The Mysterious Planet

Immature? I was on Ravalox trying to avert a catastrophe! The Deaths of several hundred innocent people. Surely not even in the eyes of Time Lords can that be deemed either immature or a crime!

The Sixth Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctor finds himself back on trial with the Time Lords, with the Valeyard prosecuting him for interfering with the affairs of other peoples and planets and this time, his life is on the line.

The Doctor, and the court, are shown the Doctor’s adventure on the ravaged planet Ravalox with Peri, however, the planet is much more familiar to the Doctor than he initially realises…

Review

I realised when prepping for this review that this is the first Sixth Doctor review for a televised story that I’ve done for over three years, having spent the time in the interim covering the Lost Stories adapted by Big Finish. My review of Revelation of the Daleks was written in the time before the Coronavirus pandemic! It’s all bit strange having actual moving pictures of Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, rather than just hearing their voices in my head.

The Mysterious Planet marked the return of the show to television screens following an eighteen-month hiatus, and the decision was made by the production team to reflect the uncertainty of the future of the show by having an overarching narrative of the Doctor also being put on trial by the Time Lords for his interfering. I’m not convinced that reflecting the real-world situation of the show was necessarily in the best interest of either the show or its stars, and perhaps having another season of standalone stories may well have been much better for all involved, and could perhaps have changed the show’s fate. In terms of the actual televised story, the trial sequences really feel as though they slow the rest of the narrative down with a screeching of brakes, despite how good the performances of Baker, Michael Jayston and Lynda Bellingham are.

One positive here is that the relationship between the Sixth Doctor and Peri is much improved. No longer at each other’s throats, the relationship has taken time to develop and they both seem to be much more comfortable with it, and you can tell how much both Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant enjoy this change in their dynamic. Of course, having listened to the Big Finish Lost Stories, this change is not so abrupt as if you’d gone straight from Revelation of the Daleks to The Mysterious Planet, but it is noticeable from the outset as they explore Ravalox. Rather concerningly, in the behind-the-scenes documentary, from Eric Saward’s comments, it could be taken that the thought of improving the relationship between the Doctor and Peri had not even crossed his mind in the course of Season 22.

This is a story written by former script editor Robert Holmes, however, this is not Holmes at the peak of his powers. As is well known, Holmes was unwell at the time of writing this story, something that would contribute to the shambles around the end of this season. Holmes is still capable of constructing a good story, but it would be unrealistic to suggest that The Mysterious Planet is anywhere near his full capability. Saward clearly hero worshipped Holmes, which is perhaps understandable due to his contribution to what could be seen to be the golden age of Doctor Who. Given that Holmes’ last contribution, The Two Doctors, was not up to his usual standards, another old Who writer could have been contracted instead. if they wanted a safe pair of hands then perhaps they could have turned to someone like Terrance Dicks, who had experience of writing a decent long narrative in almost comparable circumstances with The War Games.

It would be unfair to lay all the flaws of this story squarely at the door of the ailing Robert Holmes. I think that the twist that this section of Trial of a Time Lord depends on, that Ravalox is in fact the Earth, is far too obvious given the location shooting and by the time we get to the Doctor and Peri discovering the underground station sign, the audience has already come to that conclusion. Once the twist has been revealed, the story doesn’t really do much with it either. Surely shooting in a quarry, whilst a trite cliche for Doctor Who by this stage, would have been a better option. The lighting in this story is truly atrocious, going from overlit corridors to practically darkness in the sequences underground. The budget feels as though it has been spent in the first few moments, especially when we consider the perfunctory gunshot in the underground.

That’s not to say that this story is terrible. Despite my misgivings about the trial format, the story does do a good job setting up the trial arc and establishing this series’ plot threads, from the major one of who is the Valeyard, to the more minor ones, like why is Peri not with the Doctor in the trial sequences. We also get the last great Holmes double act in the shame of Tony Selby’s Glitz and Glen Murphy’s Dibber, who manage to carry a great deal of the story through its ropier stretches. Ultimately, the saving grace is the chemistry between Colin Baker, Michael Jayston and Lynda Bellingham, which keeps those trial sequences at least vaguely interesting, as they progress from a mere hearing to a full-blown trial. Whilst some of the dialogue leaves something to be desired, this trio poke and prod at each other and the results are really masterful. Baker’s Doctor’s outrage at the fact that he has even been put on trial is really wonderful to watch, and Jayston’s mysterious antagonist works really well, even when you know the resolution.

I think I’ve been quite critical in this review, but I actually quite enjoyed the first half of The Mysterious Planet. There are missteps and stumbles, especially in the performances of the twins, who feel as though they’ve walked straight out of The Twin Dilemma. Nicola Bryant is good as Peri though, but deserves more in this story, and this season in general. Equally the performance and appearance of Drathro are good, but the story gets a bit bogged down in talks about morality.

Verdict: I think I’ve been quite critical in this review, but I actually quite enjoyed the first half of The Mysterious Planet. I hope that I have stressed the parts that worked well instead. Where the story falls down, the performances do rise to meet it, especially those of Colin Baker, Michael Jayston, Lynda Bellingham and Tony Selby. 6/10

Cast: Colin Baker (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown), Michael Jayston (The Valeyard), Lynda Bellingham (The Inquisitor), Joan Sims (Katryca), Tony Selby (Glitz), Glen Murphy (Dibber), Tom Chadbon (Merdeen), Roger Brierly (Drathro), David Rodigan (Broken Tooth), Adam Blackwood (Balazar), Timothy Walker (Grell), Billy McColl (Humker) & Sion Tudor-Owen (Tandrell).

Writer: Robert Holmes

Director: Nicholas Mallett

Producer: John Nathan-Turner

Composer: Dominic Glynn

Parts: 4

Original Broadcast Dates: 6th – 27th September 1986

Behind the Scenes

• The start of Season 23 saw the introduction of a new theme tune, composed by Dominic Glynn, which would remain in place until the end of the Season.
• The Mysterious Planet saw the show return to 25-minute parts. The length of season
• Starting from this story, the entire show was produced on videotape with the exception of a small filmed insert of the TARDIS and the space station, which was the final work undertaken on film until The TV Movie.
• Jonathan Powell, Head of BBC Drama, was extremely critical when receiving the scripts. This is understood to have shaken both John Nathan-Turner and Eric Saward, who would step down as script editor a few months later.

Cast Notes

• Michael Jayston has reprised his role as the Valeyard for Big Finish in stories such as Trial of the Valeyard, The Sixth Doctor: The Final Adventure and The War Valeyard.
• Lynda Bellingham reprised her role as the Inquisitor in the Big Finish spin-off Gallifrey and Trial of the Valeyard.
• Tony Selby reprises the role of Sabalom Glitz in The Ultimate Foe and Dragonfire.
• Tom Chadbon previously played Duggan in City of Death. He has also appeared in The Paradox Planet/Legacy of Death and No More Lies.
• Roger Brierley played Trevor in The Daleks’ Master Plan.

Best Moment

It has to be the opening shot of the TARDIS being pulled into the space station at the beginning of Part One. That it still stands up nearly forty years later is a testament to quite how good it looks.

Best Quote

Planets come and go. Stars perish. Matter disperses, coalesces into other patterns, other worlds. Nothing can be eternal.

The Sixth Doctor

Previous Sixth Doctor review: The First Sontarans

Previous Sixth Doctor television review: Revelation of the Daleks

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