REVIEW: Doctor Who: Trial of the Valeyard (Audio)

The story begins with the Doctor arriving on an all-too familiar space station. To say that the Doctor is initially reluctant to find out what’s going on is an understatement – after what he went through at his last trial, he is completely against the idea of going through it all over again. Eventually, however, after a great deal of complaining, the Doctor finally realises that he isn’t the one on trial this time. No, it’s actually his former prosecutor: the Valeyard…

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Originally released as a bonus for subscribers back in December 2013, ‘Trial of the Valeyard’ is an excellent direct sequel to TV story ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’, especially for including and heavily focusing on the only 3 characters who appeared in the entire serial: Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor, the late Lynda Bellingham as the Inquisitor, and Michael Jayston as the Valeyard. All three were fantastic to watch in the original story, but in this sequel, they’re also given a lot more depth. Quite impressive, considering this story is, unlike the 14-part original, only an hour long.

I love how Colin’s Doctor is presented in this story. My best guess is that, in terms of Big Finish’s timeline, it’s still ‘early’ for him – he’s still very loud and very arrogant, and not quite as mellowed as he will become later. He’s also very enjoyable to listen to. It’s hilarious to hear how the Doctor is, by this point, 100% done with the Time Lords. After the amount of times he’s been badly treated by them – especially after how many more times he’s actually saved both them and Gallifrey – he owes them absolutely no favours. But when he finds out what the Valeyard is on trial for and what the sentence will be if he’s pronounced guilty, the Doctor reluctantly agrees to play the role he’s been given in the Valeyard’s trial. Especially since it gives him a chance to learn more about his origins.

Michael Jayston was great as the Valeyard in ‘Trial of a Time Lord’, especially towards the story’s final act and how much he got to play the more villainous side of the character more openly. Nearly three decades later, and he’s still amazing in the role. It’s especially great to hear the dialogue exchanges between him and the Doctor, and really explore what each means to the other. The reason the Valeyard is such a potentially interesting character is the idea of what he represents – both the Doctor’s darker nature and, at this point, his future too – and there are some truly brilliant exchanges of dialogue between the two characters that really bring all of that out in the open. There are even little teases about the Seventh and Eighth Doctors, which I really appreciated as great foreshadowing. Big Finish have a way of making most of their stories feel more ‘current’ rather than nostalgic, even with classic Doctors, so it’s nice to hear these little nods about the Doctor’s ‘future’.

It’s also nice to hear Lynda Bellingham back as the Inquisitor. Whereas in her original appearance, she might have come across as fair and just, here, there are hints that she’s just as corrupt as many other Time Lords. While she may or may not have tampered with any evidence, to say that she’s heavily biased and reluctant to give the Valeyard a fair trial is an understatement. This might come as a surprise to fans who’ve only seen her original story, but to fans of the excellent spin-off series Gallifrey, it’s nice to have hints of the more power-hungry and venomous portrayal of her from that series.

The story itself is easily a great listen. The Valeyard’s trial is a lot more complex and enjoyable to listen to than the Doctor’s had been, and it’s great to finally get at least some form of explanation for the Valeyard. Of course, by the end, there’s more than a few things that were intentionally left ambiguous. After all, this story was released in the same month that ‘The Time of the Doctor’ was broadcast, so a few issues such as the Doctor’s fate in his 13th life would’ve needed to be left unanswered.

Now more than a year has passed since ‘Time’ and the Valeyard hasn’t returned or been re-introduced in the TV series. Will Big Finish deal with the question that the TV series has yet to answer: namely, why didn’t the Valeyard show up before Trenzalore? With his return in the upcoming The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure, plus Big Finish recently acquiring rights to New Series material, we may yet get an answer to that question. Especially with the ending of ‘Trial’ raising a few more key questions, too.

Regardless of the answers we may or may not get, ‘Trial of the Valeyard’ still remains a rather enjoyable listen. If you haven’t tried out Six’s audio stories yet but have seen ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’ (and considering how much of a direct sequel this is to the TV story, I’d certainly recommend watching it beforehand), this is as good a story as any to discover just how great the Sixth Doctor’s stories on audio really are. Especially with his last adventure approaching…

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