A bleak end awaits Peri as Trial Of A Time Lord continues...

So it's parte The Seconde of the dreaded Trial Of A Time Lord, and matters are not improving. In fact, the chances of The Doctor getting off scott free with just a slap on the wrist are about as strong as a train timetable running on time in the middle of a snow storm.

The Valeyard's decided to up his game considerably with his most damning evidence yet. In other words, it's Philip Martin's second contribution to the show, which also goes by the name of Mindwarp. The story's a sort of loose sequel to his Vengeance On Varos – not only does it boast the return of slimy Sil, the action takes place on the gurgling one's home planet of Thoros Beta.

Well, for crimes against eyeballs, Thoros Beta is guilty as charged from the word go. The skyline is so bright and gaudy that even Stevie Wonder would flinch when viewing this story. It's a result of those rather dated mid-80s video effects when production teams thought that all alien skylines were dayglo pink and purple. Commendably different, but when coupled with the 6th Doctor's outfit, it's not good news.

So having got back from my local optician with a complementary supply of eye drops, how does Mindwarp fare in the much debated season 23? It's a story that typically falls between two levels. On the one level, the story's way too basic. All that happens is that Sil's boss, Lord Kiv, desperately needs a new body to house his brilliant brain, since he's about to meet his maker. That's about it – along the way, The Doctor goes all weird and creepy, because he's just had his mind barbecued by a scientist called Crozier. The only other notable storyline is that The Doctor faces a race against time to not only regain some grip of sanity, but to free Peri from the clutches of Crozier before she gets a bonce full of Kiv.

So not a particularly deep and meaningful story on the surface – it's too shallow to stand up to scrutiny, and worse still, this is the story that really suffers from too many court scenes. Just when we're making headway with the narrative of Mindwarp, we cut back to the court, where The Doctor and The Valeyard are embroiled in a verbal game of Temper Tennis. Doctor complains about the evidence (which admittedly is not showing him in a good light). Valeyard retaliates by saying how bad The Doctor looks. Doctor protests at these claims. Valeyard stands by his accusations. And so on. And so on. As I said in my last review, the trouble with court scenes is that they limit the drama – there's only so many ways that you can get the best out of close-up shots of angry people, and because Mindwarp contains so many of these irritating interludes, the dramatic aspects of the story are badly compromised.

Another problem is that the story's cliffhangers are now starting to blend into one. In fact, Doctor Who's channelling Harry Hill, except that instead of Louis Walsh, we are presented with The Many Faces Of Colin Baker. Every cliffhanger features a close-up of Baker's face in a different expression – so we get (in order of cliffhanger): 1. Tongue-waggling agony. 2. Gawp-eyed shock. 3. Pop-eyed helplessness. 4. Teary fury. Kudos to Colin Baker for making these cliffhangers work, but all four episode endings do sum up the lack of imagination of the season.

For all of these problems though, Mindwarp is probably the most effective story of the season. Where it wins out is in its atmosphere. Whereas The Mysterious Planet was a somewhat routine adventure, Mindwarp is a welcome return to the uncompromising, doomy style of storytelling. The Valeyard sarcastically comments at the beginning that they are about to witness The Doctor's next “frightening” adventure, but actually, he's not so far off the mark. There's a genuine ambience of dread and terror throughout Mindwarp – the feeling that this time around, there's not going to be a celebratory, happy clappy ending.

And sure enough, this is one of the rare stories in which The Doctor loses more than he gains. Evidence doesn't come more damning than this adventure, in which we see all the excesses of the 6th Doctor turned dramatically against him. Even before he's subjected to Crozier's Mind-Blowing Hairdryer Of Doom, The Doctor is still recklessly blundering into danger and also shooting first and asking questions later. If only The Valeyard could have picked a story by mistake in which The Doctor and Peri enjoy a cream tea on a sunny Earth day with Frobisher the Penguin.

