I'll get to today's viewing shortly, but first I have to take note that on this day exactly fifty years ago, this happened:

On a Saturday night, not unlike tonight, in the third episode of The Web of Fear, the Second Doctor made his first on-screen appearance with Then-Colonel Lethbridge-Steward, played magnificently by the late great Nicholas Courtney. He was meant to be just another secondary character there to propel a story, but Courtney's performance was so strong that he was brought back again in the following year's Cyberman classic The Invasion. Of course he would go on to become a mainstay of the series, and one of the most beloved characters and actors in the history of the program. It has now been nearly seven years since he passed away. He was truly one of the greats.

Anyway, I also watched two more episodes on the treadmill today, so let's talk about that.

The Trial of a Time Lord - Parts 7 & 8 (A.K.A. Mindwarp - Parts 3 & 4)

(TARDIS Data Core page for The Trial of a Time Lord, TARDIS Data Core recap for Mindwarp)

In the back half of this story, several eventful things happen. Kiv's brain is semi-successfully transplanted into another body, but it doesn't really hold well. Brian Blessed shews so much scenery that it's a wonder any sets are left standing. Peri appears to be shot dead along with several rebels, but is shortly revealed to have been merely stunned. The Doctor's altered mental state finally seems to begin to crack once scientist Crozier suggests using Peri as the final destination for Kiv's brain. And then the really big stuff happens.

Just as the Doctor rallies to go try to rescue Peri, that is when the TARDIS suddenly appears and draws him in as a puppet of the Time Lords, having been taken out of time and brought to the courtroom. There, the Doctor witnesses the completed operation in which Kiv takes over Peri's body (in the first scene where Nicola Bryant finally gets to do something interesting instead of just looking pretty and asking leading questions). And then the Doctor witnesses her apparent death, again. The Inquisitor and the Valeyard tell the Doctor that her death, along with everyone else's in that room, was necessary to prevent the consequences of Crozier's work spreading throughout the universe.

It really is a stunning moment, and not something I was expecting from this show at this point. All of the things I complained about in Colin Baker's first full season are long gone, his portrayal here is excellent. As for Peri, this was very much her last episode. In other media she is given at least five different potential alternate futures due to various paradoxes created by Time Lord meddling, but in terms of Nicola Bryant departing the show, this was it and it was shocking.

So, the stupid Space Trial story keeps surprising me by not being stupid. Which is really kind of awesome.Tomorrow the Doctor gets a new companion in Melanie Bush, a red-headed computer programmer. I will be perfectly honest, I don't believe I have ever actually watched an episode in which she appears but I have always completely dismissed her solely based on her costumes. I hope she proves me just as wrong as I have been about this stupid Space Trial.

STATS:

Doctor(s): Sixth
Companion(s): Peri
Episode(s): The Trial of a Time Lord - Parts 7 & 8 (A.K.A. Mindwarp - Parts 3 & 4)
Steps Walked: 7,634 today, 2,346,638 total
Distance Walked: 4.40 miles today, 1,212.13 miles total
Weight: 250.22 lbs (five day moving average), net change -57.08 lbs