Doctor Who: 10 Episodes That Should Have Changed Things Forever (But Didn't)

8. The Deadly Assassin (Tom Baker)

A well-loved and well-remembered story now, this was not quite the case on original transmission. There were complaints that the Galifrey council of government was too close to that of humans and that the episode was too violent. Mary Whitehouse got her bloomers very much in a twist over this one. It was also the first foray back to Galifrey for the Doctor in quite a number of years as well as being the first solo outing for the Doctor. The increased level of violence was epitomised by the cliff-hanger scene of the Doctor€™s head being held under water. The level of complaint had the master tape altered and an apology issued by the BBC. The scene was recently restored in the DVD release, but what could have been a more adult and Doctor-centric direction for the show was curtailed. Crucially, the Doctor wasn€™t to be seen sans companion again. It could be argued that the level of violence and death seen in more recent episodes owe their germination to The Deadly Assassin, but it took a long time for public attitudes to change.