Review Time and the Rani (1987)

Doctor Omega

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
No.-55-The-Seventh-Doctor-Years-1024x639.jpg

doctor_who___time_and_the_rani__version_1__by_davvie74-d6vt5uu.jpg

Your thoughts on this story....

The Rani, needing the Doctor's expertise, shoots down his TARDIS, crash-landing it on planet Lykertya where the Doctor dies and subsequently regenerates. She biochemically induces selective amnesia before disguising herself as Mel in order to angle him deceptively into repairing one of her broken machines. The real Mel? Left behind in the TARDIS, alive but unconscious, where she's found by a grim rebel Lakertyan who then makes off with her.






On to the next story....

PARADISE TOWERS

https://www.imdforums.com/threads/paradise-towers-1987.5247/


Back to the previous story....

THE ULTIMATE FOE....

https://www.imdforums.com/threads/the-ultimate-foe-1986.5243/
 
Last edited:
Doctor Omega

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
A guilty pleasure.

I actually like the light and breezy feel of Season 24.

A breath of fresh air after the doom and gloom of Saward's era and the debacle of TRIAL.

An not sure about the "More than just another Time Lord arc that they took Sylvester on from Season 25 on. I don't think it was ever going to get anywhere beyond hints, even had the series continued. The Virgin Books lost their way into darkness and the 2005 revival has never gone back to it.
 
Gavin

Gavin

Member: Rank 6
VIP
I enjoyed this introduction to Sylvester McCoy despite the awful regeneration and terrible special effects (I don't think the effects were significantly worse than they had been previously it's just that from this point the show seemed to rely more and more on the special effects that simply weren't good enough).

Sylvester McCoy & Kate O'Mara's performances were great (especially the scene where The Rani was impersonating Mel) and lifted what was really a fairly average story.
 
Doctor Omega

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Colin was offered this story, of course, as a result of JNT's insistence to Grade and Powell that the Doctor needed a proper regeneration tale.

JNT's efforts were in vain of course. Colin wasn't interested.

I believe the original plan was for Colin to regenerate after a fight with that brain thing at the end.
 
Gavin

Gavin

Member: Rank 6
VIP
Doctor Omega said:
Colin was offered this story, of course, as a result of JNT's insistence to Grade and Powell that the Doctor needed a proper regeneration tale.

JNT's efforts were in vain of course. Colin wasn't interested.

I believe the original plan was for Colin to regenerate after a fight with that brain thing at the end.
Click to expand...
As I understand it, the story was offered to Colin, but it would have required him making himself available for the filming of a single story (and not accepting other work that conflicted with filming) and he wasn't willing to say no to other opportunities for a show that had just screwed him over.

The really frutstrating thing is that the original plan was to finish off Trial of a Timelord with a cliff hanger that could easily have led to a regeneration but JNT was told to give it a happy ending as there was no guarantee there would be more episodes and the BBC didn't want to finish the show on a cliffhanger.
 
michaellevenson

michaellevenson

Moderator
Staff member
Wow, fans exist who like this rubbish. It's IMO a wretched start for McCoy, a doctor I do like a lot. But his opener is awfully acted, Kate O'Mara is wasted, and dear Bonnie doesn't help, and the creatures The Tetraps or whatever are just laughable, bring back the Mandrels.
The worse bit is the Rani shouting " Yes I have it the Loyhargil!" Calling her missing substance that , an anagram of Holy Grail is terrible juvenile writing.
This episode is ...is...er.. I have it !
I actually have it on DVD
" yes I have the Grackcufpin "
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top