Doctor Who: Every Tom Baker/Hinchcliffe Era Story Ranked From Worst To Best

7. The Robots Of Death

In the rightful order, as Chris Boucher wrote this one directly after the Face of Evil (and then another one four episodes later. He then went off to script edit Blake's 7 at Holmes' recommendation and sadly all his pitched future scripts were declined when he tried to return). But it€™s his second offering which is his best. Starting out as a vague idea from Holmes of an isolated outpost story, Boucher added the Agatha Christie elements from Ten Little Indians and turned the story into the icon it became. It was director Michael E Briant, though, who really brought this story to life. Picked for this story due to his technical vision, he makes it even more claustrophobic and suspenseful than the premise already makes it. Every shot lasts just slightly too long. It€™s unnerving and makes everyone seem threatening. Admittedly the characters are in desperate need of such, as this story contains some of the most drug-fuelled costume choices the show has ever produced. The first impression of them is in their casual wear in the lounge area but then they go to the bridge in suits which look like the Bee Gees outfits swallowed by a variety of sea monsters. This story strongly influenced a new Who story which could be said to borrow liberally from this era. This story introduced glowing red eyes for when the servant race turns possessed and tries to kill their masters which would be used for the Ood in the equally claustrophobic story The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit. The episode also used the voice of Sutekh from Pyramids of Mars for the voice of the Devil. As a result, The Robots of Death is a great starting point for any new Who fan, as long as they can live past the first episode without dying of laughter.