Are Friends Electric? (2007)
39 minutes
This is the making of documentary for Robot although it also covers the transition from the eleventh to the twelfth season, from one production team to another, from Jon Pertwee to Tom Baker. There is footage from a script read through where most if not all of the actors can be seen including the one who played the Robot.
The people interviewed for this documentary feature include
- Barry Letts, producer (1970-74)
- Philip Hinchcliffe, producer (1974-77)
- George Galaccio, production unit manager
- Terrance Dicks, writer and script editor (1968-74)
- Elisabeth Sladen, Sarah Jane Smith
- Christopher Barry, director
- Tom Baker, The Doctor
- Alec Linstead, Jellicoe
- Patricia Maynard, Miss Winters
- Edward Burnham, Professor Kettlewell
- Michael Kilgarriff, The Robot
Things discussed during the feature included
- the transition of producer from Letts to Hinchfliffe
- the transitions of script editor from Terrance Dicks to Robert Holmes
- search for the Pertwee's placement
- why some actors weren't hired to be Pertwee's replacement
- the impact of Tom Baker's part in the Golden Voyage of Sinbad on his getting the job
- the suitability of Tom Baker for the role
- how the Doctor was a benevolent alien somewhat out of sync with the world around him
- the origins of the Doctor's costume, specifically the scarf which was made by Begonia Pope
- the origins of Robot (the story), including why it was a story about a robot and the links to King Kong
- three laws of robotics
- the role of feminism in the story
- memories of Ian Marter
- colour separation overlay (CSO) and other special effects
- the Robot suit
This was a lot of fun even though I had heard more than a couple of the anecdotes before. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many of the actors who were still around in 2007 were interviewed for this feature.
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