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Classic Doctor Who, Season 23 Review
Well I finally made it to the end of the Sixth Doctor era (though I honestly made it two weeks ago, but I'd been putting off finishing this review), and I'm honestly impressed that I managed to stretch it out as long as I did. Knowing this era's reputation, I was ambivalent going in, but I actually ended up really liking Colin Baker's spin on the character. I just wish his batch of stories wasn't so decidedly mixed (and it definitely had more duds than home runs). This season was no exception, though I think a lot of the blame lays squarely at the feet of the trial sequences which throw off the pacing for a lot of the serials-within-a-serial. I like the conceit, but the cracks in the production really showed this season, and despite having the same production team as the past few seasons, it has the same energy as a transitional year. As much blame can (rightfully) be laid at the feet of John Nathan-Turner, I can't say I disagree with any of the creative decisions he made on this season specifically, and I think going into the Seventh Doctor's era with some fresh blood is definitely a good thing.
After knowing about this season for years, actually watching it unfold was a mix of missed and exceeded expectations. In a way, I guess it sums up the Sixth Doctor's era. The format of this season at least allows for a peak of where it could have gone on television and where it did on audio years later, and I ultimately do thing the show is better having gone through this experimental season. It's for this reason that, while I'm frustrated this Doctor doesn't have the same kind of ending as other Doctors, it's afforded him the opportunity to revisit and grow in the role in the time since.
Like the previous twenty-two seasons, the serials are available to watch via streaming on Britbox. This season was one big story divided into four smaller chunks, which made it interesting to rank.
Characters
Colin Baker as The Sixth Doctor - While the Sixth Doctor may have not gotten his full arc shown onscreen, this season provides a taste of it in more ways than one. His "present day" demeanor is already an evolution of what he was like the previous season, and it really did feel like he and Peri had gone on all those audio adventures I'd listened to. There's still tension, but there's a lot more warmth in their interactions (something of which was only suggested towards the end of Season 22). Additionally, his appearance in Terror of the Vervoids offers a glimpse at where he will go. Again, it's not a huge departure but it feels like a significant enough development to point it out. There's no way the Doctor from The Twin Dilemma would have had the patience to deal with Mel or any of what happened in that story. Also, while they left it more unresolved than I would have liked, I enjoyed the story implications of The Valeyard and what that means for this Doctor in particular as a character. I just wish it didn't so often take the form of the same kind of court room argument.
Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown - A defining feature of Peri's run is that she's always kind of gotten a raw deal. Accidentally getting kidnapped and ending up on an alien world, having the Doctor die to save your life, having the new Doctor immediately try to kill you. The list goes on. So I guess in a way its fitting her swan song was as messy and tragic as it was... or at least how it appeared to be. I know Bryant doesn't like that the retconned Peri's death (to some degree anyway) but I'm actually pretty happy about where she ended up. It's not quite a "happy ever after" so much as its "Peri's ended up stuck in another weird situation". And really, isn't that the perfect exit for her? The only thing I'm unhappy about is that she left thinking the Doctor was actually the cruel, selfish person she'd refused to believe he was. I guess one aspect of the tragedy remained intact after all.
Michael Jayston as The Valeyard - As much as I love the twist with this character, it kind of comes out of nowhere, though I guess I can't be too upset about it because his character becomes so much more entertaining when all the pretense is gone. It was clear from the beginning that he was running some kind of scheme against the Doctor, but because his true motives were being obscured it meant that he and the Doctor essentially had the same procedural fight over and over again for twelve episodes. I find it curious that the character is shown very much alive and well when all is said and done, and it makes me wonder if New Who will ever do anything with that character or if they're gonna leave it in the domain of Big Finish.
Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush - Mel is a character I've heard mentioned a lot going into Classic Who, mostly people talking about how they didn't like her or thought Langford was a bad actress. Now having seen her I think those takes are a bit harsh, and while it's true Langford's performance feels like a step down, I wouldn't say she's bad in the role. I actually really liked getting to know the character, and by the end of the season I was very curious about the first adventure with the Doctor in the adventure I'll never see, in home they drop little details about. It was a ballsy move having her be a nonchronological companion, but because they never closed the loop with her character it means that the audience never really got the chance to bond with her. She was just unceremoniously there, and I really wanted to see that home she had in Pease Pottage.
Anthony Ainley as The Master - I think I can safely call it now that the show doesn't really know what to do with the Master anymore. While I enjoyed Ainley here, the character is mostly just there to provide a deus ex machina and to be a talking head to explain what exactly is going on in this serial. As far as his motivations and actual role, it all comes across as very thin. While I know the Sixth Doctor's era is shorter, he still feels like a leftover piece from the Fifth Doctor era rather than an actual player in this one.
