Disco Werewolves, Venusian Karate and yet another Drill-to-The-Centre-of-the-Earth spiel.
An Einstein impersonator invents a growing robot capable of complex emotions and some entitled scientists direct it to commit robberies in Tom Baker’s debut serial as The Fourth Doctor.
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There’s a new doctor in town and his name’s Harry Sullivan. He’s a medical office with U.N.I.T. and he’s here to look after the titular Doctor, who is getting to grips with a new body after messing the last one up pretty badly.
Meanwhile, there are attacks happening all over and it looks like someone is trying to get their hands on a disintegrator gun, so the Doctor has to come to terms with his new self very quickly in order to help Sarah Jane and U.N.I.T. investigate.
A think-tank organisation seems to be at the heart of everything and Sarah Jane goes into full-on reporter mode. Something smells fishy when she comes across a supposedly abandoned research lab for a robot — but surely it isn’t connected to the aforementioned attacks and she’s reassured there most definitely isn’t a killer robot on the loose.
Would the Doctor agree? Does he even care or is he about to plop off into space-time? Or could he whip up a bucket of robot flu to save the day? Watch and/or listen to find out.
Just stumbled on your podcast… Decided to start at Tom Baker as I watched them as a child, when they first aired and he is ‘my Doctor’.
Not sure if you were aware of the Sci Fi movie ‘Saturn 3′? It starred U.S. actors, including Farrah Fawcet and Kirk Douglas, but was actually a UK production.
This movie was based on an idea by John Barry, an academy award winning British set designer who worked on such biggies as Star Wars and Empire strikes Back.
Anyhow, Saturn 3 shares the trope of ’emotionally clumsy rampaging robot falling in love with female lead’.
It’s also interesting to note that writer Stephen Gallagher who has penned Dr Who serials (as John Lydecker), also wrote the novelisation of Saturn 3.
I wonder if Dr Who Robot and Saturn 3 might have some shared DNA, either via Stephen Gallagher, or John Barry?
The ‘Den of Geek’ blog do an entertaining/informative review of Saturn 3.
Thanks for your podcast,
A.
Hey there,
Thanks for listening. Glad to have you aboard!
That’s some excellent trivia and an interesting connection! I’ve just watched the trailer for Saturn 3. It looks pretty wonderful, like Alien, but with a robot stalker in place of the xenomorph. Count me in! Will try to carve out some time to watch it with about 50 bags of popcorn sometime soon.
Have a good one!
Leon
Robot
I taped this story off of television back in the 1980s. I no longer have that video tape but I must have seen it several times before, possibly a dozen or more. I just watched it for the first time in probably 20-25 years. It held up to my memory of it.
It feels in many ways like a story from the previous Season but features the debut of the 4th Doctor. Looking ahead I was shocked to notice that it was just one of a few 4th Doctor stories that involved UNIT and the only one from the 12th Season set on present day Earth. How is it that the Brigadier never met Leela? Talk about missed opportunities.
Did the Robot have a forcefield? How is it that (in Part 3) that UNIT troops open fire on it when Sarah and Jellicoe are standing right next to it and manage not to hit them? Those UNIT soldiers must be either really great or really poor marksmen.
I love the moment at the end when Harry catches the Doctor and Sarah about to step into the TARDIS and asks them what they are up to. There’s a bit on inuendo in his question as if they are about to step in there for a little hanky-panky. If you watch this episode with the commentary track turned on both Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen knowingly laugh at that moment.
As always, the difference between a really good episode of television (Doctor Who or any show for that matter) and a not so great one is actors who really commit to their roles. This story has great guest appearances from the Brigadier, Benton, Professor Kettlewell, Miss Winters, and K-1 (the Robot).
4 out of 5 confused and easily manipulated robots
Find all my Doctor Who notes here: https://smallscreenscrawls.blogspot.com/p/doctor-who.html