In one of the series' most engaging political thrillers and most heavy-weight canon establishers, The Deadly Assassin is an entertaining and innovative piece of classic science-fiction storytelling.
Story:
Robert Holmes, in his blatant ripoff of the Manchurian Candidate (1962), immediately throws viewers into Gallifreyan high life and a political thriller the likes of which the show has never produced before. The story allows Tom Baker to shine in the lead without companions by his side, and so puts focus on the depiction of Time Lord society.
Holmes also expertly keeps dangling the twist right in front of the audience's eyes. If you don't know any details of this story beforehand, the reveal should be satisfyingly unexpected. And even when you do, like myself, it's entertaining to follow all those hints being dropped before the reveal.
The venture within the Matrix, with all kinds of unexpected dangers for the Doctor, is a brilliant idea well-realised onscreen. And I say this even if I think that the Part Two cliffhanger is slightly stupid (particularly in terms of how it is resolved in the next episode).
Acting:
With Tom Baker allowed to roam largely alone, he truly shows that he can carry an adventure all by himself. Baker famously objected to having a new companion introduce in the following serial because he thought it would be better if he just did everything alone. And while this story doesn't need a companion, I think the Doctor should have one in the long run.
George Pravda (Denes in The Enemy of the World, 1968; Jaeger in The Mutants, 1972) returns as Castellan Spandrell and he is pretty bad. Bernard Horsfall, who previously appeared as one of the Time Lords in The War Games (1969) is back as the Chancellor, and who couldn't love him? I also love the lovingly warm and fuzzy old Engin, as played by Erik Chitty (Breslin from The Massacre, 1966).
Peter Pratt doesn't get much to do until the final episode, but he's very good. I can hear tones of Roger Delgado in his voice in some scenes, which is lovely.
Angus MacKay's portrayal of cardinal Borusa, an iconic Time Lord character, is probably my least favourite from all the portrayals the show has done. It's just overly theatrical and dramatic, so he comes across as incredibly stiff and unlikable.
The Doctor:
This is very much the Doctor's show, and here he becomes something of a James Bond type character, putting himself at risk to save his home planet. And no, he doesn't need a companion, but that's more down to Tom Baker's performance rather than anything else.
The Companions:
Since there are no companions in this story, I will view Spandrell and Engin as such. They spend large parts of the story talking about technical mumbo jumbo, and I particularly love how Engin is so passionate about his field, while Spandrell has difficulties keeping up. Brilliant stuff.
The Monster/Villain:
It's great to see the Master back, even though his new crispy form is slightly silly. Peter Pratt puts in a fine performance and his presence can be felt throughout the story even though he spends large portions of the first half plotting behind the scenes.
Production:
The Matric sequence is wonderfully trippy and inventive. This is where the mix of directing, editing and visual effects truly come to light. The rest of the serial is also solidly directed, and while the Panopticon set isn't the most beautiful one the classic era has produced, the Time Lord gowns are very beautiful. The crispy Master is also well-made, and I like the editing of the early scenes with him.
Pacing:
This is another win for Robert Holmes, who goes from surprisingly tense political thriller to an imaginative adventure in the vein of The Mind Robber (1969) or Carnival of Monsters (1973) and then back to reality for the ultimate showdown. The variation in storytelling, pace and tension make this story tremendously watchable.
Atmosphere:
This story is lighter in tone compared to mos stories in the previous season, even if the Matrix sequence is sure to raise hairs with some viewers. The drowning cliffhanger of Episode 3 is the scene with which BBC activist Mary Whitehouse finally managed to kill the show's lauded Gothic horror era. It's perhaps a little unnecessary for a show like Doctor Who, but I find most things in The Seeds of Doom (1976) to be more disturbing than the drowning scene here. It's also one of the best-choreographed action scenes in the entire series!
Above all, The Deadly Assassin is exciting, unexpected, tense and fun, allowing viewers to understand the Doctor and Gallifrey better than ever before. I like how the stakes feel high in the final episode when the truth is finally revealed. Suddenly, the Doctor goes from murder suspect to Gallifrey's only hope.
Impact:
This is the story that builds upon the Doctor's persona and the legendarium of the show more than almost any other story before or since. It's hugely important to understand the Doctor, the Time Lords and Gallifrey since it's the basis for every Gallifrey- and Time Lord based story since.
Replay Value:
This is the finest political thriller the series has done up to this point. It's different to The Enemy of the World in almost every possible way, yet it is just as gripping. I will return to this many times.
Random Observations:
The Celestial Intervention Agency (CIA, I see what they did there) is mentioned here for the very first time. While not very much used on TV, the CIA appears throughout the Expanded Universe.
The Time Lord Matrix features heavily in this story. It becomes an important element of several stories later on.
This is the fits companion-lite story of the series (a story featuring the Doctor but none of his companions). Apart from Mission to the Unknown (1965), no other stories repeated this until the revived series.
It's somewhat strange that the Time Lords don't know the Doctor, the Master or their backgrounds, despite everything they've done and been through.
The Deadly Assassin is one of the funnier episode titles in the show's history (along with such classics as The Horse of Destruction, episode 4 of The Myth Makers, 1965; and The Big Bang, 2010). Assassins are, per definition, usually quite deadly.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParent2020-06-30T05:24:42Z
In one of the series' most engaging political thrillers and most heavy-weight canon establishers, The Deadly Assassin is an entertaining and innovative piece of classic science-fiction storytelling.
