| “ | There is some evil in all of us, Doctor – even you. The Valeyard is an amalgamation of the darker sides of your nature, somewhere between your twelfth and final incarnation, and I may say you do not improve with age. | „ |
| ~ The Master to the Sixth Doctor about the Valeyard. |
The Valeyard is the main antagonist of The Sixth Doctor's tenure in the Classic BBC sci fi franchise Doctor Who.
He appears as the main antagonist in Season 23 of the original series, otherwise referred to as the fourteen-part serial "The Trial of a Time Lord" and also in the Big Finish audio dramas "Trial of The Valeryard" and "The Last Adventure".
He is a lawyer on Gallifrey and a dark version of the Doctor himself from the future. The title of Valeyard is Gallifreyan in origin according to the Doctor, and means "learned court prosecutor". He is one of the Sixth Doctor's two archenemies (alongside The Rani) due to being his most active and personal enemy.
He was portrayed and voiced by Michael Jayston.
Biography
Possible Origins
The Valeyard's precise origins are unclear, with several explanations given in different media. In The Ultimate Foe, the Master described him as "an amalganation" of the Doctor's dark side, taken from between his twelfth and final incarnation.
The Valeyard claimed in Trial of the Valeyard that he was created on a mud planet orbiting the gas giant Etarho by the Thirteenth and final Doctor as a way of extending his life beyond the regeneration limit. At the age of 20, he was found by a group of scavengers, who gave him food to eat and, sent him to Gallifrey. The Time Lords found his biodata was a exact match for the Doctor, and deeming him an "anomaly" sent him to a Shadow House, where Time Lords whose regenerations went wrong were confined. In the Shadow House, the Valeyard met a Time Lord who had encountered the Doctor, and been trapped in a paradoxial regeneration. The man told the Valeyard to study the science of regeneration, in order to gain revenge on the Time Lords for what they had done to every member of the Shadow House. How much of this was true was left ambiguous.
It was possible that the Valeyard was instead created by the Time Lords themselves as a weapon, which was described in Doctor Who expanded media.
Trial of a Time Lord
As the Valeyard does not have any regenerations left, he wants to get the Doctor accused in a trial for the death penalty as such he makes a deal with the Time Lords and convinces them into allowing The Doctor to be held up for the trial.
In order to seem convincing, The Valeyard brings several pieces of fabricated evidence to the trial including a staged death of the Doctor's best friend and companion at the time Peri, several crimes "The Doctor" had committed on other planets among various other things, such as the genocide of the artificial species the Vervoids.
The Valeyard almost succeeds, however The Master appears in the trial to point out that the Valeyard is actually the Doctor himself, much to the entire courtroom's shock. In a panic the Valeyard flees into the Time Lord Matrix where the Doctor pursues him.
In the end, the Doctor avoided the death sentence, but also the Valeyard is able to escape. He is never seen again in the TV series, although appears in some of the expanded media where he is finally defeated by the Doctor.
Personality
The Valeyard is the embodiment of all dark sides of the Doctor and was born sometime between The Doctor's twelfth and final incarnations. The Valeyard is one of the few villains who can match the Doctor's intelligence, although is far more manipulative and lacking any of the Doctor`s previous morality. His urge to prevent his own death at any possible cost is very similar to the motives of the Master.
Trivia
- In the fifth season of the series' revival there has been another villain who is a mix of the darkest sides of the Doctor: The Dream Lord.
- Alongside Sharaz Jek, The Master, The Rani, the Dream Lord, and Davros, the Valeyard is one of the few villains to match The Doctor in intelligence.
