BOOK OF LISTS: TOP TEN WHO STORIES - #1

THE DEADLY ASSASSIN

For its contribution to continuity, alone, Deadly Assassin is pretty amazing. Even the most recent Hell Bent is based on a fair amount of what Assassin establishes. This is the Doctor's first proper visit to Gallifrey since the show started over a decade ago. We've had glimpses of Time Lord society, of course, in stories like The War Games and The Three Doctors. But now we're having a full and proper adventure set exclusively on Gallifrey. We're really going to learn about Time Lords. The "rules" that get set up here about them will need to be followed from this point, onward. Again, for this reason alone, Deadly Assassin is very significant.

But, as The Invasion of Time and Arc of Infinity would later prove, just because we've set an entire story on the Doctor's homeworld doesn't automatically make it great. Admittedly, there is always an enormous sense of importance to the Doctor's Gallifrey-bound adventures. But just because powerful Rassilonian relics are being thrown about and complex Time Lord politics are being discussed doesn't mean we're instantly labeling the tale as a "classic". These elements help. But it takes a lot more than just that.

Fortunately, Deadly Assassin delivers all these other elements in great abundance. Just like Remembrance of the Daleks, we’re given a very unique opening scene. And, just like Vegeance on Varos, that opening sequence is extremely iconic. A year before Lucas would be using the technique in his films, we get a nice epic text scroll introducing Time Lord society to the casual viewer. With a dramatic Tom Baker voice-over (really, George should’ve had Tom reading his scrolling texts, too – he does it so well!). Just to really make sure our attention is grabbed, we then watch the Doctor having a really bad nightmare while he’s still awake. A nightmare where he sees himself committing murder. Is there any way we can resist watching after that?!  

But it doesn't stop at the opening scene, Assassin then delivers a magnificent first episode. In the same way that we couldn't tear ourselves' away from Earthshock's first part, the Doctor's clever outwitting of the Chancellory Guard makes for some great watching. I love that moment where the cowled figure (that we don't know is the Master, yet) steps from the shadows and proclaims: "Predictable as ever, Doctor". It's another example of a first ep that really grabs you and doesn't let you go. Particularly as we reach that cliffhanger at the end and the Doctor actually does what we saw in his nightmare. After years of seeing our favorite Time Lord being put in all kinds of horrible situations where it looked like he was doomed, this cliffhanger punches you in the gut far harder than anything you've seen before or after. The Doctor appears to have shot someone in cold blood. The first time I saw this, I was floored. There was absolutely no way I was missing part two...

It is perhaps, at this point, that we should point out a trait Assassin has that I also greatly enjoyed in Kinda. Subtext. While the undertones of the Deva Lokan adventure are considerably more spiritual than our Gallifreyan foray, there is still a very nice homage happening in the latter. Deadly Assassin pays huge tribute to a great little thriller movie known as The Manchurian Candidate (the original - disregard the horrible remake). There are several intentional plot similarities that make the storyline more fun if you know the reference material. There's even minor details like referring to the Celestial Intervention Agency as the CIA or the fact that the Time Lords have a president. Just like Kinda, though, the references don't get in the way of things. They're just there as an extra nice layer. 

Episode Two rolls in with great charm. Another trial for the Doctor. But this one is considerably less serious than the last one we saw in The War Games. The Doctor indulges in cartooning as he is tried. Then introduces a great little plot twist that will represent some huge ramifications in future days. Very shortly after the trial, another gigantic revelation occurs as the Doctor and Spandrell are investigating the crime scene. The Master is back! After not seeing him since Frontier In Space, it's so great to have him return. And being an emaciated skeleton, this time, puts a great new spin on the character. Gone are the attempts to appear suave and sophisticated. The Master is now just an evil wretch who is completely out for himself. Nothing is too diabolical for him to accomplish that. As we'll see in later episodes...

