Commentary Highlights:

Or not, as the case may be- there isn’t very much that Philip Hinchcliffe and Chris Boucher come out with that hasn’t been heard in a dozen interviews in the last thirty years. Hinchcliffe by his own admission hadn’t seen the story in twenty years, but I think part of the trouble of having a producer and a writer on the commentary is that most of their involvement comes before and after recording, so there aren’t many recollections of what the atmosphere in the studio was like and whether anybody was particularly funny or difficult to work with. It’s mildly amusing when Boucher admits to trying to make his cliffhanger reprises as long as possible so as to have to do less actual writing, to be reprimanded by Hinchcliffe who suddenly realises that he was overpaying his writer...

Extras:

An odd mixed bag entitled "Featurette" includes a continuity announcement, seven minutes of black and white model footage (which admittedly looks very good and shows just how much effort went into the Sandminer and its landscape), and a caption slide. The photo gallery includes many over-familiar photos (plus an odd one of a Robot with human hands) and there’s also a copy of the studio floor plans, which has a passing interest once you realise that the main sets were actually set up on opposite sides of the studio from each other.

‘The Robots of Death’ is a step in the right direction if nothing else, and in terms of presentation introduces several features which are with us to this day (bearing in mind it was issued in an era when "Graphical Menus" was a legitimate special feature) including the basic structure of the Who DVDs. It’s also as logical a choice for a first episodic story as it was for one of the first VHS releases: generally well-regarded, it has a popular Doctor and companion and the storyline is a self-contained futuristic take on the accessible murder mystery genre, so we’re still thinking in terms of casual appeal. There’s still no information text, however, and by today’s standards it’s difficult to see a story with such a high standing in most fans’ estimation receiving such a parsimonious treatment- as I’ve mentioned, having Philip Hinchcliffe and Chris Boucher on the commentary is a coup of sorts for the infant range, but there’s little insight into what it was like to actually make the story. These days a story with a reputation like ‘Robots’ would probably have Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and Michael E Briant on commentary duties and a documentary looking at the production of the episodes, but it’s noticeable that as Boucher says at a couple of points, they’re getting drawn into the story instead of discussing it. For a first attempt at a normal release, it’s not bad going at all, but in hindsight there’s an awful lot more to be said about the story and it would be interesting to hear some of the more unusual viewpoints.