We’re finally past my birthday, from this point on it’s Who from the time when I existed on this Earth. So today I’m looking at the best story of the Trial of a Time Lord season, and then the dawn of the final era for classic Who.
Year 23: 1985 to 1986 - Terror of the Vervoids
Now the Trial of a Time Lord season is a somewhat flawed thing, not least for a somewhat overambitious framing device for the story, which just served to add a lot of confusion to matters. But it did have some plus points, including that awesome opening model shot; if the goal was to sell people on the show again, kicking off with that isn’t a bad way to start. Recently, with the Blu Ray release of Season 23, one of the special features is a re-edit of Parts Nine to Twelve of the story, otherwise known as Terror of the Vervoids, basically to remove all the courtroom sequences, the bits that are blatantly the faked evidence, and overall give it a lot more polish. It’s worth noting that of the separate parts, this one is the best to get that treatment, as its story is the most divorced from the main plot of the Trial, The Mysterious Planet and Mindwarp are too tied into the main arc to work on their own. Well, with that done, how does this version hold up? Pretty well actually, it allows the merits this one has to shine through far better; let’s be clear, this is no absolute classic, but it’s still a fun story, and in this form probably the best of Colin’s time on TV.
For starters it’s a solid base under siege style story, with there being a two pronged threat of a murderer trying to keep a secret on the craft, whilst their efforts backfire spectacularly releasing a far bigger danger. Colin’s performance and the way the Sixth Doctor is written here is fascinating, he shows a lot more care and concern than in the previous season, which one might read as him having gone through the events of Trial giving him a new perspective. Mel is actually a lot of fun, Bonnie Langford having a good amount of chemistry with Colin, and it’s fun seeing her so keenly get into the investigation; even her screaming in this isn’t too OTT, and actually fits what’s happening on screen. (For example, the end of part two, featuring a genuinely unnerving bit of body horror, yep, that deserves a scream like that!) Now yes, this is clearly the cheap one of the season in a lot of ways, and yes, they did accidentally create the most freudian looking monsters in the show’s history with the Vervoids (the previous winner of that category was Erato’s… tentacle in The Creature from the Pit). In fact, I haven't included any pictures of them because I am genuinely concerned it might trigger a content filter on here, or sharing it on social media. However, it’s still a fun story, and in hindsight, it’s the sort of thing they should have done for the revamped Season 23; just do some simple, solid, stand alone stories, not bogged down in past continuity or anything like that. It does show a far better handling of the Sixth Doctor and Colin Baker, one that really could have worked going forward if they had the chance. Seriously, if you are “eh” on this story as part of Trial, pick up the Blu Ray set, and have a watch of the special edition, you will be amazed what a bit of re-editing can do.
Actually, I’d like to expand on a few points I’ve made before, my low opinion on this era with Eric Saward as script editor. Now as of the making of this story, Ian Levine, the mind behind pop sensation Doctor in Distress (I was thinking of linking to the song there, decided against it), left the show in his semi-official capacity as continuity advisor. He is an… interesting figure in fandom, let’s leave it at that, and it’s been noted that the very first thing they did was call a ship Hyperion, because one of his first contributions was going with one script “There already was a ship called Hyperion in The Mutants!”. However, it was also during this season that Eric Saward finally quit the show, specifically in a clash with John Nathan-Turner about his proposed ending. Because of the timing of things, this serial was the last bit of Trial of a Time Lord to go before cameras, all the stuff in the courtroom was done first. So that probably means that of all the serials this season, this one would have had the least work done on it by Saward himself, or influenced by him. So in other words, as soon as he left, the show produced a far better story than anything he did in the last two years. I find that so telling it’s not even funny… and it only got better once his replacement came on board.
Year 24: 1986 to 1987 - The Seventh Doctor’s title sequence
Fandom has been VERY down against Season 24 over the years, seeing it as silly, or childish. But going back to it, you know what it is far more than most of the last two seasons? Fun. Enjoyable. It’s actually a sign of things getting back on an even keel, with some fine moments and fun stories in here. Yeah, I like Time and the Rani. Bite me, it’s fun. The show went through quite a revamp, partially down introducing a new Doctor Sylvester McCoy, partially down to new script editor Andrew Cartmell, but overall down to a change in aesthetics, and you can see that one right at the start with the title sequence.
I adore the sheer late 80s of the McCoy sequence. For starters, I like the Keff McCulloch take on the theme which is the first to use the middle eight in the opening as well as the closing credits. Also, pure CGI title sequence; it’s very primitive CG, but it’s used well here, focusing on the trippy visuals of that sort-of galaxy, the TARDIS, and the logo itself. That TARDIS incidentally looks pretty good for CG of the time, but being a simple shape does help with that. We get that nice look at McCoy’s face with the cheeky wink, which for some reason he had to wear silver make up for instead of them, you know, altering the photo’s colour balance, but what the hell, it looks fine. And the logo itself is a thing of beauty, with that aesthetic that synthwave albums use all the time now. I find it interesting though that through the 90s, the only place that logo got used regularly was the New Adventures novels, everything else stuck with the diamond logo until the TV movie. Still, I personally hold that title sequence as the gold standard, having good visuals, a strong rendition of the theme, and showing both the Doctor and the TARDIS. Hope that for Ncuti’s titles, we get a bit of inspiration from this. I can see him pulling off a cheeky wink to the camera in the opening… just don’t paint him silver for it!
Next time, the Cartmel era is in full swing, as we look at the last outing for some classic monsters in old Who, and a serial with the show at its most self reflexive…
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