The twenty-third season of
British science fiction television series ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', known collectively as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'', aired in weekly episodes from 6 September to 6 December 1986. It contained four adventures: ''
The Mysterious Planet
''The Mysterious Planet'' is the first serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast i ...
'', ''
Mindwarp
''Mindwarp'' is the second serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast in four wee ...
'', ''
Terror of the Vervoids
''Terror of the Vervoids'' is the third serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast ...
'' and ''
The Ultimate Foe
''The Ultimate Foe'' is the fourth and final serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadca ...
''; the season also marked the final regular appearance of
Colin Baker as the
Sixth Doctor.
The idea for the serial stemmed from several production changes to ''Doctor Who'', such as reduced screen time for the season and an instruction from
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
controller
Michael Grade that the series needed to contain less violence and more humour.
Several problems occurred during production, including the death of scriptwriter
Robert Holmes and the resignation of script editor
Eric Saward. When it ended, Baker was dismissed from the role on the orders of Grade.
John Nathan-Turner produced the series.
Synopsis
In the serial, the
Sixth Doctor is tried by the High Council of
Time Lords
The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', of which the series' main protagonist, The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, is a memb ...
for breaking several of the laws of
Gallifrey
Gallifrey () is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It is the original home world of the Time Lords, the civilisation to which the protagonist, The Doct ...
, the Time Lords' home world, including interference with outside worlds and
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
. A mysterious character called the
Valeyard
The Valeyard () is a fictional character from the long-running British science fiction television series, ''Doctor Who''. He is described by the Master as an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker sides from between his twelfth and final incarn ...
acts as prosecutor. In the first two chapters (''The Mysterious Planet'' and ''Mindwarp'') events from the Doctor's past and present are submitted as evidence of his guilt. The third chapter (''Terror of the Vervoids'') presents future events in the Doctor's defence. In the concluding chapter (''The Ultimate Foe'') the Doctor's trial is halted, and the Doctor confronts the Valeyard and his old rival, the
Master, in order to clear his name and to save the High Council.
Casting
Main cast
*
Colin Baker as the
Sixth Doctor
*
Nicola Bryant as
Peri Brown
Perpugilliam “Peri” Brown, is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''.
An American botany major from Pasadena, California, Peri is a companion of the Fifth ...
*
Bonnie Langford as
Melanie Bush
Mel, also sometimes referred to as Melanie, is a fictional character played by Bonnie Langford in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. A computer programmer from the 20th century who is a companion of the ...
Colin Baker makes his final appearance as the
Doctor in this longest-running serial before being dismissed from the role by the
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.
Nicola Bryant departs as
Peri Brown
Perpugilliam “Peri” Brown, is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''.
An American botany major from Pasadena, California, Peri is a companion of the Fifth ...
in ''
Mindwarp
''Mindwarp'' is the second serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast in four wee ...
''.
Bonnie Langford makes her debut as the Doctor's future companion
Melanie Bush
Mel, also sometimes referred to as Melanie, is a fictional character played by Bonnie Langford in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. A computer programmer from the 20th century who is a companion of the ...
in ''
Terror of the Vervoids
''Terror of the Vervoids'' is the third serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast ...
''.
Recurring stars
*
Michael Jayston as the
Valeyard
The Valeyard () is a fictional character from the long-running British science fiction television series, ''Doctor Who''. He is described by the Master as an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker sides from between his twelfth and final incarn ...
*
Lynda Bellingham
Lynda Bellingham, OBE ( ; 31 May 194819 October 2014) was an English actress, broadcaster and author. She acted in television series such as '' All Creatures Great and Small'', ''Doctor Who'', '' Second Thoughts'' and '' Faith in the Future''. Sh ...
as the Inquisitor
*
Anthony Ainley as
The Master
*
Tony Selby as
Sabalom Glitz
Sabalom Glitz is a fictional character from the long-running British science fiction television series, '' Doctor Who''. Glitz is a rogue from the planet Salostophus in the Andromeda Constellation. Glitz's first love is money, and he is often ...
Michael Jayston and
Lynda Bellingham
Lynda Bellingham, OBE ( ; 31 May 194819 October 2014) was an English actress, broadcaster and author. She acted in television series such as '' All Creatures Great and Small'', ''Doctor Who'', '' Second Thoughts'' and '' Faith in the Future''. Sh ...
both appeared throughout the whole serial.
