Robot
Written by Terrance Dicks
Directed by Christopher Barry

This pic taken from
Steven W. Hill's page at
www.shillpages.com

The Doctor : Tom Baker
The Assistants
Sarah Jane Smith : Elizabeth Sladen
Harry Sullivan : Ian Marten
Recurring Characters
Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart : Nicholas Courtney
Sergeant Benton : John Levene
Guest Stars
Miss Winter : Patricia Maynard
Robot : Michael Kilgarriff
Professor Kettlewell : Edward Burnham
Jellicoe : Alec Linstead

The Background
The Doctor's third incarnation spent a good deal of his time on Earth in the professional capacity of science advisor to UNIT. UNIT is a British military organization that, as far as I can tell, is primarily concerned with the alien and the menacing. UNIT's senior officer is Brigadier Alistair Lethridge Stewart and his second-in-command is Sergeant Benton. At this point in time, the Doctor's companion is journalist and feminist Sarah Jane Smith.

While the Doctor is defending the Earth from giant telepathic, teleporting, electrocuting spiders he is exposed to a massive dose of radiation. The Earth is saved and three weeks later, a dying Doctor stumbles back to UNIT headquarters where he dies in Sarah's arms while the Brigadier watches. Another Time Lord (a former mentor of the Doctor), teleports in and informs them that the radiation dose was so severe that intervention was necessary to kick-start the regeneration. The Time Lord's warns them that "...you may find his behaviour a little erratic" (which is quite appropriate for Tom Baker's portrayal of the Doctor). Then the visiting Time Lord teleports away and Sarah and the Brigadier look over, just as the Doctor begins to regenerate...

The Story
Sarah and the Brigadier watch the Doctor regenerate but the Doctor is still not well. He fades in and out of consciousness, crying out random, nostalgic or simply amusing comments. The Brigadier summons a naval doctor by the name of Harry Sullivan and places the Doctor under his care.

Three weeks later, a giant robot breaks into a military base - killing soldiers and stealing the plans to a disintegrator gun. The Brigadier is stumped by the robbery and cannot turn to the Doctor for help since the Doctor is still incapacitated. Actually, the Doctor has just snuck out of the infirmary. He returns to the TARDIS, acting in a very strange (but amusing) manner. Before he can leave in the TARDIS, he is discovered by Harry. Harry attempts to talk him into returning to the infirmary but the Doctor won't listen. Instead, the Doctor confuses Harry with word-games, insists that he is fit, starts an impromptu game with a skipping-rope and finally ties Harry up in a cupboard.

The Brigadier and Sarah come rushing in, berate Harry for not taking better care of his patient, and desperately try to persuade the Doctor not to leave. At first, the Doctor doesn't recognize them and responds to their entreaties with a child-like disregard. Just as they have given up, the Doctor recognises the Brigadier and enthusiastically agrees to investigate the robbery.

The Robot commits another robbery, this time stealing vital circuitry needed to build the disintegrator gun. After a funny scene where the Brigadier and Harry veto several of the Doctor's outfits (Vikings to vauderville clowns), they set out to investigate the scene of the crime. The Doctor's behaviour seems to be erratic but he is not only paying attention, he's picking up clues that everybody else has missed. By the end of sequence, he explains that their intruder weighed a quarter of a tonne, didn't need to breathe and possessed a human-like intelligence. He also realises that their theif wants to build the disintegrator gun so the Brigadier tries to beef up security for the last vital piece - the focusing generator. The Doctor's pessimism turns out to be accurate and the unseen Robot tunnels in and steals the focusing generators.

Meanwhile, Sarah is being shown around a scientific Think Tank by two scientists, Miss Winters and Jellicoe. One unscheduled stop on the tour is the Robotics section, formerly run by Professor Kettlewell but now (supposedly) closed down. A suspicious Sarah goes to visit Professor Kettlewell (the man's hair has a life of its own) who brushes her off and reassures her that nobody is carrying on his work in robotics. Unconvinced, Sarah returns to the Think Tank where she finally sees the robot. Miss Winters and Jellicoe are controlling the robot and order it to kill her. The robot refuses because it's prime directive is to never harm humanity. Sarah sympathises with the robot's distress. Miss Winters explains it as a 'practical demonstration' but Sarah isn't convinced.

