Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord REVISITED (Parts 13

credit: BBC

So this is it. After 12 episodes, 3 stories, 2 companions and 1 very angry and desperate Doctor, we reach the end of ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’. With a key number of plot points to resolve in just 2 episodes, can the story be wrapped up to a satisfactory conclusion?

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Well, the short answer is: yes and no. To be honest, the ‘yes’ is for part thirteen, and the ‘no’ is for part fourteen. This is partly because, due to massive trouble behind the scenes, to say the least, each episode has entirely separate writers. Specifically, Robert Holmes and Pip & Jane Baker, respectfully.

Now, part 13 first. I really, really love this episode. Along with part 8 for that ending, it’s easily one of my favourite parts of the whole story.

For one thing, despite how slow ‘The Mysterious Planet’ was, the questions it raised had been intriguing, to say the least, and the answers are delivered in an incredibly satisfying way. The best part is that, when the Doctor is at his most desperate to prove his innocence, he gets help from an unexpected source: the Master.

The funny thing about the Master’s appearance in this episode is that, despite being only seen on a gigantic TV screen, for me it’s the best I’ve seen him written out of nearly all of his 80s stories. I believe what really helped was the fact that Holmes, who had written such key stories as ‘Terror of the Autons’ (the story in which the character was introduced) and ‘The Deadly Assassin’ (which practically re-invented the villain) understood the character better than some of the other writers did. (Which is impressive, considering those were the only other Master stories he wrote.)

The Master comes across as more of a grand schemer in this story, a cold-hearted villain who sees an opportunity to create chaos – genuine chaos, for once, and this time on the Time Lords and Gallifrey itself – and takes it. And the delicious irony is that proving the Doctor’s innocence is what does that. The Time Lords have some skeletons in their closet, and the Master is all too keen for those skeletons to be revealed. It’s brilliant to finally see him portrayed in a more dangerous and menacing way than usual.

But the most brilliant moment perhaps is the revelation of who exactly the Valeyard is. Now, if you haven’t watched ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’ yet and don’t want to know, you might want to stop reading this. However, if you want to know why the character of the Valeyard is such a big deal to some classic fans, or why he was mentioned in ‘The Name of the Doctor’, then here it is: the Valeyard is the Doctor. Or rather, an “amalgamation of his darker side” that occurs between “his twelth and final incarnation,” to quote the Master. (The way he reveals it is so perfect, too – when he actually says it, it’s so subtle that you might just miss it until the Doctor reacts in shock.)

What does this mean, exactly? Well, that’s the thing – we don’t really know. By the end of the story, we have no idea of where the Valeyard came from, if he’s simply a regeneration gone wrong or something else altogether. It’s an idea that’s sadly under-explored in this story, but it’s still a great twist.

It’s not just the plot that’s great in part 13, though: there’s some brilliant dialogue, as well. Having the fantastic character of Glitz back for the final story certainly helps. Half the time, he’s talking about some dodgy dealings, and the other half, he’s almost acting as a voice for the audience. (“Oh, I see! He humiliates you by throwing harpoons at me! Makes a lot of sense!”)

It’s not just the witty lines that are so memorable, either: the Sixth Doctor gets an amazing speech on how corrupt his people are, and Colin Baker’s performance is amazing to watch. In some ways, it’s very reminiscent of the kind of speeches you’d get in the new series, particularly from the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. Combine that with some cracking Victorian-esque surrealism as the Doctor tries to track down the Valeyard in the Matrix, and you have an amazing episode, and a real return to form for Holmes.

Unfortunately, Robert Holmes died during the writing of this episode, with part 14 yet to be written. Eric Saward had originally scripted it, but due to some intense disagreement with producer John Nathan-Turner over the way the story should end (Saward had originally intended to end the season on a massive cliffhanger, but JN-T was against it), Saward withdrew his script at a very late stage. Pip & Jane Baker had to fill in with an alternative part 14 with such little time left and unable to use any of Saward’s script as a basis. Frankly, while it’s still a bit of a mess, it’s amazing that the final episode turned out as well as it did!

(Continued on next page)

Next: PAGE 2: Part 14

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The Master takes more of an active role in the story’s last episode, and as a result, goes back to becoming close to pantomime villain. “Saving” the Doctor by proving his innocence in a trial and causing absolute chaos on Gallifrey is one thing, but saving him because he simply hates the Valeyard for trying to kill the Doctor before he does just seems…petty, by comparison.

By the end, we’ve also got a few noticeable plot holes, including how the Doctor’s genocide of the Vervoids is continually treated as something the Doctor has already done, not as something he will do. But the biggest plot hole has to be Mel and the Doctor travelling together and acting like old friends…despite the fact that the Doctor still hasn’t actually met her yet! Ordinarily, I think this case of bad continuity would’ve been noticed better by the writers, but it’s just such a clear case of a job that was rushed in order to be made in time.

It’s not all bad, though. There’s some more surrealistic fun in the Matrix, with my favourite moment being a simple shot of panning-out that leads to a great visual image. The episode certainly isn’t terrible, it’s just disappointing compared to not only what it could have been, but what it should have been.

I think what I’m most disappointed about though is how little exploration we get of the Valeyard and what he represents to the Doctor. The idea of the Doctor facing not just his darker side but his very future is a brilliant one, and sadly, it’s an idea that doesn’t feel like it had been used as well as it should have been. It’s an even greater shame that, on TV, at least, this was the Valeyard’s sole appearance. Given the chance, with some great writing and the fantastic Michael Jayston still in the role, he could have been a great and truly iconic enemy of the Doctor, perhaps even up there with the Master and Davros. As it is, this story remains his sole appearance on TV, but at least there’s the expanded universe.

Even there, however, his appearances have been few, featuring only in a couple of novels (one of which, Time’s Champion, is completely unofficial, but is definitely a great read for filling in that distinct Valeyard gap) and a couple of audios (one of which doesn’t even take place in the universe of the TV show). However, in recent years, his character has been given another look at, and with his return in Big Finish’s ‘Trial of the Valeyard‘ in 2013, plus the very soon to be released story ‘The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure‘, it looks like the character is finally getting the attention and development he deserved.

As for ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’ as a whole, like the Valeyard, it’s a story that didn’t work quite as well as it perhaps should have done. That’s not to say it’s terrible – in fact, I rather enjoyed a lot of it on re-watch, particularly ‘Mindwarp’ and ‘Terror of the Vervoids’. There’s also a lot of really great ideas within, especially the idea of taking a good, hard look at the Doctor and wondering if he does more harm than good. While I think this was explored better in Series 6 of the new series, it’s still fascinating to watch an early attempt at it. But the attempt to fuse three different stories into one, with a fourth to conclude it, somehow didn’t seem to work. For ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’, the individual parts are greater than the whole.

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