about the future of the series in an interview with (the BBC’s youth-orientated news show) Newsround, Russell T. Davies opted to equivocate in a way that suggests the show is about to back on ice.

I mention this because of the sequence where Belinda defeats Alan with the certificate, and the Doctor pulls her out. He says she needed a Time Lord to absorb the enormous amount of energy kicked out when she touched the paper together. The Doctor then clutched at his back as if he was in a lot of pain, but shrugged it off and was fine for the rest of the episode. Fans with long memories, however, know that absorbing a lot of energy from the time vortex is what killed Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor back in 2005. Well, that and Eccleston’s decision to leave.

Mrs. Flood Corner

It seems Mrs. Flood enjoys moving in next door to whoever is winding up as this year’s companion. While being abducted, she calls to her neighbor to call the police and tell her parents she loves them. As the rocket lifts off, she tells the audience that we haven’t seen her, and goes back indoors to avoid encountering the Doctor, who sprints out in pursuit.

FUENTE