But no – The Doctor – on the face of it – has lost his marbles, apparently siding with the enemy and worse still, turning against Peri. Typical – just when The Doctor and Peri are getting along, he's back to treating her like dirt, shouting at her, betraying her, and ultimately failing to save her from terrible tragedy.

"Lord alone knows what would have happened if the fan rumours of Brian Blessed playing The Doctor had ever come true"

Yes, this is where we wave goodbye to Peri, possibly the most hapless companion in Doctor Who history. Peri has gone through the mill about 761 times on Doctor Who – not only is she lusted after by a parade of intergalactic weirdos, she's arguing frequently with the shouty man in the bright coat, and doing so in a tinfoil bikini half of the time. So appropriately, her final adventure is not a jolly picnic. Not only is she on the run from Sil and his entourage, but also from The Doctor, the one man that she thought she could trust. She even points this out to him at the end of part two, saying that in the past he's stood for everything that she ever believed in like truth and good (“Look at what you are now!”).

Has there ever been an adventure in which the companion has been so alone? OK, so she teams up with a ragtag clutch of rebels, but Peri is totally isolated and cut off from decent human beings. It's a telling sign that when she's locked up in the cell, she starts to lament for another place and another time where she's surrounded by people that she loves. At which point, Peri might as well call the local undertaker for a quick quote, given what supposedly happens. Appropriately for her last performance, Nicola Bryant gives it everything she's got, and her final spectacular scenes (more on this later) are the best work she ever does in the show.

Peri's motley collection of friends includes, of course, King Yrcanos – as played by BRIAN!!!! BLESSED!!!! So that's both my eyes and ears affected by this show. Thanks for that. As with most of his performances, Brian Blessed isn't really playing Yrcanos, but Brian Blessed – the shouty strongman that everyone knows and protects their eardrums from. As a result, any subtlety to Yrcanos is absent – we just get a one-dimensional nutbar who revels in shouting at the top of his lungs for no good reason. Lord alone knows what would have happened if the fan rumours of Blessed playing The Doctor had ever come true.

Still, maybe he's trying to atone for some of the slightly unmemorable characters. Crozier is a rather stereotyped nerdy scientist, although the casual way in which he swills his tea before bringing Kiv back from the dead is a nice touch. Matrona Kani is forgettable, despite strutting around in one of Boney M's cast-offs. And Gordon Warnecke's Tuza contains even more cardboard than the dumper truck that's parked outside my office window.

On the plus side, there are some good performances – Sil and his race, in particular, grab the awards this time around. It's great to have Nabil Shaban back, even if he's there for bumbling comic relief – every line that Sil says is dripping with gurgling hilarity (“The Doctor won't mind donating his brain to the cause of science – weeeeelll yooooo Doctoooor?” he sneers at the end of part one, before that familiar evil chuckle kicks in at the cliffhanger), and it's a great shame that he never returns. Christopher Ryan, too, does well as his world-weary superior Lord Kiv – in the first of two excellent monster roles. Even Richard Henry's quick cameo as the lone Mentor works, a great bit of welcome comic relief in the final part. Elsewhere, we also have Trevor Laird (better known as father of Martha Jones) who's suitably menacing as Frax and Thomas Branch, who does a superb job as the Lukoser, dishing out equal helpings of menace and poignancy.

"Out of all Colin Baker's performances, this is his very best."

But stealing the show is Colin Baker. Out of all his performances, this is his very best. He's allowed to run the whole gamut of emotions, from sneering duplicity through to absent-minded bumbling through to his last devastated reaction at the story's climax. The script demands an awful lot from Baker, but he rises to the challenge brilliantly – if there's any story that proves that Baker was a real asset to Doctor Who, then Mindwarp is the one.

