So begins the only story where the Doctor is without a companion. After seeing the assassination of the president in a precognitive vision, in which he is the assassin, the Doctor lands on Gallifrey and is ordered arrested by Castellan Spandrell. He leaves a note warning them of the assassination, eludes the bumbling Chancellery guards, led by the [fool] Hildred and tries to stop the killing to no avail.
The Doctor buys time by invoking Article 17 of the constitution, in which he announces his candidacy for the presidency. He has the Castellan, an open-minded Time Lord who is a "simple seeker of the truth," as an ally. He tells the Doctor: "I believe you are going to be executed for it [the assassination]"
His old teacher, the jurist Cardinal Borusa, defends the Doctor's use of Article 17 against Chancellor Goth, who as interim leader, wants the Doctor executed. He says to Goth, "All presidents are faced with difficult decisions. It is by their decisions that they are judged." It's when the shrunken body of the PR announcer's soundman is found in the camera that the Doctor recognizes the Master's trademark method of killing.
The latter part of Episode 2 and all of Episode 3 are spent in a dreamland of the Matrix, where the Doctor battles an unknown adversary--the Master's champion. He carries on, saying, "I deny this reality. The reality is a computation matrix." Weird and surreal scenes, such as eyes appearing on a cliff face, a WWI soldier in gas mask, machine guns rattling, and even a Samurai warrior appear.
Funny Tom Baker lines: "Extraordinary. The roof's still on. I could have sworn it fell on me." To Hildred: "I confess you're a bigger [fool] than I thought you were." To Spandrell: "Vaporization without representation is against the constitution!"
The prelude, spoken by Tom Baker after the opening titles, has another context given the events of 11 September. Other quotes from this story that lend credence to this connection: Borusa: "We live in evil times." and he also says in reaction to Goth's reactive move for a swift trial: "This is a time to reflect, for passions to cool." and "A violent action is causing an opposite and violent reaction." If only these lines were applied...
Other elements this story incorporates is the Manchurian Candidate, the JFK assassination, and the investigation of a conspiracy. And then there are term limits. An aging Time Lord remembers a president who served for 900 years, saying: "Now they're chopping and changing every couple of few centuries."
This is one of the most important stories in the series' history, as we get a more detailed look at Time Lord society. We learn what the Matrix is, the lifespan of Time Lords, and the three chapter and associated colours of Time Lords. Prydonians may seem devious but as Goth says, "we simply see a little further ahead than most." There are links to past stories, such as the Doctor's trial (The War Games) and acquittal (The Three Doctors).
Much of the Doctor's time is spent with Spandrell and Coordinator Engin, who assist him in his quest to exonerate himself. They make a good team. Spandrell is the tough-minded and sarcastic one, while Engin has the personality of a chatty and friendly librarian. The Doctor has the rational and imaginative quality they lack. Both George Pravda (Spandrell) and Eric Chitty (Engin) bring their characters alive, with refreshing personalities.
One of the most important stories in the series' history, where we get a bigger view of Time Lord society. Surely Robert Holmes' masterpiece.
"Assassin" has a lot of unusual qualities. In addition to the solo appearance of the Doc, it is an unusually physical and violent episode, and also sheds some light on the society of the Time Lords and on Doctor's (delinquent) youth on Galifrey.
In this episode, the Master has passed his twelfth and supposedly final regeneration, and is now basically a disgusting animated cadaver. He lures the Doctor back home by planting a vision in his mind of the assassination of the Lord President of Galifrey, but when the Doctor returns to foil the plot, he not only fails but becomes the prime suspect. Scheduled for execution ("Vaporization without representation is tyranny!") he has just twenty-four hours to expose not only the real assassin but discover who is pulling his strings. Much of the episode takes place in a disturbing 'dream reality' in which the Doctor battles Garth, the Master's homidical power-grasping flunky, who stupidly believes serving the Master will lead to something other than a horrible death. The dream reality is more of a nightmare: part swamp, part quarry, part fog, and all ugly. The final confrontation between the Doctor and Garth in the swamp is graphically violent, at least by "Who" standards, and caused some controversy in Britain when it was first aired. Of course, when the Doctor comes back to reality, he still has the Master to deal with, and this rotting, robe-clad version, unlike the previous (and later) portrayers, has all of the viciousness, egotism, and homididal mania we expect from the character with none of his usual charm or humor. What is it about putrefying while still alive that takes all the spring out of a man's step?
"Assassins" is an enoyable episode, but unusually dark, and its very premise -- having the Doctor operate without a companion -- works against it to a degree. Somehow the show's formula doesn't achieve the right chemistry without this missing element; it helps to have a "fish out of water" for the Doctor to play off of (and rescue), not to mention to divide screen time with. It was an interesting experiment, and helped serve as an interlude between the departure of Sarah with the arrival of Leela, not to mention set up the Master's return in a less decrepit form later on, but I'm glad that during Baker's run at least, one experiment in this direction was enough. Three and a half stars.
