History Recap / DoctorWhoS23E4TheUltimateFoe

Well, not exactly. The Valeyard is a piece of the Doctor: specifically, the Doctor's dark side, split off from around the last of his regenerations. Even when being specific, this origin is incredibly abstract.[[note]]Not that it wasn't entirely unprecedented among the production staff, having originally been a twist designed for ''the Master'' in what would've been Creator/RogerDelgado's swan song had he not died in a car crash.[[/note]]

Finally, the Doctor and Mel find themselves face-to-face with the Valeyard, and his plans to destroy the current government of the Time Lords. Through a brief struggle, the Valeyard spits out technobabble about things not going his way and is seemingly defeated thanks to The Master. The Time Lords are saved! And a random Time Lady presiding over the trial tells the Doctor that Peri survived and is living with [[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E2Mindwarp King Yrcanos]] after his rambling that she would be his queen... for [[BuxomBeautyStandard some reason]]. Mel and the Doctor leave together, presumably for him to drop her off somewhere for his future self to pick up later, so he can eventually meet her for the first time (See the Past Doctor Adventures novel ''Business Unusual''... or maybe the Big Finish Audio "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho169TheWrongDoctors The Wrong Doctors]]". Either one works.[[note]]In fact, ''The Wrong Doctors'' goes out of its way to avoid contradicting ''Business Unusual'', so both can exist side-by-side[[/note]]), and the Sixth Doctor [[TheNthDoctor goes on]] to many, many more [[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E1TimeAndTheRani adventures]], where th--

->''"In all my travels throughout the universe I have battled against evil, against power-mad conspirators. I should have stayed ''here!'' The ''oldest'' civilization: decadent, degenerate, and ''rotten to the core!'' Power mad conspirators? Daleks, Sontarans, '''Cybermen''' -- they're still in the nursery compared to us! Ten million years of absolute power: that's what it takes to be '''really''' corrupt!"''

->''"In all my travels throughout the universe I have battled against evil, against power-mad conspirators. I should have stayed ''here!'' The ''oldest'' civilization: decadent, degenerate, and ''rotten to the core!'' Power mad conspirators? Daleks, Sontarans, ''Cybermen'' -- they're still in the nursery compared to us! Ten million years of absolute power: that's what it takes to be '''really''' corrupt!"''

!The Trial of a Time Lord: The Ultimate Foe

...Well, on the bright side, at least The Valeyard was defeated, right? I mean, surely the Keeper of the Matrix is able to make sure he doesn't escape--'''[[NotQuiteDead Oh.]]''' '''''[[ToBeContinued Double]]''''' '''''[[SequelHook shit.]]'''''

Hey, don't be sad ol' Sawbones Hex got drummed out of the series after only eleven stories. He was rescued by Big Finish! [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho Take some spare time to look at the overwhelming collection of Sixth Doctor audios.]] And if you want to see (well, ''hear'') more of him, you can continue the Sixth Doctor's adventures by starting right [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho001TheSirensOfTime HERE]]. Or, if you ''really'' want to find out what happened to both Sixth ''and'' Mel, you can start off [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho169TheWrongDoctors HERE]] as well [[note]](unless you don't want a whole season or two's worth of spoilers, as it '''also''' takes place later down the line)[[/note]]. Sadly (or perhaps mercifully is a better word), you won't be able to witness his "iconic" rainbow coat in action as you listen to his stories; while audio can broadcast the dulcet tones of the Sixth Doctor, it doesn't do so hot where the visual department is concerned, let alone visualizing a coat that is a certified cornucopia of clashing colour hues. (That being said, he manages to regain his proper sense of fashion later on, ditching the rainbow coat for a much more cooler royal-TARDIS-blue coat.)

'''Production code:''' 7C

This two-episode serial first aired from November 29 to December 6, 1986.

Hey, don't be sad ol' Sawbones Hex got drummed out of the series after only eleven stories. He was rescued by Big Finish! [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho Take some spare time to look at the overwhelming collection of Sixth Doctor audios.]] And if you want to see (well, ''hear'') more of him, you can continue the Sixth Doctor's by starting right [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho001TheSirensOfTime HERE]]. Or, if you ''really'' must find out what happens to next to Sixth ''and'' Mel, you can start off [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho169TheWrongDoctors HERE]] as well [[note]](unless you don't want a whole season or two's worth of spoilers, as it '''also''' takes place later down the line)[[/note]]. Sadly (or perhaps mercifully is a better word), you won't be able to witness his "iconic" rainbow coat in action as you listen to his stories; while audio can broadcast the dulcet tones of the Sixth Doctor, it doesn't do so hot where the visual department is concerned, let alone visualizing a coat that is a certified cornucopia of clashing colour hues. (That being said, he manages to regain his proper sense of fashion later on, ditching the rainbow coat for a much more cooler royal-TARDIS-blue coat.)

