What Really Happened: Doctor Who - The Trial Of A Time Lord

He wanted to bring on writers who knew what they were doing, thereby lifting any dead weight in this troubling period, whilst ensuring the revived season was as good as it possibly could be. The Trial of a Time Lord was born, a fourteen part epic that would be told over four consecutive segments, linked by an overarching series arc, and would take inspiration from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Each piece of evidence against the Doctor would be pulled from his past, present, and future.

The segment set in the present, Mindwarp, would see the departure of Peri. This was decided after Nicola Bryant realised the hiatus had messed up her three year contract and didn't wish to overrun that allotted time. Thus Peri's death was arranged by John Nathan-Turner, upon strict instructions by Nicola Bryant to make her exit dramatic. And writer Philip Martin certainly fulfilled those wishes in abundance. It's certainly a massive shame that this was all later retconned at the expense of making her farewell less horrific. Though one has to wonder if marrying Brian Blessed was a fate worse than death?

The segment set within the future, Terror of the Vervoids, would see the introduction of new companion Mel, played by Bonnie Langford, another decision Eric Saward wasn't too keen on. This decision also forced Ian Levine to leave as series advisor, having grown tired of John Nathan-Turner's direction for the show.

Eventually, the narrative sees the Sixth Doctor suspect that the Matrix has been tampered with, as indicated in the first segment, The Mysterious Planet, where secrets during the adventure were being kept hidden concerning the High Council. Eventually the story arc unravels to reveal that the Valeyard is in fact the Doctor, an amalgamation of his darkest nature, and that the High Council were involved in a major conspiracy.

Complications arose over how The Trial of a Time Lord should be concluded, with Robert Holmes having planned to write the final segment, The Ultimate Foe. However, due to severe health problems, Robert Holmes became too ill to complete his work and sadly passed away. This left Eric Saward with the responsibility of finishing where Robert Holmes had left off, wishing to stay true to his friends original intentions.

Further conflicts occurred once John Nathan-Turner became displeased with ending the season on a cliff-hanger, fearing this would give Michael Grade a perfect excuse to axe the show. Eric Saward remained adamant about sticking to Robert Holmes' original notes, wishing to honour his legacy, which ultimately resulted in him walking away from the project entirely.

[Cont.]