Doctor Who: 8 Tom Baker Stories To Celebrate In January

4. The Robots Of Death (1977)

Luckily for us, January 1977 was another month with five Saturdays which means that Chris Boucher€™s second story for the series also makes it to this list. Despite the fact that it was voted the sixth best serial of all time in an Outpost Gallifrey poll in 2003, it€™s surprising to learn that neither Baker nor director Michael E. Briant particularly liked the script, thinking it was too much of an Agatha Christie-type of story. While the story does have elements of a murder mystery, that isn€™t the primary element that stands out when fans look back on Robots. It€™s much more striking for its design which manages to be both 70s-era and timeless at the same time, as well as for those beautiful, beautiful robots. Walking death never looked quite so good. By this point, it€™s also clear that Leela is settling in very well as she contributes far more to the plot here than the standard screaming companion might have, her abortive fight with one of the robots being a high point. On a side note, and no offense to Pamela Salem, who turns in a great performance in this episode, but can anyone really imagine her as Leela? Apparently she auditioned for the part and didn€™t get it which might explain her casting both in this story and as one of Xoanon€™s voices in the previous one. You win some, you lose some.