 This story contains a number of significant firsts for the show. It greatly expands on the Time Lord society and mythology that was hinted at in "The Three Doctors" and only briefly glanced in "The War Games" – namely: Rassilon, the Matrix, the Panopticon, the Prydonian Academy and the Eye of Harmony. It also revealed more details about the Time Lords planet, Gallifrey.
However, the most significant aspects of this story are The Doctor travelling without a companion for the first time in the show’s history and the return of The Master, played by Peter Pratt - the first time this character has appeared in the show since Roger Delgado, who originally played The Master, tragically died in 1973. This is, however, Peter Pratt's only appearance in the role.
This is the only story of the original run of the show where The Doctor does not have a travelling companion, with Sarah Jane Smith (played by Elisabeth Sladen) departing in the previous story and Leela (played by Louise Jameson) joining in the next story. Appearing in a story on his own was reportedly at Tom Baker's request as he wanted to try a solo adventure.
Writer Robert Holmes later stated how difficult it was to write a script without anyone for The Doctor to share his thoughts and plans with (the consequence of which has him talking to himself more than usual). Although this story was well-received, the experiment of The Doctor having an adventure without a companion was not repeated until the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "Midnight" in the revived show, where The Doctor's then companion Donna Noble relaxes in a spa while he takes a sight-seeing trip.
The Doctor has had other solo adventures: The 1996 film "Doctor Who: The Movie", staring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, and in the revived show would feature the Tenth Doctor on occasion collaborating with ‘one-off’ companions such as Donna Noble, in the 2006 Christmas special "The Runaway Bride" and Astrid Peth in the 2007 Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". It is however, not until the 2009 story "The Next Doctor" that The Doctor would appear again in a story where there is no companion or companion-surrogate at all.
The part of Chancellor Goth was played by Bernard Horsfall who previously appeared as an unnamed Time Lord in the 1969 Second Doctor story "The War Games" - prompting some speculation that they were the same character. Bernard Horsfall has also appeared in the 1968 Second Doctor story "The Mind Robber", as Gulliver, and in the 1973 Third Doctor story "Planet of the Daleks", as a Thal called Taron. All three stories were also directed by David Maloney.
David Maloney’s last Doctor Who work, as Director, had been on the previous season’s "Planet of Evil". David Maloney worked closely with Designer Roger Murray-Leach and Costume Designer James Acheson to give Gallifrey a consistent and cohesive look. Although James Acheson would eventually be replaced on the story by Joan Ellacott, he contributed the Time Lords' distinctive high-collared apparel.
The Time Lords’ were depicted as being members of three Gallifreyan Chapters: the Prydonians (the 'notoriously devious' sect to whom The Doctor belongs) are colour coded scarlet and orange while the Arcalians wear green and Patrexes wear heliotrope.
However, having established, through Runcible's newscast, that the livery for the Prydonian chapter is the scarlet/orange combination, the major Prydonian character - Cardinal Borusa is seen in the purple robes (which is supposed to belong to the Patrex chapter).
Another distinctive trade-mark of the Time Lords, debuted in this story, was the Prydonian Seal which would subsequently become known as the ‘Seal of Rassilon’. This symbol however, was first seen, as the Vogans' emblem, in the 1975 story "Revenge of the Cybermen". The re-use of this symbol was carried out by Designer Roger Murray-Leach – who was the designer on the earlier Cyberman story.
Both the Time Lord’s costumes and the ‘Seal of Rassilon’ would become enduring elements of Gallifrey's portrayal in Doctor Who - even when the show was revived in 2005.
The title of this story, "The Deadly Assassin", is a tautology - an assassin is, by definition, deadly. This redundancy was parodied in the 1999 Comic Relief charity spoof "The Curse of Fatal Death".
