Episode #75 : Robot

"You know, just once I'd like to meet an alien menace that wasn't immune to bullets."

Episode 75:    Robot.
Companions:  4th Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.
Air Date:        Four episodes. 28th December 1974 to 18th January 1975.

A newly regenerated Doctor joins UNIT in an investigation into the theft of top secret plans and equipment from supposedly secure premises. Sarah discovers that the raids have been carried out by a robot invented by scientist Professor Kettlewell while he was working for Think Tank, a body involved in developing emerging technologies.

The first adventure for Tom Baker involves a robot and yet another conspiracy to take over the Earth. This time the villains are a bunch of scientists who feel that only the intelligent should rule, and to achieve this aim they are prepared to destroy the world with an arsenal of nuclear weapons. Which to me seems pointless because then there won't be anyone for them to rule. Otherwise a good start to the 4th Doctor's extensive run on the show.

Tom Baker brings a fantastic character portrayal to the screen from his first confused post-regeneration lines. I have always felt that the 1st Doctor was simply an eccentric old man but, depending on cause of regeneration, each subsequent one has been more mad rather than eccentric. The 4th Doctor, especially, certainly is not playing with a full deck and it works so well. I'm sure that it must have taken some getting used to by the audiences who had previously watched Jon Pertwee's more restrained performance only a few months previous.

The story itself isn't too bad but it does plod along in places making it feel much longer than it actually is. When I re-watched the story recently in preparation for writing this, at one point I thought I was on part 5 when it was the start of 4! That is how it felt. Another minor niggle is the continued references to green/environmental issues as part of the background. There seems to be a lot of that going around in stories recently and in this it had reached the saturation point for me (though I am watching these in quick succession to be fair). There comes a point where the writers do need to find something else to present as a contemporary point of reference.

On a high note however, the Doctor and Sarah are joined by a new companion, Harry Sullivan. Harry is a UNIT medic and helps them throughout this story, and is then tricked into the TARDIS when the the Doctor and Sarah take flight. Harry is one of my favourite companions so I'm looking forward to re-watching the next few stories.