Doctor Who - Terror of the Vervoids Reviews

Rating		Votes
10	7%	6
9	12%	10
8	18%	15
7	26%	22
6	20%	17
5	12%	10
4	5%	4
3	1%	1
2	0%	0
1	0%	0
Average Rating 7.0
Votes 85

Synopsis

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide

The distraught Doctor gives the court his evidence for the defence. He chooses an incident from his own future, in which he and his companion Mel arrive on the space liner Hyperion III in response to a distress call. There they battle against and ultimately destroy a hostile race of alien plants, the Vervoids, while also helping to thwart a mutiny by the ship's security officer, Rudge.

Has Prerequisite Story

21 out of 26 (80.8%) raters say this story requires a previous story.

Extended Ratings

Plot

7.0

(28)

Acting

7.4

(28)

Effects

7.2

(28)

Replay

7.0

(28)

6th Doctor

Melanie Bush

The Valeyard

Time Lords

Vervoids

Inquisitor Darkel

Cast

The Doctor - Colin Baker

Melanie - Bonnie Langford

Atza - Sam Howard

Bruchner - David Allister

Commodore - Michael Craig

Doland - Malcom Tierney

Duty Officer - Mike Mungarvan

Edwardes - Simon Slater

First Vervoid - Peppi Borza

Grenville/Enzu - Tony Scogg

Guard/First Guard - Hugh Beverton

Janet - Yolande Palfrey

Kimber - Arthur Hewlett

Mutant/Ruth Baxter - Barbara Ward Ortezo - Leon Davis

Professor Lasky - Honor Blackman

Rudge - Denys Hawthorne

Second Guard - Martin Weedon

Second Vervoid - Bob Appleby

The Inquisitor - Lynda Bellingham

The Valeyard - Michael Jayston

Director:

Chris Clough

Writer:

Jane Baker

Writer:

Pip Baker

Reviews

My Rating/Review

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Doctor Who

Classic TV Series

Terror of the Vervoids

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Has Prerequisite(s):

Yes

Reviewed By: The31stWAHReview Date: 4/14/19 5:13 pm

1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

Look, I can be quite the Colin Baker apologist at times but... this is bad. Not as out-and-out painful as some of the other Sixth Doctor stories but it's still the nadir of the Trial of a Time Lord. Awful, boring plot, confusing introduction for Mel, and hilariously bad dialogue. Doctor Who has used elements of this story way better in other scenarios. Plus, the fact that this comes right after the death of Peri and does little to amp up the tension (until the very end) makes it feel like an enormous waste of time. The previous two stories at least had something going for them. This one has the infamous Vervoid costumes and a weird focus on aerobics. I can defend other Sixth Doctor stories but not this one, unfortunately.

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4.10 - Midnight

9.1

(123)

Terror of the Vervoids

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Has Prerequisite(s):

Yes

Reviewed By: adamelijahReview Date: 4/13/15 12:16 am

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

The third segment of, "Trial of the Time Lord" manages to mix a murder mystery along with an invasion of killer plant creatures.

The mystery was actually pretty engaging, and the Vervos plot leads to some moments of genuine terror. The Sixth Doctor is at his on-screen best, miles away from the Twin Dilemma. The Doctor is warm, funny, comforting when appropriate, and a very solid sleuth.

Mel is a nice change of pace in her debut story. While I understand she has a bit of reputation issue in her later stories, in this one, she's resourceful and manages to play well off Colin Baker's Doctor. At this point, the friendly relationship is a nice change of pace from a string of Companions who haven't quite trusted the Doctor, or who the Doctor didn't quite trust.

On the downside, the Vervoids look a bit silly by 1980s standards. There are several parts related to the overall trial narrative that don't make a lot of sense including this clip being from the Sixth Doctor's future. Still, this is a very strong and entertaining story.