The Trial of a Time Lord Part Twelve

The one where the Doctor is accused of genocide...

This is the point at which The Trial of a Time Lord equals The Daleks' Master Plan for length. The Hartnell epic called it quits at 12 episodes, but even if you include that elusive prelude Mission to the Unknown, Season 23 trumps it by one episode. The difference between the two epics is that the earlier is one rambling story, while the later is three separate stories linked by a fourth overarching theme. I seem to recall I thought The Daleks' Master Plan began to sag toward the end, whereas part 12 of The Trial of a Time Lord goes at quite a lick.

As marsh gas spews from the Vervoids and fills the bridge with a toxic atmosphere, I find myself asking: Why? I'm not very clear on why the Vervoids suddenly begin farting methane derivative from their mouths. I decided it was something to do with the increasing proximity of the Hyperion III to the Black Hole, which was somehow messing with the Vervoids' organic make-up, but when I read the synopsis on TARDIS Wiki afterwards, it seems the Vervoids are doing it on purpose, as a means of attack. Once they learn Bruchner's plan for total destruction of their species, they take to emitting marsh gas to kill the humans. Not quite as threatening as Mr Oak and Mr Quill, but I get the idea. I just don't think it comes across very well on screen.

The Trial of a Time Lord Part Eleven

The one where killer plant monsters go on the rampage...

"Stop her! Stop Lasky!" the mutated woman in the incubation case tells the Doctor. It transpires this is not some random mutant, but Doland's lab assistant, Ruth Baxter, who was infected during a "particularly delicate cross-fertilisation". Pollen got into a cut on Ruth's thumb, and she ended up mutating into this half-plant hybrid. Giving this character a name, and allowing us to see actor Barbara Ward's youthful face, makes this plot twist more effective than if it was just an extra in make-up. But then, the Colin Baker era is quite good at "humanising" mutants, whether they be Professor Stengos, the Necrosian mutant, or the Lukoser. Giving the product of terrible scientific experimentation a face, a name and a character makes what's happened to them all the more horrific.

And with every piece of new information gleaned, the Doctor and Mel, like an intergalactic Tommy and Tuppence, continue to investigate the strange goings-on aboard the Hyperion III. The Agatha Christie theme really works, with Mel craftily lingering in corridors so that she can nip into Mr Kimber's cabin to snoop about, while the Doctor consults with the Commodore.

The Trial of a Time Lord Part Ten

The one where something nasty breaks out of the hydroponics centre...

It's funny, but the reprise of part 9's stunning cliffhanger doesn't seem to work as well without the theme music flooding in. Here, it seems to end abruptly when Mel runs away, but we do get some added jeopardy when we see that something nasty has broken out of the cocoons. Something deadly, which looms over the guard and kills him! Director Chris Clough cleverly uses the creature's point of view, building tension and mystery, and by the end of the episode, we've still only glimpsed the odd leafy hand, or a murky visage peering through a grille. There's something nasty in the ventilation shaft!

In the courtroom, the Doctor seems oddly happy to press on, despite the fact he claims his evidence has been tampered with. "When I viewed the Matrix earlier, this isn't what happened," he insists. When asked if he wants to reconsider the evidence, the Doctor somewhat foolishly decides to carry on with it, despite his belief that it's been manipulated to make him look bad. On the one hand I'm fine with that because this is a cracking good yarn, but if the Doctor thinks this is merely incriminating him more, shouldn't he demand some kind of pause to proceedings?

The Trial of a Time Lord Part Nine

The one where the Doctor has a new companion we've never met...

Fittingly, there's a solemn beginning to this episode following the events of the previous, in which the Doctor's long-time companion Peri was killed. I love how the theme music continues to run over the footage of the mourning Doctor re-entering the courtroom, and as he sits down the music ends. Colin Baker thankfully grasps the right tone in these early scenes, reflecting the horror of what has happened, both for the Doctor and the audience. To have an angry Doctor blustering and shouting across the courtroom would have been disrespectful and inappropriate.

The Doctor is clearly disturbed by Peri's death, occasionally distracted by his thoughts. There's a nicely judged moment when the Inquisitor asks if he's had enough time to overcome the distress of his bereavement, and Baker leaves a brief pause, before replying: "I doubt that there will ever be sufficient time for that." This is a Doctor tripped up by his own hubris (at last!), who is coming to terms with the fact that his friend through so many adventures is gone. Dead. And according to the prosecutor's statements, it's all the Doctor's fault. Our hero is in a dark place right now.