Day 339 — December 5th 2021
The Trial of a Time Lord Parts Nine and Ten
The Trial of a Time Lord — Part Nine
The first time I saw The Trial of a Time Lord, this third segment of evidence was my favourite by a country mile. At the time I couldn’t put my finger on exactly why that was, but when you’re watching through the whole series in order like this you get a little more context on these things. I think in this instance it’s become clear that I enjoy this one so much because it just feels like Doctor Who. Now I said something similar about The Mysterious Planet at the start of this season, but I think this one goes even further in that direction, and there’s a reason for that; Mel is brilliant.
Don’t get me wrong, Peri was fine. I came to like Tegan in the end, despite a shaky start to her time in the TARDIS, but Mel feels like a real breath of fresh air. For the first time in ages — probably the first time this decade — we’ve got a companion who actually wants to be there, and who’s just as up for the adventure as Doctor Who is. Tegan and Peri always found things to complain about. Mel just wants to get stuck in. Indeed, it’s Mel who does a lot of the prompting in this story, with Doctor Who sort of following along in her wake. That feels like such a change of pace, and it’s remarkable how much more enjoyable it is.
Mel: ‘Look, the quickest way out of this is to solve the mystery.’
Doctor Who: ‘That could also be the quickest way into trouble.’
Mel: ‘Why don’t you ask for a passenger list?’
Doctor Who: ‘Don’t hustle me, Mel!’
Mel: ‘Who’s hustling? All I’m saying is that you might recognise a name.
Simple, isn’t it?’
Doctor Who: ‘Hmm. Meanwhile?’
Mel: ‘Meanwhile, I wander around, poke my nose into a few nooks and
crannie and see if anyone tries to make contact. Remember, we were
restricted to the passenger quarters. This is only the lounge...’
People complain about Bonnie Langford but I think she’s pretty brilliant in this one, and her enthusiasm is infectious. She’s given loads to do in this one, too, and that all culminates in her receiving the single best cliffhanger of the Colin Baker era. A guest character dies accompanied by a video effect, sparks fly, the camera pulls back as the companion screams their way into the closing titles… you see what I mean about this being proper Doctor Who?
If I’ve one criticism, I think it was a mistake to not show Doctor Who encountering his new companion. I get that it’s a fresh approach to just join him in the future with a companion already in place, but I think I’d have rather witnessed his first meeting with her as part of the adventure. Make her the stewardess on the ship, and have her get caught up with Doctor Who simply because she loves the idea of solving the mystery.
8/10
The Trial of a Time Lord — Part Ten
One of the most impressive parts of this story has to be the sets. There’s a scale to them that we’ve been missing from the series lately, and I think they stand out all the more because they’re following the cramped interiors of Mindwarp. Take the spaceship hold, for example. It’s huge! The TARDIS looks tiny when it arrives in the middle, and it’s all the more impressive when Bonnie Langford steps out and you remember just how big the police box is itself.
It’s not only that the sets are so large, it’s also down to how well they’ve been shot for this story. Chris Clough makes his Doctor Who debut with this story, and on the basis of this I’m looking forward to having his around for the next few seasons. There’s shots of the Time Lord courtroom in this episode which show off the size of that set far better than anything in the first two ‘segments’ of the season, and actually make it look pretty impressive. I think it was shots like this I was picturing when I said how much I liked that set, even though it was objectively a little rubbish.
The setting helps with the sets, too. Some of the corridors and the Passenger Lounge look a little tacky… but that’s exactly right for this kind of cruise liner. You can get away with an awful lot more, and I think it’s completely intended, because when they do need to produce something stronger you get a great set like the Bridge, which is stark in black and white. A lot of thought has gone into this — right down to the costumes, which for the crew match the areas they’re assigned to. The Commodore and the Security Officer wear black and white outfits which suit the Bridge, while the pastel shades of Janet’s uniform tie in perfectly with ‘front of house’.
I spent all of Part One praising Mel and Bonnie Langford, but what I didn’t really mention is just how well the character and the actress works alongside Colin’s Doctor Who. They’re a proper delight to watch in this one. I think my favourite moment has to be when Doctor Who manages to enflame a situation (having already pointed out his ‘tact and finesse’), and it’s up to Mel to dive in and save him. They repeat the gag from The Pirate Planet of having the companion get all the useful information while Doctor Who is ignored in the background, and it works just as well here.
The pair of them have such a great relationship throughout, and I already think they feel like a team after two short episodes than Peri and he ever did across all their time together. There’s a great moment where they share some banter together here, but everything from the script to the delivery makes it playful in a way that the jibes with his previous companion never were;
Doctor Who: ‘Do you know, I’ve always envied you that.’
Mel: ‘I shall probably regret this, but go on, I’ll buy it. Envied me what?’
Doctor Who: ‘Your amazing ability for almost total recall.’
Mel: ‘Compliments? You are undergoing a change.’
Doctor Who: ‘I could have been comparing you to an elephant. Well, figuratively speaking. They never forget.’
It makes me sad to think that we’ve only got six episodes of this pairing together, because I could quite happily watch a full run of Sixth Doctor Who and Mel adventures. 8/10
