The Mark of the Rani

Dear Gary—

Following up from Vengeance on Varos, which is a pretty good script but fairly unwatchable, we now have Mark of the Rani, a so-so script that is fairly entertaining. I think I’ll go with the Rani on this one.

To start, it has some fabulous locations. The relationship between the Doctor and Peri is as caustic as ever, but for some reason the countryside tends to blunt the edges a bit. I can’t understand half of what most of the extras are saying, but the gist of things can be gained from the action, and the cobblestoned streets and rustic buildings lend the perfect tone to set the stage. The wardrobe is quite good as well, except for the awful getup Peri is wearing. She looks like she is auditioning for a high school production of Snow White. And she still has those pink heels that announce her presence miles away.

Then there is the Rani, a great new antagonist for the Doctor. The Rani is an exiled, amoral Time Lord; a scientist with no heart. As the Doctor describes her, “There’s no place for the soul in her scheme of things.” And she does not suffer fools lightly. “He’d get dizzy if he tried to walk in a straight line,” she says of the Master, and she scoffs at his offer of help, “You and the Doctor are a well matched pair of pests.” She wants nothing to do with either; she just wants to be left alone to conduct her experiments in peace. It is a refreshing contrast to the Master’s increasingly preposterous attempts to take over the universe.

The Master’s latest attempt involves harnessing the brain power of George Stephenson, Michael Faraday, Thomas Telford, and Humphry Davy to name a few. With “the talents of these geniuses” the Master somehow plans to transform Earth into a power base. Not a likely prospect. Geniuses, yes. Talented, yes. A few among many geniuses and talents to have graced the Earth. There is no doubt a collaboration of such minds could achieve much. But conquer the universe? The Master is really stretching here. How about this as a cosmos changing think tank: the Master and the Rani. How can a handful of Earthlings, even the greatest of intellects, match up against two Time Lords?

The Mark of the Rani really misses the mark on this one. The Master and the Rani would have made for a formidable power couple.

Instead we have the Rani expressing nothing but contempt for the Master and the Master earning every bit of that derision. It is very entertaining, but it disappoints as well. The Master has always been vaguely laughable as a villain; now we have an intelligent, experienced, competent Time Lord pointing out the obvious: “You’re unbalanced; no wonder the Doctor always outwits you.”

And yet time after time, defeat after defeat, the Master continually springs back none the worse for wear. It has happened so often the show has stopped trying to come up with explanations. Apparently dead at the end of Planet of Fire, he shows up in The Mark of the Rani alive and well. “I’m indestructible, the Master tells the Rani. “The whole universe knows that.” The Doctor Who audience knows it as well, no reason to insult our intelligence with sketchy and inadequate details.

We also know what drives the Master. His purported reason for being in the 19^thC village of Killingworth is to take over the assemblage of illustrious personages as previously outlined. However the Rani puts her finger on his ulterior motive: “I know why you’re here. I saw the Doctor.” The Master is the epitome of the little boy chasing after the little girl on the playground to pull her pigtails. As long as the Doctor is kicking about the universe the Master won’t be far behind tossing the TARDIS down mineshafts.

“But first things first. I have a death to arrange,” the Master states, leaving the Rani and his grand scheme behind as he pursues his true purpose. Except that he never seriously intends to kill the Doctor. If he does, why not use the TCE (which by the way no longer shrinks people but vaporizes them)? Instead he sends some half crazed villagers to do the deed, who of course fail in their attempt.

The half crazed villagers are the work of the Rani, an aggressive byproduct of her extraction of a certain brain chemical she needs for her own use back on Miasimia Goria. She has been using periods of turmoil in Earth’s history, currently the Luddite riots, as cover for her nefarious deeds. As far as I can tell, this is the greater threat facing the Doctor, not the half-hearted excuse the Master concocts for being in the village at this time. None of it is really a danger to the universe or even the planet. The two rogue Time Lords are more nuisances than anything, although deadly.

