With his first story, The Twin Dilemma, Colin Baker burst onto the screen in a splash of colour. The Sixth Doctor's costume can only be described as bad taste - with his multi-coloured patchwork frock coat, yellow striped trousers, clashing waistcoat and green spats. Pompous and arrogant and full of terrible jokes, this was a Doctor who was never less than sure of himself in any situation.

This era of the show was to prove the most controversial in its history, with fears about the rising violence levels and Michael Grade's infamous decision to 'rest' the show for eighteen months. Colin Baker was also to prove the shortest-lived incarnation of the Time Lord, serving only two complete seasons before Mr Grade decided not to renew his contract.

Among the more inventive monsters of this era was Sil, a slug-like creature encountered twice by the Sixth Doctor, while other old enemies such as the Sontarans made long-overdue reappearances. The second of Colin Baker's two seasons, Season 23 was another season-long linked story - The Trial of a Time Lord - which saw the Doctor once more put on trial for his life by elements within his own Time Lord people who wanted him dead.

With the very future of Doctor Who as an ongoing TV series in the balance, the production team decided to bring the show back from its eighteen month postponement with another umbrella season of interlinking stories. The show was returned to its traditional 25 minute slot but was only allocated a run of fourteen episodes, making it the shortest ever season of the show. Under the overall title of The Trial of a Time Lord, the four linking stories saw the Doctor being placed on trial by the Time Lords and presented with evidence of his crimes in the form of recent adventures, which saw the introduction of Bonnie Langford as new companion, Mel. However, with the show itself also on trial, the production was hit by several problems with the Script Editor walking out and the death of stalwart writer, Robert Holmes, just before completion of the final episode. Following the disastrous Roland Rat Show in the schedules, the show fared badly in the ratings and Michael Grade felt that the series was still off course, deciding not to renew Colin Baker's contract after the final story.

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