Trials and Tribulations (documentary)

Trials and Tribulations was a documentary released as a special feature on the DVD release of The Ultimate Foe. It covered the behind-the-scenes issues during tenure of the Sixth Doctor, from Colin Baker's casting to his departure.

	Sixth Doctor era
	The Ultimate Foe
	29 September 2008
	55'05"
	Richard Molesworth, Roger Legree, Bill Baggs
	Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, John Nathan-Turner, Eric Saward, Philip Martin, Pip & Jane Baker, David Reid, Jonathan Powell, Ian Levine, Gary Leigh
	Ed Stradling
	Dan Hall

Topics covered

• The events leading to Colin Baker's casting as the Sixth Doctor
• The costume design for the Sixth Doctor
• The Sixth Doctor's erratic behaviour and Peri's attitudes towards it
• Commissioning writers to write for the Sixth Doctor era and John Nathan-Turner's reluctance to preciously-used Doctor Who writers. This included the recruitment of Philip Martin
• The launch and transmission of Season 22, including a positive attitude between cast and crew
• The controversial announcement of the 18-month hiatus
• The protest/charity single Doctor in Distress
• John Nathan-Turner and Eric Saward's regrets to not leave Doctor Who following the 18-month hiatus
• The radio adventure Slipback
• Relaunching Doctor Who as 14 episodes, 25 minutes each. This included pre-production, promotion and untransmitted footage from The Trial of a Time Lord
• The departure of Peri Brown
• The casting of Bonnie Langford as new companion Melanie Bush, which included unfavourable views of her casting
• The unfavourable views of The Trial of a Time Lord, including a negative view from future Doctor Who writer and producer Chris Chibnall
• The death of Robert Holmes, which led to the fallout between Eric Saward and John Nathan-Turner over the conclusion of The Trial of a Time Lord and the fourteenth episode's rushed rewrite
• Eric Saward's controversial interview with Stardust, which led to him falling out with Colin Baker and John Nathan-Turner
• John Nathan-Turner being forced to axe Colin Baker as the Doctor and Colin's pledge to then-BBC bosses to extend his contract in order to give him time to record a regeneration story, which ultimately never happened.
• The regrets of the Sixth Doctor's choice of clothing.
• Defending Colin Baker over the outcome of Doctor Who's troubled era.

Booklet synopsis

A documentary looking at Colin Baker's tenure as the Doctor - a particularly turbulent era in the show's history. With actors Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, producer John Nathan-Turner, script editor Eric Saward, writer Philip Martin, Pip and Jane Baker, ex-BBC Heads of Series and Serials David Reid and Jonathan Powell, continuity adviser Ian Levine and publisher Gary Leigh.

People interviewed

• Colin Baker
• Nicola Bryant
• John Nathan-Turner (archive interview from the 1994 documentary The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond)
• Eric Saward
• Philip Martin
• Pip & Jane Baker
• David Reid
• Jonathan Powell
• Ian Levine
• Gary Leigh

Crew

to be added

Home video releases

• The documentary was released on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of The Ultimate Foe.