By David Ferguson
It’s been nearly 40 years since The Sixth Doctor’s second season hit our screens. Dubbed “The Trial of a Time Lord”, it had four connected stories and featured Peri (Nicola Bryant)’s last TV story and the debut of Mel (Bonnie Langford). It also debuted the villainous Valeyard (Michael Jayston). It ended up being Colin Baker’s last TV season. To mark the nearly 40 year anniversary, I have selected five Doctor Who audio adventures from Big Finish that are connected to that season’s storyline.
The Wrong Doctors (2013)
• Full release information here on the Big Finish Official Website
Written by Matt Fitton
Cast: A full cast including Colin Baker as The Doctor and Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush
Plot: With Evelyn gone, the Doctor sets course for his destiny… in the form of his first meeting with Miss Melanie Bush, a computer programmer from the village of Pease Pottage, currently busy rehearsing with the local Amateur Dramatic Society – and blissfully unaware that her future is on its way, in his TARDIS.
Make that two TARDISes. Because at that very moment, a slightly younger Doctor is flying into Pease Pottage, too – returning his future companion Melanie Bush to her rightful place and time, after they were flung together during the course of his Time Lord trial. Time travel is a complicated business… the iguanodon terrorising Pease Pottage being a case in point.
But how much more complicated could things possibly become, if the wrong Doctor were to bump into the wrong Mel?
“The Trial of a Time Lord” introduced the character of Melanie Bush, in the story Terror Of the Vervoids (1986). However, we never got to see how The Doctor and Mel first met. Their onscreen story is a future story with an older Sixth Doctor. At the end of the trial, the current and younger, Sixth Doctor leaves with Mel. So this audio story tries to sort out both of these issues. The older Doctor, after saying goodbye to Evelyn, a popular audio companion, decides to go meet Mel and the younger Doctor tries to drop her off somewhere before she tells him things he should not know. The trouble is that they choose the same place. And time.
Colin Baker does his best to distinguish between the two, highlighting how Big Finish changed his Doctor over the years. I ended up enjoying this one, even though it was tough to figure out at first. The Doctor was wearing different coloured coats. It should have made it simple, right?
The Widow’s Assassin (2014)
• Full release information here on the Big Finish Official Website
Written by Nev Fountain
Cast: Full cast including Colin Baker as The Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown.
Plot: Once, long ago, in a land of monsters and corridors, a fair maiden was captured, and placed in a deep sleep.
She was used to being captured, and she had a hero who rescued her on just such occasions. But this time the hero never came.
And the fair maiden slept on.
Eventually, a King rescued the maiden, and made her his bride, which many wise old women might tell you is just another way of capturing fair maidens. And still the fair maiden slept on.
Then, the hero had another stab at rescuing the maiden from her prison, but he was too late. And, more importantly, he had forgotten the rules of fairy tales.
He didn’t slay the dragon.
Peri Brown is seemingly killed at the end of the Mindwarp (1986), only for that to be shown to be a lie at the end of the trial, as she actually ends up leaving with King Yrcanos (Brian Blessed). This came across as an odd ending that did not quite fit the character of Peri, or her interactions with Yrcanos. This story follows up on that as The Doctor finally goes to find her.
As with a number of Big Finish audios, this one cleans up some of the TV continuity and make it make more sense. It ties well with the original episodes, with an interesting cameo. It also begins a run of excellent stories with The Doctor and Peri, the next two being a Dalek story in Masters of Earth (2014), and a Rani story in The Rani Elite (2014), both of which are favourites of mine. I actually relistened to this story for this piece and am quite tempted to listen to those again, too.
Writer Nev Fountain has written a number of excellent Sixth Doctor and Peri stories, most notably Peri and Piscon Paradox (2011) and The Curious Incident of the Doctor in the Night-Time (2014).
Trial of the Valeyard (2014)
• Full release information here on the Big Finish Official Website
Written by Alan Barnes and Mike Maddox
Cast: Colin Baker as The Doctor, Michael Jayston as The Valeyard, Linda Bellingham as The Inquisitor
Plot: There is some evil in all of us – even the Doctor. Transported aboard the Time Lords’ orbiting courtroom, the Doctor once again encounters the Valeyard, an amalgamation of the darker sides of his nature.
