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{{Quote|Did you call him... the Doctor?|The Doctor}}
{{title dab away}}
{{Infobox ClassicTV|
{{real world}}
story name= The Ultimate Foe |
{{ImageLinkTV}}
image= [[Image:FantasyFactory.jpg|250px]]|
{{Infobox Story SMW
series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[TV stories|TV Stories]]|
|image                 = FantasyFactory.jpg
number= [[Season 23]]|
|novelisation          = The Ultimate Foe (novelisation)
story number= 144d|
|series                 = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
doctor=[[Sixth Doctor]] (final appearance) |
|season number         = Season 23 (Doctor Who 1963)|
companions= [[Melanie Bush|Mel]] |
|season serial number  = 4
enemy= [[The Valeyard]]<br> [[The Master]] |
|story number           = 143d
year= [[Space Station Zenobia|Time Lord space station]]<br>[[The Matrix]] |
|doctor                 = Sixth Doctor
writer= [[Robert Holmes]] (Part 13) <br> [[Pip & Jane Baker]] (Part 14) |
|companions             =  
director= [[Chris Clough]]|
|featuring              = Darkel
producer= [[John Nathan-Turner]]|
|enemy                 = [[The Valeyard]]
broadcast date= [[29th November]] - [[6th December]] [[1986]]|
|setting                = [[Space Station Zenobia|Time Lord space station]], [[the Matrix]]
format= 1 25-minute episode, 1 30-minute episode|
|contributors          = [[Robert Holmes]] (Part 13), [[Pip & Jane Baker]] (Part 14)
production code= [[List of production codes|7C-2]]|
|writer                = Robert Holmes, Pip & Jane Baker
previous story= [[Terror of the Vervoids]] |
|director               = [[Chris Clough]]
next story= [[Time and the Rani]] }}
|producer               = [[John Nathan-Turner]]
'''The Ultimate Foe''' is the title given to episodes 13 and 14, the concluding episodes of ''The Trial of a Time Lord'', the series-long storyline that constituted [[Season 23]]. The on-screen title was simply ''The Trial of a Time Lord''. This story marked the final appearance of [[Colin Baker]] as the [[Sixth Doctor]], and also marked the final appearances of [[The Inquisitor]] and [[The Valeyard]] as recurring characters. This was the last of [[the Master]]'s annual appearances on the show; he wouldn't appear again until ''[[Survival]]'' in [[Season 26]]. This was the final story to which longtime scriptwriter [[Robert Holmes]] contributed.
|broadcast date         = 29 November - 6 December 1986
|epcount                = 2
|network                = BBC1
|format                 = 1x25-minute episode, 1x30-minute episode
|serial production code = [[List of production codes|7C]]
|prev                  = Terror of the Vervoids (TV story)
|next                   = Time and the Rani (TV story)
|clip                  = The Original Matrix - Doctor Who - The Trial of a Timelord - BBC
|clip2                  = Master in the matrix - Dr Who - BBC sci-fi
|thwr = 24
|thwr2 = 71|thwr3=85
|featuring2=Melanie Bush{{!}}Mel|featuring3=Sabalom Glitz{{!}}Glitz|featuring4=Tremas Master{{!}}the Tremas Master
}}{{you may|The Ultimate Foe (reference book)|n1=the reference book of the same name}}
'''''The Ultimate Foe''''' was the unbroadcast title given to the fourth story of ''The Trial of a Time Lord'', the series-long storyline that covered [[Season 23 (Doctor Who 1963)|Season 23]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. This story marked the final televised appearance of [[Colin Baker]] as the [[Sixth Doctor]]. After much controversy had surrounded the Sixth Doctor's era, the BBC decided to recast the Doctor the following year to start with a new actor, ending Baker's tenure prematurely. As a result of Baker's removal from the role, the next episode would begin with the sudden [[regeneration]] of the Sixth Doctor into the [[Seventh Doctor]]. Colin Baker eventually reprised the role and did complete a regeneration story twenty eight years later in [[2015 (releases)|2015]]'s [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Brink of Death (audio story)|The Brink of Death]]''.


==Synopsis==
In addition, this story marked the final appearances of [[the Inquisitor]] and [[the Valeyard]] as recurring characters, and a final appearance of [[Nicola Bryant]] as [[Peri Brown]] in a cameo to give her character closure under happier circumstances than what the events of ''[[Mindwarp (TV story)|Mindwarp]]'' had offered. This was also the last of [[the Master]]'s annual appearances on the show that had started with [[1981 (releases)|1981]]'s ''[[The Keeper of Traken (TV story)|The Keeper of Traken]]''; he wouldn't appear again until ''[[Survival (TV story)|Survival]]'' in [[Season 26 (Doctor Who 1963)|Season 26]].
The final episode in the season-long 'Trial of a Time Lord' saga, a surprise appearance of the Master reveals the treachery of the High Council of Time Lords, and that the Valeyard is not what he appears to be.


==Plot==
Season 23's finale was the final story to which longtime scriptwriter [[Robert Holmes]] contributed. Midway through finishing part thirteen in April, Holmes entered hospital with a liver complaint. Sadly, Holmes never recovered and died in May. Holmes' illness forced [[script editor]] [[Eric Saward]] to finish the scripts. Unfortunately, this would cause the writing process to suffer many setbacks before entering production.


'''Part Thirteen'''
The sudden demise of Holmes served as the catalyst for a notorious fallout between Saward and then-[[executive producer]] [[John Nathan-Turner]]. Saward, now left without Holmes, had to complete the last episode by himself. Nathan-Turner, however, rejected his script, who felt Saward's proposed cliffhanger was presented in a way that would encourage [[Michael Grade]], the BBC controller at the time, to make it into a series finale, after Grade had already tried to cancel the series altogether. The Doctor and the Valeyard would have tumbled through the Matrix, fighting to the death, with the battle's outcome left unknown, but with the assumption that they would be locked in eternal combat if no one intervened. ''The Brink of Death'' eventually followed a similar plot.


As the Keeper of the Matrix arrives in the Trial room, the Inquisitor asks the Doctor whether he has any further evidence for his defence. He says that he does not, and accuses the Valeyard's evidence of being a farrago of lies, worthy of Baron Munchausen. He maintains that the Matrix has been tampered with. The Keeper denies that it is possible, as no one may enter the Matrix without the Key of Rassilon. The Inquisitor accepts the Valeyard's argument that the Doctor's allegation is unsubstantiated. Yet the Doctor insists the evidence has been deliberately tampered with by someone who wants him dead, such as the Valeyard. With the evidence complete, the Doctor learns that the Master has gained access to his Tardis.
Though not the first time Saward had butted heads with Nathan-Turner over creative direction, his aggravation was enough this time that he chose to resign from his position, banning the use of his scripted ending in further dissent, effectively making this his last contribution to the televised series. The conclusion of the story ultimately fell in the hands of writing couple [[Pip & Jane Baker]], who were left to figure out an ending of their own. They were prohibited access to the original script and given no bearing on how the story was meant to end, but still did what they could to wrap up the loose ends and encourage the continuation of the classic series a little longer.


Two capsules are summoned to the Gallifreyan space station containing Sabalom Glitz and Melanie Bush. The Inquisitor says the only way for the Doctor to prove his allegation of evidence tampering would be to produce witnesses. Just as he is saying that would be impossible to do so, as any witnesses would be scattered through time and space, Mel and Glitz arrive in the Court Room. The Doctor and the Inquisitor asks who has sent them, and on the Matrix screen, the Master appears to announce that it is he who has done so. He is within the Matrix proving the Doctor's allegation to be true — he has obtained a copy of the Key of Rassilon. He states that justice must be done, not because he does not want to see the Doctor dead, but because he cannot countenance a rival. He stares meaningfully at the Valeyard.
== Synopsis ==
Charged with [[genocide]] by the treacherous [[The Valeyard|Valeyard]] at his [[trial]], [[the Doctor]] receives help from an unlikely source to turn the tide of the [[High Council]]'s rulings in his favour and reveal the Valeyard as a wrongdoer - [[the Master]]. For the Valeyard's own crimes are so atrocious, even the Doctor's archenemy will help him to ensure that the villain won't see the light of day again. Cornered, the Valeyard flees to [[the Matrix]], where he can be the Doctor's judge, jury and executioner...


The Valeyard tries to discredit anything Glitz will say by calling him a convicted criminal, but even he cannot impugn Mel's character. The Master nevertheless asks that Glitz be allowed to speak. The Doctor begins to question Glitz, who admits to being the Master's business partner. The Doctor asks about the information Glitz was trying to obtain on Ravolox, which Glitz reveals were technological secrets stolen by the Sleepers from the Matrix. The Keeper is shocked at the allegation, and Glitz says that Sleepers had found a way to break into the Matrix and take the secrets back to Andromeda. Eventually the Time Lords discovered what was happening and traced the Sleepers to their secret base on Earth. Planning to wipe out all the Sleepers, the High Council planned to use the Magnetron — a formidable device which dragged the Earth across space thereby causing a fireball nearly annihilating all life on the planet. The robot recovery mission from Andromeda then sped past Earth, and the Gallifreyan secrets were safe, However, the Sleepers managed to set up an underground survival chamber.
== Plot ==
=== Part thirteen ===
The [[Sixth Doctor]] insists that the footage from [[the Matrix]] has been tampered with. [[The Inquisitor]] brings the [[Keeper of the Matrix]] to testify. He is adamant that the Matrix can be accessed only by senior [[Time Lord]]s with appropriate keys. The Doctor maintains his innocence, accusing [[the Valeyard]] of manipulating the evidence to his own ends and that someone ''can'' make a duplicate key. The Valeyard denies any such interference and closes his case.


