It was the beginning of a brand-new era for Doctor Who. Jon Pertwee had given up the mantle of the Doctor and Tom Baker had been introduced to the public! The serious and dashing dandy was gone and now replaced with the curly haired bohemian who would go on to become so well-loved as the Fourth incarnation of the Doctor. And not only this, but his costume would mark Tom as one of the most instantly recognisable Doctors in his mile-long scarf and hat.
And with Robot, Tom Baker makes his entry into the world of Doctor Who with such zeal and aplomb that one could believe he had already been acting the role of the Fourth Doctor for a very long time indeed. Tom injects so much enthusiasm into the role that saw him go from being a worker on a building site to being acclaimed worldwide within the space of no more than a few months. Particularly in part one, the range of seriousness and humour is clearly evident. He is hyperactive and a delight to watch as he gives vent to the feeling that the regeneration isn't perfect, but at the nose is a definite improvement!
Terrance Dicks as the script writer writes one of his best and most intelligent scripts here also. The Robot/ Sarah Jane segment is particularly well played and displays real and rare emotion for a Doctor Who tale of this time. Lis Sladen was given her final real meaty part as Sarah here in this tale, after this she became largely a bit of a generic spare part for me, which is a disgusting thing to do for such a fine and talented actress in such a wonderful role. She always was a brilliant companion, and even the lesser usage of her after this story doesn't actually disable that fact. She was a brilliant companion and it's a huge and sobering shame now that she is no longer with us. But I still can't help but feel that she was given more active roles in her stories with Jon Pertwee than she was with Tom Baker. So, Robot like I said is the last flash of her being used to her ultimate potential as an inquisitive journalist.
Patricia Maynard as the neo-Nazi Miss Winters is an absolute revelation, you can tell she obviously really enjoys playing the part, and comes over as arrogant and psychotic without being overtly over the top or hyperactive. One of the strongest female roles offered to Doctor Who one off actors at this time i feel. Which is a wonderful thing to behold as in the classic series superb female characters didn't actually often come along as much as they do now in the modern era of the show. She definitely comes in at top of the rankings for female characters during the Fourth Doctor's era at least.
And the usual involvement of The Brigadier and RSM (Formerly Sergeant) Benton just helps the brilliant mix no end in this story. They provide a wave of light relief and some moments of great comedy too are peppered throughout this story from the word go. And to think that this was Tom's first Doctor Who he is the Doctor straight away, he sits into the role like a comfy chair and steals the show with his mental but still immensely moral character. His scenes with Nicholas Courtney display to me that he must have at once hit it off with Nick and the UNIT team to be so brilliant when sharing scenes with him. It is always a joy when you know the show is being acted by people who clearly get on with each other. And the scenes of the Brigadier and the renewed and fresh fourth Doctor are delightful.
The design of the Robot too has to be mentioned, as it's excellently done, and plaudits must go to Michael Kilgariff for acting in a monster of a metal suit so well. I can imagine it must have terrifically uncomfortable for him to lumber about in what is obviously a tonne weight of a costume. The final scenes of this story are particularly good, when Sarah is truly sad at the loss of the Robot. This is one of those rare but poignant moments of intense pathos in the classic era. It's a truly effective and even nice story end and all round this story is solid and great.
Ian Marter definitely needs a mention too. Yet again though he suffers here in his first tale from being chronically underused, what he suffered in every story except maybe Terror of The Zygons. He was an extremely fine actor and brought Harry Sullivan to vivid life and it was indeed most extremely short sighted of the production team to curtail his time on the show after only one pitiful season! But aside from this this story is still excellent in almost every way. I don't even give a fig about the obvious toy tank and the blue Coloured Separation Overlaid legs of the massively enlarged robot because at least they were attempted with real human brains and not just easy computers. They had originality and weren't as bad as all that anyway in my opinion. Robot saw the fourth Doctor begin in great style, it's just a bit of a pity for me that it was followed by three under par stories as far as I'm concerned, the Fourth Doctor needed a jump start after this, and he got it only from Revenge of the Cybermen onward.
Christopher Barry's reputation as one of the finest Doctor Who directors is further cemented with Robot. It is a thoroughly polished and excellent way to introduce fans to the new Fourth Doctor. And on the strength of this debut performance it is little wonder Tom Baker is now renowned as one of the best Doctors ever in the long and wonderful history of the show. If you don't me, just go and watch Robot right now...
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