The Mark of the Rani is the second story from Colin Baker’s first series. This 45 minute format seems normal these days but back in 1985 it must have seemed quite strange. The advantage to a 45 minute story compared to 25 is that you can structure it better and it gives the writer a better chance to tell a good story. In this story we don’t just get one Timelord but three. This story sees the return of the Master which is quite special as he was seen to burn to death in Planet of Fire. But there is the debut of the Rani. The Rani is a renegade Timelord like the Master who has been banished from Gallifrey for her experiments which is something that is bugging the Rani. What is the Mark of the Rani? Well it’s simply a medium size red dot on the side of the neck. A sort of calling card. Nothing more, it’s not a plot driver or anything important so the title does seem a bit silly.
The relationship between the Doctor and Peri is still at its bickering stage thankfully all but gone from their Big Finish adventures. They don’t bicker quite so much in this story as they do in others but there is sadly enough to make the Doctor/Companion relationship seem strange. The story is set in Killingworth in the 19th Century. A meeting of some of the greatest minds of that time are meeting there but something strange is going on. The behaviour of the men of this village has changed. It turns out to be the Rani. There is a chemical which can only be obtained from the human brain. This chemical is for her experiments on another planet. When the chemical is removed from the brain it prevents the humans from sleeping thus making them aggressive. The Rani intends on using the chemical to help her experiments less aggressive. The Master simply wants to use the Earth to take over the universe (same old same old).
Something that gets commented on is the scarecrow that the Doctor and Peri encounter in the field was apparently the Master though if it were, why wasn’t more attention drawn to it.
Pip & Jane Baker (writers) have done very well writing some good characters and also giving them something constructive to say. I found the character of Luke to be very weak however. I just didn’t care when he got turned into a tree. The site of a tree trying to hug Peri was quite funny. The other supporting actors included Terence Alexander as Lord Ravensworth. He was very good as believeable as the Lord. Gawn Grainger was also very good as George Stevenson and was quite a surprise. Anthony Ainley puts in a usually good performance as the Master. This performance is actually better than others because he has someone that he can sparred verbally against who isnt the Doctor. Kate O’Mara is very good in this story as the Rani, she comes across as a cleverer Timelord than the Master and have some good lines. It seems quite amazing that they managed to persuade Kate O’Mara to come into Doctor Who. Especially at a time when people were starting to give up on the show. The Kudos the show had dematerialised at this point. Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant put in very good performances. Their relationship aside they both are well used in this story though.
The cliffhanger from Episode 1 is quite good. The Doctor is tied down with no sign of help. Except there are a group of workers who seemingly stop to help but then put the Doctor on some tracks to a pit shaft. The resolution of this cliffhanger is somewhat disappointing as there are clips in the reprise that weren’t in the cliffhanger. George Stevenson comes in to save the day. He hadn’t even appeared in the story so his introduction to the story was somewhat strange. I also found that the dinosaurs in the Rani’s TARDIS were very unconvincing. It wasn’t that they looked bad but it was just directed badly. Almost as if the director went out of his way to try and show the BBC what he had to work with.
I know that Mark of the Rani isn’t that well liked by most fans but I found it to be quite charming. It’s a nice pseudo historical story and the story has a nice strong group of characters.
The relationship between the Doctor and Peri is still at its bickering stage thankfully all but gone from their Big Finish adventures. They don’t bicker quite so much in this story as they do in others but there is sadly enough to make the Doctor/Companion relationship seem strange. The story is set in Killingworth in the 19th Century. A meeting of some of the greatest minds of that time are meeting there but something strange is going on. The behaviour of the men of this village has changed. It turns out to be the Rani. There is a chemical which can only be obtained from the human brain. This chemical is for her experiments on another planet. When the chemical is removed from the brain it prevents the humans from sleeping thus making them aggressive. The Rani intends on using the chemical to help her experiments less aggressive. The Master simply wants to use the Earth to take over the universe (same old same old).
Something that gets commented on is the scarecrow that the Doctor and Peri encounter in the field was apparently the Master though if it were, why wasn’t more attention drawn to it.
Pip & Jane Baker (writers) have done very well writing some good characters and also giving them something constructive to say. I found the character of Luke to be very weak however. I just didn’t care when he got turned into a tree. The site of a tree trying to hug Peri was quite funny. The other supporting actors included Terence Alexander as Lord Ravensworth. He was very good as believeable as the Lord. Gawn Grainger was also very good as George Stevenson and was quite a surprise. Anthony Ainley puts in a usually good performance as the Master. This performance is actually better than others because he has someone that he can sparred verbally against who isnt the Doctor. Kate O’Mara is very good in this story as the Rani, she comes across as a cleverer Timelord than the Master and have some good lines. It seems quite amazing that they managed to persuade Kate O’Mara to come into Doctor Who. Especially at a time when people were starting to give up on the show. The Kudos the show had dematerialised at this point. Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant put in very good performances. Their relationship aside they both are well used in this story though.
The cliffhanger from Episode 1 is quite good. The Doctor is tied down with no sign of help. Except there are a group of workers who seemingly stop to help but then put the Doctor on some tracks to a pit shaft. The resolution of this cliffhanger is somewhat disappointing as there are clips in the reprise that weren’t in the cliffhanger. George Stevenson comes in to save the day. He hadn’t even appeared in the story so his introduction to the story was somewhat strange. I also found that the dinosaurs in the Rani’s TARDIS were very unconvincing. It wasn’t that they looked bad but it was just directed badly. Almost as if the director went out of his way to try and show the BBC what he had to work with.
I know that Mark of the Rani isn’t that well liked by most fans but I found it to be quite charming. It’s a nice pseudo historical story and the story has a nice strong group of characters.
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