The Doctor gives an impassioned speech, denouncing the Time Lords as decadent and corrupt. Comparing them to the Daleks, Cybermen and Sontarans, he says those races are still in the nursery of evil. The Inquisitor tries to stop the Doctor's outburst, but in his fury he says that the outrage would have remained secret for centuries. The Master says that the High Council took advantage of the Doctor's blundering into the situation on Ravolox. They made an arrangement with the Valeyard — who he has always known as the Doctor — to arrange the evidence against the Sixth Doctor. In return he would receive the remainder of the Doctor's regenerations. The Master reveals the true identity of the Valeyard — an amalgamation of the Doctor's dark side somewhere between his twelfth and final regenerations. The Sixth Doctor demands the trial be brought to an immediate halt — otherwise the same person would be both prosecutor and defendant. The Inquisitor dismisses this as the inquiry's purpose is simply to determine the truth of the defendant's actions, but at this moment, the Valeyard flees the trial room.
Meanwhile, two travel pods arrive on [[Space Station Zenobia|the station]]. They open to reveal [[Melanie Bush|Mel]] and [[Sabalom Glitz]]. They enter the court just in time to assist the Doctor's defence, saying they had been sent by someone unknown to help prove that the Doctor acted in good faith. This anonymous benefactor makes himself known, appearing on the viewscreen from inside the Matrix - it is {{Ainley}}. He entered the Matrix with a duplicate key and has been watching the courtroom drama unfold but is, for some reason, unwilling to let the Valeyard win.


The Doctor, Glitz, the Inquisitor and the Keeper follow him out but the Valeyard is nowhere to be seen. The Keeper suggests that the Valeyard may have had a copy of the key to the "Seventh Door" of the Matrix. Unlocking the door, the Doctor and Glitz enter into the fictional reality that is the Matrix.
The Doctor questions Glitz about the secrets he was hoping to obtain from the [[Sleeper (The Mysterious Planet)|sleepers]]. He learns those secrets were stolen from the Matrix. In retaliation, the [[Gallifrey]]an [[High Council]] moved [[Earth]] to hide the theft and prevent a rescue. The Doctor is outraged at the corruption of his own people, realising that he has been framed to prevent the truth from emerging. The Master adds that the Valeyard is an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker impulses from the future, falling somewhere between his twelfth and final incarnations. The High Council offered him the Doctor's remaining [[regeneration]]s if he could convict the Doctor. The Inquisitor insists the trial consider all the evidence, but the Valeyard flees the court through a [[Matrix door|door into the Matrix]].


The Doctor finds himself in a darkened city street. He hears the maniacal laughter of the Valeyard but he is nowhere to be seen. He hears children singing and people laughing, but again he does not see a living soul. As he examines a barrel, a hand emerges and grabs his throat choking him. At this moment, Glitz arrives and runs to his rescue. The Doctor is unable to tell if the experience was real or imaginary. He says that the only logic at work in the Matrix is that there is no logic at all. Glitz presents him with a note from the Master, telling him where the Valeyard has his base — the Fantasy Factory, proprietor J. J. Chambers. They look up and see a building with a huge illuminated sign "The Fantasy Factory". A harpoon is hurled from the building and hits Glitz in the chest.
The Doctor and Glitz follow through the door, finding themselves in a recreation of [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[London]] created by the Valeyard. The Doctor is attacked by a hand from a rain barrel, but Glitz saves him and hands him a note from the Master which leads them to the [[Fantasy Factory]]. As they approach the building, Glitz is shot with a harpoon.


The Master tells the Inquisitor that most of the evidence that had been presented was in fact true. However, Peri survived the events on Thoros Beta and became King Yrcanos's queen.
In the courtroom, the Master explains that the evidence presented throughout the trial was mostly correct, but with small errors designed to convict the Doctor. These included the death of [[Peri Brown]], who actually survived to become [[Yrcanos]]' queen. He admits that the Valeyard would make an even more powerful enemy than the Doctor, but this way he could be rid of them both. He also insists that the High Council answer for what they have done and has allowed the people of Gallifrey to witness the court proceedings.


Glitz survives as he was wearing a life preserver. The Doctor says the Valeyard is playing games, trying to humiliate the Doctor. Glitz wants to leave the Doctor to his fate, but the Doctor tells him as the only witness to events, the Valeyard would be forced to track him down and kill him. He grudgingly agrees to help the Doctor.
[[File:Doctor Glitz and Popplewick.jpg|thumb|left|The Doctor and Glitz meet "Mr Popplewick".]]
Glitz, saved by his [[Mark 7 Postidion Life Preserver]], accompanies the Doctor to the Fantasy Factory, where they encounter an extremely officious bureaucrat named [[Popplewick|Mr. Popplewick]]. Deciding to go over his head and speak directly to the proprietor, they march into the next room, only to find an identical office with an even more evasive and infuriating duplicate of Mr Popplewick. Before letting them proceed further, Popplewick asks the Doctor to sign a document that promises his future incarnations to the Valeyard should he vanquish the Doctor, the High Council being less than trustworthy and unlikely to keep their promise. As the Doctor steps through the next door, he finds himself alone on a beach, where the Valeyard's voice taunts him and hands emerge from the sand to pull him beneath the surface...


The Inquisitor asks the Master if he has any proof of his allegation that the Doctor and Valeyard are in fact the same person, to which he replies he should examine the High Council. It was they who set up the travesty of the Trial to cover up their own involvement. She asks him his concern in the matter — to which he says that the Doctor is well matched against himself in his battle. Mel calls him utterly evil, which he takes as a compliment. He thinks the Valeyard will win, but hopes that the battle might result in their mutual destruction. The Master chuckles with malevolent glee at the thought of destroying the Doctor and destabilising the High Council of Time Lords, a great result for a renegade like him.
=== Part fourteen ===
Glitz arrives as the Doctor is dragged under, only grabbing the orange spats around each of his shoes. He is amazed to see the Doctor rise out of the sand unharmed, after making a bad pun. The Doctor explains that the Matrix is unreal and that, with enough effort, he can deny the Valeyard's traps. The Valeyard appears, taunting the Doctor. He explains that he has to destroy the Doctor's good side to be free of all his positive traits. A cloud of nerve gas advances towards them, forcing the Doctor and Glitz to take refuge in a nearby beach hut that turns out to be [[the Master's TARDIS]]. The Master explains the Valeyard has to be stopped because he has none of the Doctor's morality, making him an even more evil being than himself, which vexes the Master. Lying that he wishes to help the Doctor, the Master tricks the Doctor into believing that he and Glitz are retrieving his TCE from elsewhere in the TARDIS but activates a function on his console that puts the Doctor into a [[catatonia|catatonic]] state while Glitz and he hide in the corridor.


In the Fantasy Factory, the Doctor is confronted by a quill writing clerk who proceeds to studiously ignore him. When the Doctor rings his bell, the clerk asks if he has an appointment to see Mr. Chambers. The Doctor says he will be expected, and the clerk asks for his and Glitz's names. The clerk informs them that there will be many forms to be completed before they can move onto the next stage of processing. To the clerk's dismay, the Doctor and Glitz burst into the next room without an appointment. In the next identical room, they see an identical clerk, but this one is expecting them. He informs them that the very junior Mr Popplewick is not permitted to expect anyone. The Doctor tells this clerk that the proprietor is expecting them, to which he sharply replies that the junior Mr Popplewick is not permitted to expect anyone. The Doctor asks the clerk if there is anyway to expedite the procedures, but the clerk sees no need to speed up what he considers a perfect system. The Doctor tells him that the proprietor wants him dead, and finally defeated, the clerk admits that the Doctor has found the one weakness in the procedure. The clerk gives the Doctor a form, asking him to sign away his remaining lives to Mr Chambers should he meet an unforeseen accident within the factory. Knowing that the Valeyard can kill at any time anyway, the Doctor signs it.
The Master's TARDIS materialises at the Fantasy Factory and the [[hypnotised]] Doctor is sent out as bait. When the Valeyard comes out to see what is happening, the Master shoots the Valeyard with his TCE, but the beams from his [[Tissue Compression Eliminator|weapon]] bounce off. The Valeyard retaliates with explosive quills that force the Master to run away. Glitz is temporarily stunned by an explosion.


Directed to the waiting room, the Doctor finds himself alone in a deserted wasteland. Again he hears the Valeyard's maniacal laughter, and out of the grave, hands reach up and grab the Doctor by the ankles. He refuses that what is happening is real, but more and more hands reach up and grab him, and the Valeyard's voice tells him this is not an illusion, not this time. The Doctor is slowly dragged beneath the ground...
Mel arrives in the Matrix to help the Doctor. They return to the station to finish clearing his name. Mel gives evidence regarding the [[Vervoid]]s, but it is not enough to prevent the Inquisitor from delivering a verdict of guilty on the charge of [[genocide]]. The Doctor accepts his death sentence with surprising calm.


'''Part Fourteen:'''
This is not the real courtroom, but another Matrix fantasy. On the real station, Mel and the Inquisitor watch impotently as the Doctor is taken to what he believes to be his execution. Mel, unwilling to sit by meekly, steals the Keeper's [[Key of Rassilon|key]] to enter the Matrix. She reaches the Doctor in time to save him, but he is well aware of the situation because the fake Mel had mentioned events she had not witnessed. The Doctor was hoping to encounter the Valeyard, so they head for the Fantasy Factory.


Glitz arrives to rescue the Doctor and sees just his ankles sticking out of the ground. He grabs a shoe but it comes away. He hears the Doctor's voice coming from below, and the Doctor rises from the ground. The whole scenario had been an illusion. The Valeyard appears and taunts the Doctor. The Doctor asks him why he wants him dead, and why he is going to such extraordinary lengths to kill him. The Valeyard tells him that by destroying the Doctor, and with unlimited access to the Matrix, nothing will be outside his reach. The Valeyard disappears, and an oncoming cloud of nerve gas forces the Doctor and Glitz to run.
The Master, back in his TARDIS, tries to hypnotise Glitz into helping him but has to resort to bribery when the hypnotism fails. This proves just as effective. Glitz finds the Matrix tapes containing the secrets in Popplewick's office, while the Doctor locates a list of the courtroom judges written in his own handwriting. Glitz forces Popplewick at gunpoint to take them to the proprietor, J.J. Chambers, but is willing to trade the Doctor for the Matrix secrets, which he then gives to the Master.


