Time and the Rani

"How do you know what I'm like? I've regenerated."

Writers: Pip & Jane Baker

Format: Novel

Released: May 1988

Series: Target 127

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Mel

Synopsis 

Assailed by violent bolts of multi-coloured energy, the TARDIS is blasted off-course and forced to land on the barren planet of Lakertya. The turbulence brings about the Doctor's sixth regeneration. But that is the least of his worries. He has been hijacked by that ruthless renegade Time Lady, the Rani.

Why has the Rani brought the Doctor to Lakertya? What are the hideouts Tetrap guards? Who are the eleven geniuses she has imprisoned in her stronghold? What is the vital significance of the asteroid of Strange Matter? And can the Doctor stop the Rani's diabolical scheme before it affects the whole of creation throughout time and space?

Verdict 

Time and the Rani was a pretty good novelisation of the television story of the same name but I did think it could have been better. I must say that reading this book has really made me want to watch the TV serial again but not for the right reasons. I've only seen it once before and I very much enjoyed it as I gave it a rating of two points higher than I awarded to this novel and although it's not the first time this year that scores have deviated by more than one point, I felt I was being generous in rating it as high as I did. It started off on the right track with an interesting cameo from the Sixth Doctor prior to the regeneration but I was pretty disappointed that the sequence of change wasn't really depicted. His body was just turned over and the description of his change was that the clothes were now too big for him. The Seventh Doctor had clearly arrived but I felt we needed a better take on the actual regeneration. I still fail to buy into the fact that the TARDIS  crashing would cause the Doctor to regenerate but leave Mel pretty much unscathed. Turbulence in the TARDIS is not exactly a new thing so that being used to kill off the Sixth Doctor was bitterly disappointing. I understand the situation was difficult but I thought this novelisation could have done a better job. I'm not sure whether it was the format but the Doctor and the Rani seemed to have the same conversation about five times regarding his memory loss. Rani dressing up as Mel didn't seem so brilliantly ridiculous in the book which wasn't a bad thing but it was obvious from the dialogue that she wasn't the Doctor's faithful companion. I liked that the Doctor knew something had been done to him and his muddled situation was not solely down to the effects of regeneration. The Rani needed the Doctor for her latest crazy experiment and it was pretty outrageous I must say. She was using twelve geniuses, including the Doctor, to create herself a Time Manipulator at the hands of an asteroid of Strange Matter and a very particular countdown. The timing had to be right and with her plans to foil the Doctor failing, she was up against the clock and ultimately failed. I did like the explanation of her survival following the ending of The Mark of the Rani and the sight of a dead T-Rex in a TARDIS must have been something. It would also confirm to us that the Master was also on the run. There were many aspects of this story that I liked and one was the grand scale of the Rani's experiment, but I did also enjoy Beyus and Ikona. They were excellent characters with the latter constantly facing dilemmas over the survival of his race. The Rani was pretty dominant on Lakertya which was good to see as it gave her more credibility as a match for the Doctor. The talk of their university days together was intriguing and I also liked how it was claimed they were the same age, but in very different incarnations. The Rani has obviously taken a lot less risks in her lifetime compared to the Doctor! I liked how Mel was isolated for much of the story but the moment she met he regenerated Doctor for the first time was probably my favourite part of the book. They both quizzed each other very well and even checked pulses. Mel referencing The Trial of a Time Lord as knowing about regeneration due to the Valeyard was excellent. The ending was actually very good and I liked the climatic edge it had but the book as a whole just seemed a little lacking. Chapters were too short, there was needless explanation on times and although I enjoyed the plot, there was a bit of a repetitive nature. Overall, pretty good but room for improvement.

Rating: 7/10