Tony Selby appeared in ''
The Mysterious Planet
''The Mysterious Planet'' is the first serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast i ...
'' and ''
The Ultimate Foe
''The Ultimate Foe'' is the fourth and final serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadca ...
'', while
Anthony Ainley returned as the
Master in ''
The Ultimate Foe
''The Ultimate Foe'' is the fourth and final serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadca ...
''.
Serials
The series remained at once-weekly Saturday broadcasts. All episodes were 25 minutes long, with the exception of Part 14, which ran for just under 30 minutes. This running time was the result of a plea by John Nathan-Turner to his superiors at the BBC that the serial's final episode needed the additional three minutes to conclude the story properly. Although there were now 14 episodes in the season, the total running time was overall reduced since the episodes were just over half as long.
Preproduction
Original Season 23
The change of format that ''Doctor Who'' had undergone in
Season 22
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
(45-minute episodes, moving back to one episode per week on Saturday evenings) had been reasonably successful, with ratings around the 6–8 million mark. As such, the production team began preparations for Season 23 in the same format, with a total of 13 episodes spread over six stories, with five 2-episode serials and one of three episodes. A number of storylines were submitted, with six eventually being commissioned between September 1984 and February 1985. However, in the latter month, the BBC announced that, as a cost-cutting measure owing to the costs of several large projects (not least of which was the launch of ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
''), Season 23 was being put back from its planned transmission in January 1986 to the following September, which would be a different
financial year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many j ...
.
Planned serials
Revised Season 23
Although ''Doctor Who'' had been recommissioned, it yet again underwent a format change, with episodes reduced in length back to 25 minutes, and the full season running to only 14 episodes (a total of 350 minutes' running time), which worked out at almost half the total of Season 22. As a consequence, the production team were forced to abandon the various serials that had been commissioned for the original Season 23, and instead come up with something new. John Nathan-Turner and Eric Saward eventually came up with the idea of having the various serials linked with an overarching narrative—this led to the conception of a trial story with a ''
Christmas Carol
A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...
''-inspired "past, present, and future" storyline,
thereby stretching the length of the season. The planned 14-part serial was intended to be divided into a pair of 4-part stories followed by a 6-part one. By July 1985, the characters of the Valeyard, the Inquisitor and Mel were conceived.
Production
Robert Holmes was commissioned to write the first and final chapters of the serial. His draft of the first chapter, ''The Mysterious Planet'', was criticised by BBC Head of Series and Serials,
Jonathan Powell, for its comedic content, contradicting the BBC controller's request for a more humorous series – which took away confidence from Holmes.
The second chapter, ''Mindwarp'', was written by
Philip Martin., whose character
Sil
SIL, Sil and sil may refer to:
Organizations
* Servis Industries Limited, Pakistan
* Smithsonian Institution Libraries
* SIL International, formerly Summer Institute of Linguistics
* Apex Silver Mines (former American Stock Exchange ticker symb ...
, introduced in the previous season's ''
Vengeance on Varos
''Vengeance on Varos'' is the second serial of the Doctor Who (season 22), 22nd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 19 and 26 January 1985.
The serial is set o ...
'', was popular among the production team, who asked Martin to feature the character in the ultimately-cancelled story ''Mission to Magnus''. Nathan-Turner asked Martin to include Sil in his chapter, and asked confidentially for Peri to be killed in accordance with Bryant's wishes to leave the show with a bang.
The third chapter was originally to be interlinked with the fourth. Holmes was originally asked to write it, but declined, citing a dislike of six-part serials. After rejecting submissions by
Christopher H. Bidmead and
PJ Hammond,
Nathan-Turner approached husband-and-wife writing team
Pip and Jane Baker
Ernest Albert "Pip" Baker (3 January 1929 – 14 April 2020) and Iris E. E. "Jane" Baker (30 December 1924 – 29 August 2014), professionally known as Pip and Jane Baker, were an English husband-and-wife team of television writers known mainly ...
to write a studio-based serial, ''Terror of the Vervoids''.
Holmes was unable to finish writing the fourth chapter, originally called ''Time Inc.'', before his death from a liver illness and Hepatitis B on 24 May 1986, aged 59.
The Bakers were commissioned by Nathan-Turner, at short notice, to write a new version of the episode, after script editor Eric Saward withdrew his permission for his original version of Part 14 to be used: the original ending would have featured a fight to the death in a time vent, between the Doctor and the Valeyard, as part of a cliff-hanger ending to the season, which horrified Nathan-Turner, as he feared that to use such a downbeat ending would have provided an excuse for the BBC management to cancel the series altogether. Subsequently the title was later changed to ''The Ultimate Foe''.
