Doctor Who - The Trial Of A Timelord (DVD)

...further! ToaT is essentially the Doctor on trial by his own people, the Timelords, for being too involved or if you take my view for doing the right thing and saving the worlds/universe far too often. The 'evidence' adduced by the Timelords against the Doctor consists of footage from the Matrix (not the same thing as in the Keanu Reeves films) and essentially allows the audience to watch a run of the mill Doctor Who adventure whilst every now and ...
...Doctor generally insulting the Valeyard, who is prosecuting the Doctor, and getting a good telling off.

== THE SERIALS ==

The four serials within the arc are incredibly varied and see the return of familiar faces including The Master and the evil slug like Sil who is played excellently by Nabil Shaban. Furthermore the serials are full of guest actors including Joan Sims from the Carry On films who plays a warrior queen ... more

I am delighted that I purchased the Trial of a Timelord DVD boxset. Whilst fans of the new series may find the lack of CGI and 21st century special effects combined with a completely differing episode format and structure (namely an average story lasting 4 episodes as opposed to the now one story, one episode average) offputting, fans of the classic Who era should really enjoy this one! Compared to the recent Christmas special, this boxset of classic Who from1986 has an array of brilliant actors, pathos, scary monsters, shocking moments and just plain different storylines. Personally I find the dodgy special effects charming and in some cases just hilarious which adds to the entertainment value.

The Trial of a Timelord (ToaT) is a fine example of a series arc with a common theme running throughout each serial and compared to the Key to Time,season which was also a series arc, ToaT is far shorter with only 4 interconnecting serials and in my opinion it has less 'filler' moments.

Fans of the new series who fancy seeing what the other Timelords and the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey's customs were like, look no further! ToaT is essentially the Doctor on trial by his own people, the Timelords, for being too involved or if you take my view for doing the right thing and saving the worlds/universe far too often. The 'evidence' adduced by the Timelords against the Doctor consists of footage from the Matrix (not the same thing as in the Keanu Reeves films) and essentially allows the audience to watch a run of the mill Doctor Who adventure whilst every now and then returning to the trial/ court room sequence with the Doctor generally insulting the Valeyard, who is prosecuting the Doctor, and getting a good telling off.

THE SERIALS

The four serials within the arc are incredibly varied and see the return of familiar faces including The Master and the evil slug like Sil who is played excellently by Nabil Shaban. Furthermore the serials are full of guest actors including Joan Sims from the Carry On films who plays a warrior queen in the first serial; Brian Blessed who plays a warrior king in the second serial; Bonnie Langford who takes on the role of the Doctor's companion and of all people Honor Blackman! The acting from Brian Blessed is immensely entertaining and brings some well needed light humour to a very dark story. The kind of acting throughout the ToaT boxset was sorely lacking from the recent Christmas special.

DVD 1 contains the serial 'The Mysterious Planet' which is probably the weakest of the four although still highly entertaining. The plot is easy to follow and at times feels a bit like a christmas panto although the jumping to and fro between the serial itself and the courtroom scenes may take some getting used to. Essentially the Doctor and companion Peri (simply gorgeous - another reason to watch) arrive on the planet Ravalox which turns out to be incredibly full of mysteries including the menacing robot Drathro who commands an underground army of people that are largely unknown to the more primitive band of people that live above ground who are led by Joan Sims' warrior queen character. Inevitably with the Doctor's arrival chaos ensues and the Doctor and friends get endlessly terrorised by very awful looking robots that wouldn't send any child hiding behind a sofa these days! However, the comic moments in part played out by the rogues Glitz & Dibber who also arrive on the planet to steal 'secrets' for commercial gain that the evil giant robot Drathro holds make for hilarious viewing.

DVD 2 contains the serial 'Mindwarp' which has to be one of the most dark Dr Who stories of all time. Mindwarp sees the return of the disgusting enemy Sil who appeared in the serial 'Vengeance on Varos' and continuing the themes from that earlier story, 'Mindwarp' further explores themes such as genetic mutations and the evils of scienctific tampering with nature. 'Mindwarp' has an almost Dr Frankenstein character in Dr Crozier whose task is finding a suitable host body for Sil's leader to occupy. 'Mindwarp' sees the Doctor acting completely out of character, making his companion Peri's life hell and at the same time larger than life acting from Brian Blessed which is in my opinion even funnier than the 'Gordon's alive' line he delivers in Flash Gordon. Furthermore there is a half-man/half-wolf creature. What more could you want?

'Mindwarp' is worth owning on DVD alone due to its awfully disturbing conclusion and makes owning the boxset a top priority for any Sci Fi or Dr Who fan. Something evil happens to the Doctor's companion Peri and it is far worse than the fates of the more recent Doctor Who companions. Colin Baker's portrayal of the Doctor in this serial is mindwarping in itself and Colin's fine acting really shines through making this one of the best Dr Who stories of all time.

Disc 3 is a serial entitled 'Terror of the Vervoids' and is a classic whodunnit set in space. Quite a few comic moments, including the now not really terrifying plant monsters the Vervoids, although the typical suspense expected of a whodunnit makes this serial a fine contrast to the disturbing nature of 'Mindwarp' and more suited to family viewing.

Disc 4 brings the boxset to a close and the Doctor is both manipulated by his arch enemy the Master and also discovers his true ultimate foe. There is a fantastic "I didn't see that one coming" twist in this part and some very dark moments that follow in what was ultimately Colin Baker's swansong story. The presence of one actor, namely Geoffrey 'Onslow' Hughes who later starred as Hyacinth Bucket's brother in law in a supporting role is not to be missed although this is purely to hear Onslow speaking in a posh voice and looking quite prim.

SPECIAL FEATURES

The 2 entertain team went all out with the special features and these are little short of fantastic. I cannot imagine what else would be needed in terms of special features. Not only do you get clips from other popular TV shows from the day including Blue Peter and Saturday Superstore which ran Dr Who features at the time the ToaT was broadcast, the usual 'now and then' features that return to where the show was filmed, which often makes for quite enjoyable viewing are also included. The nostalgia that the Saturday Superstore clips alone brought to me made this purchase a sound idea.

Far more impressive though are the 'making of' documentaries which present a truly warts and all account from the actors and production team about the woes that were going on behind scene including some of the infighting and of course a proper account of what led to Dr Who infamously being axed for over a year in 1985. The events that led to Colin Baker's departure after ToaT are also neatly explored in the special features documentary and after viewing the main feature of ToaT, the unwise decision to replace Colin as the Dr becomes even more saddening. However, these documentaries are invaluable in providing an insight into the problems that Dr Who faced at the time and do emphasise why it is often unkind to poke fun of the show's classic era.

Finally I must add that the documentary about the best and worst Dr Who cliffhangers is incredibly entertaining and features very witty contributions from an array of those concerned with Dr Who at some point in time. If you enjoy tv shows such as the 'ten worst music videos of all time,' the cliffhanger documentary will be perfect for you.

CONCLUSION

The ToaT boxset contains 4 brilliant DVDs showcasing the prime of Colin Baker's time as the infamous Doctor, some of the most shocking moments in the show's history and unique storylines that in their own way work and make the viewing experience a pleasurable one. There is always something going on with the ToaT storyline, something for everyone to enjoy and whilst the special fx are lacking, the superb acting and diverse storylines more than make up for it. The trial scenes may seem like interruptions but Colin's acting more than makes up for it. The special features are amongst the best I have watched and their inclusion wholly justifies the price of the boxset which for 4 Dr Who DVDs and still largely cheaper than the current David Tennant era boxsets is in my view a better way to invest money in Dr Who viewing.

Happy viewing! 

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