This masterpiece, by the way, was penned by the great Robert Holmes. He's written another tale that made my Top Ten. Just like Ark In Space, this story really grabs my attention because it's Holmes writing outside of his usual style (okay, Spandrell and Engin become a bit of a double-act in later episodes - but not much!). I know some of the comments during this little countdown have cried out for some of his other stories that are fan favorites (Talons of Weng Chiang, Caves of Androzani even Pyraminds of Mars) but those stories didn't make it in because it was a Bob Holmes who was more comfortable with himself that wrote those stories. I'm far more interested in his work when it goes out on a limb like this.

Speaking of going out on a limb, let's talk Episode Three...

I know this particular ep can be a vote-splitter. There are fans that feel that Part Three is just one big Stall for Time. That, really, Deadly Assassin could've been a three-parter and it wasn't necessary to run around in the Matrix for 20 minutes or so. There are others, of course, who see this episode as a magnificent nightmare sequence with all kinds of surreal imagery and cat-and-mouse suspense. I tend to fall into the second category. I love Part Three of Deadly Assassin. Yes, it does stall for time and is, largely, superfluous to the rest of the plot. But that's part of what it makes it so beautiful. Robert Holmes is acknowledging that Time Lord politics are only so entertaining and it's time to just give us some action for a bit.

Like so many other stories from the Classic era that made this list, the visuals for these action sequences still hold together quite well (yes, the trains were kinda small but they still would've messed the Doctor up pretty bad had they hit him). Remember how I mentioned the nightmares Earthsock gave me? Well that damned laughing clown that appears after the Doctor wipes away some dirt on the ground still creeps me out every time I see that sequence. And there's been a few times where he's popped up in a bad dream. That, to me, is the mark of a truly effective visual. When it follows you into your subconsciousness.

Finally, we're reaching Episode Four. The tight writing that I praise in Robots of Death is on fine display, here, too. Goth was behind it all and none of us saw it coming. All thanks to some red herrings Holmes put out in earlier episodes. He shows the same clever planning that Boucher did in his murder mystery. Beautiful stuff.

As Part Four continues, some more plot twists get thrown our way. The Master seemed dead but wasn't. A final grand battle takes place at the Eye of Harmony. The stakes are high. Just like they were at the end of other stories on my list like Logopolis and Day of the Doctor. But, just as I said at the beginning of this review, Assassin doesn't take advantage of the grandness of the occasion. It still remembers to tell a great story. And, as we learn in the coda that the Master is still out there and that the universe might not be big enough for the two rivals, we definitely feel like a great story was told. It's almost a pity that Emaciated Master will only appear one more time. I quite liked him!

Which brings up another good point: the performances. With no companion to explains things to, Tom Baker makes sure to up his game in this adventure. Particularly in Episode Three. He really sells the pain and torture he's being put through. Even when we're watching his reactions as he lay inert.

Good 'ole Bernard Horsefall - one of my favorite returning actors - does a great job as Goth, too. Particularly in his death scene. And who can't help but fall in love with Spandrell and Engin. It's absolutely darling as Tom Baker impersonates the Coordinator just before he departs. It's the sort of strong casting that we also see in another favorite of mine - Human Nature/Family of Blood.

Okay. No doubt, you're catching on. The Deadly Assassin is the culmination of so many other strongpoints that I've talked about in reviews of other favorites. I've made it pretty obvious. But that's why I love it more than all the others. It takes the best of so many other stories I've cherished and puts them all into one big pile of fantasticness (yes, it's a word - in my world, at least). It is Doctor Who at its absolute best. And, while some of the stuff in New Who like Blink or Listen or Heaven Sent come along and threaten to knock it out of First Place, I still can't get over just how many boxes Assassin ticks for me. The fact that it also makes a huge impact on the canon of the whole show is just icing on the cake.

God bless Deadly Assassin.   

Or, at least, Rassilon should.  





The full countdown...

#10 - http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-10.html

#9 - http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-ten-fave-who-stories-9.html

#8 - http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-10-fave-who-stories-8.html

#7 - http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-7.html

#6 - http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-6.html

#5 - http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-5.html

#4 - http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-4.html

#3 - http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/01/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-3.html

#2 - http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/01/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-2.html