The Ultimate Foe

To finish off the 12 episodes of ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’ that had gone before it had ‘The Ultimate For’ set with a challenging task at the very least. Add to the mix the series of questions left unanswered from ‘The Mysterious Planet’, Robert Holmes was going to have a hard time tying it all up. Sadly, Robert Holmes passed away with only episode one (13) completed. Eric Saward had worked closely with him throughout the process, and despite his grief managed to finished the final episode to Robert Holmes’ plan.

Unfortunately, John Nathan-Turner wasn’t happy with the ending, which Eric Saward clearly felt was important to the memory of the departed Robert Holmes’. In the end, no resolution could be met. Eric had already left the series after script-editing ‘Mindwarp’, John Nathan-Turner was left to script edit the remaining episodes. He decided to keep episode 1 (13) of ultimate Foe and commissioned Pip and Jane Baker to write the final part of this epic tale.

They had something like 3-4 days to do the thing, and given the time restraints kudos to them for doing so, however the final part fails to deliver on the

Lynda Bellingham as the Inquistor.

promise of the first part of ‘The Ultimate Foe’. The idea that the Valeyard (Michael Jayston) is in fact the Doctor, the dark side of the Doctor, is brilliant. The Master (Anthony Ainley) is well used by Holmes. Tony Selby returns as Glitz, wonderful as ever, and Bonnie Langford also gets pulled through space and time to the trial.

Just one of the Doctor's oldest enemies - Anthony Ainley returns.

Revelations abound in the first 10 minutes of the story. The secrets Drathro was guarding (Mysterious Planet) were stolen from the matrix and so the Time Lords sent a fire bolt to Earth (where the sleepers who stole the secrets were operating from) which moved the planet to a different part of the Universe. The Valeyard wants the Doctor’s remaining lives, and the chief purpose of the trial appears to be to prevent anyone ever finding out what happened to Earth.

We head into the matrix, somewhat bizarrely via a door on the space station which flies in the face of the matrix as it’s been shown previously, and the Doctor hunts down the Valeyard. It’s wonderfully moody and well shot by director Chris Clough. Location filming had permanently shifted to OB (rather than film) this season and it’s a little

disappointing at times, but this was a night shoot in some pottery works and it looks and feels brilliant.

Episode 13 leaves us on the edge. The revelations appear to be complete, and the final episode will see the Doctor and the Valeyard do battle, to the death one presumes. Enter Pip and Jane Baker. Instead of following on from the set up, they chose to make it more complicated. They chose to place greater importance to the events of their story, ‘Terror of the Vervoids’, and the charge of genocide (which hadn’t even happened yet) than the

Tony Selby and Bonnie Langford.

events of Ravalox. Determined to add more twists and turns to the thing, suddenly the Valeyard wants to kill all the Time Lords in the trial room. Why? Ahhhh they provide the twists, not the explanations.

They throw in a lot of technical jargon which despite their beliefs as stated on the DVD, does not make sense. A megabyte modem? What? The Valeyard’s secret plan is to connect to the internet on the slowest connection available. ‘Would I be right in thinking the Doctor will soon be needing a Machonite Overcoat?’. Another classic, nonsensical line from the Bakers.

Geoffrey Hughes as Mr Popplewick

They do write well for Colin Baker and also Bonnie Langford, whose Mel they created, but stone the crows seriously, the language in this is beyond a joke and could only alienate an audience. All the stuff about what the Time Lords did to Earth is COMPLETELY forgotten. And then JNT added what Ian Levine calls, and quite rightly, a ‘pantomime’ ending, where the Valeyard has really escaped, Peri is not dead but alive MARRIED TO KING YCARNOS (oh why JNT, WHY? Destroy the biggest most memorable moment in Who-history by saying it never happened) and the Doctor and Mel leave in the TARDIS to the words ‘Carrot Juice!’.

Add to that that this is Colin Baker’s final story as the Doctor, shamelessly stabbed in the back by the BBC just when his Doctor was really taking shape, and it ends up going from what I thought was a brilliant episode 13 to a complete and utter shambles. It’s a somewhat tragic turn of events that Colin didn’t get the chance to build on his performances. He was bold and different and yes unlikeable at times, but I enjoyed every performance he gave.

Colin Baker rides to his doom.

Robert Holmes’ was to end the series on a cliffhanger. JNT thought that would leave the future of the show in the air and he wasn’t prepared to do that. It could be argued that a cliffhanger would have all the fans champing at the bit to see the next series. If you are interested, you can find a copy if the Saward script for episode 14. It’s much simpler, far less convoluted and I think it would have been a far more effective end to the season. But such is life, it was not to be.

