The Robots of Death - Episode 1

This is the 444^th episode of Doctor Who and this is the second story in a row to be written by Chris Boucher and I cant recall a time when an author has written two different stories and had them transmitted next to each other. Ian Stuart Black had two stories during the 1960’s and I think Robert Banks Stewart had the same treatment during previous season but not one after the other. I need this story to pick me back up after enduring Leela’s opening story. This story has a nice base under siege vibe with it which is something that I always approve of. Like the previous story this is another studio bound story but whereas the previous story suffered from this I think that not having any location filming actually helped it.

I have always liked Robots of Death and this has been one of the stories during the Tom Baker era that I have been looking forward to. The Doctor and Leela’s scene in the TARDIS is a good one because the Doctor starts his educating of Leela by explaining why the TARDIS is bigger on the inside. This is slightly ruined by Leela replying with the line “that’s silly”. This episode also marks the last time we see the wooden console room which I think is a shame because it looked very nice and much more visually impressive than the white one we would be stuck with for the rest of the classic run.

Dask is played by David Baille and some people will know him for playing the Celestial Toymaker in a couple of Big Finish plays. Another familiar name is Pamela Salem (Toos) who would appear in ‘Remembrance of the Daleks’ but plays the only other female character (apart from Leela) that isn’t annoying.

This story is essentially a murder mystery spread over four episodes and even though its clear who (or what’s doing the killing) it’s fun watching everyone on the mining ship turn against each other. To be honest most of them are fairly annoying and it will be a good moment when they meet a sticky end or have to endure some misery. The robots themselves are very creepy and I think that its down to the fact that they don’t have any facial expressions and have that rather cold tone to their voice. That’s why they are an effective creation.

This was a cracking opening episode and I have enjoyed this 25 minute episode more than the previous four episodes. It does what an opening episode should do and it does it very well. Ok some of the supporting characters are a bit clichéd and the outfits look rather silly but those are minor issues with what I am sure will be a return to form for the show.