The Fourth Doctor returns home...

The Deadly Assassin was seen as a controversial story at the time of broadcast, being slammed by the DWAS for showing a version of Gallifrey that appeared to contradicted what had been seen before. But in light of Gallifrey stories that have followed - on TV, novels, comics and audios; The Deadly Assassin was a blueprint that has been followed with varying degrees of success and inventiveness.

The Doctor has a premonition of the President of Gallifrey's assassination by his own hand. He returns to Gallifrey to prevent this, but ends up getting framed for the President's murder by an old enemy, on Gallifrey for another purpose. In order to clear his name, the Doctor joins with the Matrix in order to discover the truth behind the assassination

By shaking up the versions of Gallifrey presented in The War Games and The Three Doctors, Robert Holmes has created a society that on the surface appears to be quite dull, boring and insular; populated by old men whose lives are bound by ceremonies whose true purposes have been forgotten, having been enacted for so long - it's easy to see why the Doctor chose to escape Gallifrey in the first place. However, this society is populated by a variety of wonderful characters, such as the Llewellyn Rees' retiring President, promising to raise eyebrows with his final honours list; the two elderly Time Lords who reminisce about past presidents, and how today's lot don't have their staying power; and Runcible the effeminate Public Register presenter, unliked by all.

Of the Time Lords who play a more important role in the proceedings, Chancellor Goth is shown as an ambitious, arrogant man, willing to do anything to get what he wants; Cardinal Borusa, who is concerned about the public face of the Time Lords that he rewrites events so that Goth is made out to be the hero of the story, he is both proud and irritated by the Doctor. Co-ordinator Engin is wonderful character; Castellan Spandrell believes the Doctor, but obviously wants to see the evidence to back up the Doctor's story; both he and Engin both take on the companion's role in the story, acting to assist the Doctor as he takes on Gallifrey's rules, Goth and the Master.

Speaking of the Master, Peter Pratt is excellent as the decayed Master. Displaying none of the charm the late Roger Delgado brought to role, Pratt's Master wants two things; revenge on the Doctor and to restart his regenerative cycle using the Eye of Harmony, not even caring if Gallifrey gets destroyed along the way. Dripping menace with every whispered sentence, Pratt's Master starts exclaiming his lines towards the end of the story, showing that the Master is now only driven by thoughts of revenge and survival.

The Matrix as controlled by Goth is a nightmarish realm, full of the imagery of war and populated by gasmasked soldiers. The sub-tropical/open forest landscape of the Matrix works well in contrast to Roger Murray-Leach's designs for the interior of Gallifrey - large, green and ancient.

The Doctor's return to Gallifrey can be seen as bittersweet, with Tom Baker's body language helping to show that the Doctor would have rather not returned home at all, but did so out of a sense of duty. Be it suddenly inciting Article 17 to temporarily escape execution or avoiding Goth in the Matrix, the Doctor spends much of his time relying on his improvisational and investigative skills to avoid being killed. Tom Baker excels as the Doctor; without companions to encumber him, and back on home soil, his Doctor is able to lose much of humour, allowing a more serious side to show through.

It's interesting to note that there's more to Gallifrey than just Time Lords; comments by Borusa and Spandrell shows this, and it's a pity that this element of Gallifrey hasn't been too effectively explored in future stories about Gallifrey.

David Maloney's direction is superb, especially during the scenes set in the Matrix which allow him to use some unusual camera set ups. Dudley Simpson's incidental music is excellent, suitably adding to the action of the Matrix sequences; and accentuating the pomp and ceremony that pervades all of Time Lord society.

The Deadly Assassin is a tightly constructed story that shouldn't be hated for its deconstruction of the Time Lords, rather, it should be held up for showing why the Doctor left Gallifrey in the first place while exploring Time Lord society; for bringing back the Master; and for being an all 'round excellent story, with all elements of production working together to put together a true classic.

9.5/10

Next time: The Doctor ties up a loose end from his recent past...