The Androids of Tara is the fourth serial of the 16th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 25 November to 16 December 1978.
The Fourth Doctor and Romana arrive on the planet Tara in search of the fourth segment of the Key to Time. While the Doctor goes fishing, Romana finds the fourth segment. She is attacked by a native Taran bear and saved by Count Grendel, who takes Romana to his castle on the pretext of treating her injured ankle. Once there, it becomes clear that Grendel believes she is an android, because she exactly resembles the captive Princess Strella. When Grendel finds Romana is instead flesh-and-blood organic, she is imprisoned in Grendel’s dungeon.
The noble swordsmen Zadek and Farrah recruit the Doctor to assist Prince Reynart, who must reach the throne room of the castle in time to be crowned king or forfeit his crown to Grendel. The Doctor agrees to help repair an android copy of the Prince to be used as a decoy to distract Grendel’s men. Grendel strikes first, drugging the Prince and his retinue and kidnapping Reynart.
When the Doctor and the swordsmen recover, they decide to crown the android Reynart instead. The Doctor and his party sneak the android Prince into the throne room, and the Prince is crowned King.
Till, Grendel’s manservant, arrives at the Reynart estate and offers the Doctor a chance to collect Romana. It turns out to be a trap; the real Romana has been replaced by an android. K9 detects the android Romana and eliminates it. Meanwhile, the real Romana escapes from Castle Gracht and helps the Doctor flee.
Grendel, coming under a flag of truce to secretly offer the crown to the Doctor, destroys the Reynart android and recaptures Romana. The evil Count now plots to have Romana pose as Strella and marry the real King Reynart. Once they are married and she is his Queen, Reynart will be killed, leaving Grendel free to marry her and become King of Tara.
The Doctor has K9 assist him to gain access to the castle by means of the moat and tunnels. The Doctor reaches the throne room just in time to stop Reynart’s coerced marriage to Romana. He then engages the Count in a deadly duel with electro-swords, eventually defeating him and forcing him to flee. Romana has meanwhile freed Strella who is finally reunited with Reynart. Having retrieved the fourth segment of the Key to Time, the Doctor, Romana and K9 depart.
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To view the list of other Doctor Who serials, please click this link
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