The Robots of Death

] [cite web
url= http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/4r.html
title= The Robots of Death
publisher = A Brief History of Time Travel
last = Sullivan
first = Shannon
date = 2007-08-07
accessdate = 2008-08-30]
* Early titles for the script included "Planet of the Robots" and "The Storm-mine Murders".

Outside references

*The murder plotine owes a great deal to Agatha Christie; notably Ten Little Indians and The Mousetrap.
*The treatment of robots in this serial has many intentional nods to Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.
*The villain of the story is named Taran Capel, which is a reference to Karel Čapek, who is credited with first coining the word "robot". Uvanov's name is a reference to Isaac Asimov, while Poul is a reference to Poul Anderson
*The script several times refers to Robophobia (the irrational fear of robots) as 'Grimwade's Syndrome', an inside joke reference to Peter Grimwade, a production assistant who directed some of the filmed scenes in the episode. Grimwade had frequently lamented that he was always working on material involving robots.

In print

Doctorwhobook
title=Doctor Who and the Robots of Death
series=Target novelisations
number=53
featuring=


writer=Terrance Dicks
publisher=Target Books
coverartist=John Geary
isbn=0 426 20061 6
set_between=
pages=
date=24 May 1979
preceding=Doctor Who and the Invisible Enemy
following=Doctor Who and the Image of the Fendahl|A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in May 1979.

VHS and DVD releases

*This story was released in the omnibus format in April 1986 and in the complete, episodic format in February 1995.
*This story was released on DVD in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2000.
*When subtitles are used in the 2000 edition of the DVD the Doctor is credited as 'Doctor Who' while actor Tom Baker is speaking. However in other DVDs he is simply referred to as the Doctor.
*DVD commentary is provided by writer Chris Boucher and producer Philip Hinchcliffe.
*Part 1 was released on DVD in 2006, coming free with The Sun as a promotional item. It was housed in a cardboard case.

References

External links

*BBCCDW|id=robotsofdeath|title=The Robots of Death
*Brief |id=4r | title=The Robots of Death
*Doctor Who RG | id=who_4r | title=The Robots of Death
* [http://www.kaldorcity.com/features/antecedents/vocs.html Essay on "The Robots of Death" (contains plot detail)]

Reviews

*OG review | id=4r | title=The Robots of Death
*DWRG | id=robots | title=The Robots of Death

Target novelisation

*DWRG | id=robotsnov | title=Doctor Who and the Robots of Death
* [http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~ecl6nb/OnTarget/1979/robots/79robots.htm On Target — "Doctor Who and the Robots of Death"]