The Robots of Death
 

No. 3 of 179 in the BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays series
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Starring: Tom Baker, Louise Jameson & Pamela Salem
By:Chris Boucher
Rating:   9.1  (253 votes)  Vote here
Review:  Who dunnit?   Read more (7 in total)
Editions:  UK UK (DVD) | Australia Australia (DVD) | US US (standard DVD) | Netherlands Netherlands (DVD) | US US (special DVD)

Cover image for The Robots of Death
Edition: UK UK (DVD)
Released:  November 2000
Publisher:  BBC Video
Format: 1 x DVD
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Cover blurb:
On a distant, barren planet, Storm Mine 4 trawls across bleak deserts and through fierce duststorms in search of rare and valuable metals. Onboard the Sandminer is a small skeleton crew, who alternate between indulgent relaxation and skilled mining work. The mundane, day-to-day duties of the mine are attended to by a much larger complement of servile robots.

This is a society that is dependent on robots for all areas of life, the people comforted by the knowledge that the strictest safeguards are built into each and every robot’s programming. So when one of the Sandminer crew is murdered, suspicion falls on two new arrivals...

The Doctor and Leela arrive on board, and are immediately accused of being the suspects. But the Doctor deduces that the killer is possibly not human. More deaths occur — can he persuade the remaining crew members that the killer may be a robot?

This story was broadcast on BBC1 between 29th January - 19th February 1977

Special Features

  • Writer’s and Producer’s Commentary
  • Photo Gallery
  • Scene Selection
  • Model Sequences
  • Graphical Menus
  • Studio Floor Plans

Cover image for The Robots of Death
Edition: Australia Australia (DVD)
Released:  July 2001
Publisher:  BBC Video
Format: 1 x DVD
Owned:
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Cover blurb:
Same as UK edition.

Cover image for The Robots of Death
Edition: US US (standard DVD)
Released:  September 2001
Publisher:  BBC Video
Format: 1 x DVD
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Used:  $3.74
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Note:  Contains two additional extras not present on the UK or Australian releases: a 20-minute featurette about the introductions recorded by actor Howard Da Silva in 1978 to introduce some syndicated versions of Tom Baker episodes in North America, including the actual introductions Da Silva narrated for The Robots Of Death. The other unique feature is “Who’s Who”, which contains short biographies for each of the main cast.

Cover blurb:
On a distant, barren planet, Storm Mine 4 trawls across bleak deserts and through fierce dust storms in search of rare and valuable metals. Onboard the Sandminer is a small skeleton crew, who alternate between indulgent relaxation and skilled mining work. The mundane day-to-day duties of the mine are attended to by a much larger complement of servile robots.

This is a society that is dependent on robots for all areas of life, the people comforted by the knowledge that the strictest safeguards are built into each and every robot’s programming. So when one of the miner crew is murdered, suspicion falls on two new arrivals...

The Doctor and Leela arrive on board, and are immediately accused of being the prime murder suspects. But the Doctor soon realizes that perhaps the killer isn’t human. More deaths occur — can he persuade the remaining crewmembers that the killer is a robot?

DVD EXTRAS INCLUDE:

  • Commentary by producer Phillip Hinchcliffe and writer Chris Boucher
  • Model Tests
  • Photo Gallery
  • Studio Plans
  • Who’s Who

Cover image for The Robots of Death
Edition: Netherlands Netherlands (DVD)
Released:  January 2006
Publisher:  BBC Video
Format: 1 x DVD
Owned:
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Cover blurb:
Op een verre, dorre planeet speurt Storm Mine 4 boven troosteloze woestijnen en in hevige zandstormen naar waardevolle en zeldzame metalen. De bemanning van het ertsschip bestaat uit een kleine groep mensen die om de beurt uitrusten of specifieke taken verrichten. De gewone, dagelijkse werkzaamheden worden verricht door een legertje slaafse robots.

De gemeenschap is volkomen afhankelijk van de robots, en de mensen weten dat in de programmering van de robots alle mogelijke veiligheidsprotocollen zijn ingebouwd. Wanneer een bemanningslid wordt vermoord, verdenkt men dan ook meteen de twee nieuwkomers.

Als de Dokter en Leela aan boord komen, worden ze meteen beschuldigd van moord. Maar de Dokter concludeert dat de moordenaar waarschijnlijk geen mens is. Dan vallen er meer slachtoffers. Kan Dokter Who de bemanning ervan overtuigen dat de dader misschien een robot is?

Extra’s

  • Commentaar van de schrijver en de producer
  • Fotogalerij
  • Scèneselectie
  • Beelden op schaalmodel
  • Grafische menu’s
  • Plattegronden studio

Voor het eerst uitgezonden op BBC 1 tussen 29 januari en 19 februari 1977

Cover image for The Robots of Death: Special Edition
Edition: US US (special DVD)
Title:  The Robots of Death: Special Edition
Released:  March 2012
Publisher:  BBC Video
Format: 1 x DVD
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Note:  This is the same special edition (i.e. remastered and with additional extras) that was released in the UK and Australia as part of the Revisitations 3 box set.

Cover blurb:
The TARDIS, carrying the Doctor and his new companion Leela, arrives aboard a huge sandminer on a deserted world. The small human crew relies almost entirely on robots to carry out their every task and whim while they mine the planet’s rich minerals.

Suddenly, one by one, members of the team start to disappear. The time travelers discover that someone or something is murdering the crew — but, of course, nobody believes it could be the robots.

DVD EXTRAS INCLUDE:

  • Audio Commentary 1 Original release commentary with producer Philip Hinchcliffe and writer Chris Boucher
  • Audio Commentary 2 New commentary with actors Tom Baker (the Doctor), Louise Jameson (Leela), Pamela Salem (Toos) and director Michael E. Briant
  • The Sandmine Murders Making Of with cast and crew (32 mins)
  • Robophobia Toby Hadoke takes a humorous look at the history of robots (11 mins)
  • Studio Sound Example of a studio scene before the robot voice effects were added (1 min)
  • Model Shots Black and white time-coded recording of the original model insert film (7 mins)
  • Studio Floor Plan Interactive view of the studio layout via the original floor plan drawings
  • Continuity
  • Photo Gallery (5 mins)
  • PDF materials: Radio Times Listings
  • Production Notes Subtitle Option
  • Digitally remastered picture and sound quality

Originally transmitted January 29 - February 19, 1977


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