Click here to go BACK to the DVD FAQ. or Click here to go BACK to VHS FAQ.
Serial: 4R Episode Nos. 444, 445, 446, and 447. Title: The Robots of Death
The TARDIS lands aboard a sandminer, where he and Leela immediately come under suspicion
for the murders of several of it's human crew members. What the crew seem too terrified to
realize is that the killings are being perpetrated by some of their vast number of robot servants.
A traitor in their midst believes robots are a superior life form, and thus all humans are to die...
starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who and Louise Jameson as Leela. Written by Chris Boucher,
Produced by Philip Hinchcliffe, and Directed by Michael E. Briant.
Originally
transmitted from
DVD features:
This DVD originally came out in 2001. This special edition contains most of the
content
from the original DVD plus many new features.
The features listed in italics
below are
new to the Special Edition.
- All 4 episodes of the story
digitally remastered and restored.
- Graphical menus, episode and scene
selection features, and subtitles for the hearing
impaired.
- 2 optional commentary tracks. Commentary 1 is from the 2001 edition with
producer
Philip Hinchcliffe and
writer Chris Boucher. Commentary 2 is new and features
actors Tom Baker,
Louise Jameson, and Pamela Salem (Toos), and director
Michael E. Briant.
-
The Sandmine Murders.
A 32-minute making-of featurette with
interviews with
actors Tom Baker,
Louise Jameson, Pamela Salem, David Collings (Poul), and
Brian Croucher
(Borg), producer Philip Hinchcliffe, costume designer
Elizabeth
Waller, and director
Michael E. Briant.
-
Robophobia. A
12-minute featurette about comparing the history of
robots in the
real and fictional
worlds hosted by comedian Toby Hadoke.
- Studio Sound. A 1-minute scene from the story where the
natural sound on the
take is played rather than that applied in
post-production (particularly different
is the sound of the robot's voice.) This is a
shortened version of a featurette on
the original release that included more very
poor quality studio footage that has
been left out of this release.
- Model Shots. An 8-minute featurette
showing unused footage of the models of
the sandminer and the
landscape surrounding it.
- Studio Floor Plan. A browseable-with-your-remote
display of the original floor plans
for the sets.
- Continuity. A 1-minute trailer used for the original 1977
broadcast.
-
Information Text subtitles option.
Displays pop-up production trivia throughout
the story.
- Coming Soon Trailer for the DVD of The Face of
Evil.
- PDF Files.
The Radio Times listings are available as a .pdf
file if you put the disc
into a computer.
-
There are two features that were in the original DVD release in 2001 not
present
in this Special Edition. One is the simple "Who's Who" text
biographies of the key
cast members.
The other was a 20-minute featurette showing
all of the introductions
and trailers narrated by Howard DaSilva used in the original Time-Life syndication
package in the
