A few weeks back, BBC Video released two of their usual Doctor Who classic releases, but this one is particularly notable in that it includes one of the show’s most … controversial post-regeneration stories.
Although now we are used to Doctors starting their runs with episodes like “Rose,” “The Christmas Invasion,” and “The Eleventh Hour,” fans in the 1980’s were not quite so lucky. Peter Davison’s first story, “Castrovalva,” was decent; but when the Colin Baker (Sixth Doctor) era began, we got “The Twin Dilemma” – an episode made even worse as it followed the fantastic “Caves of Androzani.” At least that one had some good performances by Colin Baker, though. “Time and the Rani,” which is one of the new releases, instead gives us… Bonnie Langford. And worse, Kate O’Mara (The Rani) imitating Bonnie Langford.
It’s kind of amazing how that could go so wrong, as I liked the Rani character a lot in “Mark of the Rani.” This, sadly, is camp. I also feel sad for Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy, who made his premiere in this episode and despite some flashy new opening titles, was saddled with some of the worst special effects and resources in Doctor Who history. The beginning of the 1990’s TV movie shows how great a McCoy era could have been. “Time and the Rani”… doesn’t.
Which is not to say this DVD set is a complete wash. It’s definitely worth seeing how they pulled it off and how far Doctor Who had once fallen. It’s also ALWAYS fun to see how a Doctor’s era begins. It’s disappointing that we didn’t get to see Colin Baker for one last scene but I completely understand and respect the reasoning for his not coming back.
Extra features include a 28-minute interview piece about the era, which includes some of the other auditions for the Seventh Doctor. It’s fascinating. Also really interesting among the many extras is a look at the making of the 1987 Doctor Who title sequence.
I’m almost thankful that even for the not-so-good Doctor Who stories they more than make up for it with good extras. But if you care to watch “Time and the Rani” – it might go down better with a few drinks.
“Frontios” is part of Fifth Doctor Peter Davison’s era, and part of his last season when his stories were for the most part really good. The extra features make it seem like the sets and aliens of this story aren’t very good; considering the time period, I think it was fine. In fact, I really liked the look of this story.
This also happens to be one of the few stories where Turlough is put to good use. It had to happen eventually. Sadly, he’s gone fairly soon after.
In addition to commentary (there’s also commentary on “Time and the Rani” by the way), there’s a 33 minute “Making Of,” 15 minutes of deleted scenes, and more.
From a quality standpoint, “Frontios” is definitely a better pick, but if you’re looking for a trainwreck, “Time and the Rani” may be it.
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2 Comments
Think you’ve made a mistake there, Craig. The Fifth Doctor’s era began with “Castrovalva” (a favourite of mine), not “Logopolis”, that was the story before. Although, seeing as Davison’s first appearance was at the end of Logopolis, I suppose you’re technically right. ;)
Oh gosh. I always got those titles confused! I’ll fix it. Thanks – great catch!