| THE MARK OF THE RANI by Pip & Jane Baker |
| Story 139 Synopsis: Peri wants to see Kew Gardens, but the TARDIS arrives in Killingsworth, NE England, 1813. In the village, the Doctor is alarmed to hear of Luddite attacks on machinery, and that George Stephenson is organising a meeting of fine minds, like Brunel. But there is danger afoot. The Master is planning to usurp Stephenson's meeting, and another renegade Gallifreyan, the Rani, is in town, chemically removing a fliuid from locals which promotes sleep, which is causing the anti-machinery rioting. The Master and the Rani work together, and the Doctor teams up with Stephenson to thwart them. They are sent off in the Rani's TARDIS, and a rapidly growing dinosaur specimen, whilst Stephenson is allowed to carry on his work. The Doctor and Peri leave. |
| Review:- A flurry of debuts, with a new writing force on the one hand, and a new nemesis for the Doctor, on the other. The Rani's debut comes in for flak, owing to its slightness, history-wise, and the rather plot-heavy problem of having the Rani debut in a story which also sees the Master return. Add that to a star turn for George Stephenson, and we have a strange story that should feel like a mutant 4-parter, but instead feels like 2 very long episodes, particularly in part 2, with a quite forgettable denouement, and the fear that this feels every last second of its 45 minutes. The Doctor manages to hold his character, and outwit the angry miners, despite some predicaments that suggest the writers have a fondness for early silent films, (The Perils Of Pauline? Or am I making that up?). This culminates in the conclusion to part 1, which I distinctly recall finding odd in 1985. The Doctor hurtles along, toward what looked like an open manhole cover. In part 2, he is stopped before the boundary wall of a large precipice. Somehow. Needless to say, when I got this on video, this was one moment I wanted to try and understand, in a way my 7 year old brain had muddled. It's not that much clearer, but then again, nor is much of the story. The TARDIS gets thrown down a mineshaft (where's Skippy when you need him?) but this is not a problem, eventually. The Master and the Rani are forced to work together, and this is ultimately, their undoing. Some criticise later stories for bafflement and lack of explanations, but this one beats me. Peri gets to dress up in frumpy clothes, show off her botanical knowledge, and wander into a minefield. Possibly. This latter sees the momentous performance of a tree moving its arm. I wonder if Gardener's World got deluged with letters about it. Plus, of course, yet another scrape for the Doctor, tied between two trees in the middle of a minefield. Not as easy as pi, let's leave it at that. The Rani arguably would have been better off left alone, but it shows up how much of a villain the Master wants to be. Whereas he knows the score with the Doctor, the Rani keeps out of the way, and gets on with her experiments. A shame that a scientist villainess shouldn't produce more of a result for our scientific heroine, but you can't have everything. George Stephenson doesn't really get to do a lot, and Lord Ravensworth is as batty as Charlie Hungerford. Here, two guest stars are just members of the cast, not overacting luvvies. Which is something. It could have been oh so much better. |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and read the book. |