The Trial of a Time Lord - episodes 5 to 8 : Mindwarp

The Valeyard's evidence against the Doctor continues with a viewing of the adventure the Doctor was engaged in before being lifted out of time and to the space station's courtroom. The Doctor and Peri arrive on Thoros Beta to confront arms dealers supplying weapons to lesser races, and they find the beastly Sil and his people, the Mentors, in control. Other work is going on in the caves of the Mentors' home, though; the brilliant surgeon Crozier is working on a means to prolong the life of Sil's boss, Kiv, and dabbling in brain implants on the side. The Doctor is subjected to a mind altering device and sides with the Mentors, leaving Peri to fight for survival alongside the barbarian king, Yrcanos, and the slaves from Thoros Alpha, and providing the Valeyard with even more ammunition against the Doctor.

This is good fun Doctor Who, with plenty of running around in corridors to keep us all amused. The script is delivered by Philip Martin, the writer who created Sil for Vengeance on Varos and planned to bring him back with Mission to Magnus (no elements of which were cannibalized for this script, by the way, so it's not a reworking of shelved material), and although we have switched writers, the linking sequences in the courtroom are still maintained the same (I detect the work of script editor Eric Saward here). The Inquisitor shows a bit of stress at having to intervene in the sparring between the Doctor and the Valeyard; the Valeyard hammers home his evidence by playing up the danger that Peri, and all companions before her, faces, and sets out to crucify the Doctor for his sudden switch in allegiances. The Doctor, while suffering from memory loss due to his abrupt removal from time, denies that he would do such a thing, although the evidence being presented via the Matrix suggests otherwise. Peri is abandoned, captured, tortured, courted by the insanely over the top Yrcanos as played by acting legend Brian Blessed, and then, tragically, killed.

Yes. Peri dies on the Matrix screen, her life snuffed out with a callous disregard. The Doctor is devastated by this. Fans all knew it was coming back in 1986 when the show returned to the screens and the news of Nicola Bryant's departure was overshadowed by the name of the actress who would replace her. But we all knew she was going to die, and when it finally happened it still came as a numbing shock. Companions do not die on a regular basis, although the last few seasons were peppered with deaths such as Adric, Kamelion, and Nyssa's near death from lazar disease; prior to these events, the last time a companion died was Sara Kingdom in episode 12 of The Dalek Master Plan in 1966. Fan reaction to Peri's death was mixed, although I remember showing it to my friends Lori Newman and Samantha Allen back in high school and they were delighted to see her go. When Jay and I watched it recently ... well there were no tears or anything - let's not get crazy now - but it was an understood that the death of a companion was a severe blow to the Doctor. Like, imagine losing your best friend.

Other performances of note include Nabil Shaban reprising his role as Sil, although in a slightly modified costume, and Christopher Ryan as Kiv. What's really going on over on Thoros Beta though - what's the deal with all those bodyguards with the huge - and I mean HUGE muscles? More recruits from the JNT casting machine no doubt, right Jay? Everyone else on set is eclipsed by some of those biceps, although Colin Baker's gut manages to cast quite a shadow all on its own. And while we're going on about visuals, check out the early attempts at Paintbox in these episodes with the white cliffs of Dover painted a bright blue and the oceans done in neon pink; every now and again though the process fails and tints Colin Baker's hair pink and both lead actors' faces blue. But that could be the glare, right?

Reeling from Peri's death, the Doctor begins to realize that there is more to this supposed trial than appears on the surface, and fuelled by rage and pain, he is determined to find out what it is.

NEXT EPISODE : TERROR OF THE VERVOIDS