Written by Terrance Dicks, Sydney Newman, and Donald B. Wilson
Directed by Christopher Barry

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series which has been around off and on since 1963. The main character is just known as “The Doctor” and is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. This means he travels through time to various places. One of his favorite places to visit is Earth. Typically, he has a companion traveling with him, usually female, sometimes male, sometimes one of each. He travels in a time machine known as a “Tardis” which is disguised as a British Police booth.

A Time Lord can regenerate if fatally wounded, which has accounted for all the different actors who have played The Doctor throughout the years. In this episode, the Doctor is portrayed by both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, although Pertwee appears only briefly in the beginning. His traveling companion is Sarah Jane Smith (portrayed by Elisabeth Sladen). Harry (portrayed by Ian Chesterton) is hanging around as well.

The Doctor was previously injured in the previous story-arc and we witness him regenerate. Both Sarah Jane and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (portrayed by Nicholas Courtney) witness this regeneration. Lt. Harry Sullivan (portrayed by Ian Marter) is summoned to deliver the recovering Time-Lord to the medical facility.

However, the recovery time allotted the Doctor soon is short. The planet is in peril once again. It would seem that the plans for a weapon capable of disintegrating anything within its range have been stolen. The Brigadier manages to get Sarah Jane into Think Tank, which is… well, a think tank. The problem is that the people in Think Tank are actually behind the theft of the plans, as well as the components to make the disintegrating weapon.

To accomplish this, they have stolen a robot. The robot reminds me of the creature from Lost In Space. It’s clunky and not a believable threat. But it’s what we get in Robot. Will the Doctor come around in time to prevent the world from being held hostage by a renegade group of scientists? Or are Sarah Jane and the Brigadier on their own?

Robot has some great moments. It was getting to be time to get the Doctor away from UNIT in the series, and this was done magnificently, giving him two traveling companions in the process. Tom Baker brings a degree of fun back to the Doctor, right off the bat. His disorientation is immediately evident, and as he tries to decide what his new appearance means, he tries on a variety of clothing options, each more unusual than the last until he finally settles on the familiar overcoat, scarf, and hat. You can see how this Doctor will not fit in with UNIT the way his predecessor did.

But almost immediately, Baker is in form as the character. His performance is surprisingly in line with the way he portrays the character throughout his run. If anything, he becomes more bombastic as time goes on and is more subdued here, although it is a huge departure from the overall serious nature of John Pertwee’s Doctor.

I like Sarah Jane more here than later in the series, despite the hideous dress she wears. Sarah seems to be the independent, self-assured woman we see again when her character is resurrected in 2006. Elisabeth Sladen seems to be relishing her role here, and rightfully so.

Although the robot looks hardly like a threat throughout Robot, it’s one of those things where if you love Doctor Who you just sort of buy into it. Where the story-arc becomes laughable is when it grows to an enormous size and does a King Kong impression, taking Sarah Jane in its hand. What it’s holding is obviously a doll dressed in the same hideous dress, and I actually laughed out loud watching this part. The reactions of the rest of the cast are obviously filmed separately and superimposed together later on. I could forgive that if the effect wasn’t so ridiculous to begin with. This whole section of the story should have been jettisoned.

Other than that, the story is predictable but plays well. After a while, many of the episodes of Doctor Who seem formulaic, and this one is true to form. I knew most of what was going to happen after the first few minutes. The only relief from the predictability proved to be Baker’s moments of humor that changed the character’s direction quite nicely.

The DVD release is good. The print has been restored and it looks and sounds good. There are some nice special features, including commentary with Baker, Sladen, Producer Barry Letts and Writer Terrance Dicks. It proves to be entertaining and it’s nice to hear Sladen and Baker’s thoughts on working together here for the first time.

Despite that, Robot is not a must-see. Fans of the series will want to see the regeneration and Baker’s performance is well worth viewing. The story is lackluster and predictable; the effects border on pitiful. What saves it from not being recommended are the performances. The actors give it their all and try to make us believe the unbelievable. They should get an award for their effort.



SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Commentary with Producer Barry Letts, Writer Terrance Dicks, Tom Baker, and Elisabeth Sladen
• Informational Text
• Are Friends Electric?
• The Tunnel Effect
• Blue Peter
• Photo Gallery
• Radio Times Listings