In the trial room, the Inquisitor and Mel look on helplessly. Mel tries to grab the key from the Keeper so that she might enter the Matrix herself, but he trips her over in the attempt.
The Doctor exposes Popplewick as the Valeyard in disguise, since his melodramatic nature was too obvious. He finds a laser aimed through the viewscreen into the courtroom, to kill all the judges on the list as a last resort. The Master reveals to the court that the High Council has been deposed by a revolt on Gallifrey and he intends to rule in their place. He loads the tapes of the secrets into his TARDIS console, but it is a fake which freezes the Master and Glitz in the Matrix.


In the Matrix, the Doctor and Glitz find a cottage in the wasteland, and stumbling inside, it dematerialises. It is the Master's TARDIS. The Master tells the Doctor he wants him to annihilate the Valeyard. The Valeyard, with all of the Doctor's abilities but none of his moral qualms, would make him a formidable force of evil, greater than the Master. Also, if the Valeyard killed the Doctor, it would rob the Master of that personal pleasure. The Doctor is mentally assaulted by the Master, leaving him in a catatonic state. The TARDIS materialises outside the fantasy factory. Using the zombified Doctor as bait, the Master and Glitz hide in the shadows. The Valeyard emerges on a balcony, with the Doctor in plain sight. The Master shoots at him with his Tissue Compression Eliminator, but its beams simply deflect off the Valeyard. The Valeyard hurls exploding quills at them and re-enters the factory building. The Master flees leaving Glitz and the Doctor behind.
[[File:Peri with Yrcanos.jpg|thumb|[[Peri Brown|Peri]]'s life has been spared to enjoy a happy union with [[King]] [[Yrcanos]].]]
Mel arrives in the courtroom in time to evacuate the judges, while the Doctor stops the laser firing at the cost of creating a massive feedback surge which strikes the Valeyard, allowing the Doctor to escape back to the station. The grateful Inquisitor dissolves the trial and tells the Doctor about Peri's true fate on [[Krontep]]. She further suggests that the Doctor, for the third time, run for the vacant [[Lord President|presidency]] on Gallifrey, but he declines, stating that she would be a better candidate. He suggests that, while the Master must be punished, leniency should be shown to Glitz as he can be reformed.


Mel's voice is heard calling out to the Doctor, rousing him from the catatonic state. Following her voice he seemingly leaves the Matrix and re-enters the trial room. The Inquisitor tells him that he owes the Court an apology. She tells them that charge of genocide is supported by his own evidence. Replaying the scenes of the Vervoids' destruction, Mel tells the Court that the scenes are exactly as she witnessed them. The inquisitor tells the Doctor that he has been found guilty of genocide, and that he is sentenced to death. The Doctor says that he accepts the verdict…
[[File:Six Repulsed when Mel mentions Carrot Juice.jpg|thumb|left|The Doctor is not looking forward to Mel's exercise regimens.]]
The Doctor and Mel depart in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. She annoys him by mentioning carrot juice. The Doctor almost barrels off in the opposite direction once he learns she plans to make him exercise again, thinking he would have been better off taking the Presidency. However, he gives in to her whims when he remembers Mel has met him too early. He intends to return her to whence she came and wait to meet her in the original order.


However, in the real Trial room, the last scene is revealed to be taking place within the fictional realms of the Matrix. Mel disturbed by what she has seen and rails against the non-interference of the Time Lords present. Grabbing the Key from the Keeper she arrives for real in the Matrix. She sees the Doctor being led to his execution on a horse-drawn carriage. She tells him that the trial was an illusion, but he had already realised that — he wanted to force a confrontation with the Valeyard.
[[File:Valeyard as the Keeper.jpg|thumb|right|The Valeyard lives...]]
Back in the courtroom, the Inquisitor leaves, and as she does so orders the Keeper to improve the security of the Matrix and repair it while removing the Master and Glitz. He is allowed to requisition anything necessary. The Keeper agrees but, as he turns away, he reveals himself to be the Valeyard in disguise. The Valeyard laughs...


The Master tries to hypnotise Glitz so that he will lead the Doctor to the Valeyard. The hypnotism fails, but the Master uses something guaranteed to persuade the rogue — a huge chest full of treasure. He enters in the Fantasy Factory and finds the secrets he thought had been destroyed on Ravolox. Mr Popplewick catches him looting, and tells him that the Ravolox secrets were a copy, and what Glitz is holding is the master tape. Also in the factory, the Doctor finds a list of Time Lords — all the members of the supreme court of appeal. The Doctor realises the list is written in his own handwriting. Glitz manages to "persuade" Popplewick to take him to Chambers, and finding the Doctor, takes him along.
== Cast ==
* [[Sixth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Colin Baker]]
* [[Melanie Bush|Melanie]] - [[Bonnie Langford]]
* [[The Valeyard]] - [[Michael Jayston]]
* [[The Inquisitor]] - [[Lynda Bellingham]]
* [[Sabalom Glitz|Glitz]] - [[Tony Selby]]
* [[Tremas Master|The Master]] - [[Anthony Ainley]]
* [[Popplewick]] - [[Geoffrey Hughes]]
* [[Zon|Keeper of the Matrix]] - [[James Bree]]


In the court yard, Popplewick hands the secrets over to Glitz. Glitz asks him not to tell the Doctor and Mel he betrayed them. As Glitz walks away, Popplewick tries to shoot him, but his gun is not loaded. The Master arrives, and he and Glitz return to the TARDIS.
=== Uncredited Cast ===


In another building, the Doctor is admiring a steam-driven machine when Popplewick arrives and goes to search for Chambers. When he is unable to do so, the Doctor and Mel grab a hold of him, and the Doctor peels away Popplewick's mask to reveal the Valeyard. The Doctor realises that Popplewick was the Valeyard because of his own penchant for Grand Guignol. Mel opens a door marked danger, behind which is a device which she recognises as a megabyte modem. The Doctor corrects her, it is a maser. The Valeyard is using it as a particle disseminator, with which he plans to murder all the members of the court through the matrix screen in the trial room.
* Clerk of the Court - [[Ian Marshall-Fisher]] ([[DWMS Winter 1992]])
* Chancellery Guards - [[Kevin O'Brien]], [[John Capper]], [[Gary Forecast]], [[Oscar Peck]] ([[DWMS Winter 1992]])
* Time Lords - [[Kenneth Thomas]], [[David Bache]], [[Leslie Fry]], [[James Delaney]], [[Roy Seeley]], [[Derek Hunt]], [[David Fieldsend]], [[Lew Hooper]], [[David Enyon]], [[Llewellyn Williams]], [[John Buckmaster]], [[Jack Horton]], [[Martin Clark]], [[Bob Hargreaves]], [[Barry Butler]] ([[DWMS Winter 1992]])


In the trial room, the Keeper of the Matrix brings the Inquisitor serious news. The High Council has been deposed and there is insurrection on Gallifrey. The Master appears on the matrix screen to give an edict. He offers to impose order with his control over the matrix, but anyone who disobeys him will be executed. In his TARDIS, he loads the matrix secrets master tape into the time machine's systems, but the tape has been booby-trapped with a Limbo Atrophier, which causes both he and Glitz to be pushed back against the TARDIS walls, unable to move.
== Crew ==
* [[Assistant Floor Manager]] - [[Karen Little]]
* [[Costumes]] - [[Andrew Rose]]
* [[Designer (crew)|Designer]] - [[Michael Trevor]]
* [[Incidental Music]] - [[Dominic Glynn]]
* [[Make-Up]] - [[Shaunna Harrison]]
* [[Producer]] - [[John Nathan-Turner]]
* [[Production Assistant]] - [[Jane Wellesley]]
* [[Production Associate]] - [[Angela Smith|Anji Smith]]
* [[Production Manager]] - [[Ian Fraser]]
* [[Special Sounds]] - [[Dick Mills]]
* [[Studio Camera Supervisor]] - [[Alec Wheal]]
* [[Studio Lighting]] - [[Don Babbage]]
* [[Studio Sound]] - [[Brian Clark]]
* [[O.B. lighting|O.B. Lighting]] - [[John Mason (lighting technician)|John Mason]]
* [[O.B. sound|O.B. Sound]] - [[Vic Godrich]]
* [[Technical co-ordinator|Technical Co-Ordinator]] - [[Alan Arbuthnott]]
* [[Theme Arrangement]] - [[Dominic Glynn]]
* [[Doctor Who theme|Title Music]] - [[Ron Grainer]]
* [[Video Effects]] - [[Dave Chapman]], [[Danny Popkin]]
* [[Videotape editor|Videotape Editor]] - [[Hugh Parson]]
* [[Vision Mixer]]s - [[Shirley Coward]], [[Jim Stephens]]
* [[Visual Effects]] - [[Kevin Molloy]]


Mel runs into the trial room to warn the Time Lords of the impending danger. The Inquisitor says that the screen cannot be switched off without the Keeper of the Matrix present, so Mel tells them to run for their lives. The Doctor sabotages the maser, but balls of energy shoot from the matrix screen where the Time Lords are cowering. The Doctor believes he has set the machine to self-destruct but the Valeyard tells him that it will in fact feedback into the Matrix. As the balls of energy swirl around the fantasy factory, the Valeyard collapses over the maser. The fantasy factory explodes.
== Worldbuilding ==
=== Cultural references from real world ===
* The Doctor compares the Valeyard to historical liars such as [[Ananias]] and [[Baron Münchhausen]].
* Glitz describes the Doctor as a "[[zombie]]" after the sensory overload.
* The traditional song ''[[London Bridge Is Falling Down]]'' can be heard in the Matrix.
* The Valeyard quotes ''[[Hamlet]]''.
* The Doctor quotes the character of [[Sydney Carton]].
* The Doctor has "never been able to resist a touch of the [[Grand Guignol]]".
* Mel suggests that the Time Lords keep Glitz away from the [[crown jewels]]. But the Doctor tells her [[Gallifrey]] doesn't have any crown jewels.
* The Valeyard uses the word "[[oaf]]".
* The Master describes Glitz as the "archetypal [[philistine]]".
* Mr. Popplewick was visually based on [[Ebenezer Scrooge|Ebenezeer Scrooge]].


