Who Review: Mindwarp

The Doctor is on trial for his life in a Gallifreyan courtroom, accused of meddling in the affairs of other civilizations. The prosecuting attorney, the Valeyard, is presenting evidence against him in the form of two “sequences” extracted from the Doctor’s time line. In this, the second sequence, the Doctor and Peri arrive on the planet Thorox Beta. The Doctor is concerned that advanced weaponry produced on Thorox Beta is finding its way into the primitive hands of the Warlords of Thordon, potentially changing the destiny of the lesser-developed culture. He soon learns that an old “friend,” Sil, is behind the trading. Thorox Beta is Sil’s home planet, and he, along with his superior, Kiv, are conducting negotiations for the sale of weapons. But Kiv is not well. His brain is expanding, and he needs a mind transference into a new body within the next few days or he will die. To that end, they have employed the services of Cozier, a scientist, currently experimenting on the mind of the warrior King Yrcanos. The Doctor and Peri need to put an end to Sil’s work, but their efforts are severely hampered when the Doctor becomes an unwitting subject of Crozier’s experiments, and turns traitor on his friends…

SPOILER ALERT!! My comments may (and likely will) contain spoilers for those that haven’t seen this serial. If you want to stay spoiler-free, please watch the story before you continue reading!

Philip Martin returns to Doctor Who, having given us last season’s “Vengeance on Varos.” This time, he brings back his character Sil, with a story set on Sil’s home planet, Thorox Beta, among his own people, the Mentors. And as “Vengeance” was far and away the best story of that season, so “Mindwarp” is the best of the “Trial” bunch, and I don’t think many would dispute that.

What makes “Mindwarp” so successful is that it’s a good story with believable characters delivering great lines. And, amazingly, it also works with the “Trial” setting, giving us some of the most relevant and dramatic cut-aways in the entire season. One of my main complaints with the “Trial” setting is that it undermines cliff-hangers. How are we to believe the Doctor’s life is in danger in the story we’re watching, when we know he’s sitting in a Gallifrean courtroom watching along with us? Unfortunately, that still applies in “Mindwarp,” but in light of all that’s good about the story, it’s a minor irritant.

In addition to a great story, there’s a cast of actors who appear to be enjoying this wonderful script as much as we are, which always brings out their best. Even Brian Blessed’s near-comically bombastic portrayal of Yrcanos is perfect for the die-with-glory warrior king. Nabil Shaban returns as Sil, and, once again, gives a scene-stealing performance as one of the slimiest and most reprobate of the Classic Who monsters. Even Peri, whose faux American accent often teeters between annoying and tolerable (speaking as one who has lived in the States for a long time), has some fine moments. Her interaction with Yrcanos has the air of a budding, if unlikely, friendship. And in her final scenes, when she becomes Kiv, the change in character is stark, and shocking.

Bearing in mind this story was made on the usual BBC shoestring budget, the sets and costumes are creative and well done. Dorf’s lycanthrope make-up is remarkably good by 1980s Doctor Who standards (and could arguably stand up today). Even the opening shots of Thorox Beta, with the pink sea, blue rocks, and green sky, while a bit reminiscent of David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes” video, creates a striking effect, the like of which hasn’t been seen before on Doctor Who.

To top it all off, we have one of the most dramatic finales in the show’s history, with the Time Lords actively intervening to prevent the Doctor from saving the life of his companion (though she was already technically dead as soon as Kiv’s mind took over). This is interference on a grand scale, that not only gives us the demise of a Who companion (seemingly, at any rate), but makes the Time Lords look very bad. They claim their motive was concern for how Crozier’s findings would affect the development of life in space. But who are the Time Lords to step in like that? Robert Holmes succeeded in showing the shadier side of the Doctor’s race ten years earlier in “The Deadly Assassin,” but Philip Martin raises the stakes here.

“Mindwarp” is, in my estimation, Must-See Who, which is a tough call because it’s the only story in the “Trial” arc I believe deserves the accolade. This means you might have to suffer through the entire season (and trust me, the next two stories are a bit of a trial in themselves) to appreciate “Mindwarp” in context. But for the drama, the characters, and the cracking good story, it’s worth it.