Stories Television Doctor Who Season 12 Serial: 1 2 3 4 5 Robot 1 image Overview Episodes Characters How to Watch Reviews 10 Statistics Related Stories Quotes 7 Transcript Overview First aired Saturday, December 28, 1974 Production Code 4A Written by Terrance Dicks Directed by Christopher Barry Runtime 100 minutes Story Type New Companion Introduction, New Doctor Introduction Time Travel Present Tropes (Potential Spoilers!) Robots, The Doctor Falls Story Arc (Potential Spoilers!) Working for UNIT Inventory (Potential Spoilers!) Bessie, Jeweller’s loupe, Jelly Babies, Sonic Screwdriver Location (Potential Spoilers!) Earth, England Synopsis Trouble is brewing once again; a series of robberies are taking place which seem linked to plans for a top secret disintegrator gun. All evidence seems to point to the culprit being a sentient robot, created by an eccentric professor and owned by a think tank. However, the robot's basic programming prevents him from killing, providing a contradiction to the clues. At the same time, the Doctor is recovering from his latest regeneration; can he regain his senses and help UNIT solve the case before time runs out? Watch Watched Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Edit date completed Custom Date Release Date Archive (no date) Save 4 Episodes Part One First aired Saturday, December 28, 1974 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Terrance Dicks Directed by Christopher Barry UK Viewers 10.8 million Appreciation Index 53 Synopsis Can the Doctor, now in his fourth incarnation, recover from his post regenerative trauma to save the Earth from Think Tank and their plot for world domination ? Part Two First aired Saturday, January 4, 1975 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Terrance Dicks Directed by Christopher Barry UK Viewers 10.7 million Appreciation Index 53 Synopsis The Doctor and Sarah Jane become convinced Think Tank are behind the electronic component thefts but are unable to stop them carrying out another raid. Part Three First aired Saturday, January 11, 1975 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Terrance Dicks Directed by Christopher Barry UK Viewers 10.1 million Synopsis Sarah Jane and Kettlewell infiltrate an SRS meeting to try and find out what Miss Winters is up to but there is a surprise in store. Part Four First aired Saturday, January 18, 1975 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Terrance Dicks Directed by Christopher Barry UK Viewers 9 million Appreciation Index 51 Synopsis UNIT attempt to get into the bunker to stop Miss Winters setting off the world's nuclear missiles but first they have to get past the K1. Show All Episodes Characters Fourth Doctor Tom Baker First Appearance Sarah Jane Smith Elisabeth Sladen K1 First Appearance The Brigadier Nicholas Courtney Harry Sullivan Ian Marter First Appearance John Benton John Levene UNIT Show All Characters (7) How to watch Robot: Watch on iPlayer DVD Robot DVD An Introduction to the Fourth Doctor Blu-Ray The Collection – Season 12 VHS Robot (VHS) Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 10 reviews 12 May 2025 · 80 words Review by Scottybguud Feels very much like a Pertwee story, but I guess that was on purpose, some familiarity to go with the new Doctor. It's great to have the Brigadier and Benton do a lot as we will start to see them a lot less from this point on in the show. Tom Baker fits in right away as the fourth Doctor, episode one he especially shines in. The villains are fine as is the titular Robot, although the graphics aren't good. Scottybguud View profile Like Liked 0 30 April 2025 · 39 words Review by greenLetterT A strong introduction to the Fourth Doctor that lacks in... pretty much everything else. The main cast have very little influence on the plot, mostly getting carried as things happen around them. Ah well, at least we have Sarah greenLetterT View profile Like Liked 0 14 March 2025 · 41 words Review by Azurillkirby A fantastic start to the Fourth Doctor era! I really love the energy that Tom Baker brings to the character; it's so different than anything beforehand. And the story here is particularly great, and suits the new Doctor remarkably well. A+. Azurillkirby View profile Like Liked 0 1 February 2025 · 195 words Review by dema1020 Spoilers This review contains spoilers! It's fun, it's silly, and it's simple. Robot is the big introduction of the Fourth Doctor and I enjoyed it overall. Sure, some scenes and moments feel like they kind of waste time more than progress the plot. But it's interesting. As our first step towards a new era, it still feels like a transition out of the UNIT era. This could have been a Third Doctor story very easily, but that's not a bad thing. It blunts the blow of the regeneration a little bit and allows for a transition into the new doctor rather seamlessly. Tom Baker shows how fun he can be pretty quickly - that Robot clip almost immediately proved he was going to be a unique and unforgettable force in this show's history. The UNIT characters and Harry Sullivan were all pretty charming, too. I got a lot of closure out of the Robot episodes because of this, even with all the cheesy effects around K1. The robot was fun more than anything. I really like his rampage at the end even if it didn't look great. Overall it's a very cozy experience I quite enjoyed, with all its flaws. dema1020 View profile Like Liked 0 19 January 2025 · 97 words Review by Guardax Spoilers 1 This review contains spoilers! A perfectly serviceable story to welcome Tom Baker to the role as Doctor. He gets given a classic Pertwee story off the bat with UNIT and evil scientists but deals with it with a completely different, breezy tone. Harry is fine here as an addition, and Sarah Jane gets some great journalist detective work early on. The idea of a robot struggling with emotions is a fine plot, but becomes obvious quick. The nuclear launch codes and the robot are both defeated with ease by the Doctor, so no great climax. A solid start all in all. Guardax View profile Like Liked 1 Show All Reviews (10) Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating556 members 3.46 / 5 Trakt.tv AVG. Rating593 votes 3.67 / 5 Member Statistics Watched 1008 Favourited 63 Reviewed 10 Saved 5 Skipped 1 Related Stories Video Games LEGO Dimensions Rating: 4.15 Story Skipped Video Game Reviews(3) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Video Games Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Bernice Summerfield S5 • Episode 3 The Relics of Jegg-Sau Rating: 3.38 Story Skipped Audio Drama Reviews(2) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Bernice Summerfield Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Robo Rampage Rating: 3.12 Story Skipped Comic Reviews(7) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: The Twelfth Doctor – Titan Comics Set of Stories: Free Comic Book Day Set of Stories: Titan Comics Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Other adaptations of this story: We define an adaptation as a recreation of a similar story but on a different medium or with different characters. Target Collection Doctor Who and the Giant Robot Rating: 3.48 Story Skipped Book Reviews(1) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Target Collection Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Quotes Add Quote Link to Quote Favourite SARAH JANE: Doctor, you're being childish. DOCTOR: Well of course I am. There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes. — Robot Show All Quotes (7) Open in new window Transcript Needs checking Part One [UNIT Laboratory] BRIGADIER: Now just a moment.SARAH: Look, Brigadier, look. I think it's started.BRIGADIER: Oh, well, here we go again. (The brown haired man starts to wake and mumble in the background. The Brigadier picks up the telephone.) BRIGADIER: Get me the medical officer. Lieutenant Sullivan? Emergency. Come to the lab at once, please.DOCTOR: Human history.BRIGADIER: What's he talking about?SARAH: It's something that happened when we first met.DOCTOR: I tell you, Brigadier, there's nothing to worry about. The brontosaurus is large and placid. Show Full Transcript Open in new window
