(657) Time and the Rani - Part 4

It’s a welcome relief that this is the final episode of the story. Despite this being the final episode, there isn’t the sense of it being the big ending and that is due to the writing really but that isn’t the fault of Pip and Jane Baker but unfortunately its their names on the credits.

The Tetrap’s design is still something that I find impressive. This is the episode where they start to turn against the Rani. This leads to a rather amusing scene at the end where they have the Rani tied up in her TARDIS. It does seem odd that they haven’t made an appearance in a Big Finish story because I think that there is something good about them.

The Doctor is using his mixed sayings to annoy the Rani and so doesn’t spend too long in the cubicle.  I think that Sylvester McCoy plays the Doctor in the way that perhaps the way that the Doctor should be straight after the regeneration and the only thing that stops me from writing of Sylvester McCoy is that I know how good he becomes in future series. Bonnie Langford was rather disappointing in this story because I am struggling to think of what she did that was noteworthy. After the good start that had in the previous series, it is somewhat disappointing that she was reduced to pretty much supporting status.

The Rani finally reveals that she want to put right what went wrong with civilisations which doesn’t seem the sort of thing that the Rani had a better plan in her previous story. I think that this wasn’t the best story for Kate O’Mara but she still manages to give an entertaining performance. There aren’t many people in television that would shun sunny Hollywood and want to spend time in a wet grey quarry in Britain.

Despite all the problems with this story there are some positives. Firstly there is the music. Keff MucCulloch’s incidental music is rather good in this episode and even though its very much of the period, it still seems a lot more modern than the music that had been used the previous series.  Another thing that worked quite well were the models. The models used towards the end of the episode are rather good but I wish that there were more in this story.

The scene where the Doctor is in the TARDIS is one which is unusual because I cant recall many scenes that Sylvester McCoy would have in that set. It’s an odd thing to point out but McCoy’s Doctor is the one spends more time out of the TARDIS than in it.

It’s fair to say that this isn’t the greatest Doctor Who story that there has ever been and I wish I could write that this was the only blip in the season but things are about to get worst. There is always the possibility that now the opening story is over and done with that things can start to settle down but at the moment I don’t think so.

(656) Time and the Rani - Part 3

The first few seconds of the theme tune always get me excited but then I remember that I am watching Time and the Rani and that excitement goes away a bit. Admittedly the problems that there were in the previous episodes weren’t as evident in this episode but the problem that is now on screen is that I just find myself bored with what is on screen which is surprising when you consider that the Rani’s plan is starting to take shape. Kate O’Mara does do a good job in still performing in a rather underwhelming character. The Doctor is more active in this episode and seems more like the Doctor that McCoy would play. It’s a rather comforting performance from McCoy and even though the Doctor is easily fooled with a fake Mel.

One of the few successes involve the Tetraps. I thought that the idea that they are quite vocal which isn’t something that I would expect from a monster in this situation. Normally they would have grunted or stayed silent. I also like that the eyes moved around and one had an extended tounge as this has to be one of the best created monsters for quite some time.

A new set is used in this story. Centre of Leisure is where the Lakertyans relax but it seems to be not the nicest place to be. This is made evident when the Rani unleashes a weapon which kills several. After being somewhat impressed with the sets and the use of the quarry I was quite disappointed with this centre set because it just rather lame and it doesn’t look like much thought went into it.

We finally get to see what was behind the door seen I the previous episodes and it is a giant brain. I don’t know whether many people were disappointed with this or not but it makes sense because it would have to be something unusual for the Rani. This is why I think that the Rani is in some ways better than the Master because the Rani has a specific purpose which seems throughout whereas the Master’s plans tend to be not as well thought out and usually designed to destroy the Doctor.

The episode ends with the Doctor’s brain about to be used to help the giant brain and that is about it. To be honest it’s a case of one step forward and two steps back because the fact that there wasn’t much to like about this episode. This was the second episode in a row that scored in the low 7’s but as a story its still in the 6’s. Now its 6.99 as opposed to the 6.90 at the beginning of this story. At the moment it’s the lowest scoring of the opening Doctor stories which doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

(655) Time and the Rani - Part 2

The thing I didn’t mention in yesterday’s review was that the show had been moved from its traditional Saturday night slot again and placed on Mondays against the little watched show Coronation Street. Sorry, when I said little watched I meant to say ratings juggernaut. If you wanted to bury a show, this was the best way of doing it. It was nice also in the previous episode that didn’t have a close up of the Doctor’s face and so the reprise started off in a better way than usual.

Sadly the problems that appeared in the first episode continue in this episode. Ultimately the problem is that the Lakertyans aren’t particularly interesting and so I find myself wondering why I should care about their current predicament. Despite Wanda Ventham (Image of the Fendahl and Benedict Cumberbatch’s mom) and Donald Pickering (The Faceless Ones), best efforts the character are hampered by their rather silly movements and also the fact that the Lakertyans don’t seem to have a backbone and just seemed to crumble at the power (or perceived power) of the Rani.

