Robot Yeti

**Robot Yeti** were servitors created by the Great Intelligence, originally as protectors before using them as an army.

## Characterisation

### Appearance and Construction

The Yeti robots were large and hairy to disguise themselves in the Himalayas. Their claws, feet, and eyes were the only parts not covered in fur; their claws and feet were black and bumpy, their teeth yellow, and their eyes green.

The first Yeti were bigger and more bear-like, whereas the "Mark II"s, as the Second Doctor called them, in London had better-defined hands capable of wielding web-guns. These Yeti had flaps at their chest which hid the control spheres that provided their motive power, serving as a brain. Yeti could also be directed somewhere through the use of a locus. Until activated, Yeti could stand immobile for long periods, completely shut down and unaware of what went on around it. When instructions did arrive, it would come to life and begin moving. (TV: *The Abominable Snowmen*, *The Web of Fear*)

New World University's research into nanotechnology and atomic engineering produced Yeti that resembled the "Mark I" models. A control sphere could plunge itself into a human chest, nano-instructions inducing immediate atomic restructuring and multiplication until the person became a Yeti. Whether this meant they were organic or cyborgs is unclear, but these Yeti had yellow fangs and were more susceptible to projectile fire. They could also fire web from their claws. (TV: *Downtime*)

## History

### Origins

The Yeti were created to serve the Great Intelligence (TV: *The Abominable Snowmen*) A non-corporeal entity, the Great Intelligence took over the body of Padmasambhava, the lama of Det-Sen Monastery, and built the Yeti over hundreds of years. The Yeti were initially a ruse to scare off curiosity seekers from the mountain cave where the Intelligence planned to manifest; later, they became more of an army serving the Great Intelligence. These robots were similar in appearance to what explorer Professor Edward Travers called "real" Yeti. (TV: *The Abominable Snowmen*)

### 20th century

The Second Doctor, a friend of Padmasambhava's, arrived in the Himalayas in 1935 with his companions Victoria and Jamie. Along with Professor Travers, they put an end to the Great Intelligence's plan when Jamie smashed the pyramid control in the cave. However, Travers spotted a living Yeti as he parted ways with the Doctor and company. (TV: *The Abominable Snowmen*)

The robots then covered London in webbing, forcing the evacuation of the populace. Later, in the Underground, Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart and his troops attempted to stop them and the Intelligence from using the Underground as a nervous system. (TV: *The Web of Fear*)

Establishing New World University by 1995, the Intelligence-controlled Rebecca Campbell utilised control spheres to find the final locus, which bound the Intelligence to Earth. These spheres turned several New World students into Yeti, which proceeded to battle UNIT to defend the generators powering the Intelligence, but were subsequently defeated once more through the combined efforts of Rebecca, the Eighth Doctor, Bernice Summerfield, Chris Hector and Winifred Bambera. (TV: *Downtime*)

### Undated events

Lethbridge-Stewart again encountered a Yeti on Gallifrey, left over from Rassilon's games. On this occasion, the Second Doctor maddened it with a Galactic Glitter, and the resulting rock fall prevented any further interaction with it. (TV: *The Five Doctors*)

### Legacy

While on trial for breaking the Time Lords non-interference policy, the Second Doctor used a thought channel to show them some of the evils he'd fought against: one of which was a Robot Yeti. (TV: *The War Games*)

## Gallery

The Abominable SnowmenThe Web of Fear - The Five DoctorsDowntime
## Behind the Scenes

### Continuity

* Because no clear pictures exist of the supposed "real" Yeti seen at the end of *The Abominable Snowmen*, direct comparison of the Mark I and "real" Yetis, as televised, is impossible. However *the novelisation* does afford such a comparison: "It was taller and less bulky. The fur was longer and silkier, and had a more reddish tint. Above all, the face was different, rather like that of a lemur, with dark, soft eyes." Nevertheless, it is extremely unlikely that the brief wide shot that was included in the episode as broadcast would have been able to convey this level of detail. Indeed, this is an instance where the novelisation may be said to actively contradict the televised episode. Since episode six is missing, it is impossible to judge the reliability of this description. One could argue that since the Yeti that Travers places in a museum during the events of *The Web of Fear* is a robot yeti, that the "real" Yeti he chased after was indeed meant to be another robot incarnation.
* The date of the second Yeti invasion is the point at which the UNIT dating controversy begins. The script of episode two of *The Web of Fear*says that the events of *Snowmen* took place "in 1935" which is in turn said to be "over forty years ago". This means that *The Web of Fear* has to take place no earlier than late 1975. Since Lethbridge-Stewart is only a colonel at this time, it means his next appearance in *The Invasion*, and all the subsequent ones must take place even later than 1975, well after Tom Baker had begun to play the Fourth Doctor in real life. However, episodes made under John Nathan-Turner, and particularly *Mawdryn Undead*, indicate that the UNIT stories all took place in more or less the year they were broadcast. Also, the semi-official UNIT website gives the date of the incident as 1968, the same year *The Web of Fear.*

### Appearances in unmade stories

The Yeti would have reappeared in *The Laird of McCrimmon*, a story abandoned because of Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln's dispute with the BBC. This story would have seen the writing out of the character of Jamie McCrimmon. The Yeti would also have also appeared briefly in the planned 30th anniversary special *The Dark Dimension* as one of the races controlled by Hawkspur.

## List of Appearances

### Doctor Who

#### Season 5

* *The Abominable Snowmen*
* *The Web of Fear*