The Ultimate Foe [TV/1986.11.29 ~ 12.6]

★★★★★

  Look, don't mind me while I give The Ultimate Foe 5 stars. I remember watching it for the first time, all those years ago, and being completely encapsulated by the surreal imagery and the twisted fairytale atmosphere that leads the Doctor into his doom -- by himself, no less! The Valeyard's revelation will always be a memorable moment in Dr. Who history, and people's opinions of it will always range from "oh, it was amazing!" to "dear Lord, the show's jumped the shark". I'm very much on the former camp, and I love the show retaining a lot of the ambiguity surrounding the Valeyard's genesis and true genesis. He's not supposed to be a character explained away by technobabble. He's a manifestation, almost like a nightmare man, of the Doctor's fears and vices, come to haunt him for this farce of a trial that was conducted to hide shady Time Lord secrets. Robert Holmes obviously had it in for the Time Lords, and just like The Deadly Assassin, this serial doubles down on how truly evil the Doctor's lot are. The Valeyard's the main villain, yes, but it's Time Lord society that's very much at the forefront of criticism here; it even works better when the only "good" Time Lord in trial overseeing the Doctor's farcical inquiry, Darkel (then known as the Inquisitor), the one lauded by the Doctor as a good presidential candidate... turns out to be a vehement fascist who acts as a dangerous political opponent to Romana's presidency in the Gallifrey audio series. Oh well, funny how the extended universe works sometimes.

  Chris Clough delivers possibly his best direction in the show, and Colin Baker gives quite a bleak, funny, and explosive performance -- I hate to say it, but it 's fitting taht this is his final performance. It truly feels like he's letting go of all inhibitions and just letting his passion (and frustration, too, I expect) run wild. Holmes's first episode gets all the praise (and so it should; it's a vivid episode of imagination and twisted imagery, one that sets up atmosphere so well), but I actually prefer Pip & Jane Baker's second episode. With the extended cut, that's 31 minutes of clever moments, a bunch of fun shenanigans between Glitz and the Master, Mel being such a great companion by risking her own skin to save the Doctor, and the Doctor and Valeyard conducting in a battle of wits. Famously, the end of the serial was supposed to be open-ended in Eric Saward's original script, with the Doctor and the Valeyard engaging in a fight to the death. That would've been quite the sight to see, although I'm pretty sure the BBC would've leapt at the chance to cancel the show had that been the case. As it is now, it's a brilliant serial teeming with dark humour and clever lines, carried by some awesome ideas as well. It's more conceptual than most serials, but that's exactly why it's among my favourites of the entire television series of Dr. Who; it's so different, and made with the utmost conviction that it's hard not to admire it at the very least. For the fake executions, the Matrix-within-the-Matrix sequence, the quicksand with hands, Glitz being an utter money-grubby bastard and the Doctor being a steadfast and cunning adversary against the slimy Valeyard, I give it full marks.