Doctor Who Re-Watch: Creepy androids in The Robots of Death

After Kerblam! paid so much tribute to this earlier Doctor Who story, we look back at The Robots of Death, and why it’s still a classic even today.

Kerblam! was an episode that featured a lot of nods and tributes to earlier Doctor Who stories. The focus on bubble wrap, for example, was more than likely an intentional nod towards Fourth Doctor classic The Ark in Space.

There was another story that Kerblam! seemed to reference though. Another Fourth Doctor story that’s just as equally loved. In this case, it’s The Robots of Death.

There are similar aspects to both stories, particularly with the robots themselves. Both are designed to look somewhat human and sound friendly, while coming across as creepy. Naturally, both go on a killing spree, although it’s more obvious in Robots that they are killing people. And, most importantly, both are only doing it due to a human with their own agenda controlling them.

Even little scenes and lines seem to be clear nods to the original story. The first death in Robots, for example, is in a low-lit, claustrophobic setting, as he’s suddenly attacked by one robot. We then see another character hear his scream.

This is pretty similar to Dan’s death in Kerblam!. The original scene is admittedly creepier – due to creepy music and a more claustrophobic atmosphere – but it’s still a nice little nod.

A true classic

If I had to compare the two, I would say that I prefer The Robots of Death. But then, Robots is an absolute classic. Like The Ark in Space, there are very, very few stories as strong as this one.

There are a few key reasons for this. One is how fleshed out all the characters are, particularly Uvanov and Poul. Both Russell Hunter and David Collings give excellent performances in their roles, and both are written as having more flaws and depths than what initially appears.

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In fact, Chris Boucher’s script is generally a very tight and very strong story. The plot unfolds at a nice pace, but it never comes at the expense of the characters. As the story goes on, the tension increases with each episode, until it’s just the last few survivors struggling to fight off what seems to be inevitable.

The set design is also fantastic. Set entirely on board a sand miner, it’s not only claustrophobic, but it also feels like a real place, even one you could guess the whole geography of. It looks fantastic, and really shows just how impressive Doctor Who was back then.

Last but not least, we have the robots themselves. They’re not your typical robots in that they’re made to look vaguely human. Clearly, this is done in-universe to make them more relatable to humans and put them more at ease.

However, their blank faces and sing-song voices generally come across as creepy. It’s all very effective, and a lot of it comes down to the strength of both the design and the voice acting.

If anyone enjoyed Kerblam! and hasn’t seen The Robots of Death yet, I strongly recommend doing so. It’s a very strong story, and one that Kerblam! paid a lot of little nods to. This is true of many Doctor Who stories – particularly with Voyage of the Damned – but that only helps to show just how influential Robots really is.

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Have you seen The Robots of Death? Is it one of your favorite Fourth Doctor stories? Did you appreciate the nods to it in Kerblam!? Let us know in the comments below.

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