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Time and the Rani Format Reviewed: VHS Review Time and the Rani is the commencement of the Sylvester McCoy era, and for this the production team recruited the services of Kate O'Mara to return as the Rani. After being unceremoniously revoved from the show, Colin Baker refused to appear in the regeneration scene so Sylvester McCoy dons a blonde afro wig for this under a white-out of his face. Time and the Rani sees the Doctor and Mel drawn to Lakertya where the Rani is slaving brilliant minds together for her own ends. This causes the Doctor to regenrate and in the following confusion, the Doctor helps the Rani to mend her machine. Mel meanwhile joins with the Lakertyans and leads some revolt. When the Doctor is eventually captured and slaved into the Ranis matrix, which has been ccreated to form a time matrix out of Lakertya, confusion is created and the Doctor is disconnected. The Doctor eventually stops the plan by sabotaging the Rani's equipment and freeing the Laketyans. The Rani escapes though in her TARDIS to wreak havoc elsewhere. To a certain degree, Time and the Rani contradicts itself. Story wise it seems to have been put together is a big rush, but there are aspects of the production that are much more polished than previously. There is more and better incidental music, and despite its largely synthesised nature, is makes the whole production more slick. One thing that is obvious about the story though, is that the elaborate plot is is somewhat typical of this era and is unneccessarily complicated. Perhaps this might be a feature of the writers, Pip and Jane Baker. The regular cast now comprises Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford playing the Doctor and Mel respectively. McCoy freely admits he went into this story quite blind as to how he should approach playing the Doctor, and he gives a confused performance. This is fairly typical of stories immediately following regeneration though, and his demeanor is more appeasing to me than his predecessor. Langford however is a horror show, and her piercing screams and whiney voice really do not sit well with me, least of all here. Of the guest cast, Kate O'Mara obviously stands out giving a powerful performance as the Rani. The rest are very heavily made up in either Lakertyan or Tetrap costumes, and as such do very little real acting. A rushed story really does not do the return of the nations favourite Time Lord justice, and the more polished production doesn't paper over the cracks of a relatively limited script. It certainly isn't the most limited script that has been used as a first sotry for a new Doctor though, and that should be noted. The verbal dexterity of Sylvester McCoy does occasionally grate with him misquoting common Earth expressions. That said, it is a step up from Colin Bakers cheesy swings from devil to saint. Overall, Time and the Rani is a bit of a mixed bag in that it higher production values mask to a certain degree holes in an overly elaborate and rushed script. That said, it isn't the worst script that had ever been written, especially as an opening story for a new Doctor. Rating:  |