Sarah and Kettlewell infiltrate an SRS meeting to try and find out what Miss Winters is up to but there is a surprise in store.Sarah and Kettlewell infiltrate an SRS meeting to try and find out what Miss Winters is up to but there is a surprise in store.Sarah and Kettlewell infiltrate an SRS meeting to try and find out what Miss Winters is up to but there is a surprise in store.
- Phillips
- (uncredited)
- UNIT Soldier
- (uncredited)
- S.R.S. Meeting Security
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Terrance Dicks
- Sydney Newman(uncredited)
- Donald B. Wilson(uncredited)
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode was watched by 10.1 million viewers on its original transmission.
- GoofsThe impressive looking robot costume clearly has some unfortunate issues with its large heavy feet, causing the actor to stumble a few times, and at one point it requires some none too subtle help from another actor to manage to negotiate some stairs.
- Quotes
Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart: A few months ago, the superpowers, Russia, America, and China, decided upon a plan to ensure peace. All three powers have hidden atomic missile sites. All three agreed to give details of those sites plus full operation instructions to another neutral country. In the event of trouble, that country could publish everyone's secrets and so cool things down. Well, naturally enough the only country that could be trusted with such a role was Great Britain.
Doctor Who: Naturally, I mean the rest were all foreigners.
Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart: Exactly.
- ConnectionsFeatured in When Worlds Collide (2012)
In the first episode of this story we see the regeneration from Jon Pertwee's third Doctor into Tom Baker's fourth Doctor which occurred at the end of the final Pertwee episode. Baker arrives in full exuberant form with no effort to allow viewers time to adjust to the huge change in personality for their hero. There is a lot of humour and mad eccentricity on display and Baker is marvellous right from the start. Throughout the story he displays hilarious wit and energy but also a good dose of brilliant intelligence and grit. He is electrifyingly good right from the start.
The story itself is of secondary importance to the introduction of the new Doctor and the re-drawing of his relationships with Sarah Jane and the UNIT team. All the regulars are great as usual: Lis Sladen is a joy as Sarah Jane, just take for example how she reacts to being confronted by the menacing robot when unlike so many companions she does not scream she, as usual, shows some strength. She is independent, takes action and is both brave and clever. Nicholas Courtney is his usual wonderful support as the Brigadier and Jon Levene is endearing as ever as Benton. The new arrival, Harry Sullivan, is very well acted by Ian marter and is a very good addition.
The Doctor and UNIT have to deal with a powerful robot that is being used by scientists to give them the opportunity to gain control of the world's nuclear weapons so they can take control and run the world the way they believe it should be run. There are some strong guest characters, all very well acted and there is plenty of action and fun. The robot itself while not appearing that special to look at, is actually a quite impressive creation for the day as it moves and acts pretty effectively. The robot is also given a lot of character as it struggles with its orders which contradict its prime directive not to harm humans. Only once or twice does this seem a bit imperfectly done, mostly it is done well and is strangely touching.
There is a lot of very good dialogue, both funny when required and serious the rest of the time. There is a nice element of the villains not intending to be evil but being willing to cause mass death in order to achieve a world they think is better.
From the excellent first episode and the really strong second and third episodes, the fourth episode of the story becomes a little less impressive with the slightly silly and pointless idea of the robot increasing to giant size and a few ambitious attempts at effects which do not look all that good. Character actions and events are also a bit less convincingly done in this final part. It is still a fun and exciting episode but not as great as it could have been.
Overall the debut of Tom Baker with such a dazzling performance from him is a shining highlight and with plenty of other good stuff too this adventure is very strong.
My ratings: Episode 1 - 10/10, Episodes 2 & 3 - 9/10, Episode 3 - 7.5/10.
- A_Kind_Of_CineMagic
- Nov 18, 2014
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