The Doctor flees and makes it back to the court room. There the Inquisitor tells him that all the charges have been dropped, and to the Doctor's relief, that Peri survived and is living as a warrior queen with King Yrcanos. She asks if the Doctor will stand for Lord President, but he suggests that the Inquisitor should stand instead. He asks that when the Master and Glitz are recovered, that the Time Lords show some leniency towards Glitz. He and Mel depart in the TARDIS with Mel threatening the Doctor with a regime of strict exercise and carrot juice.
=== Time Lords ===
* When Doctor is accusing the [[Time Lord]]s of corruption, he claims that the [[Dalek]]s, [[Sontaran]]s and [[Cybermen]] are "still in the nursery" compared to them. He also states that the Time Lords have had "[[10000000 (number)|ten million]] years of absolute power".
* The [[Keeper of the Matrix]] carries the [[Key of Rassilon]].
* The [[High Council]] have been deposed and insurrectionists are running amok in the [[Capitol]].
* [[Sensory overload]] causes Time Lords to fall into a catatonic state.
* The Time Lords attending the trial are members of the [[Ultimate Court of Appeal]], the supreme guardians of [[Gallifreyan law]].


As the Inquisitor departs the trial room, she gives instructions to the Keeper of the Matrix. But as he looks up at the camera, he gives a evil chuckle, and is revealed to be the Valeyard...
=== Technology ===
* Glitz wears a [[Mark 7 Postidion Life Preserver]].
* Some of the space station furniture is made of [[machonite]].
* The Master has [[The Master's TARDIS|his TARDIS]] inside the Matrix, disguised as a beach house and a statue of [[Victoria|Queen Victoria]].
* A [[magnetron]] was used by the Time Lords to move the [[Earth]].
* Mel recognises a [[megabyte modem]] in the Valeyard's machinery.
* In his TARDIS, the Master is imprisoned in a [[limbo atrophier]] along with Glitz.


==Cast==
=== Weapons ===
*[[Sixth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Colin Baker]]
* Glitz is shot by a [[harpoon]].
*[[Melanie Bush|Mel]] - [[Bonnie Langford]]
* [[Nerve gas]] is virtually employed in the Matrix by the Valeyard.
*[[The Valeyard]] - [[Michael Jayston]]
* The Master uses his [[Tissue Compression Eliminator]] on the Valeyard.
*[[The Inquisitor]] - [[Lynda Bellingham]]
* The Valeyard has hidden in [[the Matrix]], a [[Particle Disseminator]] which destroys matter by disseminating [[graviton]]s, [[quark (physics)|quarks]] and [[tau meson]]s. It's a physically real weapon that will kill all those watching the Matrix in the courtroom.
*[[The Master]] - [[Anthony Ainley]]
* The Doctor describes the Valeyard's machine as [[MASER]].
*[[Sabalom Glitz]] - [[Tony Selby]]
*[[Popplewick]] - [[Geoffrey Hughes]]
*Keeper of the Matrix - [[James Bree]]
*[[Peri Brown]] - [[Nicola Bryant]] (flashback footage)
*[[Yrcanos]] - [[Brian Blessed]] (flashback footage)


==Crew==
== Story notes ==
*[[Assistant Floor Manager]] - [[Karen Little]]
* This was [[Colin Baker]]'s last appearance as the Doctor, though he was unaware of it at the time of filming. Baker was fired by the BBC. He was invited to come back for a final four-part story which would have ended in his regeneration, but he declined the offer as he did not wish to miss out on finding other work in the meantime. Baker did offer to do the whole of Season 24 and have the Doctor regenerate at the end, but this was refused; the serial intended to be his finale was consequently rewritten as [[Sylvester McCoy]]'s debut story, [[TV]]: ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]''. Ironically, Baker recorded a final four-part audio story almost 29 years later in [[2015 (releases)|2015]] with [[Big Finish Productions]] after being approached and asked to do so, in the anthology ''[[The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure]]''. He would later express regret for not filming the four episodes, claiming he was being "selfish" and not "thinking about the fans".
*[[Costumes]] - [[Andrew Rose]]
* Originally, [[Robert Holmes]] was to have written both episodes, but he was taken ill and died before he could do so. Script editor [[Eric Saward]] finished the second episode from Holmes's notes, but the original plan to end the story, and the 23rd season, on a cliffhanger leaving the battle between the Doctor and Valeyard unresolved, was rejected by [[John Nathan-Turner]]. As chronicled in the "making of" documentary included with the 2008 DVD release of the story, this led to a falling-out between Saward and Nathan-Turner, and Saward resigned his position as script editor. Nathan-Turner commissioned [[Pip and Jane Baker]] on short notice to compose a concluding episode.
*[[Designer]] - [[Michael Trevor]]
* This story was also known as ''Time Inc''. At one point, it was called ''The Fantasy Factory.''
*[[Incidental Music]] - [[Dominic Glynn]]
* Part fourteen is the last episode of the original run of ''Doctor Who'' to air in a Saturday timeslot.
*[[Make-Up]] - [[Shaunna Harrison]]
* [[Geoffrey Hughes]] (Popplewick) is credited as "Mr. Popplewick" in ''[[Radio Times]]'' for part thirteen.
*[[Producer]] - [[John Nathan-Turner]]
* Part fourteen is around half an hour long; when editing was completed, it was discovered the episode had considerably overrun. Fortunately, John Nathan-Turner was able to gain permission for the series' slot to be extended by five minutes for the week of its transmission so most of the recorded material could be retained.
*[[Production Assistant]] - [[Jane Wellesley]]
* A brief clip of Peri is seen towards the story's conclusion when it is revealed that she has not in fact been killed but has escaped, to become the consort of King Yrcanos. According to commentary by [[Colin Baker]] on the 2008 DVD release, this conceit was the result of him idly asking a production team member if Peri had "really" died in ''Mindwarp'', coupled with negative audience reaction to the character's apparent death. The same commentary also includes [[Nicola Bryant]]'s generally unfavourable reaction as she watches the scene for the very first time.
*[[Production Associate]] - [[Angela Smith]]
{{quote|I was very happy with my original exit – that is to say, I loved the shaved head, the mind transplant and Yrcanos blowing my body to smithereens. It was dramatic, poignant and shocking. So of course, I hated it when they retconned (I'm told this is the word!) my exit.|[http://www.bigfinish.com/vortex/v/23 Nicola Bryant, Vortex 23]}}
*[[Special Sounds]] - [[Dick Mills]]
* At the very end, the Valeyard breaks the fourth wall by looking directly into the camera and laughing.
*[[Studio Lighting]] - [[Don Babbage]]
* This is the last on-screen appearance of the [[Time Lord]]s as a civilisation for twenty-three years. They would be perceived as killed off prior to the events of [[Series 1 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series 1]] of the revived series, in the aftermath of the [[Last Great Time War]], apparently leaving the Doctor as the sole survivor. They returned four years later in ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'', and were later revealed to have been sent to a pocket universe at the end of the war in ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'', although they managed to leave and were found hiding billions of years into the future in ''[[Hell Bent (TV story)|Hell Bent]]''.
*[[Studio Sound]] - [[Brian Clark]]
* This story features the final on-screen reference to the [[Sontaran]]s until their next televised appearance in [[TV]]: ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem (TV story)|The Sontaran Stratagem]]'' / ''[[The Poison Sky (TV story)|The Poison Sky]]'' almost twenty-two years later.
*[[Theme Arrangement]] - [[Dominic Glynn]]
* This story marks the final use of the starfield-based title sequence designed by Sid Sutton, and of the "neon tubing" logo.
*[[Title Music]] - [[Ron Grainer]]
* This story marks the last time in which the Doctor's face is included in the closing title sequence until [[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'' roughly twenty-seven years later. It remains the last time in which it is done on a regular basis.
*[[Visual Effects]] - [[Kevin Molloy]]
* [[Lynda Bellingham]] would reprise her role as the Inquisitor nearly 20 years later in [[Big Finish]]'s [[Gallifrey (audio series)|''Gallifrey'' audio series]]. Her character is given the name Darkel and is a recurring antagonist of the first three series.
* The first edit of the last episode ran to some 38 minutes; [[John Nathan-Turner]] managed to get permission to extend the running time to 30 minutes, but still had to make it up by cutting out large amounts of material featuring the Master and Glitz.
* In [[Robert Holmes]] and [[Eric Saward]]'s original conception, the first episode revealed that the Valeyard was in fact the Doctor's final incarnation. The finale then opened with the Master saving the Doctor from the quicksand while the Valeyard kidnapped Glitz. The Doctor encountered Popplewick again, who led him into a trap baited with an illusory Mel. Popplewick, too, was revealed as a construct of “JJ Chambers” — who, in turn, was unmasked as the Valeyard. While news reached the courtroom of the High Council's mass resignation, the Master warned that the Valeyard had materialised his TARDIS around a time vent in the Matrix. If the vent were to be opened for too long, there would be catastrophic ramifications for the space-time continuum. The Valeyard — shown to be a pitiable old man afraid of dying — planned to use this threat to force the Time Lords to grant him the Doctor's remaining regenerations. The Master revealed that he was hired by the High Council to murder the Doctor in exchange for a pardon, but had now decided not to follow through. The Doctor bluffed his way into the Valeyard's TARDIS just as the Valeyard opened the time vent door. Struggling, the Doctor and the Valeyard plunged into the time vent while the Master had Glitz seal the door, saving the universe but trapping the Doctor for all eternity.
* [[Robert Holmes]]'s original script for the first half involved the Doctor encountering the Duke of Clarence, who accuses him of being [[Jack the Ripper]] and tries to drown him at the episode's cliffhanger.
* [[Colin Baker]] loved his last story, saying it was the sort of thing he'd always wanted to do.
* [[Chris Clough]] described the trial content as "a dull motif, absolutely tired. We kept cutting back to this awful set with characters in ludicrous headgear — nobody could give a damn what was going on and it slowed up the stand-alone story you were trying to tell".
* The quicksand scene was tricky. There was a four-foot pit below a rubber sheet and water. The climbing up from the pit scene was filmed backwards and [[Colin Baker]] had to say the bad joke backwards. It was done three times, so three costumes were required.
* A pottery was chosen to fit in with the round buildings featured in the script for the first part, but nobody knew why they were important.
* [[Geoffrey Hughes]] got up to a lot of wheeler-dealing, including sandwiches and trying to buy a watering can.
* [[Pip and Jane Baker]] were fooled by [[Michael Jayston]] as Popplewick.
* [[Colin Baker]] was sad that his last words as the Doctor were "Carrot juice, carrot juice, carrot juice..." but felt that it was pathetic and summed up life.
* Originally, the Master was to have been revealed as the architect behind the Doctor's trial, but this was deemed too obvious a reveal.
* In the original script, the Doctor encounters Bencray, the assistant to JJ Chambers at the Fantasy Factory, who was aware of -- and commented upon -- his artificial nature. He then encounters [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Albert_Victor,_Duke_of_Clarence_and_Avondale the Duke of Clarence] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kenneth_Stephen James Kenneth Stephen], who accused him of being [[Jack the Ripper]] (in reality, both men had been candidates for his true identity). In the cliffhanger, the Duke throws the Doctor off a wharf where he apparently drowns.
* The beach hut which the crew had arranged to use as the Master's TARDIS was situated at the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve in nearby Rye. The cast and crew arrived to find the hut locked tight, and the key with which they had been provided did not work. After obtaining the permission of the Harbour Authority, [[Chris Clough]] had no other option but to break in. It was later learned that the Harbour Authority had actually sold the hut shortly before the shoot — provoking an unhappy response from the actual owner, and a hasty apology from the BBC.
* On the last day of filming at the Gladstone Pottery Museum, smoke from the Valeyard's exploding quills set off the museum's alarm, prompting the arrival of the local fire brigade.
* [[Pip and Jane Baker]] hoped to destroy the courtroom set, as they hated writing the trial scenes for ''[[Terror of the Vervoids (TV story)|Terror of the Vervoids]].''


