"Doctor Who" The Deadly Assassin: Part 1 (1976)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

David Maloney

Writer:

Robert Holmes (writer)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (1963)

Original Air Date:

30 October 1976 (Season 14, Episode 9)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A mysterious evil is at work on Gallifrey. The President of the Time Lords has been assassinated and the Doctor caught red-handed. An inexorable master plan has been set in motion. There can be no escape

Plot Keywords:

Master | Warn | Crisis | Opening Narration | Solo

Cast

Tom Baker	...	Doctor Who
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Bilton	...	Time Lord
Erik Chitty	...	Co-Ordinator Engin
John Dawson	...	Time Lord
Bernard Horsfall	...	Chancellor Goth
Steve Ismay	...	Guard
Angus MacKay	...	Cardinal Borusa
Peter Pratt	...	The Master
George Pravda	...	Castellan Spandrell
Maurice Quick	...	Gold Usher
Llewellyn Rees	...	President of the High Council
Derek Seaton	...	Commander Hilred
Hugh Walters	...	Commentator Runcible

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG

Trivia:

Following the complaints about violence in this serial and several other serials produced by Philip Hinchcliffe over the previous two seasons, the BBC's management decided to move Hinchcliffe to the new adult police series, "Target" (1977), at the end of this season and install a new producer for the next season of "Doctor Who" (1963), Graham Williams, who was ordered to take out anything graphic in the depiction of violence.

Quotes:

The Doctor: No answer to a straight question. Typical politician.

A Doctor Who story with a big reputation.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin: Part One starts as the Doctor (Tom Baker) suffers from premonitions about the assassination of the Time Lord President, the TARDIS materialises on his & the Timelords home planet Gallifrey. There he evades the capture of the Chancellory guards led by Commander Hilred (Derek Seaton) aided by a mysterious person dressed in a black cape, the Doctor sneaks back inside the TARDIS just before it is transducted into the Gallifrey Capitol to a museum as an example of an antiquated Type 40. The Doctor then steals a ceremonial robe & gains entry to the Panopticon where the Time Lord President is due to resign & name his successor but he is shot dead on the Panopticon stage before he has the chance & the Doctor is the prime suspect...

Episode 9 from season 14 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during October 1976 & was the third story from Tom Baker's third season playing the Doctor. Directed by David Maloney this was a significant story in the history of the Doctor, his origins & his race of people. The script by Robert Holmes was originally called The Dangerous Assassin & there are various notable aspects to it. Firstly it's the first & only Doctor Who story not to feature a companion after Sarah Jane Smith left during the previous story The Hand of Fear (1976), the Doctor's next companion would be Leela who would be introduced during the following story The Face of Evil (1976). Secondly The Deadly Assassin really tries to give the Doctor some background, who he is, where he came from & what his people are like. Set on his home planet of Gallifrey which had only been seen in glimpses before in stories such as The War Games (1969) staring Patrick Troughton from season six & The Three Doctors (1972) staring Jon Pertwee, before the Timelords had been portrayed as almost god like beings which is totally undermined & undone in The Deadly Assassin. Generally speaking most fans of the classic series seem to like The Deadly Assassin which is fine & I have no problem in saying that it's very enjoyable but it's not a story that I personally consider a classic & can name many, many Doctor Who stories which I much prefer. I actually quite like the Doctor as a mysterious figure, as a renegade alien fighting for good & stopping evil so I am in two minds about The Deadly Assassin. On the one hand it's good but on the other it devalues everything that came before & after a little bit. Just my opinion but I'm sticking with it, so sue me.

Entirely studio bound The Deadly Assassin has good production values, the sets are good & the Timelord robes & headdress attire is pretty impressive although the Prydonian Timelord seal emblem seen in The Deadly Assassin is the same design as the Vogan's emblem in Revenge of the Cybermen (1975) from season twelve due to cost cutting. Strangely this opening episode of The Deadly Assassin lasts for little over twenty minutes including opening & closing titles rather than the standard twenty five like the rest of this story & the Tom Baker era in general.

The Deadly Assassin: Part One is a good opening episode with a fair amount going on & a story based around the politics of another planet, it's good entertaining & intriguing fun & well worth a watch.