This story features, at the beginning of the first episode, the first rolling caption and voiceover in the show. In this voiceover Tom Baker refers to Time Lords in the third person, over a text crawl similar to that seen in the opening of Star Wars (although "The Deadly Assassin" predates the premiere of Star Wars by six months). In this voiceover Tom Baker states: ‘Through the millennia, the Time Lords of Gallifrey led a life of peace and ordered calm, protected against all threats from lesser civilisations by their great power. But this was to change. Suddenly, and terribly, the Time Lords faced the most dangerous crisis in their long history...’.
The 1996 film "Doctor Who: The Movie", the 2005 Ninth Doctor story "Father's Day", the 2006 Tenth Doctor story "Army of Ghosts/Doomsday", and the 2009 story "The End of Time" are the only other stories so far that begin with a voiceover.
This story was largely inspired by the film and book The Manchurian Candidate. Even down to the inclusion of a Celestial Intervention Agency (CIA).
This story features an exclusively male cast, except for a female computer voice. Helen Blatch provided the voice of the computer voice heard in the first episode but she did not receive an on-screen credit for her involvement in this story.
This is the first story set entirely on Gallifrey and where every character is of the same race (Gallifreyan).
Before this story the Time Lords had been depicted in the show as essentially godlike individuals. To fill in the details of their culture writer Robert Holmes drew upon the fact that Gallifrey had in the past been seen to produce so many renegades - not just The Doctor and The Master, but also the Meddling Monk ("The Time Meddler"), the War Chief ("The War Games"), Omega ("The Three Doctors") and Morbius ("The Brain of Morbius").
This is the first story to state that a Time Lord is a limited number to only twelve regenerations and so thirteen incarnations. Previously in the "The War Games", The Doctor did qualify that his people can live forever ‘barring accidents’ and, in "The Brain of Morbius", the Fourth Doctor is heard to state that his people chose to not live forever because ‘death is the price of progress’. This story also serves as the first on-screen contradiction of the ‘mystery Doctors’ allegedly seen in "The Brain of Morbius".
The knowledge that Time Lords are able to regenerate up to twelve times is not unique to this story. It has been a major plot element of at least two other stories (the 1983 Fifth Doctor story "Mawdryn Undead" and the 1996 film "Doctor Who: The Movie") both of which involve villains attempting to steal The Doctor's remaining regenerations. Another reference to the Time Lords’ ability occurs in the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "The Next Doctor".
Despite being able to regenerate none of the Time Lords, who are killed in this story, are seen to regenerate.
Other concepts first used in this story include the Panopticon (the Time Lord’s ceremonial hall), the Castellan (the head of Capitol security), the Chancellery Guard, and the Matrix which is part of the Amplified Panotropic Computer net. The Matrix, or APC net, features in all subsequent Gallifrey set stories (with the exception of "The Five Doctors"). The Vardans are able to infiltrate it in "The Invasion of Time", which also establishes that the President has full control of the Matrix. Omega is able to take control of it in "Arc of Infinity" and the stealing of secret information from the Matrix sets in motion the events of the 1986 The Trial of a Time Lord season of stories.
Castellan Spandrell is heard to casually mention the Celestial Intervention Agency and it is implied that they had a hand in commuting The Doctor's exile in "The Three Doctors". It has also been assumed that the Celestial Intervention Agency were involved in placing The Doctor on trial in "The War Games" and used the Third Doctor and Fourth Doctor as reluctant agents in stories such "Colony in Space", "The Curse of Peladon", "Genesis of the Daleks" and "The Brain of Morbius". The Celestial Intervention Agency has also featured prominently in a number of spin-off novels and audios plays.
This story contains the first appearance of the character of Borusa. Borusa reappears in "The Invasion of Time", "Arc of Infinity" and "The Five Doctors". However, in each subsequent story, the character is played by a different actor also in this story Borusa has recently regenerated and is a Cardinal. In the three subsequent stories he is promoted in each interim; a Chancellor, President, and then Lord High President.