==References==
=== Ratings ===
:Numbers in brackets refer to the individual parts of this story.
* Part thirteen (1) - 4.4 million viewers
* Part fourteen (2) - 5.6 million viewers


===[[:Category:Individuals|Individuals]]===
=== Filming locations ===
*[[Sabalom Glitz]] and [[Melanie Bush]] are brought to the space station by [[the Master]].
* Camber Sands, Camber, East Sussex
*The Master previously entered the Matrix using a duplicate key, and has been watching the whole trial.
* Gladstone Pottery Museum, Uttoxeter Road, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
*The Valeyard and the Master have had contract.
* Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Rye, East Sussex
*The Valeyard was promised [[the Doctor]]'s remaining incarnations by the High Council. He is an amalgamation of all the Doctor's evil, and is between the Doctor's twelfth and final incarnation.
* [[BBC Television Centre]] ([[List of stories recorded at BBC Television Centre|TC1]]), Shepherd's Bush, [[London]]


===[[:Category:Time Lords|Time Lords]]===
=== Production errors ===
*The Doctor says, looking around at the [[Time Lord]]s ''"In all my travelling throughout the universe I have battled against evil, against power mad conspirators. I should have stayed here. The oldest civilisation: decadent, degenerate, and rotten to the core. Power mad conspirators, [[Dalek]]s, [[Sontaran]]s... [[Cybermen]], they're still in the nursery compared to us. Ten million years of absolute power. That's what it takes to be really corrupt."''
{{discontinuity}}
*The [[Keeper of the Matrix]] carries the [[Key of Rassilon]].
* A great deal is made about the fact that Mr. Popplewick keeps a quill behind his ear, but the quill only appears when it is mentioned.
*The [[High Council]] have been deposed, and insurrectionists are running amok in the [[Capitol]].
*[[Sensory overload]] causes Time Lords to fall into a catatonic state.


===[[:Category:Technology|Technology]]===
== Continuity ==
*The Valeyard has (hidden) in [[the Matrix]] a [[Particle Disseminator]] that disseminates [[graviton]]s, [[quark]]s and [[tau meson]]s (destroys matter, basically). It's a physically real weapon (disguised in apt Victorian style) that will kill all those watching the Matrix in the court room.
* A thorough explanation is made for the abrupt relocation and devastation of Earth that had set up the events of [[TV]]: ''[[The Mysterious Planet (TV story)|The Mysterious Planet]]''. According to the Master, the event was deliberately caused by the Time Lords in retaliation to humanity's theft of information from the Matrix.
*Glitz wears mark seven [[postidion life preserver]].
* The events that led to the overthrow of the corrupt High Council are later explored in [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Eight Doctors (novel)|The Eight Doctors]]''.
*Some of the space station furniture is made of [[machonite]].
* Another account of when Peri encounters the Doctor again is shown in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Bad Therapy (novel)|Bad Therapy]]''.
*The Master has [[The Master's TARDIS|his TARDIS]] inside the Matrix, diguised as a beach house and a statue of [[Queen Victoria]].
* The Valeyard appears in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Matrix (novel)|Matrix]]''.
* The unstable physics in the [[Great Kingdom]] causes the Sixth Doctor to temporarily transform into the Valeyard. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Millennial Rites (novel)|Millennial Rites]]'')
* An alternate version of the Valeyard features in [[AUDIO]]: ''[[He Jests at Scars... (audio story)|He Jests at Scars...]]''.
* The Valeyard's particle disseminator destroys matter, similar to the [[Reality bomb]] developed by the [[Dalek]]s and [[Davros]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'')
* The Doctor is annoyed when Mel addresses him as "Doc". He had previously disliked this form of address. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time Meddler (TV story)|The Time Meddler]]'', ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'', ''[[The Twin Dilemma (TV story)|The Twin Dilemma]]'') He would later dislike it again. ([[TV]]: ''[[Dreamland (TV story)|Dreamland]]'')
* The Doctor states he is over 900 years old. He had claimed to be "900" years old in [[TV]]: ''[[The Mysterious Planet (TV story)|The Mysterious Planet]]''.
* A later adventure would reveal several alternate versions of Peri were created by the Time Lords to see what would be the best fate for her. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Peri and the Piscon Paradox (audio story)|Peri and the Piscon Paradox]]'') At least one or two versions of Peri would eventually resume travelling with the Doctor. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Widow's Assassin (audio story)|The Widow's Assassin]],'' [[WC]]'': [[The Eternal Mystery (webcast)|The Eternal Mystery]]'')


==Story Notes==
== Home video and audio releases ==
*This was Colin Baker's last appearance as the Doctor, though he was unaware of it at the time of filming. Baker was fired by the BBC.  He was invited to come back for a final four-part story which would have ended in his regeneration, but he declined the offer.
=== VHS releases ===
*Originally, Robert Holmes was to have written both episodes, but he took ill and died before he could do so. Script editor [[Eric Saward]] finished the second episode from Holmes' notes, but the original plan to end the story, and the 23rd season, on a cliffhanger leaving the battle between the Doctor and Valeyard unresolved, was rejected by [[John Nathan-Turner]]. As chronicled in the "making of" documentary included with the 2008 DVD release of the story, this led to a falling out between Saward and Nathan-Turner and Saward resigned his position as script editor. Nathan-Turner commissioned [[Pip and Jane Baker]] on short notice to compose a concluding episode.
* ''The Ultimate Foe'' was released as ''Doctor Who: The Ultimate Foe''.
*This story was also known as '''Time Inc'''.
* It was released:
*Part Fourteen is around half an hour long; when editing of it was completed it was discovered that it had considerably overrun, but John Nathan-Turner was able to gain permission for the series' slot to be extended by five minutes for the week of its transmission so that most of the recorded material could be retained.
** [[UK]] [[October (releases)|October]] [[1993 (releases)|1993]] (released with the other ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' stories in a TARDIS-shaped tin with a random picture of one of the (then) seven Doctors on the base)
*A brief clip of Peri is seen at the story's conclusion, when it is revealed that she has not in fact been killed but has escaped to become the consort of King Yrcanos. According to commentary by Colin Baker on the 2008 DVD release, this conceit was the result of him idly asking a production team member if Peri had "really" died in ''Mindwarp'', coupled with negative audience reaction to the character's apparent death. The same commentary also includes [[Nicola Bryant]]'s generally unfavourable reaction as she watches the scene for the very first time.
** [[US]] October 1993 (same as the UK release except packed in a cardboard box in honour of ''Doctor Who''{{'}}s 30th anniversary)
*At the very end, the Valeyard breaks the fourth wall by looking directly into the camera and laughing.
** [[Australia]] October 1993
*This is the last onscreen appearence of the [[Time Lord]]s. They would be killed off in [[Series 1]], in the aftermath of the [[Last Great Time War]], leaving the Doctor as the sole survivor. They returned four years later in ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]''.


