Rating: 
Summary: FULL CREW ALERT
Review: When Doctor Who first appeared here in the Sates in the late 1970's on Public Television I was so smitten by it that I took to setting up my little casette recorder by the TV set to record the audio from the shows, then listen to them while I'd do my homework or whatever and relive them in my head like a radio drama. One of my favorites to listen to was "The Robots of Death" and by golly if it didn't improve when I finally scored my VHS tape of this excellent adventure and could watch it again at my convenience. True science fiction, "Robots" is set in an un-defined future on a Sand Miner that trolls the sandstorms of an un named world that seems to be one huge desert -- the exteriors of the Miner chewing it's way across the barren landscape are amongst the most impressive effects shots from all of Doctor Who. Manning the Miner are a skeleton crew of, for the most part, vain and repugnant humans overseeing a staff of efficient, indifferent robots. The fact that there are only 8 or 9 people and about 500 robots is a sign that something is going to go wrong, but never mind. This was Leela's second episode with the Doctor, and while Louise Jameson's tantalizing animal skin outfit makes her a welcome addition to any story, her noble savage character serves well as a counterpoint to not only Baker's Who but the detatched, luxury minded humans who seem to populate the miner for one reason -- to be killed off by the robots one by one. My favorites are Poole, the Company man who isn't telling every thing he knows, and Toos, the ample chested female co-pilot of the mine who insists on wearing this helmet [hat?] that looks like it was meant for a Terry Gilliam hallucination. In fact, ALL of the human crew dress kind of oddly, wearing flowing gowns and lounge suits that don't seem to be at home on a mining platform. But no matter -- the point is that they are dependent upon the robots to do their dirty work, especially the nutcase member of the crew who starts re-programming the robots to kill off his obnoxious crewmates (who could blame him? they are a vile lot, for the most part). But the Doctor smells bigger trouble and gets involved, prophetically proclaiming that "This isn't the only robot dependent civilization in the galaxy, you know." The best scenes are probably the ones with the crew members nervously bickering about how to deal with the murders of their crewmates, and since the robots are all expressionless facades they really don't generate a whole lot of dread, but the story is interesting and the production design offbeat enough to keep even the jaded Sci Fi fan's interest. Even after he has listened to it 1000 times before. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A must-see mystery!
Review: When the TARDIS bearing the Doctor and Leela lands in a sand-miner, mysterious deaths start to occur. Once found, the two time-travelers are immediately suspected for murders of the strangled victims. But the Doctor has his own theory, namely that the robots aboard are responsible. Poul points out that this is impossible. What does the Doctor say to that? "Bumble bees. ... Terran insects; aerodynamically impossible for them to fly, but they do it. I'm rather fond of bumble bees."Since I got it in March, I loved this one so much I have watched it THREE TIMES! Suspense, murder, double bluffs, humor, the Doctor's wit, great characters, and mystery are all blended perfectly to create one of the best Doctor Who stories ever!
Rating:
Summary: A return to the Definitive Doctor Age
Review: Yes, it is old. Tom Baker is, to me, the best portrayor of the Doctor WHO personality. In particular this is one of the best stories that I found in my memory. The Doctor and Leela arrived to a Sandminer, just to be accused of being murderers. The sandminer tripulation are some aristhocrats who are served by Intelligent human-like robots. Some dumb, some others with the ability to speak, and probably others with the need for killing people!!!. Needless to say, the Dvd has all four individual chapters (with its openning and closing credits!), so you can watch them one by week, to recreate that time ago in front of the tv. It even has some extras, like the original peeks of the next chapter the narrator used to increase the need to watch the next chapter. Want a producer and writer comentary?, you have it. It is even fun to watch the old special effects, because they give a very good remembrance and felling of authenticity. For the newcomers, they could seem old and bad effects, and the story too simple, but for hard time fans is like going back to the youth.
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