“The future? Is it going to be the Doctor’s defense that he
improves?”
Things are rising to a ridiculous level in this trial. Rather
than address the charges against him, rather than refute the evidence set forth
by the prosecution, the Doctor is giving up his past as indefensible and
instead presenting a slice of his life that has not occurred and may never
occur if the verdict goes against him. I think the Time Lord legal code is
being made up as they go along.
The adventure that the Doctor chooses to defend his life,
Terror of the Vervoids (Trial of a Time Lord, Parts 9-12) is diverting but
unremarkable; an Agatha Christie wannabe with killer plants aboard a space
liner. “Many will never complete the journey,” the Doctor advises in voiceover
to start our story, “for in order to protect a secret hidden on the space liner,
one will become a murderer.” This sets up what one would expect to be a
straight forward, linear murder mystery. However, while there is plenty of murder
and intrigue and mystery, it’s all rather haphazard and disconnected.
The first death is staged, and with no evidence to go on
other than a knocked out crewman and a shoe beside the waste disposal unit the
Commodore cries murder. The first real death, the electrocution of Edwardes, is
inexplicable. Was this the work of Doland, and if so, why? If his intent was to
keep the investigator Hallett from discovering the secret of the pods it was a
clumsy way to go about it. Anyone could have triggered the booby trap, even one
of his fellow scientists. And finding an electrocuted body right there in the
Hydroponics Center is a sure way to call attention to the pods. Also, wouldn’t
he have realized that the end result of the trap would be that the pods would
come to life?
The poisoning of Hallett is the only true murder that can be
directly attributed to Doland with the clear motive of keeping the secret of
the liner intact. A rash of deaths follow, but most of these are now at the
hands of the unleashed Vervoids. The killing of the two Mogarians could be the
work of Doland, but the motive is to bring the hijacking of the ship to an end
and not connected to the Vervoid experiments. The hijacking subplot, by the
way, is just another diversion thrown in to muddy the waters.
The set up of the whodunit theme does allow for a nice
detective element to come out in the Doctor that is refreshing to see for this
sixth incarnation, and for that I give it full credit. The mystery itself,
however, is a huge letdown.
Another plus to the whodunit is the way in which it allows
for the introduction of Mel as a new companion. I’m not even going to comment
on the absurdity of presenting a future adventure as though it were real; and
the forcing of a new character into the show without benefit of explanation or
meet and greet is appalling. However, if they are going to do it (which they
did), this is the way to do it, with the thriller aspects taking over and
giving room for the established but heretofore unseen relationship to play out
as they work together to unravel the clues.
The best thing Mel has going for her is that she is not
Peri. The combative nature of TARDIS life is a thing of the past. If Peri had
offered the Doctor some carrot juice he probably would have smashed the glass
from her hands. Mel might be overly enthusiastic, but at least there is no more
nasty sniping going on.
I’m sure, too, that the clincher for casting Mel was the
scream. Mel’s piercing scream, heard loud and often during Terror of the
Vervoids, can even penetrate through an assortment of gas masks. Amazing.
And then there are the Vervoids. The Vervoids are as
haphazard as the story; born from their pods fully formed and adult and knowledgeable
and organized. I have to wonder, are they the first Vervoids to emerge? If so,
how does Bruchner know they are dangerous? How does Doland know they can be
used as slave labor? If not, there goes the whole genocide accusation; which by
the way is bogus anyway because if Laskey, Bruchner, and Doland created these
Vervoids through their experiments they can surely create more. This is not a
species that evolved on their own; they were manufactured, or at least that is
my understanding. And now that I think of it, shouldn’t these Vervoids get a
handle on how exactly they were created and how they can reproduce before they
kill off their creators? Or maybe that is part of the vast reservoir of
information they spontaneously are born with.
It seems as if the script just threw every element possible
into the mix with no thought of how or why; yet there is a semblance of
structure and it all somehow works. There is a secret being guarded in the
Isolation Ward; a mini mystery within the mystery; a fantastic mutant girl is
revealed to scare Mel into one of her trademark screams; nothing ever comes of
this except to present a compelling little scene completely unessential to the
plot. That almost seems to be the way the script was put together—a whole bunch
of little scenes that work on their own that were stitched together into a
whole that doesn’t quite mesh but there you have it.
Perhaps it is the fault of the Matrix and the whole iffy
nature of a future event. But then why did the Doctor choose this as his
defense? At one point during the proceedings the Doctor protests against his
own evidence, claiming it has been altered. Asked if he wishes to continue he
says, “But what else have I got? Without evidence to prove my innocence, I’m
condemned.” That one statement is the most and probably only damning evidence
against him. The fact that he can’t defend himself without unreliable and manufactured
probabilities from a possible future against charges that are unclear and
unsubstantiated is telling. The Doctor doesn’t believe in himself.
Luckily for the Doctor the Time Lords don’t really know what
they’re doing. As the curtain descends on Terror of the Vervoids and the Time
Lords swivel back in their chairs, wiping the butter from their fingers, the
Valeyard says, “Whether or not the Doctor has proved himself innocent of
meddling” (Seriously? Has the Doctor been charged with meddling?) “is no longer
the cardinal issue before this court. He has proved himself guilty of a far
greater crime.”Once again we get the shifting sands of Time Lord justice. “The
charge must now be genocide.”
If the Doctor waits it out long enough there might be enough
mistrials and restarts to last him his remaining regenerations.
Not to worry, Gary. Only two episodes remaining in this season
long comedy of errors.
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