This time, however, the Doctor isn’t in the dock. This time, the Valeyard is the defendant.
I actually removed some of the plot details from each story, taken from the Big Finish website, as I think it spoils some of the drama.
“Trial of the Valeyard” is a direct sequel to “The Trial of a Time Lord”, with Michael Jayston returning to the role of the Valeyard. He would return again in Time War 3 (2019). Linda Bellingham had already returned to the role of Derkel as part of the Gallifrey series, a series that follow the politics of The Doctor’s home planet. Sadly, this would be her last appearance.
This story really works as it captures the tone of the original episode and feels like a sequel with its twist on the original. The cast is excellent.
The Last Adventure (2015)
• Full release information here on the Big Finish Official Website
By Alan Barnes, Nicholas Briggs, Matt Fitton, Simon Barnard and Paul Morris
Cast: Full cast, including Colin Baker as The Doctor, Miranda Raison as Constance, India Fisher as Charlotte, Lisa Greenwood as Flip, Bonnie Langford as Mel and Michael Jayston as The Valeyard.
Plot:
The End of the Line by Simon Barnard and Paul Morris
The Doctor and his latest companion Constance investigate a commuter train that has lost its way…
The Red House by Alan Barnes
The Doctor and Charlotte Pollard arrive on a world that is populated by werewolves.
Stage Fright by Matt Fitton
The Doctor and Flip visit Victorian London, where investigators Jago and Litefoot explore theatrical performances that have echoes of the Doctor’s past lives…
The Brink of Death by Nicholas Briggs
The Doctor and Mel face the final confrontation with the Valeyard – and the Doctor must make the ultimate sacrifice.
“The Trial of a Time Lord” was the Sixth Doctor’s last story, but it did not give us a definitive ending. Big Finish decided that he should have one, bringing together stories with multiple companions with a foe first seen in “Trial of a Timelord. The first story features the debut of Constance, but this was purely due to a schedule change. This boxset ended up being released before her first meeting with The Sixth Doctor in Criss-Cross (2015). I think this is somehow fitting. I really enjoy Constance as she has different relationship with The Doctor than the others.
Speaking of different relationships, some of you might be wondering why Charlie is travelling with old Sixie. Well it happens but it means she has to be a bit careful with what she says to him, so that’s an entertaining hook.
The third story, Stage Fright, is my favourite. Matt Fitton is one of my favourite Big Finish writers. Here we get modern day Flip meeting Jago & Litefoot of Fourth Doctor TV fame (The Talons of Weng-Chiang, broadcast in 1977).
Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter reprise their roles as Jago & Litefoot who have their own series of Big Finish audios and have also featured in two Sixth Doctor audios: Voyage To Venus (2014) and Voyage To The New World (2014). It seems appropriate that they should appear.
The story is also peppered with references to various points in the Doctor’s timeline. The last story gets to the meat of the matter and we get the final fight between The Doctor and The Valeyard and it is a fitting finale, with references to The Sixth Doctor Era. The story is actually similar to the ending that script editor Eric Saward wanted before he ended up quitting the TV show.
The Trials of a Time Lord (2024)
• Full release information here on the Big Finish Official Website
Written by Katharine Armitage, Stewart Pringle and Rochana Patel
Cast: Full cast including Colin Baker as The Doctor, Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown, Bonnie Langford as Mel, David Banks as Cyber Leader and Terry Malloy as Davros
Plot: Responding to a distress call from an old friend, the Doctor and Mel find themselves in ‘Cyberia’, a prison camp run by an even older foe. But this time, the Cyber Leader’s machinations are just the tip of one very sinister iceberg, one that will test the Doctor to his very limit, and beyond…
We hope you’re hiding behind the sofa, because ‘The Trials of a Time Lord’ are about to begin!
