Review of Time and the Rani (#145)

DVD Release Date:  14 Jun 11
Original Air Date:  07 – 28 Sep 1987
Doctor/Companion:  Seven, Melanie Bush
Stars:  Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford
Preceding Story:  The Ultimate Foe (Trial of a Timelord) (Six, Mel)
Succeeding Story:  Paradise Towers (Seven, Mel)

It was with mixed trepidation and excitement that I awaited the release of this particular title. As a regeneration story, it ranked high in my want-to-see list, but knowing the history behind this particular change of Doctors (Colin Baker, who played Six, was canned – the scapegoat for falling ratings; unsurprisingly, he was none too keen to return to do a regeneration scene), I was wary of the event itself. Sadly, this is the one instance in which a YouTube viewing does not detract from the in-context regeneration. We get no more explanation than the TARDIS hurtling through space, with Companion Mel and the Doctor both unconscious on the floor of the control room. Upon landing, the Doctor is rolled over by a Tetrap minion, triggering the regeneration process. Even the magic of television can’t hide the fact that Six is just Seven in a bad wig and old costume. In that sense, this story starts out extremely disappointingly.

The rest of it, though, is surprisingly entertaining. I say “surprisingly” because, knowing ahead of time that the Rani (one of my all-time favorite foils for the Doctor) would be impersonating Mel, I was ready to cringe. However, even those sections came across relatively well. They were saved, of course, by the brilliance of Kate O’Mara (the Rani) and the perfect tone she kept while being simultaneously ingratiating and condescending (the unintentionally one-sided snarking between the Rani and the Doctor is great fun). Once she got out of Mel’s atrocious outfit (and the equally atrocious ginger wig), I was able to enjoy her performance fully.

Other parts of the story are fairly standard fare. There’s lots of running around in yet another quarry. Mel shows off her primary skill (screaming). The Rani demonstrates her skewed moral compass (everything and everyone is secondary to her research). There is a classic case of mistaken identity, times two. Some representative of the native race throws off the shackles of tyranny and leads his people into the future. The Doctor saves the day.

My favorite bits, though – aside from the Rani (can you tell I love her?) – are all about the Doctor’s new incarnation. We get the costume choice scene, in which he first seems to impersonate Napoleon and then borrows elements from four of his six previous incarnations (having just shed his immediate predecessor’s garb). We also see him exercising the musical side of his new personality, playing the spoons. I’m not sure he ever breaks them out again – I’ve not seen them in any of the other DVD releases – but I can imagine that Seven and Two, who played recorder, would have gotten along famously (as, in fact, they do in the brilliant fan comic The Ten Doctors). Perhaps most blatantly, we get introduced to Seven’s habit of spouting mixed metaphors. They are more plentiful and obvious than in any other Seven story I’ve seen. I don’t know if that was something the writers just let drop by the wayside or intentionally toned down, but I kind of miss it in the other stories, now I know the potential was there. Somehow, it adds an extra level of charm that I really enjoy.

DVD Extras (highlights)

Last Chance Saloon

Unlike most of the making-of documentaries, this one starts with something other than interviews. It gives a bit of the background of the changeover from Sixth (Colin Baker) to Seventh Doctors (Sylvester McCoy), which was rather more ~ahem~ precipitous than usual. Due to that fact, the character of Seven was not well set at the time of filming, either. The change corresponded with new computer effects, a new title sequence, and yet another new version of the theme music, and was met with a lot of criticism from fans.

7D FX

The combination of physical and post-production effects for this story pushed the envelope for tv effects at the time. Hear the production team explain their process with more pride than pretty much anyone else involved in this story.

I’ve never understood why Seven is so often reviled; I’ve always quite liked him. I don’t entirely see why Time and the Rani regularly ranks toward the bottom of the best episodes lists, either. For me, it’s a typical, loopy post-regeneration plot. If you give him half a chance (e.g., by watching Remembrance of the Daleks), I think Seven’s right:  “I’ll grow on you, Mel. I’ll grow on you.”