Time and the Rani

"Creation is chaotic. I shall introduce order."

Writers: Pip & Jane Baker
Format: TV
Broadcast: 7-28 September 1987
Season: 24.01

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Mel

Synopsis

The Rani has returned after her last encounter with the Doctor, with yet another malicious scientific scheme.

Taking advantage of the post-regenerative trauma the recently regenerated and unstable Doctor is going through, the Rani hopes to achieve control of an approaching asteroid composed entirely of strange matter.

Can the Doctor figure out he is being used for the Rani's evil experiment, and what is behind the door the Rani won't allow the Doctor past?

Verdict

Time and the Rani was not the best way to debut Sylvester McCoy, it has to be said. It's a shame because this serial really should be so much more. It's got a regeneration, a brand new Doctor to kick off the series and the return of the Rani. Instead, it ends up being one of the worst that Doctor Who has ever produced. My rating may not indicate that, but for me to give just a five speaks volumes because I'm a somewhat generous rater. But this just wasn't good. Obviously, the circumstances surrounding the regeneration of the Sixth Doctor are far from ideal with Colin Baker being fired from his role and rejecting a regeneration story, which is understandable. So we start with the TARDIS being attacked mid-flight and with the regeneration occurring before the new opening titles even hit. And it means nothing. Literally nothing. It's not even like he's really suffering from post-regeneration effects because the Rani injects him with something that will make sure he has amnesia! I fully accept that the circumstances were difficult, but this was an incredibly weak end to a fantastic incarnation of the Doctor. Now, the debut for Sylvester McCoy wasn't all that much better. He plays the delirious Doctor pretty well but then we have him falling around and asking Mel, or at least who he genuinely believed to be Mel, to mop his brow? Ludicrous stuff, even soon after regeneration. One thing I would like explained is just why the TARDIS attack was fatal for the Doctor whilst Mel was absolutely fine? That really needed more attention in my opinion. The return of the Rani is nowhere near as impactful as it should be and I find it ridiculous that she can just walk into the TARDIS. That doesn't make much sense at all. I will give credit where it's due with the opening sequence though and that lies with the impressive special effects. Kate O'Mara surprisingly given the task plays the role of Mel rather well, but the whole idea of her impersonating the Doctor's companion is terrible. Just how would she have matching clothes? And what's it really trying to achieve? It's not good. The Doctor going through the TARDIS wardrobe and some old clothes was a nice moment of nostalgia. The cliffhanger to part one was excellent with Mel trapped in the bubble with all signs indicating she would become nothing more than a skeleton, but then things just stopped in part two and she was let out? Talk about anticlimactic. Mel was pretty annoying in this adventure which is unquestionably her worst outing as companion. I was begging for her to shut up with that endless, repetitive and unnecessary screaming. What a screech. The moment the Doctor and the real Mel finally meet is just weird and I find it strange that Mel would know all about regeneration 'of course', and then find it so unbelievable that the Doctor had actually changed. Ugh, there was so much wrong. The concept of strange matter was interesting and I liked the Rani's plan of collecting geniuses to enable its asteroid to collide with the rocket she was setting off to create a supernova enabling her to turn Lakertya into a time manipulator. It was a pretty convoluted plan but I did like it. It probably just got revealed much too late which was a shame. The Tetraps were not very good at all to be honest and I really didn't like them throughout. The ending with the Rani as well after she escaped in her TARDIS just didn't seem the right way to go. The Lakertyans weren't much better either to be honest, but the costume design wasn't horrific! The moment the Doctor trapped the Rani within his own designated pod was pretty anticlimactic as she didn't exactly put up much of a fight. Finding out that the Rani wanted to take Earth back to the Cretaceous Age was intriguing though and it was also nice to touch upon some of the Doctor's university age. The ending with the delayed countdown wasn't thrilling and the story as a whole had its moments, but it just wasn't that good. Overall, not a great beginning to the Seventh Doctor's reign.

Rating: 5/10