REVIEW: The Mysterious Planet

Villains of the piece: the L1 robot and Drathro

The first four-part story to kick off 'The Trial of a Time Lord' was 'The Mysterious Planet', penned by veteran Who writer Robert Holmes. This was to be his last full story for Doctor Who, and although it has some excellent moments and introduces a favourite character of mine, it's not quite the triumphant return that Doctor Who probably needed at this stage in its history.

First, a few words about the start to the Trial saga. Colin Baker gets a remixed theme tune to mark the beginning of a new season, and it's a cracker, possibly one of the best reworkings of the Ron Grainer original. I always think each Doctor deserves their own theme, so it's good to see Doctor Six no longer recycling the old Peter Davison theme.

Go on, Colin, give us a smile

Then we have the magnificent opening shot: a cathedral-like space station, a stunning camera pan across the exterior culminating in a tractor beam grabbing the TARDIS and pulling it in. These are some of the best effects ever produced in Classic Who, and they really did seem to herald a new start for the show. Unfortunately, there's a slightly jarring back-to-reality scene directly after as the Doctor finds himself in... a BBC studio! Still, the effects are very impressive in their own right, demonstrating that with a bigger budget, Doctor Who could have held its own against other sci-fi shows of the time. It's just a shame that the Evil Lord Grade never saw fit to loosen the purse strings. Given the budgetary constraints that John Nathan-Turner was operating under, just putting this single scene together must have been a real triumph, and it definitely stands the test of time.

Wowzers!

One of the best trial scenes of the story arc is the Kafka-esque moment when the Doctor first meets the Valeyard. He enters an empty court room, still unsure of why he is there, and the Valeyard speaks from the shadows. We, the viewers, have no idea what is about to happen and the Doctor is similarly nonplussed. It's a great moment, and a shame that the subsequent trial scenes didn't build on it more convincingly.

Colin Baker as Josef K

From the moment 'The Mysterious Planet story begins, it is instantly noticeable that the relationship between the Doctor and Peri has matured. Gone is the purposeful winding up, the snarking, the unnecessary cynicism and the feeling that neither character particularly likes the other. In its place we have the two strolling through a forest on a crisp Autumn morning, enjoying each others' company and - for once - Peri no longer looks as if she's just stepped off the beach in Lanzarote. While an undoubted disappointment to all the Dads at home, I think it really helps to ground her character and makes us take her much more seriously.

This could be the start of something beautiful...
if only it wasn't, in fact, the end

It's not long before we're introduced to another double-act in the form of Sabalom Glitz (Tony Selby) and Dibber (Glen Murphy). These two space scavengers have arrived on Ravolox in the hopes of plundering some 'secrets' which, as Glitz points out, are worth a lot of grotzits. I personally love Glitz, and I think he works even better when paired up with the simple, but nevertheless sensible Dibber. The borderline Shakespearean dialogue in their first scene is a real treat from Holmes. Glitz also proves to be a character with real development, and not simply a stand-in for 'space mercenary' as too many characters of the time tended to be.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

What could have been a stunt casting choice in the form of Joan Sims as Katryca, Queen of the Free, turns out to be inspired. Rather than putting in a 'Carry On, Boadicea' performance, Sims demonstrates that she's more than capable of playing it straight. Indeed, her character is treated well by the script, avoiding the 'ignorant savage' stereotype.

Katryca, Queen of the Iceni Free

The story itself is not bad, but it does feel like it may have been stretched across four episodes when two would probably have been sufficient. To summarise: the Earth has somehow been catapulted into the Andromeda galaxy, and has been renamed Ravolox. The survivors of the fireball (which resulted from this intergalactic excursion) remain underground, guarded by a robot called Drathro who, to put it mildly, has gone a bit bonkers. He has a not-particularly-menacing pet robot called the L1 which he uses to capture those who escape his metallic clutches. One of Drathro's servants, Merdeen (Tom Chadbon) has been secretly releasing those whom Drathro commands to be 'purged' above ground where they have banded together to form the tribe of the Free. This tribe worship a totem which is, in fact, a black light generator. Glitz and Dibber want to blow it up in order to paralyse Drathro and get the secrets he is guarding. There is much to-ing and fro-ing, with both the Doctor and Peri getting captured by the Free at various intervals, the Doctor exchanging banter with Drathro and eventually succeeding in destroying his black light supply and releasing the underground survivors from their enforced subterranean existence - but not before many deaths, including Katryca's, at the hands (literally) of Drathro.

Balazar (Adam Blackwood) really nailing the 'oh my goodness' look

Of course, it wouldn't be Doctor Who without some real howlers along the way. These include a futuristic Earth in which, bizarrely, the Central Line was still operating up until the fireball. Given that this is meant to be 2,000 years in the future, it seems surprising that the original 20th century signage and escalators would still be unchanged.

"And it's in English!" Peri exclaims. TARDIS translation matrix, anyone?

Then we have a litany of costume disasters:

Spare Valeyard, Bleeding Helmet and Medieval Squire

And one of the worst special effects in Who history:

Why, oh why, didn't they just use an actual piece of wood?
No, no. Let's mock up a fake using a BBC Micro!

This story also has an example of a cliffhanger that takes place part way through the story being watched on the matrix. As previously noted, there is *no suspense* involved when we know the Doctor has survived and is watching what we are watching. This makes poor old Colin's line "this really could be the end!" lack any gravitas when he utters it at the close of Episode Two.

As for the trial scenes themselves, I couldn't help but feel (1) cross that some of the jury were clearly asleep:

This man is on trial for his life, and you thought you could just nod off?!

...and (2) frustrated that several Timelords thought it would be a good idea to sit so close to the matrix screen as to make it impossible for them to see anything:

Seriously, bloke at the front, you couldn't see even if you craned
your neck. Which you can't, because you're a Timelord.

However, to make up for this, we do have an excellent bit of accessorising from Drathro:

"I thought I'd bring my overnight bag, Glitz."

And a foreshadowing of a Saturday evening entertainment show that would knock Doctor Who off its primetime spot:

Next stop: Crinkley Bottom

All in all, not a bad story - but not a particularly good one either. It is notable for what it introduces (Glitz and Dibber) to the series, and for the warmth between Peri and the Doctor. The sense of threat is minimal, and the questions the story provokes aren't brought out clearly enough to sustain the suspense. By the end of the story, it's not really clear what the Valeyard is driving at - and the Inquisitor's reluctance to take up the Doctor's entirely reasonable questions (like why the Earth is in the wrong galaxy) seems at odds with the fact that she's not actually in on the Timelord conspiracy herself.

Still, as it's only the first of the Trial stories, we still have plenty more to go. Next: Mindwarp!