Doctor Who (1963) 14.03.04

The Deadly Assassin - Part 4

Goth is unable to finish off the Doctor. The Master berates Goth for his failure and forces him back into the matrix. The Doctor comes under attack but escapes from the matrix just in time. Castellan Spandrell and Coordinator Engin help the Doctor search for the Master's control room. They find it deep beneath Gallifrey.

The Master is dead when they find him. Goth is near death. The Doctor questions Goth who reveals that he hoped the Master would help him gain power in Gallifrey. Goth dies.

Spandrell reports to Cardinal Borusa what they found. The Cardinal insists that they will have to change the story so that Chancellor Goth died a hero. They need to keep up appearances.

Spandell sends some of the guards down to retrieve the bodies of the Master and Goth which are then moved to another room. The Master comes back to life. He wasn't dead at all. The Doctor, Spandrell, and Engin find the Master. He shoots the Doctor and Spandrell, knocking them out. Engin is forced at gun point to help the Master get the Sash of Rassilon.

The Master goes to the Panopticon and uses the Rod of Rassilon to open the power source, the Eye of Harmony. The Doctor and Spandrell wake up. The door is locked. The Doctor climbs through a ventilation shaft and makes it up to the Panopticon.

The Doctor and the Master fight. The Eye of Harmony causes the ground to start shaking. A fissure opens up and the Master falls into it. The Doctor closes up the Eye of Harmony and the day is saved. The Doctor has one last chat with Cardinal Borusa and then leaves. Spandrell and Engin see the Doctor off and then see the Master scurrying into his TARDIS.

Thoughts

I didn't realize it when I first saw it 35 or more years ago but this episode introduces a lot of things among which is the idea that Time Lords can only regenerate 12 times.

Bernard Hoesfall plays the part of Chancellor Goth. This is the fourth Doctor Who story in which he has appeared. The first two were 2nd Doctor stories (The War Games, The Mind Robber) and the other was a 3rd Doctor story (Planet of the Daleks). He also played a Time Lord in The War Games but he played completely different characters in the other two stories.

This final installment of the story is a little better than the previous one but I still don't think it lived up to the promises made in the first two installments. The show seems to rely a little too heavily on action scenes in parts 3 and 4 whereas in parts 1 and 2 the show seemed more focused on the characters.