===Ratings===
=== DVD release ===
:Numbers in refer to the individual parts of this story.
* ''The Ultimate Foe'' was released as part of ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord (box set)|The Trial of a Time Lord]]'' boxset on [[29 September (releases)|29 September]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]].
*Part Thirteen (1) -  million viewers
* Editing for the DVD release was completed by the [[Doctor Who Restoration Team]].
*Part Fourteen (2) -  million viewers


===Myths===
==== Special Features ====
''to be added''
* Commentary 1 (Part Thirteen only) by [[Eric Saward]] (Script Editor)
* Commentary 2 (Part Fourteen only) by [[Colin Baker]] ([[Sixth Doctor|The Doctor]]), [[Tony Selby]] ([[Sabalom Glitz|Glitz]]), [[Chris Clough]] (Director) and [[Pip and Jane Baker]] (Writers)
* ''[[The Making of The Trial of a Time Lord: Part Four - The Ultimate Foe|The Making of The Ultimate Foe]]'' - A new documentary featuring members of the cast and crew
* Deleted and Extended Scenes
* Trails and Continuity
* ''[[Trials and Tribulations (documentary)|Trials and Tribulations]]'' - A documentary looking at Colin Baker's tenure as the Doctor, a turbulent time for the series
* 1985 Hiatus - Media footage reporting the 'resting' of the show
* ''[[Doctor in Distress]]'' - The music video accompanying the 1985 charity single
* ''Open Air'' - Pip and Jane Baker and [[John Nathan-Turner]] answer fans' criticisms
* ''Saturday Superstore'' - Colin Baker takes viewers' questions
* PDF Materials - ''[[Radio Times]]'' Billings; BBC Press Office Release; ''ZigZag'' Goes Behind the Scenes
* Photo Gallery
* Coming Soon Trailer - ''[[Four to Doomsday (TV story)|Four to Doomsday]]''
* Production Information Subtitles


===Filming Locations===
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
*Camber Sands, Camber, East Sussex
File:Bbcdvd-ttoatl-theultimatefoe.jpg|Region 2 UK cover
*Gladstone Pottery Museum, Uttoxeter Road, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
The ultimate foe.jpg|Region 1 US cover
*Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Rye, East Sussex
File:Trial of a time lord 13-14 region4.jpg|Region 4 AUS cover
*[[BBC Television Centre]] ([[List of stories recorded at BBC Television Centre|TC1]]), Shepherd's Bush, [[London]]
</gallery>


===Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors===
=== Blu-ray release ===
* Mel leaves with the Doctor at the end of this story, despite being from the Doctor's future. ''This is extremely odd, since it dramatically increases the probability that this "older" Mel will encounter her younger self at some point, and fall victim to the [[Blinovitch Limitation Effect]]. This possibility was neatly sidestepped by the following story, ''[[Time and the Rani]]''. Since it immediately depicts the regeneration of the Sixth Doctor, there is presumably a wide gap between it and ''Foe''. The arrival of the [[Seventh Doctor]] instantly mooted any televised treatment of the asynchronicity between the [[Sixth Doctor]] and Mel. Nevertheless, the issue has been addressed in other media. In [[The Ultimate Foe (novelisation)|the novelisation]] there is an epilogue in which the Doctor returns Mel to his own future self, who then embarks on the journey that leads to [[Lakertya]]. This assumption was followed in the [[MA]]: ''[[Time of Your Life]]'', where writer [[Steve Lyons]] posited that the younger [[Sixth Doctor]] immediately took Mel back to his older self. The issue of the Doctor's knowledge of Mel prior to their first meeting is examined in [[PDA]]: ''[[Business Unusual]]'', while the fact of there being a substantial interval between this story and ''Time and the Rani'' has been addressed through the myriad of novels and audio dramas featuring the Sixth Doctor, yet taking place between the trial and his official first meeting with Mel. An alternative assumption is made by ''[[The Universal Databank]]'' which speculates that the events of the Trial destroyed the future timeline Mel was from.''
* This story was released in the Season 23 Boxset on [[3 October (releases)|3 October]] [[2019 (releases)|2019]].
Blu-ray contents
* Audio Commentary featuring [[Colin Baker]], [[Chris Clough]], [[Tony Selby]], and [[Pip and Jane Baker]] (Part 14 only)
* Audio Commentary featuring Script editor [[Eric Saward]] (Part 13 only)
* 5.1 Surround Sound Mix
* Isolated Music Soundtrack
* [[The Making of The Trial of a Time Lord: Part Four - The Ultimate Foe]].
* ''[[Behind the Sofa (documentary series)|Behind the Sofa]]''
* Deleted and Extended Scenes
* Location Footage
* Trails and Continuity
* Trials and Tribulations - A look back at the challenges the show faced during Colin Baker's tenure
* Tomorrow’s World - The Christmas Quiz edition with Colin Baker’s final appearance in costume.
* Open Air - [[Doctor Who Appreciation Society]] members react to [[The Trial of a Time Lord]]
* Saturday Superstore - Appearance by Colin Baker
* Production Subtitles
* The Lost Season
* The Writer‘s Room: Season 23 - Eric Saward, [[Philip Martin]], [[Wally K Daly]] and [[Christopher H Bidmead]] discuss the stories that went unfilmed when the original Season 23 was cancelled.
* Bonnie Langford in Conversation - A brand new 2019 interview recorded with [[Matthew Sweet]].
* French & Saunders - An untransmitted Doctor Who parody shot on 25/01/87, using the trial courtroom set.
* Coming Soon - Trailer for ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]''.
* 1985 Hiatus - News media coverage
* HD Photo Gallery
* PDF Materials


*Given that article 7 cannot be ignored, and the Doctor is definately guilty of it, the inquisitor is remakably quick to let the Doctor off. ''He did just save her life, amongst others.''
== External links ==
* {{bbcepguideclassic|trialtimelord4/|The Trial of a Time Lord 4}}
* {{radiotimes|2012-06-29/the-trial-of-a-time-lord|The Trial of a Time Lord}}
{{dwcast}}
{{dwrefguide|trial.htm#7C2|The Ultimate Foe}}
* {{briefhistory|serials/7c-2.html|The Ultimate Foe}}
* {{locguide|ultimatefoe|The Ultimate Foe}}
* [http://www.timelash.com/tardis/display.asp?805 The Tardis Library: Video release information for '''The Ultimate Foe''']
{{DWTV}}
{{Valeyard stories}}
{{Tremas Master stories}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[de:The Ultimate Foe]]
[[es:The Ultimate Foe]]


*Just why does the Valeyard dress up as Mr Popplewick? ''As the Doctor said it was a part of the Valeyard's nature''
[[Category:Doctor Who (1963) television stories]]
 
[[Category:Tremas Master television stories]]
*How does no-one notice the Valeyard switching places with the Keeper of the Matrix? . ''You really have to be looking for it to be the Valeyard as it is not incredibly obvious. (Intriguingly, when the Valeyard talks to the Inquisitor immediately before the reveal, it sounds like James Bree rather than Michael Jayston.)''
[[Category:Season 23 stories]]
 
*No-one attempts to stop Mel entering the Matrix the second time. ''Actually, the Keeper does by attempting to trip her again but was too early and Mel was expecting it. It can't be seen very well on camera.''
 
*Why does the Doctor take Glitz into the Matrix with him? ''Like the Doctor said, two people make the Valeyard's job harder.''
 
*Why do they land at different times when they went through together? ''There is a time difference between the real world and the Matrix as stated in [[DW]]: [[The Deadly Assassin]] when [[Fourth Doctor|the Doctor]] has been in the Matrix for well over half an hour at least yet he is only in there for between 4-5 minutes as stated by [[Engin]].''
 
*How does Glitz and the Master manage to escape the Matrix? ''The Time Lords release them as the Doctor said.''
 
*Although Mel never directly heard the Doctor saying that the he opposed the evidence of the Matrix, the parts that she does here would be more than enough to give her that idea - so the doctor's logic doesn't really work.
 
*The Valeyard should realise that if the Doctor dies, he will cease to exist. ''The Valeyard is an amalgamation of the Doctor, not a definitive future. ''
 
*The Doctor says that he cant produce witnesses because they're throughout time and space, but what about Leela? ''There is no guarantee that Leela is still on Gallifrey, or even still alive, depending on the Time difference.''
*Why does the Master use the bauble to attempt to hypnotise Glitz, rather then his usual method of looking him in the eyes?
 
==Continuity==
*Another account of when Peri encounters the Doctor again is in [[NA]]: ''[[Bad Therapy]]''.
*The Valeyard appears in [[PDA]]: ''[[Matrix (novel)|Matrix]]''.
*An alternate version of the Valeyard features in [[DWU]]: ''[[He Jests at Scars...]]''.
 
==DVD and Video Releases==
'''DVD release'''
*Released as part of [[The Trial of a Time Lord]] boxset on the [[29th September]] [[2008]].
* Editing for DVD release completed by [[Doctor Who Restoration Team]].
 
'''Video Releases'''
 
Released as ''Doctor Who: The Ultimate Foe''
 
Released:
 
*[[UK]] [[October]] [[1993]] (Released with the other Trial of the Timelord stories in a Tardis-shaped tin with a random picture of one of the (then) seven Doctors on the base)
*[[US]] [[October]] [[1993]] (Same as the UK release except packed in a cardboard box in honor of Doctor Who's 30th anniversary)
*[[Australia]] [[October]] [[1993]]
 
'''DVD release'''
*Due for release in [[The Trial of a Time Lord]] boxset on the [[29th September]].
 
==Novelisation==
[[Image:Ultimate Foe TOATL novel.jpg|right|75px]]
: ''Main article: [[The Ultimate Foe (novelisation)]]''
 
* Novelised by [[Pip and Jane Baker]] in [[1988]].
 
