Doctor Who
The Trial of a Time Lord, Part One (The Mysterious Planet)
TV Flash files “The Trial of a Time Lord, Part One (The Mysterious Planet)” as the first listed hour of season 23 — Doctor Who (1963–) on BBC, season 23, episode 1, aired 1986-09-06, 25 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S23E01: listed hour 645 of 700 in the Doctor Who guide, first listed hour of season 23. It aired 1986-09-06 (25 min). The listed hour before it is “Revelation of the Daleks, Part Two” (S22E13). Next is “The Trial of a Time Lord, Part Two (The Mysterious Planet)” (S23E02). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The Doctor is taken to a Time Lord space Station and put on trial for his life. The Valeyard uses past examples of the Doctors activities taken from 'The Matrix', the repository of all Gallifreyan knowledge to show how the Doctor has interfered with other worlds. In this installment of the Trial story Arc, The Doctor's visit to the planet Ravalox is told and how he interfered with the indigenous population of that world when he saved it from a devastating explosion.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Trial of a Time Lord, Part One (The Mysterious Planet) sit in the Doctor Who guide?
S23E01 is listed hour 645 of 700 — first listed hour of season 23, season 23 episode 1.
When did Doctor Who S23E01 air?
The Trial of a Time Lord, Part One (The Mysterious Planet) aired 1986-09-06 and is listed at 25 minutes.
Where should I start with the 1960s serials?
William Hartnell's First Doctor is the origin of the TARDIS-and-companions contract. Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor is the proof that regeneration works. Start at a serial whose surviving episodes interest you; missing-episode gaps are part of the classic-era weather.
In the series
Why this series still plays
A Time Lord, a police box bigger on the inside, and regeneration as infinite franchise life: Doctor Who launched from the BBC in 1963 and never really parked. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; Hartnell-to-Troughton proved the lead could change without ending the show. The longest experiment in serialized reinvention — woolly, weird, endlessly renewable.
November 23, 1963, is a drop that never really parked. BBC's *Doctor Who* launched a Time Lord and a blue police box bigger on the inside, then treated the lead as renewable inventory. **Regeneration is the window.** Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber, and Donald Wilson were among the early architects. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; companions, sonic screwdrivers, and cliffhangers became ritual. Rex wants woolly national inheritance. Fine. The business model is recasting without ending the show.
Filed against
- William Hartnell as The First Doctor
William Hartnell’s First Doctor launched Doctor Who from the BBC in 1963 — a Time Lord, a police box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite franchise life. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; Hartnell-to-Troughton…
- Patrick Troughton as The Second Doctor
Patrick Troughton played the Second Doctor on Doctor Who, the 1960s BBC proof that a Time Lord could change faces without ending the franchise. Police box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite life, early black-and-white serials…
- Jon Pertwee as The Third Doctor
Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor kept Doctor Who’s police box moving — a Time Lord, a box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite franchise life. BBC serials launched in 1963 and never really parked; Hartnell-to-Troughton proved the lead…
Also in season 23
- S23E02 The Trial of a Time Lord, Part Two (The Mysterious Planet)
- S23E03 The Trial of a Time Lord, Part Three (The Mysterious Planet)
- S23E04 The Trial of a Time Lord, Part Four (The Mysterious Planet)
- S23E05 The Trial of a Time Lord, Part Five (Mindwarp)
- S23E06 The Trial of a Time Lord, Part Six (Mindwarp)
- S23E07 The Trial of a Time Lord, Part Seven (Mindwarp)