This is the second Sixth Doctor 40th anniversary boxset by Big Finish. The first was The Quin Dilemma (2024), the name being a play on the first Sixth Doctor TV story, The Twin Dilemma (1984). That inspired the title of this one, which is a more obvious play on a previous story title and one of the reasons it made my list.
I really enjoyed this one, as it took elements from The Sixth Doctor TV era, featuring lots of stuff we saw on screen including the villains (some from Trial of a Timelord). The plot is inspired by one story, a favourite of mine, but I won’t spoil. I actually missed one nod as I haven’t watched the TV era recently but they go into them in the interviews.
A character driven story that also manages to feel epic. I was squeeing with delight in parts. A true celebration.
David Ferguson
Head downthetubes for…
• The Trial of a Time Lord DVD (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
• Doctor Who – The Collection – Season 23 Blu-ray (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
Featuring The Mysterious Planet, Mindwarp, Terror Of The Vervoids and The Ultimate Foe, that make up the “Trial of a Time Lord” storyline. The TARDIS is drawn to a space station where the Doctor (Colin Baker) is subjected to a Time Lord inquiry into his behaviour, presided over by an Inquisitor.
The prosecuting counsel, the Valeyard, presents the first piece of evidence, which consists of a recording played back on a screen linked to the Matrix. It concerns a visit by the Doctor and Peri to the desolate planet Ravolox…
Terrance Dicks, Philip Martin, Pip & Jane Baker (Authors), Lynda Bellingham, Colin Baker, Bonnie Langford, Michael Jayston (Narrator), BBC Digital Audio (Publisher)
Four exciting novelisations in which the Doctor is on trial for his life.
In The Mysterious Planet, the Doctor is brought before the court of his fellow Time Lords. If the Valeyard can prove him guilty, the Doctor must sacrifice his remaning regenerations.
In Mindwarp, the second piece of evidence against the Doctor is presented to the court. One thing is certain: on the evidence of the Matrix, the Doctor is guilty as charged!
In Terror of the Vervoids, the Matrix relates how the Doctor and Mel arrive on a space liner just as a series of grisly murders begins.
In The Ultimate Foe, the Doctor asserts that the evidence of the Matrix has been tampered with. In a dramatic intervention, the Valeyard’s true identity is revealed…
Lynda Bellingham, Colin Baker, Bonnie Langford and Michael Jayston read these four suspenseful adventures by Robert Holmes, Philip Martin and Pip and Jane Baker.
• BBC iPlayer: Doctor Who (1963–1996): Season 23: The Trial of a Time Lord: Part 1
• TARDIS Fandom Wiki: Season 23
Useful overview of the season, including details of stories set within it beyond the TV stories
• Shannon Sullivan’s Guide to The Trial Of A Time Lord Segment One (aka The Mysterious Planet)
• Shannon Sullivan’s Guide to The Trial Of A Time Lord Segment Two (aka Mindwarp)
• Shannon Sullivan’s Guide to The Trial Of A Time Lord Segment Three (aka Terror of the Vervoids)
• Shannon Sullivan’s Guide to The Trial Of A Time Lord Segment Four (aka The Ultimate Foe)
Shannon’s guides distil both story synopses and plenty of background production information in an enjoyably readable form
Just for fun…
Here’s the full cover of the Doctor Who 30th Anniversary VHS release of The Trial Of A Time Lord featuring art by Alister Pearson. Who still has their TARDIS tin?
Here’s Lee Johnson’s artworks for Doctor Who: The Complete History 42, a reference book published by Hachette Partworks and Panini UK in 2017. It was the fiftieth issue of The Complete History, covering The Trial of a Time Lord.
Lee was commissioned to be the lead artist on the series, producing artwork for every televised Doctor Who story (276 serials), over the course of 90 volumes. He also produced the cover artwork for every issue, as well as the spine artwork.
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David is a writer of stuff on comics and pop culture for GCN.ie. He is also a contributor and editor (Hugo nominated) for Journey Planet
Categories: Audio, Digital Media, Doctor Who, Other Worlds, Science Fiction, Television
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Good stuff 🙂
When I was young Who wasn’t on tv so I had to buy all on VHS but never got the special tin.