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 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

Crew

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.

Myths

Statistics

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.

Ratings

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.

Cultural References

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."