The third story in this Trial of a Timelord season is the one where we are introduced to a new companion and the story just goes bonkers and not necersarily in a good way. Written by Pip and Jane Baker this is their second contribution after the previous years Mark of the Rani which I quite liked despite it not being liked by many. I think that story doesn’t start well because it is set in the future and it immediately leads to the end of the season because if the Doctor has a future then it implies that he gets found not guilty at the trial which makes the whole court stuff redundant. Anyway once we get past that we find we have a new companion in the form of Melanie Bush as played by Bonnie Langford. It’s never explained how far in the Doctor’s future this story takes place and as a result we are expected to warm to Mel under the idea that she has been travelling with the Doctor for sometime. This is quite a bold idea by JNT of introducing a companion without witnessing their introduction into the show.
The main ‘threat’ comes from the Vervoids and to be honest the look of them is ridiculous because they look quite rude and its hard to get past that. Their motives are quite interesting, that they see humans in the same way that we see trees and this leads to an good and credible threat. The crew and passengers on the crusieliner range from bland to irritating. Lets start with Honour Blackman who famously appeared in the James Bond film Goldfinger as Pussy Galore but in this story she plays Professor Laskey and spends most of the story really angry and it doesn’t seem like she’s doing too much acting. It’s almost like she took on the role and then changed her mind as soon as it began.
Unfortunatley the Mel that we get on TV is not a very good one. Part of me thinks it is down to the acting but then part of me thinks it is down to the writing. It has to be said that since the character appeared in several Big Finish stories since 2000, the character and actress have improved drastically. In the first cliffhanger we get a prime example of what is wrong with the character. It seems that Bonnie Langford has been hired because she can scream and man alive can she scream. It’s quite good how her scream mixes into the closing credits but aside from that she is irritating beyond believe throughout this story. The appearance of Commodore Travers is a curious one because he and the Doctor have met before in an unseen adventure. Like Mel were expected to believe these two have history from the beginning and for one person this is fine but for two its stretching it a bit. That said I did like the character of Travers as he doesn’t get on well with the Doctor at first and even by the end their friendship isn’t easy.
The story does have two very good cliffhangers. The first being the one where Mel screams after that bloke puts his hand on the hydroponics door and gets electrocuted. One does have to ask why he wasn’t more careful considering what was inside. The second good cliffhanger was at the end when after watching the events unfold and realise that not one Vervoid had survived, the Valeyard wanted the case to involve the charge of Genocide. This was a nice dramatic moment but the sudden change of what the case is about is totally preposterous. In no legal system anywhere in the world would you be able just change the charge at the drop of a hat.
The main cast do well with Colin Baker really coming to the front when he’s away from Mel. The relationship between Colin and Nicola seemed very strong on TV and it was always going to be difficult for Bonnie Langford but unfortunately this pairing isnt one the best in Doctor Who history. Michael Jayston and Linda Bellingham do well in their brief scenes but it wouldn’t be until the next story that they really show why they are there.
It’s not a bad story, certainly not on par with The Mysterious Planet but there are things that the story could have done without but we are now approaching the final two stories and as a result I have to say that at least the series was heading in the right direction. Pip and Jane Baker have written a story with good intentions but its sadly let down by some dubious production decisions and a mix quality of supporting cast members.
The main ‘threat’ comes from the Vervoids and to be honest the look of them is ridiculous because they look quite rude and its hard to get past that. Their motives are quite interesting, that they see humans in the same way that we see trees and this leads to an good and credible threat. The crew and passengers on the crusieliner range from bland to irritating. Lets start with Honour Blackman who famously appeared in the James Bond film Goldfinger as Pussy Galore but in this story she plays Professor Laskey and spends most of the story really angry and it doesn’t seem like she’s doing too much acting. It’s almost like she took on the role and then changed her mind as soon as it began.
Unfortunatley the Mel that we get on TV is not a very good one. Part of me thinks it is down to the acting but then part of me thinks it is down to the writing. It has to be said that since the character appeared in several Big Finish stories since 2000, the character and actress have improved drastically. In the first cliffhanger we get a prime example of what is wrong with the character. It seems that Bonnie Langford has been hired because she can scream and man alive can she scream. It’s quite good how her scream mixes into the closing credits but aside from that she is irritating beyond believe throughout this story. The appearance of Commodore Travers is a curious one because he and the Doctor have met before in an unseen adventure. Like Mel were expected to believe these two have history from the beginning and for one person this is fine but for two its stretching it a bit. That said I did like the character of Travers as he doesn’t get on well with the Doctor at first and even by the end their friendship isn’t easy.
The story does have two very good cliffhangers. The first being the one where Mel screams after that bloke puts his hand on the hydroponics door and gets electrocuted. One does have to ask why he wasn’t more careful considering what was inside. The second good cliffhanger was at the end when after watching the events unfold and realise that not one Vervoid had survived, the Valeyard wanted the case to involve the charge of Genocide. This was a nice dramatic moment but the sudden change of what the case is about is totally preposterous. In no legal system anywhere in the world would you be able just change the charge at the drop of a hat.
The main cast do well with Colin Baker really coming to the front when he’s away from Mel. The relationship between Colin and Nicola seemed very strong on TV and it was always going to be difficult for Bonnie Langford but unfortunately this pairing isnt one the best in Doctor Who history. Michael Jayston and Linda Bellingham do well in their brief scenes but it wouldn’t be until the next story that they really show why they are there.
It’s not a bad story, certainly not on par with The Mysterious Planet but there are things that the story could have done without but we are now approaching the final two stories and as a result I have to say that at least the series was heading in the right direction. Pip and Jane Baker have written a story with good intentions but its sadly let down by some dubious production decisions and a mix quality of supporting cast members.
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