Sarah tells the Doctor about the robot and the Brigadier rushs off to try and get permission to raid Think Tank. Harry is sent undercover to find out what's happening at Think Tank while the Brigadier, Sarah and the Doctor visit Kettlewell. Kettlewell warns them that if the robot is forced to go against its prime directive, it could go mad. Shortly after, the robot is sent to murder another man and steal the codes to all the world's atomic missiles. The distressed robot returns to Kettlewell, pleading for help.

The Brigadier discovers that most of the people at Think Tank are members of SRS (Scientific Reform Society) who believe that the world should be ruled by an educated, scientific elite. Kettlewell rings the Doctor and asks for his help with the distressed robot but Winters and Jellicoe get to Kettlewell first. By the time the Doctor arrives, a trap has been set. The robot has been told that the Doctor is an enemy of humanity and the robot knocks him out.

Sarah and Sergeant Benton read a note the Doctor has left for them and rush to his rescue. Sarah pleads with the robot to stop but Benton and the troops open fire. Kettlewell is discovered tied up in a cupboard. While the Doctor rests from his concussion, Sarah and Kettlewell set off to infiltrate an SRS meeting. When the Doctor learns about it, he is furious because he believes Kettlewell is in on it.

In the SRS meeting, the Doctor's belief is confirmed. The SRS, including Winters and Jellicoe, hail Kettlewell as their saviour. They discover Sarah and take her hostage. The Doctor turns up and tries to distract them until the Brigadier arrives. Most of the SRS is arrested but Winter, Jellicoe, Kettlewell and the robot escape and they take Sarah hostage. Harry, who is still undercover, rings the Brigadier to warn him that the Think Tank people are evacuating to an underground bunker. Harry is cut off mid-sentence when he is knocked unconscious by Jellicoe. He becomes a second hostage and is taken to the bunker as well.

The Brigadier already knows where Think Tank's bunker is and leads a company of men to attack it. Between Sergeant Benton and the Doctor, the bunker's defences are quickly overcome. A desperate Winters orders a reluctant Kettlewell to start the countdown for the atomic missiles and sends the robot out with the disintegrator gun to delay the Doctor and the Brigadier.

Sarah and Harry are being held hostage in the bunker but manage to escape. They make it to the control room where Jellicoe is attacking a repentant Kettlewell. Kettlewell voluntarily turns off the count-down and the three of them try to flee the bunker. They run into the stand-off between the robot and the men outside. Sarah tries to reason with it and Kettlewell is accidently killed. The robot freaks and collapses. Winters restarts the count-down but the Doctor manages to stop it in time. While the Brigadier's men are arresting the remaining members of Think Tank, the robot recovers and kidnaps Sarah. Believing that it was Kettlewell's dying wish, the robot reactivates that count-down.

The Doctor and Harry run off to find a metal virus that Kettlewell created to defeat the robot. The Brigadier manages to stop the count-down and, feeling he's on a roll, turns the disintegrator gun on the robot. Rather than being destroyed, the robot feeds on the gun's energy and grows to gigantic proportions. It then runs amok through the town, killing soldiers, crushing buildings and stranding Sarah on a roof.

The Doctor and Harry turn up with a bucket-full of metal virus and splash the robot. Within minutes the robot shrinks to nothing. Benton is sent to rescue Sarah from the rooftop. Later, the Doctor apologises to Sarah for destroying the robot. They both acknowledge that the robot wasn't necessarily evil and would have been capable of great good if it hadn't been manipulated.

The Doctor cannot stand the thought of all the politics and fuss the Brigadier has arranged, including lunch with the queen. The Doctor intends to leave and asks Sarah to go with him. Before they go, Harry turns up and agrees to step into the TARDIS when the Doctor challenges him to. The TARDIS de-materialises, leaving the Brigadier to deal with the aftermath, and ending the first of the Tom Baker episodes.