==External Links==
*{{bbcepguideclassic|trialtimelord4/|The Ultimate Foe}}
*{{dwrefguide|trial.htm#7C2|The Ultimate Foe}}
*{{briefhistory|serials/7c-2.html|The Ultimate Foe}}
*{{locguide|ultimatefoe|The Ultimate Foe}}
*[http://www.timelash.com/tardis/display.asp?805 The Tardis Library: Video release information for '''The Ultimate Foe''']
 
{{season 23}}
{{Master stories}}
{{TV stub}}
[[Category:Sixth Doctor episodes|Ultimate Foe, The]]
[[Category:The Master episodes|Ultimate Foe, The]]
[[Category:Time Lord episodes|Ultimate Foe, The]]
[[Category:Stories set in the Rassilon Era|Ultimate Foe, The]]
[[Category:1986 television stories|Ultimate Foe]]
[[Category:The Trial of a Time Lord arc|Ultimate Foe]]

Latest revision as of 20:11, 3 November 2024

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You may be looking for the reference book of the same name.

The Ultimate Foe was the unbroadcast title given to the fourth story of The Trial of a Time Lord, the series-long storyline that covered Season 23 of Doctor Who. This story marked the final televised appearance of Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor. After much controversy had surrounded the Sixth Doctor's era, the BBC decided to recast the Doctor the following year to start with a new actor, ending Baker's tenure prematurely. As a result of Baker's removal from the role, the next episode would begin with the sudden regeneration of the Sixth Doctor into the Seventh Doctor. Colin Baker eventually reprised the role and did complete a regeneration story twenty eight years later in 2015's AUDIO: The Brink of Death.

In addition, this story marked the final appearances of the Inquisitor and the Valeyard as recurring characters, and a final appearance of Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown in a cameo to give her character closure under happier circumstances than what the events of Mindwarp had offered. This was also the last of the Master's annual appearances on the show that had started with 1981's The Keeper of Traken; he wouldn't appear again until Survival in Season 26.

Season 23's finale was the final story to which longtime scriptwriter Robert Holmes contributed. Midway through finishing part thirteen in April, Holmes entered hospital with a liver complaint. Sadly, Holmes never recovered and died in May. Holmes' illness forced script editor Eric Saward to finish the scripts. Unfortunately, this would cause the writing process to suffer many setbacks before entering production.

The sudden demise of Holmes served as the catalyst for a notorious fallout between Saward and then-executive producer John Nathan-Turner. Saward, now left without Holmes, had to complete the last episode by himself. Nathan-Turner, however, rejected his script, who felt Saward's proposed cliffhanger was presented in a way that would encourage Michael Grade, the BBC controller at the time, to make it into a series finale, after Grade had already tried to cancel the series altogether. The Doctor and the Valeyard would have tumbled through the Matrix, fighting to the death, with the battle's outcome left unknown, but with the assumption that they would be locked in eternal combat if no one intervened. The Brink of Death eventually followed a similar plot.

Though not the first time Saward had butted heads with Nathan-Turner over creative direction, his aggravation was enough this time that he chose to resign from his position, banning the use of his scripted ending in further dissent, effectively making this his last contribution to the televised series. The conclusion of the story ultimately fell in the hands of writing couple Pip & Jane Baker, who were left to figure out an ending of their own. They were prohibited access to the original script and given no bearing on how the story was meant to end, but still did what they could to wrap up the loose ends and encourage the continuation of the classic series a little longer.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

Charged with genocide by the treacherous Valeyard at his trial, the Doctor receives help from an unlikely source to turn the tide of the High Council's rulings in his favour and reveal the Valeyard as a wrongdoer - the Master. For the Valeyard's own crimes are so atrocious, even the Doctor's archenemy will help him to ensure that the villain won't see the light of day again. Cornered, the Valeyard flees to the Matrix, where he can be the Doctor's judge, jury and executioner...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Part thirteen[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Sixth Doctor insists that the footage from the Matrix has been tampered with. The Inquisitor brings the Keeper of the Matrix to testify. He is adamant that the Matrix can be accessed only by senior Time Lords with appropriate keys. The Doctor maintains his innocence, accusing the Valeyard of manipulating the evidence to his own ends and that someone can make a duplicate key. The Valeyard denies any such interference and closes his case.

Meanwhile, two travel pods arrive on the station. They open to reveal Mel and Sabalom Glitz. They enter the court just in time to assist the Doctor's defence, saying they had been sent by someone unknown to help prove that the Doctor acted in good faith. This anonymous benefactor makes himself known, appearing on the viewscreen from inside the Matrix - it is the Tremas Master. He entered the Matrix with a duplicate key and has been watching the courtroom drama unfold but is, for some reason, unwilling to let the Valeyard win.

The Doctor questions Glitz about the secrets he was hoping to obtain from the sleepers. He learns those secrets were stolen from the Matrix. In retaliation, the Gallifreyan High Council moved Earth to hide the theft and prevent a rescue. The Doctor is outraged at the corruption of his own people, realising that he has been framed to prevent the truth from emerging. The Master adds that the Valeyard is an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker impulses from the future, falling somewhere between his twelfth and final incarnations. The High Council offered him the Doctor's remaining regenerations if he could convict the Doctor. The Inquisitor insists the trial consider all the evidence, but the Valeyard flees the court through a door into the Matrix.

The Doctor and Glitz follow through the door, finding themselves in a recreation of Victorian London created by the Valeyard. The Doctor is attacked by a hand from a rain barrel, but Glitz saves him and hands him a note from the Master which leads them to the Fantasy Factory. As they approach the building, Glitz is shot with a harpoon.

In the courtroom, the Master explains that the evidence presented throughout the trial was mostly correct, but with small errors designed to convict the Doctor. These included the death of Peri Brown, who actually survived to become Yrcanos' queen. He admits that the Valeyard would make an even more powerful enemy than the Doctor, but this way he could be rid of them both. He also insists that the High Council answer for what they have done and has allowed the people of Gallifrey to witness the court proceedings.

The Doctor and Glitz meet "Mr Popplewick".

Glitz, saved by his Mark 7 Postidion Life Preserver, accompanies the Doctor to the Fantasy Factory, where they encounter an extremely officious bureaucrat named Mr. Popplewick. Deciding to go over his head and speak directly to the proprietor, they march into the next room, only to find an identical office with an even more evasive and infuriating duplicate of Mr Popplewick. Before letting them proceed further, Popplewick asks the Doctor to sign a document that promises his future incarnations to the Valeyard should he vanquish the Doctor, the High Council being less than trustworthy and unlikely to keep their promise. As the Doctor steps through the next door, he finds himself alone on a beach, where the Valeyard's voice taunts him and hands emerge from the sand to pull him beneath the surface...

Part fourteen[[edit] | [edit source]]

Glitz arrives as the Doctor is dragged under, only grabbing the orange spats around each of his shoes. He is amazed to see the Doctor rise out of the sand unharmed, after making a bad pun. The Doctor explains that the Matrix is unreal and that, with enough effort, he can deny the Valeyard's traps. The Valeyard appears, taunting the Doctor. He explains that he has to destroy the Doctor's good side to be free of all his positive traits. A cloud of nerve gas advances towards them, forcing the Doctor and Glitz to take refuge in a nearby beach hut that turns out to be the Master's TARDIS. The Master explains the Valeyard has to be stopped because he has none of the Doctor's morality, making him an even more evil being than himself, which vexes the Master. Lying that he wishes to help the Doctor, the Master tricks the Doctor into believing that he and Glitz are retrieving his TCE from elsewhere in the TARDIS but activates a function on his console that puts the Doctor into a catatonic state while Glitz and he hide in the corridor.

The Master's TARDIS materialises at the Fantasy Factory and the hypnotised Doctor is sent out as bait. When the Valeyard comes out to see what is happening, the Master shoots the Valeyard with his TCE, but the beams from his weapon bounce off. The Valeyard retaliates with explosive quills that force the Master to run away. Glitz is temporarily stunned by an explosion.

Mel arrives in the Matrix to help the Doctor. They return to the station to finish clearing his name. Mel gives evidence regarding the Vervoids, but it is not enough to prevent the Inquisitor from delivering a verdict of guilty on the charge of genocide. The Doctor accepts his death sentence with surprising calm.

This is not the real courtroom, but another Matrix fantasy. On the real station, Mel and the Inquisitor watch impotently as the Doctor is taken to what he believes to be his execution. Mel, unwilling to sit by meekly, steals the Keeper's key to enter the Matrix. She reaches the Doctor in time to save him, but he is well aware of the situation because the fake Mel had mentioned events she had not witnessed. The Doctor was hoping to encounter the Valeyard, so they head for the Fantasy Factory.

The Master, back in his TARDIS, tries to hypnotise Glitz into helping him but has to resort to bribery when the hypnotism fails. This proves just as effective. Glitz finds the Matrix tapes containing the secrets in Popplewick's office, while the Doctor locates a list of the courtroom judges written in his own handwriting. Glitz forces Popplewick at gunpoint to take them to the proprietor, J.J. Chambers, but is willing to trade the Doctor for the Matrix secrets, which he then gives to the Master.

The Doctor exposes Popplewick as the Valeyard in disguise, since his melodramatic nature was too obvious. He finds a laser aimed through the viewscreen into the courtroom, to kill all the judges on the list as a last resort. The Master reveals to the court that the High Council has been deposed by a revolt on Gallifrey and he intends to rule in their place. He loads the tapes of the secrets into his TARDIS console, but it is a fake which freezes the Master and Glitz in the Matrix.

Peri's life has been spared to enjoy a happy union with King Yrcanos.

