Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord - Episode 144-147
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DVD details
Actor: Colin Baker, Nicola BryantDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD-Video, Limited Edition, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Restored, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 349 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-10-07
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Warner
DVD Reviews of Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord - Episode 144-147
DVD Review: Doctor in Distress
Summary: 3 Stars
The mystery intrinsic to the character of The Doctor began to leak out of the series with Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor. As the character began to reflect Baker's interests (and ego) rather than the other way around, lasting damage was done. It's no coincidence that the only other season-long epic in the show's history, "The Key to Time," was Baker's weakest series, in part because the tendency of the star to overshadow his character was abetted by some of the weakest stories in his era.
After Baker's larger-than-life personality, the show was subjected to two radical shifts in direction by producer Nathan-Turner. Peter Davison, a highly-accomplished actor, was all wrong for the part, his wholesome Doctor neither mysterious nor terribly complicated, and his companions were some of the blandest ever chosen. Colin Baker's brash, boisterous and even occasionally menacing characterization was certainly a contrast, but once again the mystery was entirely missing, and the part was now a hopeless caricature.
All of which does much to explain why Colin Baker alone shouldn't be continually castigated for his relative failure as the Doctor. To add further stress on the show, the BBC quite simply was bored with the series and was determined to see it go. By the time of this serial, desperation was setting in. But it's not all bad. The less said about the first two stories the better (though Brian Blessed's Yrcanos is terrific fun), but the last two stories, "Terror of the Vervoids" and "The Ultimate Foe" are quite good, harking back to the kind of intricate plotting and sharper production values of the earlier eras. The surprising appearance of the Master in "Foe" is--well--a masterstroke, and the shocking realization that the Valeyard is an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker tendencies is also clever. Add Tony Selby's Glitz (the only redeeming feature of story one) and Bonnie Langford's pixie-like Mel, and you have the makings of a couple of very decent serials.
The extras in the set are generous indeed: each story has a "making of" featurette, all of which provide insight into the kind of pressure under which the cast and crew were operating. There is also a feature on the famous hiatus of 1985, a horribly delightful music video "Doctor in Distress," deleted/extended scenes, and much more besides the usual commentary.
DVD Review: A review of the DVD rather than of the Story
Summary: 5 Stars
So far, all the reviews have been about the actual 14-episode story on this DVD. Let me start by quickly saying how much I love this season-long epic. I know, I know...it has its flaws, it was riddled with behind-the-scenes turmoil which kept the story from really coming together onscreen, some of the trial scenes simply don't make sense, etc.....but I still love everything about it. I've always loved Colin's portrayal of the Doctor and I think some of his best work is in this season. He was obviously VERY happy to be back to work on the show he loved after a long hiatus.
But "Trial of a Timelord" has been written about a great deal, and other reviewers here have already given you very good reviews of the actual story. My review, then, is about "the rest of the story"....the DVD packaging of "Trial".
Which, by the way, is excellent.
Even if you don't love this season, you have to admit that this is one of the strongest collections of special features on any Doctor Who DVD. What is most admirable here is that the team that puts together these DVDs did't shy away from the controversy that surrounded this season. These features aren't "Doctor Who Confidential" styled pats-on-the-back. The features show the good and the bad in equal measure.
Here are some of the highlights:
- There's a "making of" documentary for each of the four stories that make up "Trial". These are all really great, very entertaining and educational. But the highlights are seeing Tony Selby and Brian Blessed talk about their time on the show. They very obviously loved doing it.
- There's a 55 minute documentary on Colin's time as the Doctor. It goes into great details about the detioration of the relationship between John Nathan-Turner and Eric Saward, the hiatus, the reasons behind the "Trial" story, Colin's firing....its really good. Its a very revealing, "cards on the table" type of discussion. Its amazing to see that even 25 years later, talking about this stuff is difficult for Colin. Its also great to see Eric Saward talk about his role in alienating people who had been his friends and co-workers.
- There's a short bit of commentary with Colin and Nicola watching the scene in Part 14 where the script, at JNT's urging, undoes Peri's death from Part 8 by saying she was living happily-ever-after with King Yrcanos. While Nicola was aware that they'd done that....she'd never seen the scene in question. Her reaction to it is pretty interesting.
- There's a great documentary on what would have been Season 23 had the hiatus not happened and they'd gone on to do Colin's second season as planned. Most of this is pretty well known, and three of the stories were later released as novels. But this is illustrated by new artwork, is narrated by Colin, and talks about each of the stories and the shape of the season. Very enlightening.
- There's a fun little half-hour piece on cliffhangers. Authors, editors and scriptwriters talking about the show's cliffhangers -- which ones were great, which ones didn't work, which ones could have been brillian but weren't, etc. A very fun piece.
- There's a fairly substantial clip from a talk show after the end of the season that has a group of people from one of the DW fan clubs talking about the "Trial" season, and what a mess it was, and if fans couldn't follow it how could the general public? So after a series of comments from each of them, the host says "Well, now lets hear from the producer and the writers of this season". John Nathan-Turner and Pip & Jane Baker seemed genuinely caught off guard to learn that these people didn't completely love their work! It's really interesting viewing.
