10 Times Doctor Who Well And Truly Crossed The Line

3. The Drowning

Under Philip Hinchcliffe and Robert Holmes, Doctor Who was probably as good as it's ever been. Their era produced classic after classic from Genesis of the Daleks and The Terror of the Zygons to Pyramids of Mars and The Robots of Death. However, the pair were united in their delight in 'giving the little buggers nightmares', using Hammer horror as a source of inspiration. The cosy Pertwee years had given way to shocking body horror, possession and brains falling out of jars. This incensed Mary Whitehouse and her organisation who complained frequently to the BBC. However, the BBC did uphold one of her complaints and told the team they have gone too far and crossed the line. This lead to a huge change for the show as new producer Graham Williams came in with the brief to tone the horror down. The scene in question is the cliffhanger to episode 3 of The Deadly Assassin. In the Matrix, the Doctor is fighting Chancellor Goth to the death. Goth seems to get the better of the Doc and the image freezes of him holding the Doctor's face underwater. It's a horrific and disturbing image.