Doctor Who: Robot

Tom Baker's debut story - and a Doctor Who classic - finally arrives digitally remastered on DVD! Mortally wounded by the Spider Queen on Metebilis 3, the Doctor is forced to regenerate. His recuperation is cut short as UNIT investigates a spate of robberies involving components for a top-secret disintegrator gun. The culprit is quickly identified as a highly sophisticated robot built by Professor Kettlewell, which is being ordered to act against its Prime Directive. Amazing extras include Are Friends Electric?, a new 38-minute featurette about Tom Baker's introduction as the Doctor and the making of his first story, plus audio commentary by actors Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen and writer Terrance Dicks. Another featurette explains how graphic designer Bernard Lodge created the complex "never-ending tunnel" opening titles for Tom Baker's stories.

ROBOT - Almost dead, the Doctor regenerates himself and his outward appearance changes (hence the change from Jon Pertwee to Tom Baker). Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart hands him over to the care of a naval doctor attached to UNIT, Harry Sullivan. The Brigadier himself has a new problem: important weapon plans and equipment are vanishing from government establishments. Sarah Jane Smith visit a scientific research center where she discovers that work has been done on an advanced type of robot. A group of unscrupulous scientists is using the machine in their plot to blackmail the world into accepting their demands. The robot itself is impregnable, and regenerates by absorbing energy. Designed by its creator to serve humanity, it is re-programmed to kill, but because this instruction conflicts with its prime directive, it becomes a very mixed-up machine. The Doctor foils the scientists' attempt at blackmail - but they have managed to seize computer control of the world's atomic weapons. But then the robot takes over and a blast from a disintegrator gun has only the effect of making it grow to gigantic size. Then, using the formula invented by the robot's creator, the Doctor manages to constitute a metal destroying virus. Rapidly the robot shrinks to dust.

Cast
The Doctor - Tom Baker
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
Harry Sullivan - Ian Marter
Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
Sergeant Benton - John Levene
Jellicoe - Alec Linstead
Miss Winters - Patricia Maynard
Professor Kettlewell - Edward Burnham
Robot - Michael Kilgarriff
Short - Timothy Craven
Production Credits
Director - Christopher Barry
Assistant Floor Manager - David Tilley
Costumes - James Acheson
Designer - Ian Rawnsley
Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
Make-Up - Judy Clay
Producer - Barry Letts
Production Assistant - Peter Grimwade
Production Unit Manager - George Gallacio
Script Editor - Robert Holmes
Special Sounds - Dick Mills
Studio Lighting - Nigel Wright
Studio Sound - John Holmes
Studio Sound - Trevor Webster
Title Music - Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, arranged by Delia Derbyshire
Visual Effects - Clifford Culley
Writer - Terrance Dicks