"Goth is right, Article 17 is stupid, you shouldn’t be able to get out of a murder trial by running for president."
And yet, real life is even stupider: we have someone under criminal indictment running for office in the USA right now in order to escape punishment, which he may actually be able to do if he wins. And some well-regarded pundits are arguing that his decision to run for office should have prevented prosecutors from indicting him in the first place. All of this makes me see "The Deadly Assassin" as disturbingly prescient! Frankly, I'm surprised more people haven't brought this up.
It also illustrates the point that whenever we cheer when the hero uses a "legal technicality" or some other clever trick to escape immediate danger, we should remember that a villian could do the same thing...
Also, what sort of Assassin isn't Deadly? (I imagine this question is obligatory any time anyone mentions this story.)
And yes, I was one of those (not really) traumatised by that cliffhanger. I would have been 8 or so at the time and I do remember it, but mostly as one of the first times I properly understood why they worked in story-telling terms. (My mother has a similar story - she was reading The Lord of the Rings when it first came out, so she got to the end of The Two Towers and she recalls how incredibly frustrating it was that she would have to wait months for the next bit.)
I feel like it also, oddly, moves the Doctor towards Lonely God in that he is now saving not just Earth, but Gallifrey, with the active opposition of the Time Lords.
"Goth is right, Article 17 is stupid, you shouldn’t be able to get out of a murder trial by running for president."
And yet, real life is even stupider: we have someone under criminal indictment running for office in the USA right now in order to escape punishment, which he may actually be able to do if he wins. And some well-regarded pundits are arguing that his decision to run for office should have prevented prosecutors from indicting him in the first place. All of this makes me see "The Deadly Assassin" as disturbingly prescient! Frankly, I'm surprised more people haven't brought this up.
It also illustrates the point that whenever we cheer when the hero uses a "legal technicality" or some other clever trick to escape immediate danger, we should remember that a villian could do the same thing...
Also, what sort of Assassin isn't Deadly? (I imagine this question is obligatory any time anyone mentions this story.)
And yes, I was one of those (not really) traumatised by that cliffhanger. I would have been 8 or so at the time and I do remember it, but mostly as one of the first times I properly understood why they worked in story-telling terms. (My mother has a similar story - she was reading The Lord of the Rings when it first came out, so she got to the end of The Two Towers and she recalls how incredibly frustrating it was that she would have to wait months for the next bit.)
Are there hints of the forthcoming Silver Jubilee here with the Time Lords? Indeed, isn't Part 3 an extended parody of 2022's Diamond Jubilee parade?
I feel like it also, oddly, moves the Doctor towards Lonely God in that he is now saving not just Earth, but Gallifrey, with the active opposition of the Time Lords.