Co-ordinator Engin is heard to comment about the Plebian classes and Borusa's desire to prevent the Time Lord's leadership being undermined. This has led to long running speculation that not all the population of Gallifrey are Time Lords. Castellan Spandrell also refers to a group called Shobogans, who apparently are often responsible for acts of vandalism in the Citadel. The 1978 Story "The Invasion of Time" would reveal the existence of a group of Outsiders who claim to be Time Lords who left their society.
This story also introduces the iconic character of Rassilon who would be referred to constantly but unseen in person until the 2009 Tenth Doctor story "The End of Time". Rassilon who, along with Omega (introduced in "The Three Doctors") would become the central figure in Time Lord mythology. Interestingly when Rassilon's name is first mentioned, The Doctor inquires who he is.
Co-ordinator Engin reappears in the BBC Books’ The Eighth Doctor Stories novel "The Eight Doctors". While Chancellor Goth's brother, Rath, appears in the Virgin Books’ The New Adventures novel "Blood Harvest".
The BBC Books’ The Past Doctors Stories novel "Last of the Gaderene" and The Eighth Doctor Stories novel "Legacy of the Daleks" explain how The Master became how he appears. However, in terms of televised adventures, there is no indication that The Master seen in this story is necessarily the same incarnation of The Master as last seen portrayed by Roger Delgado in the 1973 Third Doctor story "Frontier in Space".
"The Keeper of Traken", "Logopolis", "Castrovalva", "The Five Doctors", and 1996 film "Doctor Who: The Movie" follow The Master's continuing quest for a new body.
The term Mutter's Spiral is used for the first time as a Time Lord reference for the location of Earth (presumed to refer to the Milky Way Galaxy). Earth is also referred to as Sol 3 (its Gallifreyan name) and is described as ‘an interesting little planet’. This name is again used in "The Invasion of Time", "The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords" and "Voyage of the Damned".
This story drew considerable hostile commentary from Mary Whitehouse and the National Viewers and Listeners Association. This group particularly objected to the extended freeze frame, of Chancellor Goth drowning The Doctor, at the end of the third episode. Mary Whitehouse had attacked the programme on several occasions before, but never with such venom and conviction as she reserved for this particular broadcast. She often cited, in interviews, that this sequence was one of the most frightening scenes in Doctor Who - her reasoning being that children would not know if The Doctor survived until the following week and that they would have this strong image in their minds during all that time. This was the last such protest by the organisation against the show.
Unlike past complaints Mary Whitehouse’s complaint prompted an apology being made, from BBC Director General Sir Charles Curran, and for the BBC to edit the master tape to remove the original ending. Part four was also slightly edited. This edited version of this story was repeated on BBC One in August 1977.
Consequently, the BBC no longer holds a complete copy of the original episode. Fortunately a copy of episode three had been archived on a PAL U-matic Colour recording complete with the original ending thus making it possible for the ending of this episode to be restored for the VHS and subsequent DVD releases.
This story was first released in March 1989 in edited omnibus format in the US only. It was then released in an episodic format in the UK in October 1991. It was also re-mastered for the W H Smith exclusive Time Lord Collection in 2002 with a better quality freeze frame cliff-hanger for the third episode.
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The Firsts:
The first time that The Doctor has no travelling companion.
The first time that the Fourth Doctor meets The Master and the first time he appears since the Third Doctor story "Frontier in Space".
The first story set entirely on Gallifrey and where every character is of the same race (Gallifreyan).
The first mention of Time Lord key elements - namely the Matrix, the Panopticon, the Prydonian Academy and the Eye of Harmony.
The first story to state that a Time Lord can only have twelve regenerations and so therefore thirteen incarnations.
The first appearance of Borusa and the first mention of Rassilon.
The first time the term ‘Mutter's Spiral’ is used as the Time Lord's reference for the location of Earth.
The first use of a rolling caption and voiceover in the show.
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(Position = 11 out of 159)
(Position = 20 out of 200)
