The Council of Nicaea

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Three's A Crowd

While the stories of this run as a whole have been mixed, the historicals have not. Each historical so far has been excellent and this is no exception, in fact, it's probably the best. This kind of story has been done before, with a companion wanting to change history and the Doctor forbidding it but for some reason it feels different with Erimem. Perhaps it's because this history is in her future or perhaps it's down to Caroline Morris's incredible performance. Either way, it makes this story feel truly exceptional.

It's a gripping tale about politics intertwining with religion and a great character piece for Erimem. THIS is how you do character development, not throwing random traumatic experiences at a character until one sticks. The Doctor is very interestingly explored here with his tendency towards non-interference. Obviously this goes against Erimem's core beliefs and it sets up a very unique story where the companion is working against the Doctor and vice versa. Peter Davison is fantastic here.

Nicola Bryant as Peri is also really great, her friendship with Erimem is really tested and she's tricked into betraying her which leads to an equally outstanding performace. I have to praise David Bamber as the Emperor, his voice commands authority and he doesn't devolve into a caricature of an Emperor who always locks people up or executes them.

The actual plot itself is so simple and yet so magnificent, you're left on the edge of your seat the whole time as various conspiracies unfold and revolts begin. It's all tied up really satisfyingly aswell and I'm excited to see where the character of Erimem goes from now on.  Overall, it's probably my favourite pure historical since The Romans and a great outing for everyone involved.

Next Story: The Kingmaker