Special Edition DVD Extras include:
After an exceptional introduction to the sandminer and its diverse crew, the Doctor, Leela, and the TARDIS get a near perfect introduction as well. Establishing shot, TARDIS interior nicely explained, new Doctor/companion relationship showcased, full materialization for the police box, interior and exterior juxtaposed..... everything you'd want when introducing the series to completely new viewers, except for one niggling element. We still suffer the silly old primitive dark secondary control room. Arrghh! The view on the scanner screen is not particularly interesting or easily understandable at first either, so this control room's one usual strength is not particularly well boasted either. Dudley Simpson turns in one of his better scores with this story, reusing a simple but effective motif for the creepy advance of the robots on their possible victims, and accompanying many of the wide scene-setting shots with beautiful light and airy synthesizer sounds, adding to the majesty and uniqueness of the story's setting. Plus there are his renditions of classical music in the lounge. All excellent stuff. "The Robots of Death" works in large part thanks to the eye-candy design of the production, and some expert direction from Michael E. Briant. The cast does a marvellous job, and the robots themselves are unforgettable. Unlike many other monsters, these ones need not hide their physical features in the shadows to remain frightening - their features have been deliberately designed aesthetically. It's what's going on behind their face-plates that is truly frightening and left to our imagination, and one character's dilemma later in the story helps to emphasize this for those with any doubt. The fixation on strangulation is an unattractive element of the story, and there is some curious non-interaction going on in the plot as well. I'll only get into a real discussion of this in the In-depth Analysis version of this review. But suffice it to say, a little too much character interaction happens off-screen in this story, with someone else coming in and reporting it to the others, when actually seeing the event would seem to have worked better for the story and been equally good at maintaining the mystery. In the end, though, these are all minor points. The story remains gripping, thanks to the solid formula at work in the writing. The characters and the setting are interesting, and one wants to be there to find out how it will all work out. The story builds to a satisfying conclusion that makes up in dramatic quality for what it lacks in non-violent elegance and imagination. The lead villain revealed near the end of the piece doesn't quite have a motivation as believable as I would have liked, but single story villains don't need to make too much sense in my view - they haven't got their act together, and they're going to go to pieces in the end anyway.
This story has become available on DVD and VHS video:
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