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Season 23 – Doctor Who

Play trailer Poster for Season 23 – Doctor Who 1986 Sci-Fi Fantasy Adventure Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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50% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 37% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
"Doctor Who" is a classic science-fiction series with a cult following. The Doctor is called a "Time Lord," a time-traveling scientist from a far-off planet who travels through time and space in a shop known by the acronym TARDIS. A TARDIS is a machine that is larger on the inside than the outside and is supposed to change its appearance based on its surroundings. The Doctor is also able to evolve his biology, so he appears as many different people throughout the series. The Doctor loves Earth, so he makes many trips here to save the planet, or to enlist earthlings to help him with tasks in the galaxy.
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Doctor Who — Season 23

Critics Reviews

View All (6) Critics Reviews
Christopher Bahn AV Club This is the way the Sixth Doctor era ends: Not with a bang, but a whimper. Mar 6, 2019 Full Review Patrick Mulkern Radio Times The sad fact is they'd both run out of juice, plus their BBC superiors had lost the will to nurture Doctor Who, keeping this pair in their posts yet offering no guidance about past failings. Mar 6, 2019 Full Review Ross Ruediger Bullz-Eye.com In this season, [Baker's] considerably less brash than in his first, and the bickering dynamic between him and Peri has been toned down to give way to a friendlier, more traditional Doctor/companion relationship. Rated: 4.5/5 Mar 6, 2019 Full Review Den of Geek Staff Den of Geek The Ultimate Foe remains a ripping and gripping Doctor Who yarn with plenty of fun and uniquely British eccentricity, and a good note on which Colin Baker can make his unexpectedly final stage-exit. Mar 6, 2019 Full Review Evan Sawdey PopMatters There are still many questions left unanswered about the moral qualms that make up the universe... but at least one thing remains abundantly clear: the comical, fantastic, and dangerous journey to get there has rarely been so satisfying. Mar 6, 2019 Full Review Cameron K. McEwan GQ Magazine [UK] This is a season-long arc titled, The Trial Of A Time Lord. Everyone's favourite Gallifreyan was on trial! Mar 6, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (5) audience reviews
Wolfgang B Has its moments but didn't do anything to successfully change the minds of viewers or the BBC that the show was in decline Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Overall the sixth doctor's second season with it's conjoined 'Trail' storyline is pretty solid viewing, with only 'The Ultimate Foe' hindering it from getting full marks. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Audience Member The Trial of a Time Lord isn't at all bad - It's just not as intense as some moments, including the EPIC opening shot (which was groundbreaking for its day) would lead you to believe. Primarily, this is just more akin to the E-Space Trilogy or the Key To Time in that it's just a collection of standard-design Doctor Who stories, just with an overarching theme; the difference here is that the stories in The Trial of a Time Lord aren't as good. However, none of them are bad either, and honestly I would argue that The Mysterious Planet is very solid, its only serious missteps being that some of the elements thrown in during the climax feel very much of the "Turn it to 11!" school of thinking (like, The Doctor's statement that the villain's black-light experiments can literally end the Universe if everything possible goes wrong). The next story acts as a sequel to Vengeance on Varos, which was itself just an okay episode, and honestly, I'm not sure Sil needed a follow-up (and now that we got one, and he kinda-sorta won, I'm actually slightly upset that we didn't get one final appearance where he was finally beaten). Terror of the Vervoids was adequate in its writing, pacing and execution, but was nothing special. And The Ultimate Foe is both great and somewhat poor, as it's a mish-mash of some cool scenes and ideas, but it does not all go into a singular picture effectively -- Now, this is NOT the fault of anyone; the first half was written by Robert Holmes but then he died, and then Eric Saward was writing the second half, only to suddenly have an absolutely massive falling-out with Producer JNT, so in a rush, it was then handed to the Terror of the Vervoid writers, whom were actually legally unable to use any of Saward's ideas on finishing the story - yes this is all true. And because of that, The Trial of a Time Lord ends on a rather odd and only semi-climactic finale, with an interesting "To Be Continued" that was sadly never followed-up upon. Hopefully, someone will finally do a follow-up of this, just as long as it's AFTER Chibnall is fully gone from the franchise. But all in all, The Trial of a Time Lord is fine, just nothing special, which is sad considering how much potential there was for genuine excellent with the overarching story at play. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Audience Member even our least favourite doctors have their moments, and when i find out what was happening behind the scenes it found it's source of inspiration by imitating life. also, I do wish they bring back the Valeyard before it's too late. (3.57/5) Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Audience Member The Trial of a Timelord season 23 was not originally planned out this way. Despite behind the scenes bickering and the death of a famous Who writer, this season is very entertaining. 4 separate stories putting the Sixth Doctor on trial has some twists and turns not yet seen I'm Doctor Who. Sometimes a little confusing(i.e. Mindwarp and Ultimate Foe) you do get a sense of what is really happening upon reevaluation. I love the cast, the visuals improve from previous Doctor who seasons, and what a finish! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Doctor Who — Season 23

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Sep 6, 1986 The Trial of a Time Lord The Doctor faces death for galactic meddling. Details Episode 2 Aired Sep 13, 1986 The Trial of a Time Lord The high council reviews evidence. Details Episode 3 Aired Sep 20, 1986 The Mysterious Planet [Trial of a Timelord 3/14] With the black light converter destroyed, the Doctor fears for the planets safety and needs to find the Secrets of the Sleepers and discover why they are there in the first place. Details Episode 4 Aired Sep 27, 1986 The Mysterious Planet [Trial of a Timelord 4/14] The Doctor is foxed by Drathros logic so it takes Glitzs blunt lies to buy them some time until Ravolox can be saved. Meanwhile the Tribe make a foolhardly attack on Marb Arch. Details Episode 5 Aired Oct 4, 1986 The Trial of a Time Lord The Doctor and Peri encounter a brain surgeon whose experiments have led to horrible mutations. Details Episode 6 Aired Oct 11, 1986 The Trial of a Time Lord Crozier is looking for another body to house Kiv's brain. Details Episode 7 Aired Oct 18, 1986 The Trial of a Time Lord The Doctor's memory is apparently affected by Crozier's experiments. Details Episode 8 Aired Oct 25, 1986 The Trial of a Time Lord Film shows the Doctor's past. Details Episode 9 Aired Nov 1, 1986 The Trial of a Time Lord The Doctor tries to prove his innocence. Details Episode 10 Aired Nov 8, 1986 Trial of a Timelord: Terror of the Vervoids The Vervoids begin to attack the crew and passengers. Details Episode 11 Aired Nov 15, 1986 The Trial of a Time Lord The Doctor and Melanie search for the killer aboard the space liner. Details Episode 12 Aired Nov 22, 1986 The Trial of a Time Lord The Doctor races to prevent the Hyperion III from entering the Black Hole of Tartarus. Details Episode 13 Aired Nov 29, 1986 The Ultimate Foe [Trial of a Timelord 13/14] The Valeyards true identity is revealed and the trial aborted, but the Doctor and Mel must pursue his new enemy into the Matrix itself, where nothing is quite what is seems. Details Episode 14 Aired Dec 6, 1986 The Ultimate Foe [Trial of a Timelord 14/14] Mel realizes that the Valeyard has created a weapon within the Matrix that will destroy the Time Lords, and the Doctor is forced to rely on the Master for help... Details
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Season Info

Director
Nicholas Mallett, Ron Jones, Chris Clough
Screenwriter
Pip Baker, Robert Holmes, Philip Martin, Jane Baker
Network
BBC
Rating
TV-PG
Genre
Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Adventure, Drama
Original Language
British English
Release Date
Sep 6, 1986