First broadcast 13 September 1986.

As the Doctor (Colin Baker) continues to be put on trial, his adventure on Ravalox with Peri (Nicola Bryant) is presented as evidence against him. While the Doctor meets the despotic robot Drathro (Roger Brierley), Peri is taken captive by the warriors of the free.

As noted in my review of Part 1 of this serial, it continues to express solid science fiction ideas in the script that are then obfuscated by the unnecessary and intrusive trial framework around it. Scenes from the Doctor’s trial were already feeling tiresome by the end of the first half-hour. They grate even more the second time.

It is a genuine shame, because guest stars Michael Jayston (the Valeyard) and Lynda Bellingham (the Inquisitor) are both excellent actors, and could have managed to do much more interesting work with proper roles in a proper story. Over in the Ravalox portion of the story there are several more talented actors able to do better work with more interesting characters. Tony Selby and Glen Murphy deliver a nice double act as intergalactic thugs Glitz and Dibber, while Tom Chadbon and Adam Blackwood are solid as underground survivors Merdeen and Balazar.

The episode features an attention-grabbing guest star in Joan Sims, best known for a string of comedic Carry On films. While she plays her role straight here, it must be said that she does not play it particularly well.

Design-wise, Drathro is – as is often the case in 20th century Doctor Who – a triumph of concept and a struggle in execution. Effort has definitely been made to render the character as inhuman while stile housing a human operator on set. In practice he simply feels rather top-heavy and unstable. The other robot of the serial, a non-sentient service robot, is more effectively realised.

It is a shame that so much time is lost to the trial, because one thing the episode could benefit from is more of it to flesh out Ravalox’s two parallel communities. Of the two, the underground colony is better represented, but both suffer from a simple lack of people. It is hard to sell the idea of several hundred people when working with a half-dozen extras.