Doctor Who: 15 Most Disastrous Stories Of All-Time

10. Trial Of A Time Lord

Heaven knows why, but Producer, John Nathan-Turner and Script Editor, Eric Saward thought it would be a great idea to reflect the series 'trial' status after being recommissioned after hiatus, in the programme by putting the Doctor himself on trial. Not the best way of confidently relaunching the series. To its credit, the majority of the season is surprisingly ok and I'd go so far as to say underrated. It is only marred by the 'courtroom scenes' splicing their way into the action at uncomfortable regularity. A mistake was undoing Peri's fate at the last minute, nullifying one of the highlights of the series as well as raising other awkward questions. But as with 'The Key to Time' there was a lot of pressure for a good pay off at the end of the series. Robert Holmes, wrote the first 4 episodes and was intended to write the final two for the finale. He completed the first part and drafted notes on the final episode, that would draw the whole series to a close in dramatic style. However Holmes succumbed to illness and died before completing the episode. Script Editor, Eric Saward attempted to finish the script based on Holmes' notes and Nathan-Turner rejected it, after which Saward left the programme. Pip and Jane Baker were commissioned to write the very last episode from scratch, at short notice. To be fair it isn't a bad effort but it's a shadow of what could have been. Finally of course, this was Colin Baker's final appearance as the Doctor. BBC execs ordered that Colin Baker be replaced, effective immediately. It was an exceptionally cruel move on their part and deprived a Doctor, who had actually developed considerably for the better, a proper send off.