The season probably wasn’t a success, but I enjoyed much of it. As a single episode, I thought episode 13 was one of the best episodes in Who history, counter-balanced by the very disappointing episode 14. It was a risky idea to mirror the trial of the show that had gone before season 23 in the series itself. Partially

Michael Jayston. 

successful, partially not I believe. I’m not the first person to be annoyed by the courtroom scenes getting in the way of the stories being shown. What if ‘The Mysterious Planet’ wasn’t shown as part of the trial. What if that episode did come first, but the trial only started at part 5? The Doctor is angry about the affairs of Ravalox and demands an answer, the trial begins though. This way we would lose 5-10 minutes of Mindwarp which would tighten the story up immensely. The third story would still be a problem however, keeping with the idea mirroring a Christmas Carol. ‘Terror of the Vervoids’ would benefit most from being a stand-alone story outside the trial setting.

Anyways, it is what it is. As for rating ‘The Ultimate Foe’,

6.5/10 

Terror of the Vervoids

Yes, it looks EXACTLY like that.

‘Terror of the Vervoids’ is a solid enough story with just two, rather significant, drawbacks. Firstly, the design of the Vervoid creatures themselves, especially the face which does indeed look like what many have joked it does over the years, and secondly, the dialogue. For example:

‘Can I have clarification of that extraction, sir?’

‘That is hardly a denial, simply a bromide.’

‘Is the vocabulary of all Time Lords so antideluviant?’

Boonie Langford as Mel.

Pip and Jane Baker’s first story was ‘Mark of the Rani’. It was a period piece, and perhaps that masked some of the dialogue which really in this story appeared geared towards a theatre performance rather than a science fiction television programme. There’s a strange overuse of ‘passive voice’ in this one too. The concept of a ‘murder-mystery in space’ was a solid one, and although this is not as good as ‘Mark of the Rani’, it’s not a bad story by any means.

Colin Baker and Honour Blackman.

Chris Clough takes the reins in his first stint as director. It was a technically very difficult story I think, and many of the video effects – specifically moving the Hyperion III through space, are somewhat poor. For the first episode or two we are thankfully not constantly interrupted by court room scenes thankfully. I find the idea of the defence coming from the Doctor’s future though a bit hard to swallow. You are tried for things you have done in the past. The future, in this case presumably a possibly future, is irrelevant. This is the Doctor’s defence though – that he improves. Again we have the accusations that the matrix is lying, or being deliberately manipulated. Scenes appear different to the Doctor than when he viewed them in preparation.

Michael Craig as Travers.

New companion Mel, played by Bonnie Langford. She seemed ok in this story, a little more positive and pro-active than Peri, no complaining which was nice. I think they should have made this her introductory story though, it would have been nice to get some back story to the companion instead we are presented with a companion that has already been travelling with the Doctor for some time. A good match for Colin.

We have veteran GP actor Michael Craig as Commodore Travers, which is nice. Very strong casting throughout with Honour Blackman as Professor Lasky as Denys Hawthorne as Security Chief Rudge. Some very clever moments when the Doctor does some deducing. Nice twists with the Mogarians hijacking the ship at one point, the Vervoids slowly killing everyone and the reveal of who is responsible in the final episode. It’s well paced and keeps the interest up throughout.

The Vervoids are a mix of good and bad. It’s not exactly clear if they are a mix of plant and human DNA which could account for their humanoid shape. Their faces though apart from the very dubious appearance are also very clearly material-based, making them a bit muppet-like for my liking. And some of the dialogue goes a bit hammy and over the top for my liking.

6.5/10

Mindwarp

Thoros Beta.

I know this is a story that cops a lot of flack, mostly for being too over the top and camp, but seriously folks, what’s not to love about Philip Martin’s ‘Mindwarp’. In a nutshell it’s a creepy, scary and foreboding story featuring the return of Sil (Nabil Shaban), Brian Blessed and has the most dramatic, spell-binding, spine-tingling ending to any Doctor Who story EVER.

End of story. The death of Peri is so chilling, so shocking that some of the issues with parts three and four should just be overlooked for this amazing moment. The brain of Lord Kiv is transplanted into Peri. Nicola

Brian Blessed as Ycarnos.

Bryant produces one of the most evil voices I have ever heard. The Time Lords deem it’s their right to kill Peri. The Doctor is pulled out of time before he can save her. This all links up to the very start of ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’. It’s mindblowing stuff.

The wonderful Nabil Shaban returns as Sil.

The adventure starts with a beautiful use of ‘paintbox’, early computer-generated effects where the ocean is made pink and a ringed planet is hoisted into the sky above. The sets are low-lit and moody, the mentors – creatures like Sil, are very well done indeed. The show looks terrific. The first two episodes are great. It’s not a rocket-fast start but it’s a slow peeling of the environment, exploring, getting into trouble, culminating in the Doctor connected to a machine that is frying his brain.

The second episode sees a changed Doctor, a traitor, one with his own interests before others. The question is, are we seeing the truth? Remember that this is all coming from the matrix, and the Doctor starts to wonder if the matrix can lie. We, as an audience, are confronted by a very disturbing interrogation scene where the Doctor interrogates Peri on the rock of sorrows whilst the tide comes in. Is this really what happened? The Doctor said it happened, but not the way we are shown.

