Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin (1976)
1h 40m | PG-13
Summoned back to Gallifrey, the Doctor is framed for the assassination of the Time Lord President. To prove his innocence, he must stand for election himself, uncover the traitor in the Time Lord High Council, fight a hooded killer in a nightmare cyberspace world of his enemy's devising and battle against an old foe now out to destroy the Time Lords: The Master.
Director: David Maloney
Studio: BBC
Genre: Science Fiction, Drama, Adventure
Video: 720p
Cast
Tom Baker
as The Doctor
Bernard Horsfall
as Chancellor Goth
Peter Pratt
as The Master
Llewellyn Rees
as The President
Hugh Walters
as Commentator Runcible
Angus MacKay
as Cardinal Borusa
Reviews
Summoned to his home world of "Gallifrey" without the company of "Sarah Jane" the "Doctor" (Tom Baker) finds himself arrested and embroiled in the assassination of the President of the High Council. Doomed to a grisly fate, his only option is to announce that he will stand for the office himself. Luckily, the savvy "Castallan" (George Pravda) has some doubts as to the neatness of this whole affair and so they set about using the very limited time available to try and find out just who is pulling the strings that could decimate their planet and destroy the Time Lords forever. They soon discover that their's is a formidable foe, and one adept at conjuring up tricks and dreams to challenge the "Doctor" and his allies as the legend of "Rassilon" proves the crucial piece in the puzzle. A four part series that manages to successfully mix the sci-fi settings of "Gallifrey" with the wooded land that provides the venue for their quite menacing adventure games that test the guile and wits of a "Doctor" running out of time. The make up artists have maybe gone just a little overboard, but there's still plenty going on here for the flamboyant Baker to sink his teeth (and his fists) into and though it does miss Elisabeth Sladen, it's still one of the better stories with the promise of more to come.