Speaking of roles emblematic of the Sixth Doctor era, we get one last appearance by Nabil Shaban as Sil, and he's as delightfully slimy in the role as ever. I also enjoyed Lynda Bellingham as The Inquisitor and Tony Selby as Sabalom Glitz, though I don't really have any specific thoughts on either.
The Serial
I've ranked the parts of this serial based off my own personal preference, which is only tangentially related to how good they are on a critical level.
4) Part 1, Episodes 1-4 - The Mysterious Planet
While other stories have gotten the special edition treatment, this is one I feel would really benefit from having a new cut with the trail scenes removed, and with some deleted scenes added back in with some relaxed editing to help the existing scenes breathe more. Because I don't think what's here is complete garbage, it's just been sitting in the can for a long time.
3) Part 2, Episodes 5-8 - Mindwarp
From a character arc standpoint, I'm not a huge fan of the way they wrote Peri's exit in this, though it definitely works within the context of this story alone. Not only does it have a surprise twist exit for a main character, but it also allows that actor to inhibit a different, villainous role at the end. But it is deeply disappointing that she goes out in a way that completely removes her agency and leaves her without any resolution with the Doctor, though I suppose that was the point. If she was a less significant companion maybe I would've been more forgiving.
2) Part 4, Episodes 13-14 - The Ultimate Foe
I went into this final part both bogged down by the season-long trial sequences, which had largely been a mixed bag, and the knowledge of the behind the scenes turmoil that took place during this part of the serial. So the fact that I ended up not just liking this story but really liking it was a very pleasant surprise. The way the scenes inside the Matrix played out had an artful quality to them that reminded me a lot of how 2010's Sherlock would portray his mind palace. It wasn't bizarre and wacky the way The Mind Robber was - rather it all felt very organized in deliberate even when it was the most playful with it's rules. It gave the showdown between the Doctor and the Valeyard this kind of elevated, otherworldly quality that doesn't happen that much in Classic Who. I also really enjoyed seeing the shadowy figure of a fake Mel lure the Doctor into a fake version of the trial in particular.
That said, this story wasn't without it's problems. A decent chunk of the first part was an information dump that relied largely on the events shown in The Mysterious Planet, so it ended up being very confusing and not entirely clear why certain events were playing out the way they were, and why certain characters were involved in this trial at all. As much as I like the Master, his appearance just seems like a hail mary to give this season more stakes. Granted, it works, but the appearance of Mel and Glitz still comes across as too convenient. I'm also going to offer the possibly controversial take that the second part of this story was actually very good, including the ending. I think leaving the Sixth Doctor and the Valeyard taking a Sherlock and Moriarty-style plunge would have been an unsatisfying way to end the season, and probably would've just provoked the BBC into cancelling the show like Nathan-Turner feared. The Doctor managing to find a solution by relying on the fact that he and the Valeyard are in a way the same person feels like a much more logical end, and one that still leaves the door open for the character to return later. This season may have been rocky, but I for one think it managed to mostly stick the landing.
1) Part 3, Episodes 9-12 - Terror of the Vervoids
This story also feels very reminiscent of something from later in the Fourth Doctor era, and in a lot of ways it feels like a better version of Nightmare of Eden. The Vervoids are a cool looking "monster", and are straightforward enough in their motivations that it doesn't make the whodunit aspect of the story too confusing. I actually fell for the red herring even though the real culprit ended up making a lot more sense, and overall I thought the guest cast in this was very strong both from a writing and an acting standpoint. Having the Doctor re-encounter a character of the day helped give an interesting subversion to the usual "we can't trust this strange Doctor" track these stories usually take, and it allows it to actually focus on the fun part of solving the mystery. I haven't gotten to it my Season 23 Blu-ray set yet, but one of the things I'm most looking forward to is the standalone cut of this.
Final Thoughts
At the risk of repeating myself, I'm disappointed that the Sixth Doctor's era has come to an end so soon, but I enjoyed it a lot more than the chatter had led me to believe. As I'm entering the final stretch of the show, I'm really curious to see where it goes from here, especially with a companion that seems to have been crafted with the Sixth Doctor in mind, and never got a proper introduction story. Honestly, I do think its a shame we didn't get more Television adventures with the Sixth Doctor and Mel, because I do think that would have been a lot of fun and that first adventure (and Mel's house) in Pease Pottage would have had a lot to live up to, at least in my mind.