Hey, don't be sad ol' Sawbones Hex got drummed out of the series after only eleven stories. He was rescued by Big Finish! [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho Take some spare time to look at the overwhelming collection of Sixth Doctor audios.]] And if you want to see (well, ''hear'') more of him, you can continue the Sixth Doctor's by starting right[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho001TheSirensOfTime HERE]]. Or, if you ''really'' must find out what happens to next to Sixth ''and'' Mel, you can start off [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho169TheWrongDoctors HERE]] as well [[note]](unless you don't want a whole season or two's worth of spoilers, as it '''also''' takes place later down the line)[[/note]]. Sadly (or perhaps mercifully is a better word), you won't be able to witness his "iconic" rainbow coat in action as you listen to his stories; while audio can broadcast the dulcet tones of the Sixth Doctor, it doesn't do so hot where the visual department is concerned, let alone visualizing a coat that is a certified cornucopia of clashing colour hues. (That being said, he manages to regain his proper sense of fashion later on, ditching the rainbow coat for a much more cooler royal-TARDIS-blue coat.)

Hey, don't be sad ol' Sawbones Hex got drummed out of the series after only eleven stories. He was rescued by Big Finish! [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho Take some spare time to look at the overwhelming collection of Sixth Doctor audios.]] And if you want to see more of him, start [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho001TheSirensOfTime HERE]]. But sadly (or perhaps mercifully is a better word), you can't witness his coat in action as you listen to his stories; while audio can broadcast the dulcet tones of the Sixth Doctor, it doesn't do so hot where the visual department is concerned, let alone visualizing a coat that is a certified cornucopia of clashing colour hues.

And if you ''really'' want to know what happened to the Sixth Doctor (as well as what happened to The Valeyard), have no fear! [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoSpecialTheLastAdventure Big Finish released an audio series in August 2015 to deal with his regeneration story, as well as giving us fans a proper rematch between Sixth Doc and The Valeyard.]]

-->-- (The last words of '''the Sixth Doctor''' on TV, at least)

** KarmaHoudiniWarranty: If you take ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoSpecialTheLastAdventure The Last Adventure]]'' into canon, however, Valeyard [[spoiler:does indeed get stuck in suspended time after nearly winning against the Sixth Doctor]]. Therefore, it is possible he gets punished for his actions in the long-term. Regardless, his fate is [[spoiler:also left ambiguous in the audio story]].

* SequelHook: The serial ends with the Valeyard FakingTheDead, and would allow him to eventually return to get his revenge on the Doctor. Keyword: '''''[[TheResolutionWillNotBeTelevised eventually.]]''''' Big Finish would go on to make a direct sequel to "Trial of a Time Lord" in the Valeyard's own point-of-view, before finally giving him one more go with Sixth in ''The Last Adventure''.

JustForFun/{{The one w|ith}}here Creator/ColinBaker gets fired, no thanks to Michael Gra--I mean, the one where The Doctor fights himself, before he goes off to have more adventures, Big Finish style.

...

[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoSpecialsRealTime Anybody know the name]] [[AnimatedAdaptation of a good animator?]]

Well, on the bright side, at least The Valeyard was defeated, right? I mean, surely the Keeper of the Matrix is able to make sure he doesn't escape--'''[[NotQuiteDead Oh.]]''' '''''[[ToBeContinued Double]]''''' '''''[[SequelHook shit.]]'''''

[[caption-width-right:350: The Doctor gazes into the abyss, and the audience gazes back. [[OverlyLongGag At least we can't see his coat...]] (I think we're done with the coat jokes... for now.)]]

JustForFun/{{The one w|ith}}here Creator/ColinBaker gets fired.

Finally, the Doctor and Mel find themselves face-to-face with the Valeyard, and his plans to destroy the current government of the Time Lords. Through a brief struggle, the Valeyard spits out technobabble about things not going his way and is finally defeated [[NotQuiteDead (OR IS HE...?!)]]. The Time Lords saved, the random Time Lady presiding over the trial tells the Doctor that Peri survived and is living with [[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E2Mindwarp King Yrcanos]] after his rambling that she would be his queen... for [[BuxomBeautyStandard some reason]]. Mel and the Doctor leave together, presumably for him to drop her off somewhere for his future self to pick up later, so he can eventually meet her for the first time (See the Past Doctor Adventures novel ''Business Unusual''... or maybe the Big Finish Audio "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho169TheWrongDoctors The Wrong Doctors]]". Either one works.[[note]]In fact, ''The Wrong Doctors'' goes out of its way to avoid contradicting ''Business Unusual'', so both can exist side-by-side[[/note]]), and the Sixth Doctor [[TheNthDoctor goes on]] to many, many more [[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E1TimeAndTheRani adventures]], where th--

And if you ''really'' want to know what happened to the Sixth Doctor, have no fear! [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoSpecialTheLastAdventure Big Finish released an audio series in August 2015 to deal with his regeneration story.]]

* UncertainDoom: The original ending would have seen the Doctor and the Valeyard subject to this, trapped within a "time vent" within the Matrix eternally battling with each other, with it unclear whether one, the other or both would eventually prevail and escape. It was vetoed by the producer on the grounds that such a cliffhanger would likely give the BBC higher-ups a gift-wrapped excuse to cancel the show like they were clearly desperate to.

->''"In all my travels throughout the universe I have battled against evil, against power-mad conspirators. I should have stayed ''here!'' The ''oldest'' civilization: decadent, degenerate and ''rotten to the core!'' Power mad conspirators? Daleks, Sontarans, ''Cybermen'' — they're still in the nursery compared to us! Ten million years of absolute power: that's what it takes to be '''really''' corrupt!"''