The Doctor on trial: Was season 23 a meta-commentary too far?
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This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean prepare for the journey they’ve avoided for over 500 episodes: the 14-part epic, The Trial of a Time Lord.
As the longest single serial since The Daleks' Master Plan, it was intended to save the show, but instead, it became a fascinating, frustrating mirror of Doctor Who’s real-world struggle for survival in 1986.
No shownotes as such this week, but look out for discussion of:
The binge-culture disconnect: We discuss the "memory of disappointment" surrounding the 14-week structure. Does a story this long work better in the era of streaming, or was the "trial" format fundamentally flawed from the start?
The unlikable hero: James revisits his "pre-teen" struggle with Colin Baker’s Doctor. We look at the "clownish" costume, the bullish personality, and whether a simple wardrobe change could have saved his legacy (probably, yes).
Interruptions in the matrix: Why the constant cutaways to the courtroom dampen the stakes of stories like Mindwarp and The Mysterious Planet.
The "lost" season 23: Christian breaks down the original plans for the season—including The Nightmare Fair and Yellow Fever and How to Cure It—and how a behind-the-scenes "trial" at the BBC led to the version we eventually got.
The Valeyard revelation: We talk about the "adult vagueness" of the show's dark mirror-Doctor and why the revelation of his true identity didn't quite land for a younger audience in the 80s.
Missed opportunities: From the lack of past companions in a courtroom evidence-giving scenario (where was Jamie or Ian Chesterton?) to the "meta-danger" of putting the show on trial while it was actually under threat from BBC management.
We're hitting play on The Trial of a Time Lord from next week, and we'll be presenting our commentaries to you on Patreon in a complete story-by-story package, in both video and audio. To remind you, Season 23 comprised the following individual stories:
The Mysterious Planet by Robert Holmes
Mindwarp by Philip Martin
Terror of the Vervoids by Pip and Jane Baker
The Ultimate Foe by Robert Holmes (with Pip and Jane Baker)
The Patreon option
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What do you think of the Sixth Doctor's final stand? Let us know in the comments, and look out for our deep dive into The Mysterious Planet next week!