The Mark Of The Rani (1985) Review

"Now what am I going to do with you, naughty boy?"
...
*PUNCHLINE CENSORED*

The Mark Of The Rani is a load of nonsense, but hey, at least the Time Lords are fun.

WRITTEN BY

The unforgettable Pip and Jane Baker. Can't wait for the sequel(please no).

PLOT

Hoping to acquire some undefined sleep fluid from humans, the scruplless(yes, it's a word now) Time Lady Rani decides to milk the Industrial Revolution. However, for no reason whatsoever, the Master(hell yeah!!) also happens to be there to trap the Doctor and convinces her to help him do his thing so they can chill on top of Armageddon.

But the Doctor's like "Intercourse! I ain't taking this feces today!" and shoves them off to the outmost fringes of the universe in the Rani's TARDIS. The end.

ANALYSIS

As you may gather from my uninspired plot summary, The Mark Of The Rani has no real story. It's a series of contrivances to bring the Time Lords together and have them simply snarking at one another like a bunch of old housewives who have nothing better to do. It's not stupid or unintelligent(the Rani is a stroke of genius), but simply tired of itself and more eager to spend time poking fun at the tropes of the era than actually doing something.

It also doesn't help that this is in the 45-minute format, meaning that these two sluggish episodes last for what feels like weeks. But it's not a lost cause. The interplay between the Doctor, the Master and the Rani is comedy gold, the dialogue is exceedingly memorable due to the Bakers' portentous vocabulary and the direction is excellent. Lots of location filming and fast camera movements, close-ups, etc.

CHARACTERS

Hooray for a heroic Sixth Doctor!! Whilst his mercurial side is still evident, he is clearly extremely upset at both the Rani and the Master, to the point of being willing to execute them on the spot(crikey), and the confrontation between them is a highlight of Colin Baker's era so far.

Nicola Bryant is somewhat diminished in this story, given that she can't rely on her natural assets. That is all I have to say on that.

Kate O'Mara is superb as the Rani, ice cold with a wry sense of humor and with a toughness whilst not being immature in any way.

Whilst the Master as a character is hilariously sent up, and gets to be involved in some really funny banter with both the Doctor and the Rani, Anthony Ainley looks pretty miserable and bored with the whole thing, going through the motions. From what I understand, being a bit part didn't appeal to him. At least he's still a great actor even when he doesn't try.

The rest of the actors aren't really noteworthy, with the exceptions of Terence Alexander's wonderfully gruff and authoritarian Lord Ravensworth, and Gawn Grainger's cheerful inventor George Stephenson. Kudos to both for their lively, organic performances.

NOTES

*How exactly does the Master drag the Doctor's TARDIS off course with the mere presence of his or the Rani's TARDIS?

*Speaking of which, does the Master have his own TARDIS here or is he stranded on Earth again? The only other time machine mentioned is the Rani's, and he seems far too eager to follow the Rani in it.

*Having Peri preach about plantlife extinction is a little annoying, but considering that her backstory does include botany, I guess it sort of works.

*The Doctor suggests that he's not important, because he hasn't changed the course of history like George Stephenson and others. Which... pfffffffffft.

*Lord Ravensworth's guards are rubbish!! They basically just let the Doctor in because he convinces them he's smart and thus would be among the gathering geniuses. Logical, maybe, but come on, just do your job! (This may bother me more because I've been a guard in the army)

*The sight of Ainley sneaking around in that expensive velvet suit will never not amuse me.

*The Doctor rushes into the Rani's trap-filled bathhouse without a single clue... twice!!

*Whilst O'Mara does listen to both sides of Colin Baker's chest, the heartbeat we hear is decidedly singular.

*Apparently, the Rani was involved with the Trojan Wars. Now I kinda wish she'd been in The Myth Makers to spice up that story.

*Considering that he is involved in a historical event, is it really wise of the Doctor to cancel Stephenson's meeting? Shouldn't he be doing whatever possible to ensure that things continue uninterrupted?

*Is there anything the Rani's TV can't see? Does she have Space Netflix too(I bet the Master lives in an intergalactic reality show)?

*It's a bit odd that the Master and the Rani talk of Earth historical figures as geniuses, given that they themselves are easily the smartest people on the planet.

*Why on Earth do the Doctor and Peri not immediately retreat upon coming to contact with mustard gas??

*I can't decide whether the volcano tapestry is an example of the Rani's dark sense of humor, or just OOC for the overlogical scientist.

*I could gush for hours about the Rani's TARDIS design... those flashing lines on the doors, the carpet, THE ROTOR... omg it's beautiful.

*Why does the Sixth Doctor wonder how Stephenson's murder would affect him? Um, one, it's murder and two, he's an important part of history, or so we've been led to believe.

*Lovely to see Colin improve on certain aspects of his predecessor. For one, he doesn't just blithely hand over the TCE to the Master because pacifist, and more importantly, he actually figured out how coin tosses work(see Davison era reviews).

*"Make gun ready, Luke!" Such a simple, straightforward way of talking. Lots of planets better have a north.

*I love the Rani's backstory: she grew a giant rat, and it killed the Lord President's cat. It's just so hilariously simplistic, and I love that Gallifrey officially has rats and cats.

*Also, this means Big Finish could totally squeeze the Rani into some kind of Talons Of Weng-Chiang prequel.

*Okay, I can go with a landmine that turns people into trees. It's Doctor Who. But I have to ask... how can the tree still have a mind of its own, enough to move a branch of its own volition and save Peri?

*So, did the Rani just forget about that cube-shaped weapon he tries to attack the Luddites with when the Doctor threatens her with the TCE? She had plenty of oppurtunities.

*How did that treemine get the Doctor's captors, but miss him entirely?

*This story is particularly guilty of the "I will explain later" trope.

*What is "time spillage" and how does it age the dinosaurs? Is the Rani's TARDIS even time travelling?

*Poor Peri, dragging that plant around all episode only to get the Rani's vial of sleep juice...

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) The Doctor briefly suspects that the Daleks could be the owners of the rogue time machine. Their ability to time travel was first introduced in The Chase. Whilst it is a completely unneeded addition, I do kinda miss seeing Daleks time travel, so points for Hartnell era nostalgia.

2) The Doctor is surprised that the Rani has devised a method to operate her TARDIS by remote. The lack of such a method was a major plot point in The War Games. Again, it's not really that vital to the plot, but I'm just amazed how strong the continuity with the 60s is, so I'll let it slide.

3) For the third or fourth time, Peri remarks that "all these (mines) look the same to me!" It's kind of losing its charm for me.

BEST QUOTE

Basically half of the dialogue would qualify, but my favourite would have to be the Master calling the Doctor a "crack-brained freak". Priceless.

CONCLUSION

It's actually rubbish, but the interplay between the Time Lords hides it pretty well. Worth a watch if you want to have a laugh.