N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!
In much the same way that throwing the Doctor into an adventure with a familiar adversary – the Daleks – helped aid the audience’s transition into the Second Doctor’s run, starting the Fourth Doctor off with a traditional UNIT story – after five years of such tales with his predecessor – was probably a wise idea.
(Having just watched The Power of the Daleks in its now-animated glory, this comparison was particularly fresh in the mind.)
“You may be a doctor, but I’m the Doctor. The definite article, you might say.”
The Doctor, Robot:
Part One
Nevertheless, just like Patrick Troughton, Tom Baker is so instantly the Doctor, you do wonder if it was even necessary. Baker is, like Jon Pertwee before him, another extraordinary-looking human being – one who it’s quite easy to believe came from another planet. With his mop of curls, huge eyes and toothy, infectious grin, he’s every bit as distinctive a presence as the tall light bulb who preceded him.
He’s so different too. Whether he’s exhorting the Brigadier to ‘cultivate a sense of urgency’ by telling him the details on the way or trying to disarm the villains with buffoonery and (ahem!) tomfoolery, he’s always moving, apparently restless to be off on new adventures. You simply cannot take your eyes off him from the moment he starts mumbling to Sarah about Sontarans and brontosauruses.
I also love how he just throws any old clothes on in the end. The Third Doctor was such a dapper dresser, so it’s somehow appropriate that the clothes are apparently unimportant to his successor and perhaps ironic that such a seemingly – although not actually – slapdash outfit (‘a stylish carelessness’ as Tom Baker describes it) would become the Doctor’s iconic look.
What of Robot itself.
“It’s very impressive, but what’s it for?”
Sarah, Robot:
Part Two
Well, it’s solid stuff from Terrance Dicks. There’s some cracking dialogue and the idea of a giant robot is an irresistibly, splendidly silly one. (Son of Unearthly Times was not convinced by toy doll Sarah though.) Given the King Kong influence, I think they did miss a trick though not having Benton say ‘it was beauty killed the beast’ (followed naturally by an admonishing look from the Brigadier).
Professor Kettlewell’s fabulous mad scientist hair is worthy of a special mention, even if the revelation of his unlikely villainry is not. And I like the optimism of this near-future too: ‘Back in the Cold War days …’ the Brigadier mentions off-handedly and it appears that in the Doctor Who universe, the Americans, Russians and Chinese have found a way to work together.
“There’s no point in being grown up if you can’t be childish sometimes.”
The Doctor, Robot:
Part Four
The main plot does run out of steam towards the end and I did wonder – when it came to stopping SRS – why they didn’t just operate the ‘Fail Safe’ in the first place?
Finally, whilst watching Robot this time, I realised that I’m now older than Tom Baker was when he took the role on, which considering his otherworldly agelessness – and that I was a kid watching the show in the 70’s – seems impossible to me somehow.
"I think the Fourth Doctor recovered from regeneration faster than the Third."
"In Part Four of this story the Fourth Doctor says ones of his most famous lines for the first time: 'Would you like a jelly baby?'
"I think the robot has really cool vision!"
Son of UT Rating: 8/10
