Part 4
As part 4 begins, Merdeen confronts the Doctor and Peri. What we see in this first scene makes the viewer believe the Doctor is going to be shot by Merdeen, but that is not the case. Grell is waiting to kill the Doctor, but Merdeen prevents the Doctor from being shot. (1)
Part 4 has its moments. This part mostly takes place in the underground fortress of Drathro. As you watch this part of The Mysterious Planet, you begin to see a mystery unfold, but we really don’t understand what is going on. We see the Doctor be the hero he always is by saving Ravolox and many galaxies. Which in some ways does become boring I would suppose.
The courtroom scenes are hostile at the least. The bickering between the Doctor and the Valeyard becomes very intense. The takes great pride in his athletic ability, which doesn’t have anything to with the proceedings and the inquisitor lets him know how she feels.
We see the anger of the Doctor as he pocks at the Valeyard. The Valeyard pokes in the same angry manner. The back and forth in the scenes don’t prove anything at this moment and time, but as we get along in this story we will begin suspect something is up? The episode ends with an angry outburst by the Doctor and more of the same from the Valeyard.
As we see the banter between the Doctor and Valeyard, the Valeyard always comes back to the real reason the Doctor is on trial. If you remember, this begins as an inquiry to decide if the Doctor’s actions are becoming a Timelord. Well, the Valeyard points this out two or three times during this crossfire. This premise is what we see throughout these episodes as well as the ones to come.
When you first start watching this series of events, one begins to wonder what is the writer doing? Robert Holmes does a good job writing this story. It is interesting but seems a little hard to follow because of all the different aspects of the series. One must understand even though the series title The Trial of a Timelord, it consists of fourteen episodes individual stand-alone shows.
I do like the idea, but for some people, this whole thing can get confusing at times. Someone who hasn’t seen Doctor Who before will have a hard time getting into it. This is not the first Doctor Who story I would show a first-time watcher.
