Serial: 4A Episode Nos. 382, 383, 384, and 385. Title: Robot
The Doctor, still recovering from his latest regeneration, is nevertheless pressed by the Brigadier into helping investigate thefts of plans for a disintegrator gun that could not have been carried out by a human being. It isn't long before they pinpoint a giant robot controlled by the Scientific Reform Society, but knowing who's doing it and stopping them from starting World War Three are two entirely different things....
This story marks the debut of Tom Baker as Doctor Who and Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan.
starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan, Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, and John Levene as Benton. Written by Terrance Dicks, Produced by Barry Letts, and Directed by Christopher Barry.
Originally transmitted from
DVD
Features:
- All four episodes of the story,
with digitally restored pictures and sound.
- Graphical menus, episode
selection, and scene selection features.
- Commentary track by actors Tom
Baker and Elisabeth Sladen, writer Terrance Dicks,
and producer Barry Letts.
(Note that the back
cover description accidentally leaves off Barry Letts’
name, but rest assured, he is on this commentary.)
- Subtitles for the hearing
impaired.
- “Are Friends
Electric?” A new 39-minute
documentary that details the casting of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor,
the making of this story, and the introduction of Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan.
Features interviews with actors Tom Baker,
Elisabeth
Sladen, Patricia Maynard (Miss Winters), Alec Linstead (Jellicoe), Edward
Burnham (Prof. Kettlewell), and
Michael
Kilgariff (the Robot), producers Barry Letts and Philip Hinchcliffe,
writer Terrance Dicks,
production unit manager
George Gallaccio, and director Christopher Barry.
- “The Tunnel
Effect” A new 14-minute featurette with graphic designer Bernard Lodge about how he
created the “time vortex tunnel”
slit-scan animations used in the series’ title
sequence.
- Blue Peter. The opening 2 minutes of a 1974 edition of
this venerable BBC children’s show which, unusually, was recorded on the
sets for Robot due to a strike shutting down
their own studio on that day.
- Photo
Gallery.
4 minutes of still photographs taken during the production of the story.
- Radio Times Listings. DVD-ROM files in Acrobat Reader .pdf format of the Radio Times listings for this story. Just place the disc
in your computer and open the file to see them.
- Information Text. Pop-up production information subtitles
option that play throughout the story.
- 1 Easter Egg. Highlight the invisible text area below to
see what it is and how to find it.
From the main menu, highlight the Special Features
selection, then press the left arrow on your remote. The Doctor
Who
logo
at the top of the screen will become highlighted. Select this and you will see and hear the
voice-over announcements
that
topped and tailed this story on its original 1974/75 BBC transmission.
