Production
| Episode | Broadcast date | Run time | Viewership |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Part One" | 30 October 1976 (1976-10-30) | 21:13 | 11.8 |
| "Part Two" | 6 November 1976 (1976-11-06) | 24:44 | 12.1 |
| "Part Three" | 13 November 1976 (1976-11-13) | 24:24 | 13 |
| "Part Four" | 20 November 1976 (1976-11-20) | 24:23 | 11.8 |
Robert Holmes said of The Deadly Assassin that it was difficult to write a script without anyone for the Doctor to share his thoughts and plans with, the usual role of the companion. Working titles for this story included The Dangerous Assassin (which Holmes changed to "deadly" because he thought it "didn't sound right"). The final title is a tautology: a successful assassin must, by definition, be deadly. However, since Time Lords can in general survive death, and the assassin's victims do not, he is perhaps "deadly" in that sense. According to the text commentary on the DVD, Holmes argued that the title was not a tautology, stating that there were plenty of incompetent assassins.
Read more about this topic: The Deadly Assassin
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