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Tag: the Rani

Nu-View #5: Color Me Surprised

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The Mark of the Rani  (Story #140, 1985)
Viewed 09 Aug 2011

Doctor/Companion:   Six, Perpugilliam “Peri” Brown
Stars:  Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant
Preceding Story:  Vengeance on Varos (Six, Peri)
Succeeding Story:  The Two Doctors (Two, Six, Jaime, Peri)
Notable Aspects:

OK – I’ll admit it: I was really surprised by the reactions to Six. While jE was already familiar with him (in fact, he was the reason she stopped watching, back in the day – and despite not feeling well, I’m pretty sure that’s her real excuse for missing this time), neither of the other two had ever seen him before.  I carefully picked my favorite of his stories in order to cast him in the best possible light.  Who knew – it worked!

First impressions were mixed. The credits were declared more ’70s than ’80s (and Six’s smile garnered such adjectives as “creepy” and “psychedelic”), but the music was “totally ’80s!” Then came the requisite disgust with Six’s coat-of-many-colors, which for this story was closely followed by “what is she wearing?!” in reference to Peri. Finally, there was the general snarking about the supposedly American Companion (“gotta work on that accent, lady”), which actually continued through the whole show (“you’re so incapable!” “I don’t like her at all…”). So far, I was in familiar territory.

Then things turned weird.

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Pearls Before Time

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.

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