Amazon. Space Amazon but Amazon nonetheless, that’s what Kerblam is, if you somehow didn’t get that from the almost Fallout-like on-the-nose metaphors. The truth is, “Kerblam!” is the type of over-the-top Russell T Davies-style nonsense Doctor Who that I wanted from Jodie’s run in the first place, just a fun adventure. Listen, if Alexx and everyone else can say Final Fantasy VII is perfection itself for its corporate terrorism, I can say the episode where there is pro-humanist terrorism to put a dent in Space Bezos’ bank account (Come on Jeffrey, you can do it!) is at least a fun but flawed watch.

In essence, the Doc doesn’t have Prime (and is missing out on some games), so she’s getting her order of a Fez two regenerations too late for that phase of her fashion decisions. I know it is an aside, but I wouldn’t mind Ncuti’s signature headwear being one of those bigger and puffier newsboy caps. Tangental fashion show over, notes are coming with every order from the warehouse of this space Amazon, reading: “Jeff doesn’t give me enough of a break to poo, please help me.” You know the drill: Sci-Fi show covers the topic of corporate greed and mass capitalistic industrialization ruining the lives of employees, and thus, the adventure begins!

I don’t need condoms and The Amazing Space Race with every artist’s drawing of a post-apocalyptic murder bot, I just need “and we’re off” to get us on our merry way. I do think some re-writes could have been done to Pete McTighe’s “Kerblam!”, but for the most part it was what I’ve been crying out for following a great opener, a brilliant historical (or two), and now we’ve had the fun one. We’re 7 episodes in, and it shouldn’t have taken that long, but that was emblematic of the Chibnall era (blessedly it all ends Sunday!).

So let’s get to the point and call out what is truly the worst thing about space Amazon: People who just want to have their rights, what a bunch of 10% having ingrates! Wait, what? Yes, the episode that is very much showing all the horrible corporate imagery of unfettered capitalism in electric tags tracking workers and minute-by-minute productivity checks which is the presumptive villain in any Sci-Fi story is in fact the good guy? I haven’t checked, but the BBC isn’t funding Doctor Who off the back of Jeffrey’s $177 billion, so I don’t get the sudden reveal of Charlie being the villain.

I would say I hate to suggest these things, but that would be a lie. A quick rewrite could have made that point much more salient, or more aptly, McTighe could have done what all Sci-Fi does and avoided the unnecessary twist. One that doesn’t feel like the story progressed naturally but through the hands of a writer. Even the end as it stands, when Jodie’s Doctor uses a teleport to get all organic lifeforms out of the basement level except one, this reinforces that anti-worker mentality and this Doctor’s skewed morality. A story where a worker’s acts of terrorism for their rights could be done well, but 85-90% of this story wasn’t that, and that’s where the problem emanates.

I genuinely love Kira, I love Judy, I love Dan, and I even love the Kerblam Man because they are all bursting with that beautiful RTD level of personality in such a short time. Of course, it was a very Russell thing to do to have a character pop up and be so wholesome, so lovely that you can’t help but hope they’ll be by the TARDIS at the end, and they are instead mulch 20 minutes later. Unlike the last few episodes, there was energy, character agency, and overall a purpose to the dialogue for the most part that we haven’t seen for a while.

To make my point crystal clear, I only remember Karl, Robertson, as well as Prem, and the only reason for remembering Prem is because he was Umbreen’s husband. I can’t remember the name of the space racist from “Rosa,” the guard from “Arachnids in the UK,” or anyone from “The Ghost Monument” and “The Tsuranga Conundrum,” but here I remember everyone and their last names. Ten characters in total and everyone gets their moments, even Yaz and Ryan serve a better purpose than lethargically parroting the exposition. It is still there, don’t get me wrong, but it flows and feels more natural than what we’ve seen before in this series.

When this era is all said and done, I will absolutely be coming back to “Rosa,” “The Woman Who Fell to Earth,” “Fugitive of the Judoon,” “It Takes You Away,” and mostly, “Kerblam!” I’d love to say there was more I’d rewatch but the truth is this series, series 12, Flux, and the specials are either downright crap or too heavy to enjoy the same way we’ve done with other series. Someone must be annoyed I’m comparing eras and series, but I kind of have to because it is the measuring stick; this episode in particular feels as fun and light as “Gridlock” or “Smith and Jones.”

I mentioned before it felt very Fallout-like, and not just because of the metaphors for Amazon but because the Kerblam Man design itself is very creepy but made to look appealing to humans. It is the smile, glowing eyes, and nose that yet has that whirring blades of death thing Codsworth had about him in Fallout 4, not necessarily threatening to you but in a minute it might be. None of which says anything about the light resemblance he has to the Bus Conductor in “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy” from the McCoy era. It is a fantastic design.

Beyond the aforementioned issue of how the ending felt forced, I think the way the Doctor is being portrayed not just here but all over her run is awful. Holding Twirly she’s able to teleport all organic life on the platform of the basement away from the explosion, but she couldn’t have extended that range with the screwdriver to pick up Charlie too? This is what I mean by skewed morality. Instead of him facing consequences for his actions, he’s going to be treated as a martyr because he dies, yes to his own ploy but he lacks a proper telling-off. There is a lack of authority in Jodie’s Doctor due to the characterization, and it is off-putting when she’s the only one.

Ultimately, despite an ending that felt about as natural as Chris Chibnall’s disposition for exposition, “Kerblam!” is everything great about Doctor Who. From references to older episodes worth reminding people of to characters from this series finally feeling like they have a place in the plot. McTighe would go on to work with Chris again due to this, sadly leading to “Praxeus,” but if he could bring something of this energy to Doctor Who again, I wouldn’t mind having him return.

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Doctor Who "Kerblam!"

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Finally a fun RTD-like episode!
• The Kerblam Man
• Everyone, even Yaz and Ryan, being used well.

Cons

• A twist that wasn't progression of the plot but written in.
• Very anti-worker out of nowhere despite the imagery.