Mel arrives in the courtroom in time to evacuate the judges, while the Doctor stops the laser firing at the cost of creating a massive feedback surge which strikes the Valeyard, allowing the Doctor to escape back to the station. The grateful Inquisitor dissolves the trial and tells the Doctor about Peri's true fate on Krontep. She further suggests that the Doctor, for the third time, run for the vacant presidency on Gallifrey, but he declines, stating that she would be a better candidate. He suggests that, while the Master must be punished, leniency should be shown to Glitz as he can be reformed.

The Doctor is not looking forward to Mel's exercise regimens.

The Doctor and Mel depart in the TARDIS. She annoys him by mentioning carrot juice. The Doctor almost barrels off in the opposite direction once he learns she plans to make him exercise again, thinking he would have been better off taking the Presidency. However, he gives in to her whims when he remembers Mel has met him too early. He intends to return her to whence she came and wait to meet her in the original order.

The Valeyard lives...

Back in the courtroom, the Inquisitor leaves, and as she does so orders the Keeper to improve the security of the Matrix and repair it while removing the Master and Glitz. He is allowed to requisition anything necessary. The Keeper agrees but, as he turns away, he reveals himself to be the Valeyard in disguise. The Valeyard laughs...

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Uncredited Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cultural references from real world[[edit] | [edit source]]

Time Lords[[edit] | [edit source]]

Technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

Weapons[[edit] | [edit source]]

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This was Colin Baker's last appearance as the Doctor, though he was unaware of it at the time of filming. Baker was fired by the BBC. He was invited to come back for a final four-part story which would have ended in his regeneration, but he declined the offer as he did not wish to miss out on finding other work in the meantime. Baker did offer to do the whole of Season 24 and have the Doctor regenerate at the end, but this was refused; the serial intended to be his finale was consequently rewritten as Sylvester McCoy's debut story, TV: Time and the Rani. Ironically, Baker recorded a final four-part audio story almost 29 years later in 2015 with Big Finish Productions after being approached and asked to do so, in the anthology The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure. He would later express regret for not filming the four episodes, claiming he was being "selfish" and not "thinking about the fans".
  • Originally, Robert Holmes was to have written both episodes, but he was taken ill and died before he could do so. Script editor Eric Saward finished the second episode from Holmes's notes, but the original plan to end the story, and the 23rd season, on a cliffhanger leaving the battle between the Doctor and Valeyard unresolved, was rejected by John Nathan-Turner. As chronicled in the "making of" documentary included with the 2008 DVD release of the story, this led to a falling-out between Saward and Nathan-Turner, and Saward resigned his position as script editor. Nathan-Turner commissioned Pip and Jane Baker on short notice to compose a concluding episode.
  • This story was also known as Time Inc. At one point, it was called The Fantasy Factory.
  • Part fourteen is the last episode of the original run of Doctor Who to air in a Saturday timeslot.
  • Geoffrey Hughes (Popplewick) is credited as "Mr. Popplewick" in Radio Times for part thirteen.
  • Part fourteen is around half an hour long; when editing was completed, it was discovered the episode had considerably overrun. Fortunately, John Nathan-Turner was able to gain permission for the series' slot to be extended by five minutes for the week of its transmission so most of the recorded material could be retained.
  • A brief clip of Peri is seen towards the story's conclusion when it is revealed that she has not in fact been killed but has escaped, to become the consort of King Yrcanos. According to commentary by Colin Baker on the 2008 DVD release, this conceit was the result of him idly asking a production team member if Peri had "really" died in Mindwarp, coupled with negative audience reaction to the character's apparent death. The same commentary also includes Nicola Bryant's generally unfavourable reaction as she watches the scene for the very first time.

I was very happy with my original exit – that is to say, I loved the shaved head, the mind transplant and Yrcanos blowing my body to smithereens. It was dramatic, poignant and shocking. So of course, I hated it when they retconned (I'm told this is the word!) my exit.Nicola Bryant, Vortex 23

  • At the very end, the Valeyard breaks the fourth wall by looking directly into the camera and laughing.
  • This is the last on-screen appearance of the Time Lords as a civilisation for twenty-three years. They would be perceived as killed off prior to the events of Series 1 of the revived series, in the aftermath of the Last Great Time War, apparently leaving the Doctor as the sole survivor. They returned four years later in The End of Time, and were later revealed to have been sent to a pocket universe at the end of the war in The Day of the Doctor, although they managed to leave and were found hiding billions of years into the future in Hell Bent.
  • This story features the final on-screen reference to the Sontarans until their next televised appearance in TV: The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky almost twenty-two years later.
  • This story marks the final use of the starfield-based title sequence designed by Sid Sutton, and of the "neon tubing" logo.
  • This story marks the last time in which the Doctor's face is included in the closing title sequence until TV: The Day of the Doctor roughly twenty-seven years later. It remains the last time in which it is done on a regular basis.
  • Lynda Bellingham would reprise her role as the Inquisitor nearly 20 years later in Big Finish's Gallifrey audio series. Her character is given the name Darkel and is a recurring antagonist of the first three series.
  • The first edit of the last episode ran to some 38 minutes; John Nathan-Turner managed to get permission to extend the running time to 30 minutes, but still had to make it up by cutting out large amounts of material featuring the Master and Glitz.
  • In Robert Holmes and Eric Saward's original conception, the first episode revealed that the Valeyard was in fact the Doctor's final incarnation. The finale then opened with the Master saving the Doctor from the quicksand while the Valeyard kidnapped Glitz. The Doctor encountered Popplewick again, who led him into a trap baited with an illusory Mel. Popplewick, too, was revealed as a construct of “JJ Chambers” — who, in turn, was unmasked as the Valeyard. While news reached the courtroom of the High Council's mass resignation, the Master warned that the Valeyard had materialised his TARDIS around a time vent in the Matrix. If the vent were to be opened for too long, there would be catastrophic ramifications for the space-time continuum. The Valeyard — shown to be a pitiable old man afraid of dying — planned to use this threat to force the Time Lords to grant him the Doctor's remaining regenerations. The Master revealed that he was hired by the High Council to murder the Doctor in exchange for a pardon, but had now decided not to follow through. The Doctor bluffed his way into the Valeyard's TARDIS just as the Valeyard opened the time vent door. Struggling, the Doctor and the Valeyard plunged into the time vent while the Master had Glitz seal the door, saving the universe but trapping the Doctor for all eternity.
  • Robert Holmes's original script for the first half involved the Doctor encountering the Duke of Clarence, who accuses him of being Jack the Ripper and tries to drown him at the episode's cliffhanger.
  • Colin Baker loved his last story, saying it was the sort of thing he'd always wanted to do.
  • Chris Clough described the trial content as "a dull motif, absolutely tired. We kept cutting back to this awful set with characters in ludicrous headgear — nobody could give a damn what was going on and it slowed up the stand-alone story you were trying to tell".
  • The quicksand scene was tricky. There was a four-foot pit below a rubber sheet and water. The climbing up from the pit scene was filmed backwards and Colin Baker had to say the bad joke backwards. It was done three times, so three costumes were required.
  • A pottery was chosen to fit in with the round buildings featured in the script for the first part, but nobody knew why they were important.
  • Geoffrey Hughes got up to a lot of wheeler-dealing, including sandwiches and trying to buy a watering can.
  • Pip and Jane Baker were fooled by Michael Jayston as Popplewick.
  • Colin Baker was sad that his last words as the Doctor were "Carrot juice, carrot juice, carrot juice..." but felt that it was pathetic and summed up life.
  • Originally, the Master was to have been revealed as the architect behind the Doctor's trial, but this was deemed too obvious a reveal.
  • In the original script, the Doctor encounters Bencray, the assistant to JJ Chambers at the Fantasy Factory, who was aware of -- and commented upon -- his artificial nature. He then encounters the Duke of Clarence and James Kenneth Stephen, who accused him of being Jack the Ripper (in reality, both men had been candidates for his true identity). In the cliffhanger, the Duke throws the Doctor off a wharf where he apparently drowns.
  • The beach hut which the crew had arranged to use as the Master's TARDIS was situated at the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve in nearby Rye. The cast and crew arrived to find the hut locked tight, and the key with which they had been provided did not work. After obtaining the permission of the Harbour Authority, Chris Clough had no other option but to break in. It was later learned that the Harbour Authority had actually sold the hut shortly before the shoot — provoking an unhappy response from the actual owner, and a hasty apology from the BBC.
  • On the last day of filming at the Gladstone Pottery Museum, smoke from the Valeyard's exploding quills set off the museum's alarm, prompting the arrival of the local fire brigade.
  • Pip and Jane Baker hoped to destroy the courtroom set, as they hated writing the trial scenes for Terror of the Vervoids.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

Numbers in brackets refer to the individual parts of this story.
  • Part thirteen (1) - 4.4 million viewers
  • Part fourteen (2) - 5.6 million viewers

Filming locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Camber Sands, Camber, East Sussex
  • Gladstone Pottery Museum, Uttoxeter Road, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
  • Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Rye, East Sussex
  • BBC Television Centre (TC1), Shepherd's Bush, London

Production errors[[edit] | [edit source]]

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • A great deal is made about the fact that Mr. Popplewick keeps a quill behind his ear, but the quill only appears when it is mentioned.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Home video and audio releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

VHS releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Ultimate Foe was released as Doctor Who: The Ultimate Foe.
  • It was released:
    • UK October 1993 (released with the other The Trial of a Time Lord stories in a TARDIS-shaped tin with a random picture of one of the (then) seven Doctors on the base)
    • US October 1993 (same as the UK release except packed in a cardboard box in honour of Doctor Who's 30th anniversary)
    • Australia October 1993

DVD release[[edit] | [edit source]]

Special Features[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Region 2 UK cover

    Region 2 UK cover

  • Region 1 US cover

    Region 1 US cover

  • Region 4 AUS cover

    Region 4 AUS cover

Blu-ray release[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This story was released in the Season 23 Boxset on 3 October 2019.

Blu-ray contents

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

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