17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Average, December 5, 1999
By A Customer
Colin Baker is by far the most under-rated of all the actors who played the Doctor. His tenure was brief and at times controversial, his companions were maligned, his stories were often criticized and Doctor Who itself underwent a serious revamping during his reign.But most of that criticism is not entirely accurate nor fair. While the majority of his Season 22 stories would make far better indications of just how good Doctor Who really was with Colin, The Trial of a Time Lord is actually a perfect indicator of what was good and bad in his era.The overall atmosphere of this epic 14 parter is light and at times flippant. In stark contrast to the violence of season 22 and the pronounced instability of the Doctor himself, this story starts out brightly and (gasp!) the Doctor and his companion Peri actually seem to like each other. The first 4 episodes, (The Mysterious Planet) are unfortunately not the best work of DW's esteemed writer Robert Holmes. The story is weak and much of the dialogue is poor. But as usual, Holmes does manage to save grat lines and characterizations for the main characters and for two new creations - the slimy criminals Glitz and Dibber. Glitz is one of the most memorable characters created in Doctor Who's final years. The Mysterious Planet introduces many elements which could be interesting, but most are never touched upon, and there is some simply dreadful acting by many of the guest stars.Parts 5-8 are not too much better, with writer Phillip Martin resurrecting his character Sil (Vengeance on Varos) and writing a script filled with some good ideas, but lacking in its final execution. Colin Baker ends up playing the Doctor as totally unlikable for this episode, and once (and if) you get over that, one does realise it's a good performance. Brian Blessed is predictably over-the-top as King Yrcannos, and the plot is not especially memorable. The ending is rather shocking though, and I'd even say daring if later on in Part 14 it was totally undermined and reset.parts 9-12 are superb. While it takes flak for introducing the screaming, far too perky Mel, it is a superior script and is filled with good acting, action, mystery and suspense. This story of a series of murders aboard a spaceliner will surely be appreciated. And Mel really isn't that bad - she's not a bad character here, and it's my opinion that she, like Peri, debuted strongly and then degenerated when placed alongside a new lead actor.Parts 13 and 14 are also good, but unfortunately, Robert Holmes never finished what he wanted to do with them. His Part 13 is good, reminiscent of the acclaimed, "The Deadly Assassin." Part 14 is a satisfying conclusion overall, but loose ends persist, and as a finale to Coli Baker's era it is surely a disappointment.Throughout the story there is commentary by the Doctor as he watches these events from a trial room. The commentary is usually obtrusive, and some of the worst dialogue happens in these scenes, with artificial humor leaking in without producing the desired effect upon the viewer. The story idea itself is not particularly original, but many of the twists that take place are, and The Valeyard is a notable villain. If you want to complete your Colin collection, by all means buy this set - it's worth it in the end, and there is just as much to love as there is to sadly malign - just don't watch it all in one sitting unless you really need to. Colin Baker gives a masterful performance, but if you realy want to see good 6th Doctor stories, I recommend Vengenace on Varos, The Two Doctors and especially Revelation of the Daleks when it gets released on video.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An underrated, unjustly maligned story and Doctor, March 3, 2004
This review is from: Doctor Who - The Trial of a Time Lord [VHS] (VHS Tape)
For the first time since the Key Of Time, an entire season was dedicated in an umbrella theme consisting of multiple stories, and put together, Trial Of A Timelord is a lengthy 14 episodes. There's a borrowing from Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol and the three ghosts. Like them, the first three stories are looks at the Doctor's past, present, and future.
"The Mysterious Planet": After an impressive computer graphics shot of a space station and a tractor beam drawing the TARDIS into a docking bay, the Doctor finds he is on trial for interfering in the affairs of other people and planets. The Valeyard (pron. vallyard), a title meaning Learned Court Prosecutor, presents as his first evidence the Doctor and Peri's trip to Ravalox, a planet once destroyed by a fireball that reminds Peri of Earth. Not only that but it has the same period of rotation, angular tilt and period of rotation as Earth. Well, guess what? It IS Earth, but what's it doing light years away from its home constellation? He also runs into a mercenary, Sabalom Glitz, who's interested in certain technological secrets the planet's undercity habitat contains, as well as the subterranean society. However, some portions of evidence are bleeped out, arousing the Doctor's suspicions.
The second part, "Mindwarp," is a trip to Thoros-Beta, where the Doctor and Peri run into that avaricious capitalist slug, Sil, from Vengeance From Varos, and his boss Kiv, whose powerful brain makes him his planet's financial wizard, but he is a hybrid mutation among his race, and his brain is expanding within a skull that lacks elasticity. Unless something is done by neurosurgeon Crozier, he will die, and if he dies, both Crozier and Sil will be executed. The Doctor is quite the Judas here, undergoing a personality change by helping Sil and Crozier, and abandoning and betraying Peri, who is mostly in the company of Yrcarnos, a bombastic warrior king who feels his destiny is to liberate the slaves of Thoros-Beta from the Mentors. Many of these slaves have been subject to Doctor Moreau-like experiments, including Dorf, Yrcarnos's equerry. In the courtroom, the Doctor has suspicions about the Valeyard's presentation from the Matrix. Yes, the events took place, but with the emphasis all wrong, something the Valeyard dismisses. But the ending is a shocker that really sobers the usually emotional Sixth Doctor.
My favourite part is "Terror Of The Vervoids," a variation on Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians. The Doctor's piece of evidence comes from his future, where he is in the company of a petite bubbly redhead, Melanie, who's got him on the fitness wagon. However, they answer a mayday from the Hyperion III, "an intergalactic liner that ferries between Mogar and Earth, a scheduled flight in the Earth year 2986. ... Many [people] will never complete the journey, for in order to protect a secret hidden in the space liner, one will become a murderer." Is it the masked Mogarians, disgruntled at Earth's exploiting their mineral wealth? Is it Lasky, the agronomist who's conducting a mysterious experiment involving some gigantic pods in the hydroponic center? Here, the Doctor is certain the Matrix has been tampered with, and that the truth is being distorted. He does prove his case, but he doesn't reckon on the Valeyard's cunning.
The whole thing is wrapped up with Mel and Glitz returning to testify on the Doctor's behalf, and revelations disclosed in the last two episodes, "The Ultimate Foe," where yes, the Master comes out, but he isn't the title character, oh no. The Doctor has another journey in the Matrix, but it's not as impressive as in The Deadly Assassin.
The ratings were disastrous, but this is actually a wonderfully-executed idea. The stories are intercut with scenes in the trial room, mainly consisting of the Doctor's emotional outbursts against the Valeyard's condemning accusations, tempered by the Inquisitor trying to keep order and to get to the truth. With guest stars like Honor Blackman, Tony Selby, Joan Sims, Lynda Bellingham, and Gordon Warnecke, it shouldn't have failed. But then there was worse news mixed with good. Yes, the series got an extended lease on life, but not Colin Baker. On 18 December 1986, he was unceremoniously given the push, making the way for Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor.
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