The plot quickly falls apart. It seems merely an excuse to get the three Time Lords together and to use the period pieces and location shoots to advantage rather than to tell a coherent story. Take the Master’s flimsy plan, for example. Ostensibly he wants to utilize the minds of the great men gathering at the bequest of George Stephenson, but suddenly he decides it would be a good idea to kill Stephenson. Then there is Luke who is under the control of the Master, yet when the Doctor enquires after Stephenson (who has been told by Luke to go to the booby trapped Redfern Dell) Luke passes on the opportunity to send the Doctor after him. The Doctor has to stumble on the Master’s intended message for him by luckily catching Stephenson before he leaves for the Dell. And if Luke knows that the Dell is a deadly trap, why does he take Peri there to go flower picking? I am only assuming Luke knows about the trap, but why else would he send Stephenson off on that fool’s errand after Faraday?

What is with this minefield in the Dell anyway? If the intent is to kill the Doctor, why not use one of the many controlled villagers (although granted they did fail at the task to begin our tale) or the TCE or the weapon Rani wields, rather than setting up a trap that anyone can stumble into, even their own minions? And mines that turn people into trees? When tree Luke grabs Peri I expect him to start chastising her for picking his apples. And how exactly does the Doctor even know where Redfern Dell is? And when all is said and done and the leaves have settled, the Doctor departs knowing that there are several active mines remaining and he never does a thing about it.

This carelessness on the part of the Doctor reflects a trend in the show itself towards gratuitous violence. “Guns can seriously damage your health, you know,” the Doctor says in order to get in his preaching of the day, yet the serial itself offers up at least two deaths that are completely needless. One miner falls down a shaft to his death, which is part of the plot; Luke and two more miners are turned into trees, and although ludicrous this too develops the plot; the Master dispatches a couple people and a dog with his TCE, again plot driven; but there is no excuse for the murder of Josh and his fellow attendant. As rationale for killing them the Master tells the Rani, “You can hardly take them out onto the streets.” Why not? The streets are already overrun with the Rani controlled and rampaging villagers. Who’s to notice two more? Or why not simply tell them to stay put? These two deaths at least are pointless and add nothing to the story.

Also pointless is the wild goose chase that leads Luke to his wooden fate. Peri gets to show off her botany skills and Luke gets to be transformed; however, the ultimate goal of finding the right sort of herb to concoct a sedative for the sleep deprived villagers is rendered meaningless when the Doctor produces the vial of brain chemical he has filched from the Rani. And again the questions—except, “Have you ever tried asking the Doctor a question?” Ravensworth simply takes the vial with no directions as to dosage or application.

Despite the squandering of the Master, the gaping holes, and the senseless slaughter, The Mark of the Rani is enjoyable. Kate O’Mara as the Rani can take much of the credit. The Master could have been dispensed with and the Rani’s despicable actions dealt with more directly, but since Doctor Who persists on bringing the Master back to life for one implausible scheme after another, it is refreshing to have a no-nonsense character embrace the marginalization the Master has been fated to by the show. It is painful to see the Master dealt such a humiliating role, but it is also a long overdue acknowledgment of his futility. The Rani’s TARDIS, by the way, is also a stand out (and interesting to note that the Doctor’s TARDIS key fits the Rani’s).

The Doctor has his moments as well. I especially like when he is carried away by childish glee as he aids the underutilized George Stephenson in his workshop. Unfortunately the wet blanket Peri arrives to drag him away to deal with the real plot.

The Mark of the Rani is full of some excellent elements—characters, plot points, locations—but none of them are fully developed and few of them mesh together into a cohesive whole. However, it does end with one of the best lines, which is another acknowledgment of a recent Doctor Who trend. When asked what they do in the TARDIS, the Doctor answers, “Argue, mainly.”

With that the Doctor and Peri fly away in the TARDIS, leaving the Rani and the Master in yet another Master-in-peril-by-hands-of-the-Doctor-but-he’ll-be-back wizardry. George Stephenson, the assemblage of great minds, the booby trapped Dell, the dead or transmogrified villagers—all forgotten.

Four stories in, Gary. I’m trying my best to stay positive, and so far it’s not as bad as anticipated. Here’s hoping for the future . . .