Doctor Who: Every Doctor's First Episode Ranked Worst To Best

No actor has ever grasped the Doctor with as much enthusiasm as Tom Baker. That's clear from his very first story, Robot, in which he commands your attention from the moment he sits up in the UNIT laboratory.

Placing Tom Baker's Doctor in a UNIT story is a perfect way to show how this fourth incarnation is different from his immediate predecessor. The Fourth Doctor is far shabbier and rough around the edges than the sharply-dressed Third Doctor, and this difference in style carries over into the science.

For example, it's hard to imagine the Third Doctor lobbing a bucket of a metal-eating virus over the enormous K-1 robot – that would've been more of a Sergeant Benton job. But here, the Fourth Doctor gamely leans out of the side of Bessie and flings a pail of the solution all over the giant rampaging android.

Overall, Robot is a hugely enjoyable story that does a great job setting up the tone of the Tom Baker era.