All the time that Kate O’Mara and Sylvester McCoy were on screen, I was interested in the story but whenever they weren’t on screen then I found myself just watching all the problems with the serial. Mel finally gets to interact with Sylvester McCoy and the Doctor thinks that Mel is the Rani. Their first interaction is a mixture of comedy and frustration. Mel also thinks that the Doctor isn’t the Doctor because she didn’t see the regeneration. Once they realise that both of them are who they say they are it leads to a lovely bonding moment.

The Rani’s attempt at being Mel thankfully comes to an end in this episode because once the Doctor twigs what is going on the ruse is ended. It must have been slightly frustrating for Kate O’Mara. She went from being the quite interesting character in The Mark of the Rani to having to be Bonnie Langford. Despite having to dress like Mel, Kate O’Mara does her best but its not the best use of the character.

The cliffhanger does feel a bit silly because whilst in terms of drama it works quite well, he basically puts himself by going into the situation. It has been a much better episode than the first one but that isn’t much of a compliment due to that episode being rather poor. I have rated this episode 7.07 which as an average still has this story in the 6’s which at the moment places it 11^th from bottom (137^th place). I feel more confident about this story improving in the final two episodes than in the previous episode. It’s not a perfect story by any means and its current placing is deserved but I can’t help think that the transition period had been better handled that this story (and series) would have worked out differently.

(654) Time and the Rani - Part 1

Ok so I enter the final stage of the original run of Doctor Who. This has come really fast because at the beginning of the year I was halfway through the Peter Davison era. It’s weird to think how much the show has changed in that short amount of time. During the 1970’s we only had one regeneration and during the 80’s we have now had three. So with Colin Baker having being sacked by JNT Michael Grade, the search was on for a new Doctor and JNT chose Sylvester McCoy. Unfortunately McCoy’s time doesn’t get off to the best of starts because Colin Baker refused to film a regeneration scene which is fair enough but it means that the ‘regeneration’ scene is one of the worst.

The way that Andrew Morgan managed to avoid showing us Colin Baker’s face is well done right up until the point where we see Sylvester McCoy in a blond wig. I suppose some credit should go towards production team for at least giving it a go. When McCoy has his first speech it starts off ok but I think the buffoonery to be rather ill-judged. Bonnie Langford is also badly served in this episode as she basically spends the entire episode either tied up or running everywhere.

We get new a new title sequence in this episode which is really good and is a breath of fresh air after six years of the same star filled one. One of the many problems with this serial is the preposterous idea that the Rani decides to pretend to be Mel to try and fool the Doctor. The purpose of this is that the Rani needs the Doctor’s help but thing is that it requires Kate O’Mara to dress, talk and act like Bonnie Langford which is a huge stretch of believability. The only good moment came when the Rani tries to convince the Doctor that Mel is dressed the same as her.

There are things that worked quite well in this episode. The bubble that is created whenever people trip an explosion is rather well done and one of the few effects that work well in this episode. Another good thing are the Tetraps which look good as a design and also serve a purpose in serving the Rani. The idea that Rani needs the Doctors help is something that works on a narrative level but I  don’t think that this was given enough screen time which is a shame.

The traditional trying of new costumes for the Doctor is something that seems to be as humorous as when Tom Baker costume change in Robot. We saw the costumes from Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee, Peter Davison and Patrick Troughton’s coat before we get the costume that McCoy wears. I think that it’s a much better outfit than the one Colin Baker wore and the only thing I would change is the question mark jumper. His performance is perfectly fine given that the material he is given isn’t the strongest. It’s never a wise thing to judge a new Doctor on their first story because it is usually the weakest of their stories.

There are very few positives to take from this episode and I have rated this episode 6.90 which is the first time that I have rated an episode in the sixes since episode three of The Horns of Nimon. I should say that I don’t think that the flaws with this story have anything to do with Pip and Jane Baker or Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford. I think that circumstances behind the scenes meant that this story had zero chance of being anything other than poor. I do hope that the next three episodes will improve because things cant get any worse.

I am going to end on a stat by saying that this is the 129^th episode to be produced by John Nathan Turner and now overtakes Barry Letts as the longest serving producer in Doctor Who history.

(632) The Mark of the Rani - Part 2

The cliffhanger works just as well as in this episode but something is slightly different and that is a shot of a man who is later identified as George Stevenson. It is a bit of a cheat really but it’s an interesting way of introducing a character like Stevenson. Sadly I think that Stevenson is rather under used in this episode. It does raise a question as to why he was even introduced into the story. You could easily have just mentioned his name and he would have been more involved in the story than he was. There was one fun scene when the Doctor gets very wrapped up in helping Stevenson with his design. Whilst Stevenson is pretty much underused, the same can’t be said for Luke. Gary Cady plays Stevenson’s assistant Luke. He gets put under the control of the Master but unfortunately it’s difficult to tell the difference because Cady doesn’t really show much emotion.