Story:
Robert Holmes, in his blatant ripoff of the Manchurian Candidate (1962), immediately throws viewers into Gallifreyan high life and a political thriller the likes of which the show has never produced before. The story allows Tom Baker to shine in the lead without companions by his side, and so puts focus on the depiction of Time Lord society.
Holmes also expertly keeps dangling the twist right in front of the audience's eyes. If you don't know any details of this story beforehand, the reveal should be satisfyingly unexpected. And even when you do, like myself, it's entertaining to follow all those hints being dropped before the reveal.
The venture within the Matrix, with all kinds of unexpected dangers for the Doctor, is a brilliant idea well-realised onscreen. And I say this even if I think that the Part Two cliffhanger is slightly stupid (particularly in terms of how it is resolved in the next episode).
Acting:
With Tom Baker allowed to roam largely alone, he truly shows that he can carry an adventure all by himself. Baker famously objected to having a new companion introduce in the following serial because he thought it would be better if he just did everything alone. And while this story doesn't need a companion, I think the Doctor should have one in the long run.
George Pravda (Denes in The Enemy of the World, 1968; Jaeger in The Mutants, 1972) returns as Castellan Spandrell and he is pretty bad. Bernard Horsfall, who previously appeared as one of the Time Lords in The War Games (1969) is back as the Chancellor, and who couldn't love him? I also love the lovingly warm and fuzzy old Engin, as played by Erik Chitty (Breslin from The Massacre, 1966).
Peter Pratt doesn't get much to do until the final episode, but he's very good. I can hear tones of Roger Delgado in his voice in some scenes, which is lovely.
Angus MacKay's portrayal of cardinal Borusa, an iconic Time Lord character, is probably my least favourite from all the portrayals the show has done. It's just overly theatrical and dramatic, so he comes across as incredibly stiff and unlikable.
The Doctor:
This is very much the Doctor's show, and here he becomes something of a James Bond type character, putting himself at risk to save his home planet. And no, he doesn't need a companion, but that's more down to Tom Baker's performance rather than anything else.
The Companions:
Since there are no companions in this story, I will view Spandrell and Engin as such. They spend large parts of the story talking about technical mumbo jumbo, and I particularly love how Engin is so passionate about his field, while Spandrell has difficulties keeping up. Brilliant stuff.
The Monster/Villain:
It's great to see the Master back, even though his new crispy form is slightly silly. Peter Pratt puts in a fine performance and his presence can be felt throughout the story even though he spends large portions of the first half plotting behind the scenes.
Production:
The Matric sequence is wonderfully trippy and inventive. This is where the mix of directing, editing and visual effects truly come to light. The rest of the serial is also solidly directed, and while the Panopticon set isn't the most beautiful one the classic era has produced, the Time Lord gowns are very beautiful. The crispy Master is also well-made, and I like the editing of the early scenes with him.
Pacing:
This is another win for Robert Holmes, who goes from surprisingly tense political thriller to an imaginative adventure in the vein of The Mind Robber (1969) or Carnival of Monsters (1973) and then back to reality for the ultimate showdown. The variation in storytelling, pace and tension make this story tremendously watchable.
Atmosphere:
This story is lighter in tone compared to mos stories in the previous season, even if the Matrix sequence is sure to raise hairs with some viewers. The drowning cliffhanger of Episode 3 is the scene with which BBC activist Mary Whitehouse finally managed to kill the show's lauded Gothic horror era. It's perhaps a little unnecessary for a show like Doctor Who, but I find most things in The Seeds of Doom (1976) to be more disturbing than the drowning scene here. It's also one of the best-choreographed action scenes in the entire series!
Above all, The Deadly Assassin is exciting, unexpected, tense and fun, allowing viewers to understand the Doctor and Gallifrey better than ever before. I like how the stakes feel high in the final episode when the truth is finally revealed. Suddenly, the Doctor goes from murder suspect to Gallifrey's only hope.
Impact:
This is the story that builds upon the Doctor's persona and the legendarium of the show more than almost any other story before or since. It's hugely important to understand the Doctor, the Time Lords and Gallifrey since it's the basis for every Gallifrey- and Time Lord based story since.
Replay Value:
This is the finest political thriller the series has done up to this point. It's different to The Enemy of the World in almost every possible way, yet it is just as gripping. I will return to this many times.
Random Observations:
The Celestial Intervention Agency (CIA, I see what they did there) is mentioned here for the very first time. While not very much used on TV, the CIA appears throughout the Expanded Universe.
The Time Lord Matrix features heavily in this story. It becomes an important element of several stories later on.
This is the fits companion-lite story of the series (a story featuring the Doctor but none of his companions). Apart from Mission to the Unknown (1965), no other stories repeated this until the revived series.
It's somewhat strange that the Time Lords don't know the Doctor, the Master or their backgrounds, despite everything they've done and been through.
The Deadly Assassin is one of the funnier episode titles in the show's history (along with such classics as The Horse of Destruction, episode 4 of The Myth Makers, 1965; and The Big Bang, 2010). Assassins are, per definition, usually quite deadly.
Score: 109/120