The Robot Revolution

Written by Russell T Davies

"Doctor, I told you - get me home!"

When robots from outer space kidnap nurse Belinda Chandra, the Doctor embarks on an epic intergalactic quest to get his new friend back home to Earth.

Plot

Seventeen years ago, Belinda Chandra received a gift from her boyfriend Alan Budd – a star certificate. It denoted Belinda as the owner of a star in her name, “Miss Belinda Chandra”. And, halfway across the galaxy, a chain of fateful events was put in motion...

In the present day, Belinda, working as a nurse in a London hospital, narrowly misses running into the Doctor, who is searching for someone at the hospital just as she is leaving. That night, a rocket lands in Belinda’s back garden – and two massive red robots, claiming to be from the star system of “Missbelindachandra”, abduct her and the star certificate. Hot on their heels, the Doctor pursues the robots’ ship in his TARDIS. However, as Belinda demands that the robots find Alan instead (as he originally bought the star), both vessels fly through a time fracture, causing time to go “schwup”, separating the ships mid-flight.

Belinda and the robots land in Missbelindachandraville, a futuristic city in the midst of a civil war. Belinda is greeted by Sasha 55, a humanoid native to the planet, who exalts her as “the one true queen” of Missbelindachandrakind, and informs her that the Missbelindachandrabots are to be obeyed in all things. Sasha also (quietly) asks for Belinda’s help. Belinda learns that she has been brought to the planet to marry and “merge” with the robots’ overlord, the Great A.I. Generator, to bring peace between the people and robots of the planet.

When Belinda objects, Sasha introduces the planet’s historian, the Doctor (who has been waiting six months for Belinda’s arrival due to the time fracture), to explain. He shares the history of the ten-year conflict and, due to a fault in the robots, is able to hide a message from their scrutiny in every ninth word he speaks. The Doctor’s secret message signals to the rebels to begin fighting back against the robots; and, as the Doctor leads Belinda to safety, he watches on in horror as Sasha, his friend since his arrival, is killed by a Missbelindachandrabot.

Hiding in the undercity with the rebellion, the Doctor and Belinda are properly introduced. The Doctor notices the Great A.I. Generator possesses the same star certificate as Belinda, from another point in time, and surmises that the time fracture they experienced has changed something in the planet’s history, causing the uprising ten years ago. Before they can get any answers, Belinda deliberately activates Scoot, the Polish-Bot, in order to be discovered by the Missbelindachandrabots, asking to be taken to the A.I. Generator to avoid further bloodshed.

Upon confronting the robot overlord, the A.I.Generator reveals that “A.I.” is actually “AL” - short for Alan! Revealing the man within the machinery, Alan claims responsibility for beginning the robot revolution ten years prior. After Belinda had told the robots to find him, they went back to Earth and captured Alan though, due to travelling through another time fracture they returned ten years in the planet’s past. Alan’s upgrade into the machinery caused him to go mad with power, commanding his robot army to turn on the people of the world before seeking out Belinda to become his cyborg bride.

With the help of Scoot, the Doctor and Belinda use the two star certificates to create a paradox, ripping through both Belinda and Alan’s timelines. The Doctor manages to pull Belinda to safety but Alan is reduced to a microscopic state, which Scoot makes quick work of cleaning up! With the Great A.I. Generator vanquished, the war between the robots and Missbelindachandrakind ends.

Returning to the TARDIS, the Doctor invites Belinda along for more adventures. Keen to show off his time machine, he reveals that he has met one of Belinda’s future descendants, Mundy Flynn. However, Belinda declines the invite, eager to return home. But when attempting to return to Earth on the date of her departure, the 24th May 2025, the TARDIS is unable to land. What could possibly have happened to the Earth after Belinda left...?

Concept Art

Behind the Scenes

• The Robot Revolution is Varada Sethu’s debut as new companion Belinda Chandra. Varada previously played the role of Mundy Flynn in the Season 1 episode Boom, a detail which is referenced in this episode.
• The robots were designed by Neil Gorton and his team at Millenium FX. The design of the Missbelindachandrabot suits require performers of similar height and build to operate.
• The Missbelindachandrabots were voiced by Nicholas Briggs, who is well-known for voicing other iconic characters in the Whoniverse such as the Daleks and Cybermen. 

Credits