Filming of the serial began on 7 April 1986 and ended on 14 August that year. For the opening sequence, Nathan-Turner commissioned a 45-second model shot that cost over , which at that time was the highest amount of money spent on a single special-effects sequence in the history of the series. The outdoor sequences in ''The Mysterious Planet'' were filmed in mid-April in
Queen Elizabeth Country Park
Queen Elizabeth Country Park is a large country park situated on the South Downs in southern England. It is located on the A3 road three miles south of Petersfield, Hampshire and lies within the South Downs National Park.
The park contains 1,400 ...
, and studio work followed on 24 April and 10 May. Studio work for ''Mindwarp'' took place from 27–29 May and 11–13 June, and location shots were filmed in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
from 15–16 June. ''Terror of the Vervoids'' and ''The Ultimate Foe'' were produced simultaneously; production began with location filming for the latter in late June, before returning to the studio to film scenes for both chapters on 16–17 July. ''Terror of the Vervoids'' was the last chapter to be completed, with studio work taking place from 30 July–1 August and from 12–14 August.
Reception and analysis
Public reaction to ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' was mixed. Although the
Audience Appreciation
The Audience Appreciation Index (AI) is an indicator measured from 0 to 100 of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom.
Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by the B ...
figures had improved since the previous season — the lowest figure was 66% for Parts Seven and Nine
and the highest was 72% for Parts One, Four and Eight.
— the viewing figures were lower.
Reviews
''The Trial of a Time Lord'' received mixed reviews from ''Doctor Who'' critics.
Paul Cornell,
Martin Day and
Keith Topping, co-authors of ''
The Discontinuity Guide
''The Discontinuity Guide'' is a 1995 guidebook to the serials of the original run (1963–1989) of the BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. The book was written by Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping and was first published as ''Doc ...
'', wrote that as a whole, the serial's plot 'hangs together remarkably well'.
David J. Howe
David J. Howe is a British writer, journalist, publisher, and media historian.
Biography
David Howe was born 24 August 1961 and established himself (in the early 1980s) as an authoritative media historian through writing articles for fanzin ...
and
Stephen James Walker
Telos Publishing Ltd. is a publishing company, originally established by David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker, with their first publication being a horror anthology based on the television series '' Urban Gothic'' in 2001. The name comes from ...
, authors of ''Doctor Who: The Television Companion'', disagreed, arguing that the serial was a 'monumental wasted opportunity'.
They disapproved of the trial storyline, being unconvinced that a prosecutor 'in any reasonable legal system' would be allowed to modify charges and court proceedings mid-trial.
However, they did find the meta-humour of 'the Doctor effectively sitting down to watch ''Doctor Who'' for fourteen weeks' amusing if repetitive, and praised Baker's acting.
Both reviews found that the trial scenes detracted from the chapter story arcs.
Reviews of the individual chapters were also mixed. Although appreciative of the acting of Brian Blessed in ''Mindwarp'', Cornell, Day and Topping argued that the script lacked focus, '
ryingto be comic, grotesque, straight, and farcical all at the same time'.
Howe and Walker were more favourable towards the script, citing the re-appearance of Sil as positive, and hailing Peri's off-screen death as 'one of the most dramatic and impressive moments of the entire season' and Bryant's best scene since ''
The Caves of Androzani
''The Caves of Androzani'' is the sixth serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 8 to 16 March 1984.
In the serial, the Doctor b ...
''.
Both reviews judged ''Terror of the Vervoids'' to be a well-written story, although Cornell, Day and Topping criticised the dialogue, and Howe and Walker were unimpressed by
Bonnie Langford in her performance as Melanie Bush.
Commercial releases
''The Trial of a Time Lord'' was broadcast from 6 September to 6 December 1986.
Home media
VHS releases
DVD and Blu-ray releases
In print
Notes
* Although the following serial ''
Time and the Rani'' was the Sixth Doctor's final appearance, Baker declined an offer to return either for the entire story (as originally offered) or solely for a regeneration scene, and the part was instead portrayed by
Sylvester McCoy wearing a blond wig.
References
External links
{{Valeyard stories
1986 British television seasons
1986 British television episodes
Season 23
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
Season 23
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
23
Fiction with unreliable narrators
Television courtroom dramas