Like many of the Classic Doctors before him, the Seventh Doctor is someone I know very little about beyond general fandom osmosis. Ace is someone I've heard about for years, so I'm extremely excited I'm reaching this point in the show when I get to actually experience it. With a new script editor and a new vision for the show for the first time in six seasons (even though JNT is still at the helm) I'm excited to see how much of the show's past it brings in and how much it forges a new path for itself. Also, I'm just straight up curious to see how they even pull off this weird regeneration scenario without Colin Baker coming back.
After knowing about this season for years, actually watching it unfold was a mix of missed and exceeded expectations. In a way, I guess it sums up the Sixth Doctor's era. The format of this season at least allows for a peak of where it could have gone on television and where it did on audio years later, and I ultimately do thing the show is better having gone through this experimental season. It's for this reason that, while I'm frustrated this Doctor doesn't have the same kind of ending as other Doctors, it's afforded him the opportunity to revisit and grow in the role in the time since.
Like the previous twenty-two seasons, the serials are available to watch via streaming on Britbox. This season was one big story divided into four smaller chunks, which made it interesting to rank.
Characters
Colin Baker as The Sixth Doctor - While the Sixth Doctor may have not gotten his full arc shown onscreen, this season provides a taste of it in more ways than one. His "present day" demeanor is already an evolution of what he was like the previous season, and it really did feel like he and Peri had gone on all those audio adventures I'd listened to. There's still tension, but there's a lot more warmth in their interactions (something of which was only suggested towards the end of Season 22). Additionally, his appearance in Terror of the Vervoids offers a glimpse at where he will go. Again, it's not a huge departure but it feels like a significant enough development to point it out. There's no way the Doctor from The Twin Dilemma would have had the patience to deal with Mel or any of what happened in that story. Also, while they left it more unresolved than I would have liked, I enjoyed the story implications of The Valeyard and what that means for this Doctor in particular as a character. I just wish it didn't so often take the form of the same kind of court room argument.
Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown - A defining feature of Peri's run is that she's always kind of gotten a raw deal. Accidentally getting kidnapped and ending up on an alien world, having the Doctor die to save your life, having the new Doctor immediately try to kill you. The list goes on. So I guess in a way its fitting her swan song was as messy and tragic as it was... or at least how it appeared to be. I know Bryant doesn't like that the retconned Peri's death (to some degree anyway) but I'm actually pretty happy about where she ended up. It's not quite a "happy ever after" so much as its "Peri's ended up stuck in another weird situation". And really, isn't that the perfect exit for her? The only thing I'm unhappy about is that she left thinking the Doctor was actually the cruel, selfish person she'd refused to believe he was. I guess one aspect of the tragedy remained intact after all.
Michael Jayston as The Valeyard - As much as I love the twist with this character, it kind of comes out of nowhere, though I guess I can't be too upset about it because his character becomes so much more entertaining when all the pretense is gone. It was clear from the beginning that he was running some kind of scheme against the Doctor, but because his true motives were being obscured it meant that he and the Doctor essentially had the same procedural fight over and over again for twelve episodes. I find it curious that the character is shown very much alive and well when all is said and done, and it makes me wonder if New Who will ever do anything with that character or if they're gonna leave it in the domain of Big Finish.
Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush - Mel is a character I've heard mentioned a lot going into Classic Who, mostly people talking about how they didn't like her or thought Langford was a bad actress. Now having seen her I think those takes are a bit harsh, and while it's true Langford's performance feels like a step down, I wouldn't say she's bad in the role. I actually really liked getting to know the character, and by the end of the season I was very curious about the first adventure with the Doctor in the adventure I'll never see, in home they drop little details about. It was a ballsy move having her be a nonchronological companion, but because they never closed the loop with her character it means that the audience never really got the chance to bond with her. She was just unceremoniously there, and I really wanted to see that home she had in Pease Pottage.
Anthony Ainley as The Master - I think I can safely call it now that the show doesn't really know what to do with the Master anymore. While I enjoyed Ainley here, the character is mostly just there to provide a deus ex machina and to be a talking head to explain what exactly is going on in this serial. As far as his motivations and actual role, it all comes across as very thin. While I know the Sixth Doctor's era is shorter, he still feels like a leftover piece from the Fifth Doctor era rather than an actual player in this one.
Speaking of roles emblematic of the Sixth Doctor era, we get one last appearance by Nabil Shaban as Sil, and he's as delightfully slimy in the role as ever. I also enjoyed Lynda Bellingham as The Inquisitor and Tony Selby as Sabalom Glitz, though I don't really have any specific thoughts on either.
