Off Grid

"The Company does not tolerate terrorists."

Writer: Sarah Grochala

Format: Audio

Released: June 2021

Series: The Robots 4.02

Featuring: Liv, Tula

Synopsis

When a Supervoc is found on the streets, claiming responsibility for a recent explosion, it's clear to Liv and Tula that the Sons of Kaldor are attempting to frame robots for their murderous attacks. But where are they? And how to stop them?

As they try to smuggle the Supervoc out of the city, it's clear that finding the enemy will be the least of their worries as tonight... the lights are going out.

Verdict

Off Grid was a great episode to continue my way through the fourth series of The Robots! This was a really strong story and whilst they've been an ever-present across this spinoff range so far, I really liked how there was a firm focus on the Company here. Touching upon the history of Kaldor and how the Company asserted control from the Founding Families and them now wanting to get that control back was really intriguing and I'm very excited to hear how things tie together as we head into the finale. Liv got a glimpse of hearing the name Toos mentioned and it seemed to all make sense for her as things click into place. I think she's a great character and now questions are beginning to be asked of her presence on Kaldor. How could she get back when there is no record of her returning? I think that's fun to play around with and it put Tula in a pretty difficult situation as she could hardly reveal that she was back via TARDIS! I wonder if more will come of that moving forward. Tula being accused of being a member of the Sons of Kaldor was good and I thought Skellen filled the role of villain pretty well even though this didn't have a traditional bad guy plot. This was more of an exploration and story advancement episode which was absolutely fine. It was a thoroughly enjoyable fifty minutes on Kaldor and I'm loving the continuation of the world building here. It's ripe for growth and getting to learn more about during Liv's time there is excellent. I thought a Robot claiming responsibility for an explosion was good and was obviously designed to rile up anger and resentment against them, but Liv and Tula knew better and could tell that the message was preprogrammed. I wasn't expecting to hear Vash Sorkov once again and Liv's reaction said it all there but I loved that he returned here after an apparent demise. Jon Culshaw delivers his line with such poise and he really does draw you in as the listener. His consciousness survived in another body now and that was a theme that was very much present throughout. Robots literally replacing the organics is a big threat and I like that it's being brought to the forefront, albeit a little slowly. Pace is good in bringing the anticipation. I thought the smuggle mission was good stuff and Liv surviving on more than one occasion by explaining how the Robot was locked to her own voiceprint was nicely done. She was calm under pressure. Jadia accompanying her was a strong character too and I liked her role in exploring the position of the Company. Skellen having second thoughts was intriguing and I really like the political situation on Kaldor at the moment. The atmosphere is tense and there really is a lot going on with the Sons of Kaldor looming in the background. I thought the prospect of Tula getting her hands on the emergency power source was played out very nicely too. Was she playing for it? I liked that it could have gone either way as the situation was desperate. SV49 was terrific here and I just like the simplicity of the Robots. They are logical and that's that. The semi-cliffhanger finish in having Liv and Tula separated was good stuff and things are definitely heating up. A great listen as we head into the finale! 

Rating: 8/10