Ron Jones provides his very best work for Doctor Who too. He totally gets the sweaty-palm claustrophobia present in Philip Martin's script, and adds a real feeling of doomy oppression. Subtle production flourishes also help to capture the atmosphere. The set designs are very well done by Andrew Howe Davies, and these are further boosted by some marvellously understated lighting from Don Babbage. Topping this all off is the fabulous score from Richard Hartley, who makes his sole contribution to the show. Hartley's distinctive cues sum up the desolation of the piece, and there's notable stings for Sil and his entourage, as well as that eerie, psychedelic last burst for Yrcanos' mad melee.

And so, The Doctor's worst fears are confirmed in the final part. Yes, Peri is apparently the latest companion to join Adric, Katarina and Sara Kingdom in the Great Big TARDIS In The Sky. Up until the last instalment of the Trial story, we're led to believe that Peri is used as the new host body for Kiv, and then blasted to atoms by a furious King Yrcanos. And the trick works like a charm – past companions have died heroically, but there's nothing heroic about Peri's last gasp. Right till the bitter end, she's holding out hope for The Doctor to come and rescue her from the clutches of the eager Crozier, who's found the perfect candidate for his master. Like Adric's death though, the story cleverly ramps up the tension by alternating between The Doctor's helplessness and Peri's worsening plight. It's only when she's tied down to the couch and forced to have her hair shaved off, that we realise that she's totally beyond help.

"Peri's 'death' is one of the most fitting exits for any companion, but in the end, it's just a great big fib conjured up by The Valeyard"

And her 'last' moments are greatly shocking, since every last essence of Peri has gone, replaced by a throaty, gurgling alien. Looking like a female Kojak isn't that high on dignity, but boy, Nicola Bryant really shows her acting chops in that final scene. The eerie, treated speech and the fiercely darting eyes really convince you that some malevolent being now inhabits Peri's body. Sil's “I wish we could have found a more attractive one” is like that awkward joke that you make in the middle of a really uncomfortable situation, and it works very well in context. The following, slow-motion melee only adds to the discomfort, and it's a very effective trick to not show what happens to the inhabitants in the room as Yrcanos fires blindly about – the last we see is his slow-motion form fading into distorted whiteness as he screams “NOOOO!!”

What's just as effective is The Doctor's reaction. Rarely have we seen The Doctor seem so wounded before – in fact, he's almost on the verge of tears as he struggles to come to terms with what he's just witnessed. Despite this, the Time Lord knows that something isn't quite adding up, given that his hazy recollection of events still doesn't tally with what he's seen. A stunning finale, thanks to the direction, music and stellar acting from Baker and Bryant.

So what a shame that it's all a cop-out. Peri's 'death' is one of the most fitting exits for any companion, but in the end, it's just a great big fib conjured up by The Valeyard. It's debatable whether being married to King Yrcanos is a fate worse than death – but there's that nagging feeling that the most successful aspect of the Trial season is a huge cheat. Taken on its own, the ending of Mindwarp is the sort of thing that Doctor Who does best. It's dramatic, well filmed, well acted, and best of all, it sends the kids behind the sofa. But looking at the bigger picture, it never happened. It does also raise the question of how much of Mindwarp can be taken as gospel – The Master later says that any lie has to have a basis in truth, so evidently, most of what of happens in Mindwarp can be taken as read. I suppose that some of The Doctor's excesses are over-exaggerated by that shifty Valeyard, who's evidently been at his computer with the latest Time Lord software – he's probably uploaded his handiwork onto WhoTube, where it got a record number of clicks in a matter of hours.

Not the most in-depth Who story then, but Mindwarp does manage to score hugely on atmosphere and its unnerving cliffhanger. The outcome may have proved to be false, but taken on its own, the story serves up a good number of effective shocks for the viewer – and hey, since Doctor Who brings the dead back to life on a regular basis these days, Mindwarp is the pioneer.

John Bensalhia limbered up for this mammoth task with a full four-series review of Blake's 7, and writes professionally and recreationally all over the web. Check out his portfolio of work at Wordprofectors.

Check out John's previous Doctor Who review, The Mysterious Planet

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