Doctor Who/Recap/S13/E04 The Android Invasion

""Is that finger loaded?""

- The Doctor sizes up the threat.

The TARDIS lands in a typical English village that Sarah recognises as Devesham, home of the British Space Defence Station. However, it soon becomes obvious that things are not all as they should be, and the Doctor and Sarah realise that the village is a replica populated with androids.

An alien race - the Kraals - aided by an unwitting human astronaut, Guy Crayford, have built the replica to rehearse for an invasion of the Earth. Styggron, a Kraal scientist, has perfected a lethal virus and plans to use his androids to disseminate it around the world, paving the way for the Kraal fleet.

Crayford, whose rocket had been damaged and who was rescued by the Kraals, returns to a hero's welcome but with the Brigadier off in Geneva, no-one at UNIT believes the Doctor when he tells tall stories of android replicas - which now include himself, Harry and RSM Benton. The Doctor manages to use the radio equipment at the base to jam the android control signal and stop Styggron releasing the virus. He then uses his own android replica to fight Styggron, who infects himself with the virus in the process and is killed.

Tropes
""This time I'm saving you!""
 * Arm Cannon: See quote at the top of the page.
 * Bond Villain Stupidity: Styggron on at least two occasions.
 * Distressed Dude: Sarah busts the Doctor out of his cell.


 * Does Not Like Spam: Sarah Jane apparently hates ginger pop. It's how the Doctor recognizes her ginger pop-drinking android impostor.
 * Evil Twin
 * Not Herself: Sarah Jane apparently hates ginger pop. It's how the Doctor recognizes her ginger pop-drinking android impostor.
 * Impersonating the Evil Twin
 * Mind Probe
 * The Plague
 * Redemption Equals Death:
 * Ridiculously Human Robot
 * Robot Me
 * Spoiler Title: One of the worst of the many examples in Doctor Who, which gives away something that is meant to be a mystery for two full episodes.
 * Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Colonel Faraday for The Brigadier.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: We never see Benton again after he's knocked out by one of the duplicates. In fact, for many years fans thought Benton had actually been killed in this story, until "Mawdryn Undead" revealed that he had retired from the army and become a used car salesman.
 * You Said You Would Let Them Go / I Lied