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virginia-classifieds.net - Doctor Who - Robot (Episode 75)
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List Price: $24.98
Our Price: $15.49
Your Save: $ 9.49 ( 38% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
Starring: Tom Baker
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 0794051411228
Format: Closed-captioned
Label: BBC Warner
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: BBC Warner
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2007-08-14
Running Time: 98
Studio: BBC Warner
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: "You may be a doctor but I'm *the* Doctor."
Comment: ROBOT is significant for being the first full appearance of Tom Baker in the title role. The story is pretty typical of old-school science fiction: a slightly mad but benevolent scientist has created a robot which has been appropriated by a fringe organization. This group of intellectual supremacists (sort of a fascist MENSA) is using the robot to steal plans and materials for a disintegrator gun and essentially take over the world.
So it's fairly hokey, and of course it has all the elements longtime fans of the show have come to look upon with affectionate humor, like really bad special effects and dodgy acting. Particularly egregious is the bit where what is clearly a toy tank tries to sneak up on the robot (and fails.) Then there's Sarah Jane's curiously subdued reaction to a man being disintegrated right in front of her; she registers a look of mild disgust, as if she had just found some moldy cheese in her refrigerator.
The story has some twists, not all of which make sense. This was also typical of the old show, I think due to its serial nature. (It was probably less important for the story to work as a whole than it was to get people back for next week's installment.) It also has some contrived aspects (the mad scientist has by chance developed two other scientific breakthroughs, one of which exacerbates the problem and one which solves it) which pretty much telegraph the major plot turns as well. If this story had appeared somewhere else in the series, it would probably be considered average at best.
What saves this particular show, and what probably made it such a breakthrough when it was first aired, is how much Baker absolutely owns the role right from the start. Tom Baker *is* the Doctor. He says that himself, not out of egotism, but because he does actually feel like the character--a man slightly out of place in the human world. No doubt this is why he seems so perfect in the role. It's easy to see why this incarnation of the Doctor has become the most iconic.
DVD bonus features include:
-A featurette on the man who created the title sequences for the show since its inception in 1963, including the "time tunnel" concept which was used throughout most of the seventies as well as in the new series. It was interesting to see how the various effects were accomplished before the age of computers and digital graphics.
-A featurette on the turnover of the role from Jon Pertwee to Tom Baker and what was involved in it, what it meant for the show, and so on.
-A Blue Peter segment that I couldn't sit through for more than a minute or so. This bit is for kids only, I'm afraid. I think the only reason it is here is that it was filmed on the Doctor Who set.
-Running audio commentary from Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) and writer Terrance Dicks. Even the worst stories have had entertaining commentaries, and this one is especially good because Baker participates. It's surprising how much these people remember from their work over thirty years ago.
All in all this is a good package for a key (if not great) story. Even if you think the story is kind of lame there is a lot to like.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Robot review
Comment: I bought this DVD from a contact of mine in England. This is the story that introduced Tom Baker to the world as the Doctor. And for 7 years he WAS the Doctor! Many to this day still consider him THEIR Doctor! And as both a introdcution tale, as well as one of the last stories to involve UNIT, it was superb. Well written story by Terrance Dicks, former Scrpit Editor for the show, and with a cast that knew each other well, it just flowed. Well worth the money to get for ones collection.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A typical, good, entertaining Doctor Who story
Comment: This story is a great example of a typical Doctor Who story. It really does feel like it was written for Jon Pertwee, but this makes sense because this is Tom Baker's first appearance. Tom playing Jon's role makes the transition feel smoother, in spite of the fact that through most of the first part of the story the new Doctor seems to be confused by his transition.
One reviewer suggested that this was a homage to "King Kong", but I feel that it was more like "Frankenstein", and "I, Robot". The story is a good one, an artificial life form (the robot) is created with Asimov's limitations put in place. Right after it was activated ("born"), its prime directives are put in direct conflict with its primary orders. The result is confusion, chaos, and, due to the immensity of the robot's intellect, and due to the combined intellects and ambitions of its creators, the world is put into danger.
This idea is amplified when the robot was made to grow larger. I am not sure why this was necessary. It is fun, in a way, but the special effects become bad at this point. The story-line would have been stale if it were not for the actors which includes UNIT, the Brigadier, the evil-scientist, and the robot. I am not sure how they pulled it off, but they did. Tom Baker (Doctor Who) and Elizabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith, his "sidekick") were both very entertaining. The story is loaded with good quips and distractions, some of them very humorous.
I liked this story mostly because it seemed to take Doctor Who out of the past, old-style science fiction, into the present. Everything seems to "wake up", it was like opening the shades on the windows. Doctor Who becomes more colorful, more exciting, more interesting from this point on. I think too that this story might have been a message, from the show to the audience, as to what they should expect things to be like in Doctor Who stories from now on.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Much Better Than Expected
Comment: I was not particularly enamored of Dr. Who until this new series came out. My family and I love the new Dr. Who, own the first three seasons on DVD. However, in an episode during the second season and with a new series of her own we really liked Elizabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith. This caused us to order this 1970s show which featured a much much younger Sarah Jane. We were surpriesed at how much we enjoyed it, though not nearly as much as the current ones. We see why Tom Baker is a favorite of many older Dr. Who fans.
Customer Rating:
Summary: You had me at Baker
Comment: Never has an actor so quickly established himslef in the role as quickly as Tom Baker. Following Pertwee was a difficult task to be sure, but Tom can carry off nearly anything with that smile of his. THE most chariismatic actor to ever play the part gets his start here, and the episode is fabulous, except of course for the robot itself, which, typical of BBC is just not up to snuff. The story is fun, a bit scary and true Who goodness. It also sets the framework going for the trilogy to follow which is a high mark of the series
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Editorial Reviews:
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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. (Episodes 1-4, 98 mins) DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
DVD ROM Features
Documentary
Featurette
Photo gallery
Production Notes
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