The Robots of Death (TV story)

The Robots of Death

Season:	14
Doctor:	Fourth Doctor
Companion	Leela
Original Airdate:	29th January - 19th February 1977
Format:	4 25-minute episodes
Production Code:	4R
Writer:	Chris Boucher
Director:	Michael Briant
Producer:	Philip Hinchcliffe

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 Nova 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 him.

Cast

The Doctor - Tom Baker

Leela - Louise Jameson

Ulanov - 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

Enemies

Taren Capel posing as Dask, and his reprogrammed robots.

Statistics

Broadcast Dates

Episode 1 - 29th January 1977

Episode 2 - 5th February 1977

Episode 3 - 12th February 1977

Episode 4 - 19th February 1977

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, and in the Kaldor City spinoffs.

More Info

• Story Synopsis

• Story Transcript

• Story Novelization

• DVD Release

• Video Release

External Links

Television

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Next story: The Talons of Weng-Chiang

All Media

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Next story: Drift