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The Mysterious Planet Format Reviewed: VHS Review The Mysterious Planet starts off the somewhat unique and legendary Trial of a Time Lord series. The series sees a much different style of story presentation, with three linked stories shown with linking court room narration and arguements. It also was decided that the series would be the last in the production of Doctor Who, although this would later be recinded with certain conditions. The story starts with the TARDIS being drawn into a space station where a court has been set up to perform an investigation into the Doctors meddling. The story presented by the prosecution, lead by the Valeyard, is The Mysterious Planet where the TARDIS lands. The Doctor tells Peri that Ravelox, the mysterious planet in question, is almost identical to Earth, but it turns out to be Earth when they discover Marble Arch tube station. Also here is Sabalom Glitz who is a rogue after the secrets of the imortal, a robot called Drathro. Drathro is collecting black light which he needs to survive, but the system is malfunctioning then Glitz blows up the receiver endagering the entire planet as it is liable to explode. The Doctor manages to lessen the explosion and the indiginous population can then grow properly and return to the surface. The Trial of a Time Lord series is a very interesting move for Doctor Who to take. Only once before has a linking story permeated an entire series like this, with the Key to Time series in the late 1970's. This however goes much further, as the Doctor is largely sat in a court room arguing with the Valeyard and Inquisitor. This style of presentation isn't neccessarily a bad thing either, as it allows a better story to be told with what could take many establishing shots replaced with a few words in the court room. On the other hand, you always get the impression that constantly flicking back to the court for bickering isn't a great way to tell a story. One other point to note is that some of my criticism of stories in the previous series can also be reflected here, that the production team seem to be looking to copy past successes to revive the fortunes of the show. Trying to recreate the success of the Key to Time series here I think is a parrallel that can be drawn, but it isn't really achieved. The regular cast for this series contains Colin Baker as the Doctor, Nicola Bryant as Peri, Lynda Bellingham as the Inquisitor and Micheal Jayston as the Valeyard. Later on in the series we also see Bonnie Langford as Mel, but she doesn't appear here. Peri doesn't appear in the court, and only appears in the story as presented as evidence in the investigation, but she looks far more at home with the character and job here than in the previous series, and can be commended for that. Colin Baker too seems to have narrowed down how he is going to play the Doctor and does well. The Inquisitor and Valeyard are good characters, supported well by strong performances from Bellingham and Jayston respectively. Of the guest cast, the best are Joan Sims as Katryca and Tony Selby as Glitz, but nobody really puts in a bad performance. Taking the story of The Mysterious Planet as that which is presented as evidence in the investigation, it is a reasonable effort of a story. My main criticism is that I am not sure how the continuity works out as there are so many times Earth has been devastated and re-populated etc. that it appears to probably conflict with established lore. That apart, it is a decent story of a computer with megalomania, and a primitive society eventually triumphing. Overall, The Mysterious Planet is a decent start to a different way of telling a Doctor Who story. It is to be commended that the production team were trying to find different ways of presenting Doctor Who, but with so many interludes for petty childish bickering amongst Time Lords, it is a muted congratulation. Rating:  |