Doctor Who Review: Smile

Hello again everyone, hope you’re all having a positive day!

Today’s post is my review of Doctor Who, Series 10, Episode 2, Smile (over a month late!). As usual, I warn you not to read on if you haven’t seen the episode because this post does contain SPOILERS!  

EMOJI ROBOTS

Sinister, creepy, human-killing robots have been a staple of science fiction for decades, and Doctor Who is no exception to this, with the Hosts, the Kindness Robots and the Daleks among others to appear over the years.

DW has always seemed to stay away from the conventional sci-fi bad robot concept, which has made for some unique stories throughout the show’s history. However, this episode followed the classic concept of evil robots whilst putting its own stamp on it.

The emojibots are creepy machines used to help the human race colonise other planets. They were supposed to be programmed to keep humans happy but instead they kill anyone who isn’t happy and grind them up for fertiliser.

Not only are the robots creepy (aren’t they all?) but unlike other robots, they don’t really speak which makes them even more terrifying. They just switch their emojis, which through the power of suggestion makes us realise something sinister is about to happen.

All in all, though the idea of evil robots is simple and has been done so many times before, the emojibots are still the stuff of nightmares and induce that same sense of fear of robots that we all have deep down.

BILL

This is Bill’s first trip with the Doctor, not only to another planet, but also into the future. It is clear from her journey through this episode that she expects it to be bright and wonderful, but what she discovers, as all previous companions have, is that it is completely different.

SCENERY

I must say that the scenery in this episode is stunning.

The futuristic white steel buildings made for a perfect setting for this episode, and were spot on for an episode set on a distant human colony of the future.

For those who wanted to know, the Spanish city of Valencia is where you can find the beautiful buildings used as the backdrop for Smile. Kudos to the DW location team for finding this incredible place and getting permission to film there.

Overall, a classic piece of sci-fi mixed with the unique features of a Doctor Who episode, with a stunning backdrop to match.

8.5/10

Thank you for reading. You can let me know your thoughts on this episode in the comments or via my social media links (left-hand side of the page). I will catch up on all of the other reviews soon, so keep an eye out for those.

Until my next post, keep active, keep smiling, and above all, keep believing!