Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord: Part Seven starts as the Doctor (Colin Baker) assists scientist Crozier (Patrick Ryecart) to transplant the brain of Mentor leader Lord Kiv (Christopher Ryan) into a new body, meanwhile King Yrcanos (Brian Blessed) & Peri (Nicola Bryant) have joined forces with a group of resistance fighters but are cornered by guards & Frax (Trevor Laird) who then seemingly shoots them all dead including Peri as the Doctor & the court watches the events unfold on the Matrix, events which could prove the Doctor's guilt...
Episode 7 from season 23 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during October 1986 & was part three of the second four part segment called Mindwarp of The Trial of a Time Lord season, directed by Ron Jones this has been alright so far & if your a Doctor Who fan then the chances are you'll like it but if your not a Doctor Who fan then the chances are you won't like it. That seems a somewhat obvious thing to say but there are Doctor Who stories out there which I feel the more casual viewer would enjoy much more than this & I seriously doubt if this segment of The Trial of a Time Lord would convert anyone into a fan of the show. The Doctor is still acting all evil & appears very uncaring which is starting to put me off this story, I'm sorry & call me a traditionalist if you want but for me the Doctor is supposed to be the hero & this sustained period with him being very unlikable just doesn't do it for me & this part of the plot is also poorly handled with it not being made clear whether the Doctor's strange behaviour is a result of the cell discriminator device, the Valeyard's twisting & editing of the material seen on the Matrix or that the events shown were in fact what really happened. Most of this episode has seen King Yrcanos & Peri wander through various caves & the Doctor helping Crozier to transplant Kiv's brain with the by now obligatory court scenes back on the space station thrown in at regular intervals, in fact I can barely remember anything about this episode at all apart from a few decent looking monsters.
The cast here includes the larger than life Brian Blessed who gives a suitably bellowing performance although his 'Perpugilliam of the Brown' address for Peri always makes me smile as I think it sounds like it should be part of a rude joke about poo! Meanwhile Christopher Ryan hidden under mountains of make-up & latex is probably better known for his role in the comedy The Young Ones (1982 - 1984) & Trevor Laird who plays Frax here has become a semi regular during season three on the new series of Doctor Who as Martha's dad. The other actor's do OK, some put in good performances like Nabil Shaban as Sil while there's also a few stinkers in here as well & I'm not looking at you Gordon Warnecke who plays Tusa (seemingly dressed as an Indian) or then again maybe I am...
The Trial of a Time Lord: Part Seven, or Mindwarp Part Three, is no better but no worse than the previous two episodes, while it's OK & watchable enough I wouldn't call it a classic & the Doctor seems so out of character & unlikable it feels odd at times.
Episode 7 from season 23 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during October 1986 & was part three of the second four part segment called Mindwarp of The Trial of a Time Lord season, directed by Ron Jones this has been alright so far & if your a Doctor Who fan then the chances are you'll like it but if your not a Doctor Who fan then the chances are you won't like it. That seems a somewhat obvious thing to say but there are Doctor Who stories out there which I feel the more casual viewer would enjoy much more than this & I seriously doubt if this segment of The Trial of a Time Lord would convert anyone into a fan of the show. The Doctor is still acting all evil & appears very uncaring which is starting to put me off this story, I'm sorry & call me a traditionalist if you want but for me the Doctor is supposed to be the hero & this sustained period with him being very unlikable just doesn't do it for me & this part of the plot is also poorly handled with it not being made clear whether the Doctor's strange behaviour is a result of the cell discriminator device, the Valeyard's twisting & editing of the material seen on the Matrix or that the events shown were in fact what really happened. Most of this episode has seen King Yrcanos & Peri wander through various caves & the Doctor helping Crozier to transplant Kiv's brain with the by now obligatory court scenes back on the space station thrown in at regular intervals, in fact I can barely remember anything about this episode at all apart from a few decent looking monsters.
The cast here includes the larger than life Brian Blessed who gives a suitably bellowing performance although his 'Perpugilliam of the Brown' address for Peri always makes me smile as I think it sounds like it should be part of a rude joke about poo! Meanwhile Christopher Ryan hidden under mountains of make-up & latex is probably better known for his role in the comedy The Young Ones (1982 - 1984) & Trevor Laird who plays Frax here has become a semi regular during season three on the new series of Doctor Who as Martha's dad. The other actor's do OK, some put in good performances like Nabil Shaban as Sil while there's also a few stinkers in here as well & I'm not looking at you Gordon Warnecke who plays Tusa (seemingly dressed as an Indian) or then again maybe I am...
The Trial of a Time Lord: Part Seven, or Mindwarp Part Three, is no better but no worse than the previous two episodes, while it's OK & watchable enough I wouldn't call it a classic & the Doctor seems so out of character & unlikable it feels odd at times.
