10 Shocking Classic Doctor Who Era Cliffhangers
7. Drowning Lessons (The Deadly Assassin)
Once Robert Holmes took over as script editor, he and producer Philip Hinchcliffe went about to make the show more adult in its presentation, pushing the boundaries of what they could get away with. The Deadly Assassin is a prime example of this new approach, with Robert Holmes having way too much fun crafting a more gothic style Gallifrey, whilst generating a corrupt political drama, that also features a murder mystery.
The Fourth Doctor eventually determines that the Master is back and wishes to settle an old score. Also, just to make things more grotesque, the Master is now literally a walking corpse, having exhausted all of his regenerations. This battle is taken into the Matrix, where the Time Lord is forced to endure a serious of frightening tests laid out by the Master and his associate.
Ultimately, the Fourth Doctor is pretty beaten up, having been shot multiple times by this point, and wearing a bit thin. Shockingly, it's revealed that the assassin is a member of the High Council, Chancellor Goth, and he's determined to end the Fourth Doctor's life. Even to the point of attempting to drown him, leaving young children with the unsettling image of the Fourth Doctor submerged under water, seemingly not breathing. Mary Whitehouse certainly loved that sequence.