The Robots of Death (TV story)

Summary
The Fourth Doctor and Leela land in the cargo hopper of a Sandminer, whose crew are being murdered one by one. Suspicion falls on the two visitors, but they are freed by Poul. He reveals that he is an undercover policeman sent to locate a mad roboticist named Taren Capel, whom he believes to have infiltrated the Sandminer. Unfortunately, Poul suffers a nervous breakdown upon learning that the murders are being committed by robots reprogrammed by Capel. It is revealed that Capel has assumed the guise of Dask, the ship's engineer. However, the Doctor manages to trick the robots into killing Dask by using helium to alter the madman's voice, so the robots don't recognize him..

Cast
The Doctor - Tom Baker

Leela - Louise Jameson

Uvanov - Russel Hunter

Toos - Pamela Salem

Dask/Taren Capel - David Bailie

Chub - Rob Edwards

Borg - Brian Croucher

Cass - Tariq Yunus Poul - David Collins

Zilda - Tania Rogers

SV7 - Miles Fothergill

D84 - Gregory de Polnay

Robots - Mark Blackwell Baker, John Bleasdale, Mark Cooper, Peter Langtry, Jeremy Ranchev, Richard Seager

Uncredited Cast

Crew
Producer - Philip Hinchcliffe

Script Editor - Robert Holmes

Writer - Chris Boucher

Directors - Michael E Briant, Peter Grimwade

Designer - Kenneth Sharp

Costume - Elizabeth Waller

Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson

Enemies
Taren Capel posing as Dask, and his reprogrammed robots.

Story Notes
This is one of the few stories to include an attempt by the Doctor to explain the TARDIS's dimensionally transcendent status, using an analogy involving two different-sized boxes.

Broadcast Dates
Episode 1 - 29th January 1977, 6:20-6:45

Episode 2 - 5th February 1977, 6:30-6:55

Episode 3 - 12th February 1977, 6:20-6:45

Episode 4 - 19th February 1977, 6:25-6:50

Duration
4 half-hour episodes.

Continuity

 * This episode is the last one in which the wood-panelled TARDIS control room appears.


 * The characters from this episode reappear in several of Chris Boucher's later novels, starting with Corpse Marker, and continuing in the Kaldor City spinoffs.


 * The Doctor uses a respiratory bypass system to avoid inhaling helium in the story climax.

Cultural References

 * The Doctor claims that it is aerodynamically impossible for bumblebees to fly.

Influences

 * This story was obviously based on Isaac Asimov's Robot mysteries, such as I, Robot. In particular, the human/robot police duo Elijah Bailey and R Daneel Olivaw from Caves of Steel and its sequels may be the inspiration for the Poul/D84 pair. Promiment mention is made of Asimov's First Law of Robotics: "A robot may not harm a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm."


 * Another inspiration for the story was Agatha Christie's novel, Ten Little Indians, in which several people on an island are murdered one by one.


 * The Sandminer setting is based on Frank Herbert's Dune.

Quotes
"Please do not throw hands at me!" - D84

More Info

 * Story Synopsis


 * Story Transcript


 * Story Novelization


 * DVD Release


 * Video Release