The Serial
I've ranked the parts of this serial based off my own personal preference, which is only tangentially related to how good they are on a critical level.
4) Part 1, Episodes 1-4 - The Mysterious Planet
The Mysterious Planet is bloated and overstuffed, mostly because it is trying to set up the season-long story as well as tell its own. The actors feel like they're moving at a frantic pace just to cram everything in, and as a result it's difficult to empathize with any character. (x)
It kind of bums me out that this is the last story written in full by Robert Holmes. While I've had mixed opinions on stories he's written before, there's no denying how big of a mark he's left on Doctor Who and how iconic many of his stories are. This one, in a lot of ways, feels like a knockoff of some of his past works (his first story The Krotons in particular). More than anything, though, the thing that made this story fail were the trail sequences. More than any other story this season, it feels like the actual story is battling for real estate against this framing device and losing spectacularly. Instead of simplifying the story, it kept every twist and deliberately confusing plot point and seemed to speed it up in order to fit it's limited runtime. Because of that, the script prioritizes hitting its mark with the plot and leaves very little time for any character work. Not that there's not any - The scenes towards the beginning of the Doctor and Peri talking as they walk through the woods, and later on when Peri confronts the Doctor about his flippant response to the revelation that they're essentially on a post-apocalyptic Earth - but they're so few and far between it undermines the plot itself. This is very clearly a story that is trying at some emotional depth, but I didn't feel anything when characters died or experienced tragedy because the story didn't have any time to flesh them out. It also doesn't help that the trial scenes that are eating up real estate are largely the Doctor and the Valeyard having the same exact argument over and over again. The one scene towards the end where it breaks that streak is to extrapolate on a "censored moment" that ends up being too confusing to be effective.While other stories have gotten the special edition treatment, this is one I feel would really benefit from having a new cut with the trail scenes removed, and with some deleted scenes added back in with some relaxed editing to help the existing scenes breathe more. Because I don't think what's here is complete garbage, it's just been sitting in the can for a long time.
3) Part 2, Episodes 5-8 - Mindwarp
Mindwarp finds a decent balance between its own story and the larger arc of the trial, but sacrifices a more compelling exit for Peri in favor of the plot twist it serves. The Doctor's motives, while intentionally confusing, ultimately made a lot of the story difficult to follow. (x)
This story manages to largely overcome the balancing issues between it's own story and the trail sequences, though I think at least some of that can be attributed to them getting tied together at the end. It also helps that, for the most part, the plot of this one is pretty straightforward. Sil is looking for a way to extend the life of Lord Kiv so he can get his business secrets, and the plan they've landed on is to transfer his consciousness to a new body. King Yrcanos is one of their test subjects who escapes, and forms a bond with Peri when the Doctor seems to go crazy for some reason and side with Sil for a while. I have to say I'm relieved that behind the scenes they couldn't decide if the Doctor's actions were all an act or not, because it is still not entirely clear what was going on there. It's an interesting concept though, the Doctor essentially becoming his worst self and turning against his companion. Before he can make amends, he's pulled out of time, leaving the others to their fates. I can see why this story was a highlight for people, and I did enjoy Sil and the appearance of others of his species, but it still felt a bit too slapdash production-wise.From a character arc standpoint, I'm not a huge fan of the way they wrote Peri's exit in this, though it definitely works within the context of this story alone. Not only does it have a surprise twist exit for a main character, but it also allows that actor to inhibit a different, villainous role at the end. But it is deeply disappointing that she goes out in a way that completely removes her agency and leaves her without any resolution with the Doctor, though I suppose that was the point. If she was a less significant companion maybe I would've been more forgiving.
2) Part 4, Episodes 13-14 - The Ultimate Foe
The Ultimate Foe manages to resolve the mysteries set up earlier in the season while creating new conflicts and throwing in some additional plot twists on top of it. While I appreciate its ambition, and its great visual flair, I wish it had ended with slightly more finality. (x)
I went into this final part both bogged down by the season-long trial sequences, which had largely been a mixed bag, and the knowledge of the behind the scenes turmoil that took place during this part of the serial. So the fact that I ended up not just liking this story but really liking it was a very pleasant surprise. The way the scenes inside the Matrix played out had an artful quality to them that reminded me a lot of how 2010's Sherlock would portray his mind palace. It wasn't bizarre and wacky the way The Mind Robber was - rather it all felt very organized in deliberate even when it was the most playful with it's rules. It gave the showdown between the Doctor and the Valeyard this kind of elevated, otherworldly quality that doesn't happen that much in Classic Who. I also really enjoyed seeing the shadowy figure of a fake Mel lure the Doctor into a fake version of the trial in particular.
