The Trial Of A Time Lord (1986) Defence

This sequence. The defence rests.

As before, we shall begin by analysing the Doctor's own defence, which rather unfairly consists of one underwhelming segment: Terror Of The Vervoids. I'm sad to say that considering the long and benevolent life of the Doctor, his defence of "they asked me to help so it totally wasn't interference" was pretty weak. No mention of all those years with UNIT? Stopping Sutekh?

But anyway, let's talk about the good things now: for one, The Trial Of A Time Lord has kept me hooked throughout like no season before thanks to the constant reminders that there's a bigger story arc spanning through the otherwise unrelated adventures. It kept me invested and eager to see the inevitable confrontation between the Doctor and the Valeyard(so perfectly played by the charismatic, icy cold Michael Jayston), which was as satisfying as I could have hoped for. I also really liked Lynda Bellingham's Inquisitor, whose impartiality made for a nice balance between the other two.

The Mysterious Planet was a charming, inoffensive little adventure, and exactly what the show needed after the turbulence of season 22. The whole "slowly unpeeling the character" gimmick was abruptly dropped and Colin's Doctor is now warm, cheeky and likably pompous(poor Peter Capaldi... he could've used a Mysterious Planet). Likewise, Peri, now dressed in clothes a human would actually wear, is sarcastic and comfortable, not on a constant verge of nervous breakdown. It's such a lovely change.
Holmes populates his story with plenty of amusing characters, most notably the mercenaries Sabalom Glitz(what a badass name) and his lackey Dibber, and Drathro's servants Humker and Tandrell(who I swear were Adric parodies). So there's plenty of laughs to be had.

Mindwarp, to start off with, presents us with an utterly alien-looking planet. How lovely to see something beautiful and creative like that instead of all the New Earth stuff we get nowadays. We soon discover this world is Thoros Beta, home of the delightful Sil from Vengeance On Varos(a most welcome return).  Unlike that story, Mindwarp is mostly B-movie fun, with brain transplants, more 'mega-wealth' comedy with Sil, a deadpan surgeon who drinks tea before giving CPR and the incomparable Brian Blessed consuming the scenery like the Tyrannosaurus Rex of overactors(surprisingly, he does have a softer side, which Peri brings out).
The final twist sees Nicola Bryant and Colin Baker give easily their best acting in the series as Lord Kiv and a shell-shocked Doctor, respectively. As such, it's a more than memorable outing.
Oh, by the way, I don't mind the Peri retcon at all. I think Blessed and Bryant were pretty cute together, and considering that the Doctor was lied to and it wasn't some last minute deus ex machina, the scene of him thinking Peri is dead still works well enough. Besides, she must've been pretty miserable for a while after being abandoned.

Terror Of The Vervoids is a well put together Agatha Christie homage with plenty of Doctor Who flavouring(mostly in the Vervoids). It's extremely campy and 80s at times, so if you're into that, you'll love it. It's also our rather unusual introduction to Bonnie Langford's perky Melanie, who makes up for her lack of acting skills with enthusiasm and a wide smile.
Vervoids is as classic Who as you can get, which is good for a Doctor with such an eclectic list of stories.

And finally, we close out with The Ultimate Foe, where Michael Jayston can finally do more than just spit at the Doctor, and is given a brilliant backstory. The scene between him and the Doctor on the beach, with his surreal teleporting about has to be a series highlight. I also love Holmes' traditional satire with Mr. Popplewick(the man really was a comic genius, and is sorely missed), and the return of the wonderful Anthony Ainley as the jealous Master(hell yeah!), who wants his opponent all to himself.

Thus, I conclude that
1) All four segments of The Trial Of A Time Lord are fairly strong. Okay, I'm not a huge fan of Vervoids, but it's solid.
2) The Valeyard is an amazing villain, and his interactions with the Doctor(and even the Master at one point) are great.
3) The new recurring characters, Sabalom Glitz and Mel, are both lovely additions to the series.

Click here for the Accusation.
Click here for the Prosecution.
Click here for the Final Verdict.