In our first venture into the world of Doctor Who, guest Andrew Morton adds to Dan's expertise (and Neil's ignorance) to unpack a Fourth Doctor story which has vibes of The Manchurian Candidate and The Matrix (with a bit of a whodunnit and a courtroom drama in the middle). Plus there are fisticuffs!

We take a reverential look at some of the series' tropes, including The Doctor's skill at hiding behind things, the speed at which cliffhangers are negated, stilted deathbed monologues and a villain's inability to finish off his enemy.

We also analyse The Master's ability to turn people into Action Man dolls, short-sighted writers creating continuity nightmares, wonder whether the Timelords would do well to invest in two-factor authentication, and make very early plans for Screen Testing's thirty-year anniversary episode.

Clips from The Deadly Assassin on YouTube (courtesy of BBC Worldwide):

• DVD trailer
• From episode 1: The Doctor's premonition
• From episode 2: Interrogation scene
• From episode 3: The Doctor inside The Matrix
• From episode 4: The Doctor battles The Master

Miscellaneous references:

• BBC News: BBC Store to shut its doors in November
• YouTube: UK Gold - Doctor Who @ 40: The Peter Davison Years (featuring Dan!)
• YouTube: JFK - "back and to the left" scene
• Wikipedia: Mary Whitehouse
• YouTube: Dr. Who and the Daleks trailer (TV movie starring Peter Cushing)
• YouTube: The Sea Devils - The Master watches The Clangers
• YouTube: The Sound of Drums - The Master watches Teletubbies
• Brightpearl
• Eruditorum Press: Far More Than Just (The Deadly Assassin) - essay by Phil Sandifer
• The Memory Cheats podcast
• Radio Free Skaro podcast
• YouTube: The West Wing - Two Cathedrals clip (spoilers)
• YouTube: The Simpsons - Sideshow Bob sings HMS Pinafore
• TestBash Manchester 2017

Doctor Who episodes referenced (ordered by airdate):

• An Unearthly Child (first story, 1963)
• The Daleks (first Dalek story, 1963)
• The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964)
• The Chase (1965)
• The Enemy of the World (1967)
• The Web of Fear (1968)
• The War Games (1969)
• Spearhead from Space (1970)
• Terror of the Autons (1971)
• The Sea Devils (1972)
• Frontier in Space (1973)
• Planet of the Daleks (1973)
• Genesis of the Daleks (1975)
• The Brain of Morbius (1976)
• The Seeds of Doom (1976)
• The Hand of Fear (1976)
• The Face of Evil (1977)
• The Invasion of Time (1978)
• Shada (unfinished due to strikes, 1980)
• The Five Doctors (1983)
• The Caves of Androzani (1984)
• Revelation of the Daleks (1985)
• The Trial of a Time Lord (1986)
• The Mysterious Planet (1986)
• Terror of the Vervoids (1986)
• Time and the Rani (1987)
• The Curse of Fenric (1989)
• Doctor Who (TV movie, 1996)
• The Stolen Earth (2008)
• The Name of the Doctor (featuring The War Doctor, 2013)
• The Day of the Doctor (50th anniversary episode, 2013)
• World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls (season finale, 2017)

We'll be back in a fortnight with Christopher Chant, to discuss one of Neil's all-time favourite movies, WHIPLASH.

Twitters: @TestingChef @TheTestDoctor @neilstudd

Emails: [email protected]

Intro music: Doctor Who theme Outro music: The Timelords - Doctorin' The Tardis