All-in-all its a stellar package. The sound in particular is cleaned up very nicely. And the picture looks great. There seems to be more contrast in the opening courtroom scenes, where the set looks a bit more darkly lit and moodier. Even if I were't a fan of this season, I would probably give this DVD release of it 5 stars simply on the strength of the packaging, the extras, and the great lengths that the Restoration Team went to to bring us a very thorough and enlightening set. Very well worth the money. I highly recommend this set!
DVD Review: Trials and Tribulations
Summary: 4 Stars
I actually really liked the sixth Doctor, and I realize that this puts me very much in the minority. His portrayal of the Doctor was fresh, is arrogance taken to new heights. This storyline, very reminiscent of War Games in scope and grandeur, was aiming for EPIC, and in many ways it succeeded. The story and sets are engaging. Collin is in top form. Some of the storylines don't exactly end, or do so quickly and in ways that just seem off(the send off of a particualr character seems rushed). Still, a very good episode, which left me riveted when I was younger and still does so today. What a shame this Doctor's tenure ended so quickly. Don't let his quirky outfit put you off, Collin is magnificent in the role....and keep a look out for tge Graveyard...I mean ValyardDVD Review: The only season Colin Baker really was allowed to be Colin Baker
Summary: 4 Stars
Before Doctor Who Colin Baker was a very good actor, after Doctor Who Colin Baker was a very fine actor. This is the only season, where he had a chance to be Colin Baker...JNT was to busy fighting for the survival of the franchise to get in his way any more. What a shame that he couldn't have started here, and gone down as one of the great doctors instead of being constantly villified for JNT's failings. Take a look at what is one if the few shining moment's in the series' waining years.DVD Review: Hung Jury for Doctor Who
Summary: 2 Stars
Having owned Trial of a Time Lord on VHS for over a decade, plus having watched it when it debuted on U.S. Public Television, I feel qualified to comment on this epic, but ultimately disappointing season of Doctor Who.
Doctor Who, as many "traditional" fans have known, was placed on hiatus after Colin Baker's creditable first season in the role. The Doctor and Peri Brown had begun to mellow as a time-travelling duo, and despite some complaints of "graphic violence," the Sixth Doctor did not really become the "Sith" Doctor, or "Dirty Harry," or the "Psychotic Doc." Colin Baker later argued that his three year plan had been to make the "alien" role more likeable as time went on. But early in 1985, BBC President Michael Grade decided to stop producing the show -- primarily out of personal dislike for the show -- which is well-documented in the press.
Fan outcry from around the world, and favorable British press, forced the BBC to reconsider their choice. But the damage had been done. Serious science fiction went out the window, to be replaced by the "camp humor" characterized by Tom Baker's 17th Season. BBC heads insisted on these changes based upon TV watchdogs like Mary Whitehouse. Season 23 would set the stage for the last four years of Doctor Who, making it difficult for Colin Baker's immediate successor to rise above the formula.
As for Trial of a Time Lord, it began on a somewhat high note, with fine model effects and a sense of foreboding. But "Mysterious Planet" was not really a complete story, only the seeds of one. The trial format kept any potential plot twists from developing. Sabalom Glitz (Tony Selby) is one of Doctor Who's more interesting anti-heroes, but Glitz was the only highlight from a routine post-holocaust story. Since this show had been written just as Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome was released, it's not very surprising. There were also too many Monty Python touches for my liking.
Mindwarp represented the nadir of Doctor Who at this point -- although I might take pot-shots at some of Russell T. Davies' scripts for the new series. Although it was nice to see Nabil Shaban reprise Sil from the previous season ("Vengeance on Varos"), he is overshadowed by the silly plot convention of switching Kiv's mind into Peri's body. This concept had been exhausted by series like "The Avengers" and "The Prisoner."
Moreover, Colin Baker and Brian Blessed should have been restrained, as their acting broke the OTT meter. I also got tired of belaboring the point of whether Peri survived the process, or whether she was killed. The final outcome, with her marriage to Yrcanos, was hard to swallow.
Finally, we come to "Terror of the Vervoids," which felt more like a story -- even if it mirrors "Robots of Death." Honor Blackman was an inspired choice for Professor Laskey. Excellent creature effects and startling revelations abound. But the regular cast is somewhat let down by Bonnie Langford, who is quite a good stage actress for light comedy, but not for drama -- which Doctor Who, incidentally, falls under in the BBC. Mel Bush makes the last six episodes rather hard to watch.
The last two episodes feel like a pastiche of two previous Gallifrey stories, "Deadly Assassin" and "Invasion of Time," with very little new ground broken. Although Michael Jayson's Valeyard is compelling, I agree that Anthony Ainley's role as the Master was under-employed in this last segment. I never liked the idea of the Valeyard, to begin with. Even with his surprise revelation in the Matrix, the Master feels as though he were added at the last minute. Since this is the last scene we have of the Time Lords, before the new series exterminated them, it is not a very flattering view of the Doctor's people. They deserved a better story.
As for Colin Baker, he also deserved much better treatment by the BBC, although it's all over but the crying. He's gone on to greater things, and Sylvester McCoy, despite the odds, did a memorable turn on his own.
But "Trial of a Time Lord" is a poor transition between two Doctors.
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