23x4. The Ultimate Foe
Writers: Robert Holmes, Pip and Jane Baker
Script Editor: Eric Saward
Director: Chris Clough
Producer: John Nathan-Turner
Synopsis: The
Doctor's trial concludes with the revelation of a conspiracy within the
High Council of the Time Lords and the unmasking of the Valeyard as the
Doctor's evil side, leading to a confrontation within the Time Lord
Matrix while the Master, Melanie, and Sabalom Glitz join the fray.
Review: With "The Ultimate Foe," the whole
"Trial of a Time Lord" saga ends in a bit of a muddle. There are a few
promising ideas here - the Valeyard as the distillation of the Doctor's
darker side could work in theory, the corruption of the High Council
dovetails with some of the fragility and venality that we've seen
from the Gallifreyan political establishment in previous serials, and
the Doctor gets a chance to deliver a memorable denunciation of the
Time Lords in court. But too much of the logic just doesn't hold up.
Take, for example, the notion that the whole trial was an attempt to
scapegoat the Doctor and cover up the Time Lords' interference in
Earth's history - as far as I could tell, nobody was aware of their
interference in the first place, so why risk calling attention to it
through a bogus trial? Why exactly does the Master see the Valeyard
as such a threat to his interests that he sides temporarily with the
Doctor? Why does the Doctor ask the thoroughly untrustworthy Glitz to
follow him into the Matrix? Speaking of which, the problem with
settings like the Matrix, i.e. alternate realities where illusions
abound and anything can happen, is that, well, anything can happen,
such that the circumstances can change simply by writer fiat and the
characters' choices don't really mean much.
In addition to these
lapses in logic, many of the more compelling ideas are left
underdeveloped. The Valeyard is explained as having emerged from the
Doctor's final regeneration, but nothing about his behavior really
marks him as the Doctor's dark side in particular rather than just a
generic scheming villain - while the Doctor's character doesn't lend
itself to the same kind of analysis and exploration as a more
conventional dramatic protagonist, this still seems like something of a
missed opportunity. And even if you put aside the questionable nature
of the Time Lords' conspiracy, something as dramatic as the collapse of
the High Council feels like the sort of thing we should actually see
on-screen rather than having it reported via expository dialogue in the
trial chamber. And while I was somewhat pleased to learn that Peri had
survived the events of "Mindwarp," I can't muster much to say about the
idea that she's now a "warrior queen" alongside Yrcanos other than
"uh...no." It was implied at least once that she intended to return to
her life on Earth eventually, and nothing in her personality suggested
that she'd be especially happy alongisde Yrcanos.
"The
Trial of a Time Lord" is at least an improvement over the frequently
cynical and disjointed efforts of Season 22, but it needed a better
ending than the rushed, confusing, and underdeveloped effort that is
"The Ultimate Foe."
Rating: ** (out of four)
Back to the main Doctor
Who Reviews page.