Robot: Part Two

Think Tank have changed the code of the Robot, now it does what it was told that it absolutely should not, prime directive override, makes the tin man run and hide, and there's a group called SRS that's run by bigots.

Review of all 4 episodes:

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.

Robot: Part Two ends where Part One left off, with Sarah Jane Smith seemingly being encroached upon by a huge robot called K-1. K-1 refuses to attack her. The Robot explains its purpose to Sarah, its 'prime directive' being aiding humanity. Sarah relays her story to the Doctor and UNIT, and they act by talking to the previously introduced Professor Kettlewell and send Harry undercover at Thinktank. It is then shown how the Robot is made to act in ways that would seem counter to its prime directive, with Miss Winters and Mr Jellicoe, important figures at Thinktank, identifying a key Government minister with nuclear codes as an enemy of humanity. Sarah attends a meeting by the Scientific Reform Society, an epistocratic group with twisted values for governance and decisionmaking. The Robot returns to Professor Kettlewell, distressed after conflict with its Prime Directive. A trap is laid for the Doctor, where he encounters The Robot.

Part Two of the Robot serial largely follows on from Part One, with most plot points in the episode acting as direct continuation of what had happened previously. The acting continues on the same trajectory as it was going previously, and we are introduced to the driving motive for the Robot, and how its innocent motive gets shaped by the evil plans of its operators and twisted into going against its Directive despite justification being based in the Directive.

One new plot element introduced, however, is the Scientific Reform Society. This is a highly interesting group, which really makes the serial a fantastic watch. They are a fringe group of estranged scientists, tired of being ignored by successive governments, especially on environmental matters (very prescient). Their advocacy is therefore to establish academics as a ruling, decisionmaking class, establishing an epistocratic society. Despite this episode not getting into the meats of political conundrums encountered later on in the serial, interesting conflict arises when Sarah Jane Smith, with her attempt to sneak into an SRS conference, etablishes just how silly the decisionmaking philosophy advocated by the group really is, with their members telling her that she would have no free will in their ideal society, instead being told what to do, for the absurd justification of it being "for the best".

8.8/10. I didn't expect tense political conundrums from my very first classic Who serial. Wow.

Miss Winters has given Sarah a huge scare, activating the K1 Robot, which refused to attack her, because of its prime directive. The Robot explains its purpose, to aid humanity. Sarah relays her story to The Doctor and UNIT, they act by talking to Professor Kettlewell and send Harry undercover at The Think Tank. Miss Winters and Mr Jellicoe task the Robot with its next mission, to kill a Government minister, distressed after its conflict with its Prime Directive the Robot returns to Kettlewell. Sarah attends an SRS meeting, a group of individuals with ideas of how the world should be run. A trap is laid for the Doctor, where he encounters The Robot.

Miss Winters continues to be a nasty piece of work, that severe haircut and sharp voice. She's more then a match for our Sarah Jane, I like how she very calmly tries to turn the Robot against Sarah.

It seems so odd watching Tom driving Bessie, definitely Pertwee only!

It's a very well acted episode, I have to say in particular I find it a really strong performance from Lis Slden, she's got a definite sparkle in the eye. They gave Sarah a character that could act on her own initiative, it was refreshing for the companion to act independently. It's good fun 8/10