Doctor Who 11x07 (Kerblam!) - Review

Promotional Image of the four main cast members (Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill, Tosin Cole and Jodie Whittaker) in Kerblam!

A futuristic and fun episode that truly delivers!

For fans, Kerblam! came as a nice surprise from the heavy drama and difficult stories of last week's episode - Demons of the Punjab. Not only that, but it gave Series 11 an episode that felt like it came straight from the Russell T Davies era. This outer space Amazon proved a great setting for a tense roller coaster of an episode with great visuals, spooky robots and a terrific cast.

Jodie Whittaker continued to shine in this episode proving to the audience that she is the perfect fit for The Doctor. Not only did she give a child-like charm, she gave a tense, no nonsense performance that really made her the stand-out character like you'd expect The Doctor to be. Not only that, but her supporting cast (her friends) were also not wasted with each one having a different role in reaching the resolution of the episode  and everyone got their fair share of screen time.

Even though the episode seemed quite straight-forward to begin with, there are some twists along the way that are rather difficult to pick up on and act as a surprising and entertaining addition to the plot which further carries the beauty of this episode. Pete McTigue, a long time fan, made an episode that felt so New Who that it could've easily fit with an episode in David Tennant's tenure. This sort of story is something fans appear to have loved for that very reason.

Julie Hesmondhalgh in a promotional image for the episode, playing Judy Maddox.

Now, the supporting cast of this episode were particularly great. Julie Hesmondhalgh, the head of people, was a particular delight. Whenever she appeared, I couldn't help but watch her. Whether it's just due to how she looks or I'm subconsciously thinking back to when I cried over her when she portrayed Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, she was a delight on screen. She offered an innocent and positive character that had both love and determination and it just worked so well.

Now, to the robots. These robots were terrifying and everything made them the enemies of the story, from the incidental music, to the head tilts when they appeared on screen. This carried a constant tension throughout the episode and meant that even in more dialogue heavy scenes there was still apprehension and fear being carried. I do think they were a little underused, following a trend that has appeared throughout series 11, but there's reason to it.

Of course, I try to keep my little reviews as spoiler-free as possible so there's not much detail I can go into regarding the narrative, but it is definitely worth the watch! Overall, the episode has a great cast, great story and some pretty menacing robots. It's as Doctor Who-y as you can get!

Oh! Remember. If you want it, Kerblam it!

SCORE - 9/10