The whole idea about the Rani have a Turner painting hiding her TARDIS is quite a clever idea and it is something that featured in the previous episode but it seems to be more important in this one. The first thing that strikes me when we see inside the Rani’s TARDIS is that she has a better designed TARDIS than the Doctor. I just want the Doctor to travel in this TARDIS from now on

There is an interesting bit where Peri is point the Masters tissue thing and it’s clear that things are going to go wrong because its Peri. She is quickly outwitted by the Rani which isn’t too difficult but its worth it just to see Kate O’Mara act like an evil genius. The partnership of the Master and the Rani is rather interesting as they do seem to be almost on the same page. The Rani introduces some interesting bomb things which turn people into intriguing things. Luke gets turned into a tree although the performance is the same. The Rani’s reaction to Luke being a tree is funny because she reminds the Doctor that a tree has four times the life expectancy than a human so he is actually better off as he is now.

There doesn’t actually seem to be a moment which is where the Doctor is victorious. The closest that we get is when the Rani and the Master escape in her TARDIS and things go wrong. Things are worse than that actually as a dinosaur starts to grow and unfortunately its not the best model of a dinosaur that there has ever been. This story has been just as much fun as I had thought. The location filming has been one of the main reasons why this story seemed to work. The introduction of the Rani was well done and I liked the trio of Timelords battling it out on earth. I thought that Sarah Hellings, Pip and Jane Baker have done quite well with this adventure. The performances have been really very good and apart from the character of Luke, they all seemed to be relevant to the story. The next story is going to be interesting because some familiar faces make a return. I am starting to think that this season is one of the strongest seasons of Doctor Who for quite sometime.

(631) The Mark of the Rani - Part 1

If this story goes the way that I hope it does, then it will be the best start to a season for many years. After the rather violent previous story, it’s a bit of a relief that we have a less violent story. This was the first story to be written by the husband and wife team of Pip and Jane Baker. Jane becomes the third credited woman to write for Doctor Who. Sarah Hellings becomes only the fifth woman to have directed the show. So far women have accounted for 5.1% of writers and 9.4% of directors.

This is one of those stories where I am going to bang on about the location filming but its hard not to when it looks as good as it does. I don’t live too far away from the Black Country Living Museum which is very similar to where this story was filmed. I wish that this story had been longer because its beautiful to look at. Every scene that is filmed outside looks perfect and Sarah Hellings makes really good use of every single opportunity.

This story sees the first appearance of the recently lost Kate O’Mara who plays the Rani. We don’t see much of her at first but on her second appearance she features more on screen. She wants to do her dastardly plans for scientific research whereas the Master just wants to destroy the Doctor. That is why the Rani could make a claim as being better than the Master. She is removing a chemical from people’s brains which takes away their ability to sleep. A group of miners are knocked out by the Rani’s gas and then become very aggressive and sort of become the lackeys for the Rani and the Master. The Master makes his first appearance since Planet of Fire (1984). It’s clear that his demise was short lived but it would have been interesting to have a bit of information given as to how he survived. His ‘first’ appearance comes when it’s implied that a scarecrow may be him. He doesn’t waste much time in trying to cause trouble. The aggressive trio are easily brainwashed into believing the Doctor is the one causing trouble.

“Devious and over complicated” is how the Rani describes the Master and that is pretty much how I would describe the Master. I like how the Rani and the Master don’t get along at all. Kate O’Mara is very good as the Rani and brings a freshness to this timelord fairground ride that exists between the Doctor and the Master. It’s always nice to see Anthony Ainley back and for once it does seem to be for a good reason. Ainley also seems to be enjoying what he’s doing and is more involved in the action than he was in his previous story.

The first scene between the Doctor and the Rani leads to the Doctor figuring out what’s going on within minutes. This is perhaps the only thing that really doesn’t quite work for me but I suppose I can forgive it for how the rest of the episode works out. If I was being ultra-harsh then I could pick up on the moment when the TARDIS is thrown down a mineshaft which the viewers know won’t affect that the TARDIS and the Master should know this.

The cliffhanger sees the Doctor strapped to a gurney accidentally pushed down a hill by Peri and then by the aggressive luddites. This is quite a good cliffhanger because there is no clear way of how the Doctor is going to get out of this situation. This has been a curious episode because it seems that it took a long time before things started to find its feet. The latter part of the episode (or second part in old money) was the stronger part but I still thought that there were things that worked well in the first part that made the whole thing work.