The Ultimate Foe
| 143d – The Trial of a Time Lord: The Ultimate Foe | |||||
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| Doctor Who serial | |||||
The final battle between the Doctor and the Valeyard
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| Cast | |||||
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Others
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| Production | |||||
| Directed by | Chris Clough | ||||
| Written by |
Robert Holmes (episode 13) Pip and Jane Baker (episode 14) |
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| Script editor | Eric Saward (episode 13), John Nathan-Turner (episode 14, uncredited) | ||||
| Produced by | John Nathan-Turner | ||||
| Incidental music composer | Dominic Glynn | ||||
| Production code | 7C | ||||
| Series | Season 23 | ||||
| Length | 2 episodes, 25 minutes and 30 minutes | ||||
| Date started | 29 November 1986 | ||||
| Date ended | 6 December 1986 | ||||
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| Author | Pip and Jane Baker |
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| Cover artist | Alister Pearson |
| Series |
Doctor Who book: Target novelisations |
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Release number
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131 |
| Publisher | Target Books |
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Publication date
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15 September 1988 |
| ISBN | |
The Ultimate Foe is the fourth and final serial of the 23rd season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from 29 November to 6 December 1986. It is part of the larger narrative known as The Trial of a Time Lord, encompassing the whole of the 23rd season. This segment is also cited in some reference works under its working title of Time Incorporated (or Time Inc.). The title The Ultimate Foe is never used on-screen and only appears on the serial's scripts with the two episodes that comprise the season being referred to as The Trial of a Timelord Parts Thirteen and Fourteen. This was the last story to feature Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor, as Baker declined to do the regeneration (when he was dismissed from the role) for the following story, Time and the Rani.
The Doctor boldly claims the Valeyard's evidence has been falsified, and the Matrix has been tampered with. The Keeper of the Matrix insists this impossible. Glitz and Mel arrive unexpectedly in the courtroom. The Master appears on the Matrix screen to claim responsibility and to demonstrate it's possible to breach the Matrix. At the Master's insistence, Glitz reveals the data he tried to obtain on Ravolox included technological secrets from the Matrix, which was stolen by the Sleepers. The Time Lords traced the Sleepers to their base on Earth and dragged the planet across space to the location in which the Doctor found it - and nearly annihilating all life in the process. The Doctor denounces the Time Lords as decadent and corrupt. The Master explains that the Valeyard is a manifestation of the Doctor's darker side created from his twelfth regeneration; the High Council offered the Valeyard the Doctor's remaining regenerations in exchange for falsifying evidence.
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