That said, this story wasn't without it's problems. A decent chunk of the first part was an information dump that relied largely on the events shown in The Mysterious Planet, so it ended up being very confusing and not entirely clear why certain events were playing out the way they were, and why certain characters were involved in this trial at all. As much as I like the Master, his appearance just seems like a hail mary to give this season more stakes. Granted, it works, but the appearance of Mel and Glitz still comes across as too convenient. I'm also going to offer the possibly controversial take that the second part of this story was actually very good, including the ending. I think leaving the Sixth Doctor and the Valeyard taking a Sherlock and Moriarty-style plunge would have been an unsatisfying way to end the season, and probably would've just provoked the BBC into cancelling the show like Nathan-Turner feared. The Doctor managing to find a solution by relying on the fact that he and the Valeyard are in a way the same person feels like a much more logical end, and one that still leaves the door open for the character to return later. This season may have been rocky, but I for one think it managed to mostly stick the landing.
1) Part 3, Episodes 9-12 - Terror of the Vervoids
Terror of the Vervoids is the most successful at using the hybrid format of the season, and also manages to craft a coherent enough whodunit mystery. It provides an interesting peek at the Doctor's future character development, and a creative "introduction" for new companion Mel. (x)
Chronologically, this is the last television story featuring the Sixth Doctor, so I guess I'm glad I ended up liking it so much. Like I said above, it's able to give us a peek at the future development this Doctor could have had if his tenure hadn't been cut short, and that includes his relationship with Mel. She is abrasive, but there is a charm to her I like, and it's the kind of character the Sixth Doctor would not have given an inch towards at the beginning of his run. Granted, he still has that same abrasive edge but its noticeably softer, and I really liked the new outfit he got to have in this episode. I think what helps this story the most, though, is that its story is completely disconnected from the trial, so it's able to focus almost entirely on the story its telling and fleshing out it's own characters - including Mel. Had this been a more lore-heavy story, I don't think the introduction of a new companion, much less in a non-chronological way, would have worked at all.This story also feels very reminiscent of something from later in the Fourth Doctor era, and in a lot of ways it feels like a better version of Nightmare of Eden. The Vervoids are a cool looking "monster", and are straightforward enough in their motivations that it doesn't make the whodunit aspect of the story too confusing. I actually fell for the red herring even though the real culprit ended up making a lot more sense, and overall I thought the guest cast in this was very strong both from a writing and an acting standpoint. Having the Doctor re-encounter a character of the day helped give an interesting subversion to the usual "we can't trust this strange Doctor" track these stories usually take, and it allows it to actually focus on the fun part of solving the mystery. I haven't gotten to it my Season 23 Blu-ray set yet, but one of the things I'm most looking forward to is the standalone cut of this.
Final Thoughts
At the risk of repeating myself, I'm disappointed that the Sixth Doctor's era has come to an end so soon, but I enjoyed it a lot more than the chatter had led me to believe. As I'm entering the final stretch of the show, I'm really curious to see where it goes from here, especially with a companion that seems to have been crafted with the Sixth Doctor in mind, and never got a proper introduction story. Honestly, I do think its a shame we didn't get more Television adventures with the Sixth Doctor and Mel, because I do think that would have been a lot of fun and that first adventure (and Mel's house) in Pease Pottage would have had a lot to live up to, at least in my mind.
Like many of the Classic Doctors before him, the Seventh Doctor is someone I know very little about beyond general fandom osmosis. Ace is someone I've heard about for years, so I'm extremely excited I'm reaching this point in the show when I get to actually experience it. With a new script editor and a new vision for the show for the first time in six seasons (even though JNT is still at the helm) I'm excited to see how much of the show's past it brings in and how much it forges a new path for itself. Also, I'm just straight up curious to see how they even pull off this weird regeneration scenario without Colin Baker coming back.
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I have to think that Moffat was influenced by The Ultimate Foe in some way, even though I know he and RTD are more 70's Who fanboys. Like, it just radiates so much Moffat energy.
It took me almost two weeks to write this review (when it normally takes me a couple of days max for longer seasons) because my brain's been so fried. I'm glad you enjoyed my take on this season! I've been doing these seasonal reviews since I started watching Classic Who back in 2017 and its been surprisingly fun to sort out all my thoughts like this.