Terror of the Vervoids

Terror of the Vervoids
by Pip and Jane Baker
Originally Broadcasted: November 1st-November 22nd, 1986

While fighting for his life on trial in front of the High Council of Time Lords, the Doctor presents a case from the future in his defense, where he and soon-to-be companion Mel answer a distress call from space liner Hyperion III. A group of scientists are transporting creatures that if hatched could mean the end of animal life on Earth...

Terror of the Vervoids is the third part of 1986's Trial of the Time Lord, which sees the Doctor on trial for his constant meddling in the affairs of others. I'll examine the trial portions of the season in more depth when I review The Ultimate Foe. Terror of the Vervoids is the one section of the trial season that could stand on its own as a run-of-a-mill Doctor Who story. The Mysterious Planet and Mindwarp had the Valeyard present cases from the Doctor's past and present, while Terror of the Vervoids takes us into the future. In fact, the Doctor had yet to meet Mel, meaning this is the only companion without a real introduction story. The first we see of her is when she's on the TARDIS forcing the Doctor into a workout regime, as well as making him drink that yucky carrot juice. Some people like Mel, but I'm not one of them. She's a bit too out there for me. Bonnie Langford was known for doing pantomime and other such stage appearances, and it always seems like she's acting as if she were on stage. It's not necessarily bad acting, it's just not right for "serious drama" like Doctor Who. The story presented is kind of like an Agatha Christy who-dunnit. Right from the start of the story, everyone is a suspect. You really have to pay attention to all the action and clues to be able to figure out who could have a motive for these murders. I'd actually wager to say this is one of only a few Colin Baker stories that feels like classic Who. This story could have been placed in the Patrick Troughton or Tom Baker eras easily. The Vervoids themselves have infamously been compared to a rather naughty part of the male anatomy. How they managed to get through the design process looking like they do is a mystery to me. This story also features a couple of cracking cliffhangers. First you get the release of the Vervoids from their pods at the end of Part One (or Part Nine technically) with Mel's deafening scream taking us into the end credits. The end of Part Ten is also pretty creepy too, where a half human, half Vervoid is shown (as seen in the image above). Terror of the Vervoids is a bit hard to follow at times, with the jumps between the courtroom and the action, and the apparent meddling in the Matrix changing what actually happened. Overall though, it is a good, classic Doctor Who story, and it would have been nice to have seen Colin Baker's Doctor in more stories like this. Here he is presented as a lovable, charming Doctor. If he had been characterized like this from the get-go, perhaps he never would have been fired from the role...

Luke's Rating: 7/10