Robots and androids in classic Doctor Who

Robots and androids  have featured heavily in science fiction this year with the feature films Chappie and Ex Machina, and TV series Humans.   Artificial intelligence in both friendly and dangerous forms has been a common theme in Doctor Who during both the classic and modern era.

Here are six memorable robot and android characters from the classic era with clips from the official Doctor Who and BBC Worldwide YouTube channels:

The Kraals' androids - The Android Invasion (1975)

These androids were produced by the Kraals as part of their plan to colonise the Earth.  Memories and intelligence of real people were transferred to the android duplicates who were armed with weaponry fired from their fingers.

Slave robots - Robots of Death  (1977)

Kaldor City was dependent on robots for servants and manual labour. The Fourth Doctor encountered these robots on a sandminer where someone was reprogramming them to murder the crew.

K-9 Mark I - The Invisible Enemy, The Sun Makers, Underworld, The Invasion of Time (1977-78)

Professor Marius invented the first K9 in the year 5000 while working on the asteroid K4067.  The Professor offered K9 to the Fourth Doctor and after adventures with him and Leela, Mark I stayed on Gallifrey with his "mistress".

 

The Teriptils' android - The Visitation (1982)

In 17th century England, a group of Terileptils used an android to scare the locals, dressing it in a cloak to give it the appearance of the Grim Reaper.

Kamelion - The King's Demons, Plant of Fire (1983-84)

Kamelion was a shape-changing android used by the Master to impersonate King John. He later briefly travelled in the TARDIS with the Fifth Doctor. 

The Kandyman - The Happiness Patrol (1988)

On Terra Alpha, the Kandyman was a robot executioner for the despotic leader  Helen A.   One of its execution methods was drowning people in boiling liquid candy.