The third episode it gets a bit wobbly. Perhaps not quite enough story to fill four full episodes? I’m not sure but Ycarnos (Brian Blessed) is joined by Alphan rebels led by Tuza – to be honest a terrible performance by actor Gordon Warnecke, and this subplot is not as compelling as the rest of the tale to be honest. The rebels are dressed like Mexicans and despite makeup appear rather too clean for rebels living and hiding in caves desperate to overturn their oppressors.

Kiv (played by star of ‘The Young Ones’ Christopher Ryan), the Lord of the Mentors, has his brain transplanted into a different type of mentor – this one is brown. The final episode seems to have the Doctor turn back to the side of good after he eats some of Sil’s marshminnows. He rescues Ycarnos and they head to save Peri, but in the midst of confusion, they are separated and the Doctor is pulled into the TARDIS and the fate of Peri is not a good one.

Brian Blessed is simply wonderful as Ycarnos. I have seen him in a few things, including ‘The Black Adder’, and this role was simply written for him and

The stunning ending.

no-one else. I don’t find him too much, he has some wonderfully humorous turns, and some nice tender moments as well. Nicola Bryant’s performance is her best as Peri and the Lord Kiv without a doubt.

The story suffers only from Tuza, the third episode sagging a little, and the consistent and un-relenting crosses to the court room. I don’t mind the crosses, but they needed to be cut way back there are far too many in this story, as there were in the first. Philip Martin produced an amazing, chilling script, and director Ron Jones produced his best (and last work) for Doctor Who easily.

9/10

The Mysterious Planet

The trials beigins.

The Doctor and Peri arm in arm

After a hiatus of some eighteen months and a wonderful song urging the BBC to bring back Doctor Who, the 23^rd season saw the show’s return in 1986. This season would be one big story, cut to 14 25-minute episodes sadly. The Doctor is on trial for his life for meddling in the affairs of other planets, and we are shown 2 four-episode stories for the prosecution, led by the Valeyard (wonderfully played by Michael Jayston) who strangely is very keen for the Doctor to be found guilty. Then another four episode story follows as the Doctor’s ‘defence’, and finally 2 episodes to wrap everything up. Although I am reviewing the four separate stories within a story it is important to understand the context, and whilst the Doctor, Valeyard, Inquistor (Lynda Bellingham) watch the stories on the Matrix screen along with a bunch of Time Lords, we often cut back to them for comment.

I think the format and set up is where things went wrong. The idea of the trial is not in itself bad. I wonder if the stories needed to be shown on the matrix screen, if they couldn’t have been recounted (ok wouldn’t work for the third story) and we flash back to the action. There are other ways it could have been done, the first story could lead to the Doctor being taken out of time and then they could refer back to another story. However, we do get perhaps the most impressive and cinematic opening shot and model shot of the first 23 years of Doctor

Glitz and Dibber.

Who to open episode one and the camera sweeps over the space station and the TARDIS is drawn in.

‘The Mysterious Planet’ is Robert Holmes’ last full story for Doctor Who. It is a story which leaves a lot more questions than answers. It sees violence toned down considerably from the previous two years, which Eric Saward felt was the one big change that was expected from the powers that be of the BBC. The only issues I had with the violence was when the Doctor used it in situations where there was an alternative. There’s a couple of instances in ‘Attack of the Cybermen’ – not when he kills the Cyber-controller though, that seemed justified to me.

Drathro

‘The Mysterious Planet’ as a story, without the constant court-room interruptions which really interfered with the story, mostly for no good reason, is ok. It’s solid, but leaves you with more questions than answers. At times it seems that the purpose of the trial is to silence the Doctor for what happened on Ravolox – the Earth-like planet the story is set on. Oh wait, it IS Earth! But it’s not in the right place. What has happened to Earth?

Joan Simms.

The Doctor and Peri seem to be much more chummy now, which is nice. Peri experienced a bad feeling about Ravolox though. The assertion by the Valeyard that the Doctor is responsible for the deaths in this story appears to be very false though, as the chain of events that results in the deaths and destruction of Drathro is down to the black light

converter being destroyed, which was thanks to Dibber.

Again we have wonderful Holmesian characters in this story. Glitz (Tony Selby) and Dibber are somewhat roguish criminals after the secrets that are stored on Ravolox. We have Queen Katryca, played by the lovely Joan Simms. She certainly does not hold back! Then there is Balazar, the reader of the books. He has some of the best lines in the story and contributes to the humour. Finally we

have Tandrell and Humker, a blond double act who are very funny with good, fast lines, but I feel the direction didn’t capture them as well as it could have.

The direction is a bit lacklustre for this story, which I think is the main issue. It also lacks action. Nicholas Mallet directed this story, his first Doctor Who story, and perhaps he wasn’t perfectly suited to the show. The music is provided by Dominic Glynn who does a great job (although at times the mixing isn’t great and dialogue gets drowned out by it). Glynn also did the new version of the Doctor Who theme, which I immediately loved. It’s very spooky and moody.

‘The Mysterious Planet’ has its faults. The courtroom stuff certainly impinges on the flow of the tale. It sets up questions such as ‘what secrets was Dratho guarding’ and ‘what was Earth doing so far away from where it was supposed to be’? It was a fun if light start to the season.

6.5/10