Quazar

(🧵1/2) As we all sit down to enjoy the two #DoctorWho #Dalek missing episodes today (or rather 'no longer' missing episodes!) I earlier went on the hunt to track down a book I repeatedly borrowed from the library back in the very early 1980's about robots, which had really annoyed me all those years ago!

While I was only a very young kid at the time, fresh from watching Resurrection of the Daleks and Earthshock, this "Robots" book (Mark Lambert, 1981) had a big glaring error... It considered the Daleks to be robots! How could they be considered robots - they have squishy green blobs inside! (That were so evident in Resurrection - the only Dalek story I'd seen at the time!)

And while also mentioning Cybermen from Doctor Who, the drawing they labelled as a Cyberman clearly wasn't (as you'll see in the photos!) and that irked me far more than the Dalek mention! (I did prefer the #Cybermen to the Daleks!)

Apr 3 at 4:09pmWeb
Show threadQuazar1d ago

(2/2) I also found the same material was reused and updated for two further books by the author. The next was in 1983 - "Fifty Facts About Robots". While the Daleks are still called robots, the Cybermen have been updated with a drawing of two 'Revenge of the Cybermen' style! (Although the left hand Cyberman does look a bit iffy!)

And in 1985, "Just Look At... Robotics" the entry about Daleks being robots has gone! (Hurrah!) And for the Cybermen there's a photo from Earthshock.

#doctorwho #cybermen #daleks

Show threadJohn - 🎞️ Film Nerd 🎞️1d ago

@quazarsamcoupe Firstly, nostalgia! I remember that book! It's unlocked a memory, but I'm not sure if it's the same book. Did it feature a picture of a car frame with robot legs instead of wheels? Might have been a different book.

Also, are those front cover robots from anything? Why are their heads the front on a Space 1999 Eagle spaceship?

Show threadQuazar1d ago

@UKFilmNerd Yes, it had that walking car!

The book is on archive.org here: https://archive.org/details/robots0000lamb/

*edit* ... the General Electric walking truck on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_Truck

Show threadQuazar1d ago
@UKFilmNerd I think the robots on the cover are just made up, rip-offs of the Eagle spaceship for heads as you say, plus the body of 'Robot' from Doctor Who.
Show threadJohn - 🎞️ Film Nerd 🎞️1d ago
@quazarsamcoupe I knew the bottom half felt familiar. Thanks for the link, that tickled the memories. 😄
Show threadQuazar1d ago
@UKFilmNerd Heavy dollups of "artistic license" with their drawing of the walking truck, compared to the real thing from 1965...
Show threadQuazar1d ago

@UKFilmNerd Really going down the rabbit hole now...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMGCFLEYakM

GE Walking Truck - Cybernetic Anthropomorphous Machine (CAM) 1969.

YouTube
Show threadJohn - 🎞️ Film Nerd 🎞️1d ago

@quazarsamcoupe I'm sure I had that same 4 legged car in a b&w paperback version about robots. It also included a picture of a power loader much like Aliens which I wouldn't see until much later.

I might try searching for the book later but I'm not expecting to find it.

Show threadQuazar1d ago

@UKFilmNerd There was a power loader thing on the same page as the truck.

I'll take a quick look in the later two books, but they were both colour too. (I guess cheaper b/w paperback could have been issued too?)

Show threadQuazar1d ago

@UKFilmNerd The 1985 book features the exoskeleton again, but not the truck.

https://archive.org/details/robotics0000lamb/

Show threadJohn - 🎞️ Film Nerd 🎞️1d ago
@quazarsamcoupe Thanks for all the suggestions. Maybe I'm misremembering the book. Thanks for unlocking memories. 😁
Show threadQuazar1d ago

@UKFilmNerd I know the feeling! In all the years I'd been trying to hunt down this book I always thought it had a red cover! I had no idea of the name or author either. As for contents all I could really remember was the crappy 'cyberman' which had annoyed me so much, and the Grand Turk chess player on a later page. But upon going through it now so many things immediately appear so familiar.

And just to finish off, both the truck and exoskeleton are also in the 1983 book...

https://archive.org/details/50factsaboutrobo00lamb/

Show threadJohn - 🎞️ Film Nerd 🎞️1d ago
@quazarsamcoupe I just remembered the book I was talking about. I suddenly had a vision of the Puffin logo as the publisher and the book was incredibly easy to find. Shame I can't see the contents. Almost tempted to buy a copy!