Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin (Story 88) (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)What can be said about The Deadly Assassin? It's great. It's full of mystery and intrigue, action and suspense, and Tom Baker fortunately not having a companion to upstage him. I daren't talk about the story further; rather, I shall discuss both the DVD and the controversy the story created during transmission.
Ever hear of Mary Whitehouse? I suspect most Americans don't know her, but since this is a British show and she didn't really like it, I feel the need to talk about her. She was an ultra-conservative bint who complained from the 1960's through the 1990's about how so-called "depravity" in BBC programmes (that is, sex, violence and profanity) was culturally retarding the UK. Strangely, she never seemed to complain about anything on ITV (the other major UK broadcaster at the time); I guess it's because they aren't funded by the government, and therefore don't matter. Pink Floyd ripped on her in their album Animals in 1977 (and in America, Tipper Gore hilariously misinterpreted the line "Hey you, Whitehouse" from the album as anti-American).
She started to get her knickers in a twist about Doctor Who in the early 1970's (probably not long after Terror of the Autons was broadcast), but most people didn't listen to her. But then, after part three of this serial was broadcast, she unleashed a vicious attack. She was not very happy about the cliffhanger, where the Doctor's head is held underwater in a memorable freeze-frame shot. The BBC apologized and removed the shot from the master tape.
However, recordings made during the original broadcast exist with the original ending intact, and have been used to restore the ending for the DVD. Speaking of, the DVD includes an audio commentary featuring Tom Baker, Bernard Horsfall and producer Philip Hinchcliffe, along with three documentaries concerning the production of the story, the influence that "The Manchurian Candidate" had on the episode, and the most frightening moments in Doctor Who respectively. Whitehouse (who died in 2001) is featured in the former documentary; it should be a real hoot to hear her attack the show, like that footage of Michael Grade in The Trial of a Time Lord's special features.
All in all, a great episode wrapped up in a nice DVD package. Recommended.

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DOCTOR WHO:EP 88 THE DEADLY ASSASSIN - DVD Movie

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