"In all my travelling throughout the universe I have battled against evil, against power mad conspirators. I should have stayed here. The oldest civilisation: 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."
Episode 146: The Ultimate Foe.
Companions: 6th Doctor and Mel.
Air Date: 29th November to 6th December 1986.
With the evidence complete, the Doctor learns that the Master has gained illicit access to the Matrix in his TARDIS. Glitz is now revealed to be the Master's associate and the 'secrets' to be information stolen from the Matrix. The Valeyard admits his identity as a distillation of the dark side of the Doctor's nature, somewhere between his twelfth and thirteenth incarnations, out to take control over his remaining lives. With the help of Mel, who along with Glitz has been brought to the space station by the Master, the Doctor defeats his future self - although, as they leave in the TARDIS with all charges in the trial having been dropped, it appears that the Valeyard has taken over the body of the Keeper of the Matrix and may not have been as completely vanquished as they had thought.
The Trial of a Time Lord season comes to an end with a rather disappointing two part story in which it is revealed who the Valeyard really is (see above). It then ends up being a repeat of The Deadly Assassin with the Doctor with Glitz in tow, entering the Matrix where he is at the mercy of what the Valeyard can throw at him. It then ends with the Doctor forgiven, though how you can try someone for the same crime twice (see The War Games) is beyond me. But as everyone goes home it is revealed that the Valeyard is still very much alive.
The addition of the Master into this story is pointless. He doesn't do anything and seems to be just there to gloat, and show off how clever he is. It smacks of lazy writing to me. Had the Master been to the one behind it all, having created the Valeyard in an attempt to kill the Doctor from behind the scenes, I think this story might have been better.
I really hoped that in the right spot in the new show that they might show the Valeyard or at least hint at his creation but they never do and the character has never reappeared in canonical Who.
One last thing, we do at least discover that Peri is very much alive, and living as a warrior queen with King Yrcanos. Why the Doctor doesn't go back for her we never learn.
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