Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterful, 20 April 2009
Yes, we've all heard the joke: What's the point of an assassin if he's not deadly...but that blunder aside this is one of the best ever Doctor Who stories; made in the show's mid-70s prime. The Doctor returns to Gallifrey as president and encounters his old adversary, The Master. Decaying and rotten after regenerating once too often, the renegade Time Lord is back on his old turf and intent on destroying both The Doctor and Gallifrey.
An atmospheric and highly-charged adventure, the story contains the awesome Matrix scene, a fan favourite and a superbly realised sequence. This story is just about to be released on DVD though, so I'd recommend you get that rather than this hoary old VHS.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Oh Matrix!, 10 April 2005
By A Customer
This is an excellent adventure written by Robert Holmes, probably the best script writer the show ever had, and who wrote some of my favourite episodes including this, plus 'Spearhead From Space', 'Terror Of The Autons', 'The Ark In Space', 'The Brain Of Morbius' - which he co-wrote with Terance Dicks under the pseudonym of Robin Bland, 'The Talons Of Weng Chiang' and 'The Caves Of Androzani'.
The Gallifrey set may look a bit low-tech, but this is because they were going for an operatic/theatrical look back in 1976, but it was, and still is an effective and impressive set. However, what really impresses the most, is the brilliant plot plus the Doctor going through the Matrix. And once unconscious within the Matrix, he starts to have hallaguenic dream sequences that have him facing imaginary threats that feel real. Later on, he's involved in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with Chancellor-cum-Mercenary Goth.
The threat scenarios from Goth (monitored by the Master) are very imaginative, for example: the Doctor hanging onto and then falling off the edge of a cliff caused by a samurai warrior cutting his scarf, getting his foot caught in some railway tracks as the points change - as a train rushes towards him, being shot at by a WW1 fighter plane, the water supply getting poisoned, plus being almost drowned etc.
This together with the legendary classic 'Genesis Of The Daleks' are amongst the most violent episodes-ever, and by coincidence they are both directed by the brilliant David Maloney. So to sum up, this is an action packed four-part adventure with great use of their most popular quarry.
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2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Baker's rise to the throne, 24 May 2004
A superb Tom Baker era story from the long-running Dr Who series. This four part episode concerns the Doctors return to his home world Gallifrey, a plot to kill the president and the Doctor's pursuit of the assassin. Leading to the Time Lords ascention to the role of President himself before he slips off into space once more in his TARDIS.
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