Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12743 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-09-04
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Synopsis
The good Doctor is transported back to 19th-century England, where the Master has teamed up with a Time Lord known as the Rani to disrupt the social order.

From The Studio
In 19th century England, the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) finds himself facing two competing enemies: his old adversary the Master (Anthony Ainley), and the Rani (Kate O'Mara), another Time Lord with a sinister plan. The local population and turning violent and unpredictable and, with a major meeting of the brains of the Industrial Revolution due to happen in the village soon, the Doctor must work out what exactly is causing all the problems...

Customer Reviews

A good story let down by poor dynamics
I wavered a lot between whether this is a 3 star or 4 star story. The story itself is rather good, but the central dynamic between the Doctor and his companion is really rather sour. It depends a lot on how much you like Colin Baker as the Doctor. Colin was one of the Doctors I watched as a boy, and I have long been an apologist for him because I quite like his flamboyant bluster but I don't think it comes off as well here as it does in, say, the Two Doctors. There aren't enough moments where we accept his charm and love for the universe and too many where he just seems to be showing off and belittling Peri for no good reason.

With that out of the way, we have a fine story with not one but two amoral Time Lords for the Doctor to face. The Master is here in Antony Ainley format and it's a fine performance, though he doesn't get much to do, and Kate O'Mara is diabolically good as the Rani, a very matter-of-fact Time Lady who would make a good rival for the Doctor on her own.

Set in the age of Steam, as George Stephenson prepares to unveil his rocket, the historical setting as usual seems to lend the story a certain zing, that the studio sets don't. Angry men are throwing spanners into the new machines being introduced to factories. They seem to change after visits to the local bathhouse. Meanwhile the Master is disguised as a scarecrow... There's some ace design on the Rani's TARDIS, complete with T Rex foetuses. The dialogue is wordy and gloriously verbose, with some nice touches of humour (such as when the Doctor avoids a trap through cunning use of "peripheral vision"). It's just a shame that the Doctor and Peri aren't allowed to like each other that much because it makes it all slightly difficult to swallow.

As usual, there are some nice documentaries on the disc that are worth a spin and a fun commentary. I think it's a worthy addition to the Who collection, but if you're not a fan of the second Baker, this probably won't turn your head.

"Bad News in Black Leather"
That's how Colin Baker described the appearance of Kate O'Mara's Rani in the "Colin Baker Years" video and she is the highlight of the story. A marvellous character, who as stated many times before is amoral rather then evil. She never kills for its own sake but has no qualms stealing a fluid, the absence of which prevents people sleeping. She knows all about the Doctor and Master's battles and finds it all really rather dull. Great performance, costume and a fantastic tardis (for once not just the Doctor's tardis redressed a little). Shame she would turn into the Master in drag in the next story.
Colin relishes his scenes with Kate and Gawn Grainger's Stephenson, which are a treat to watch. His chemistry with Ainley's Master is less impressive, including a ridiculous moment where he apepars to brandish his fist at the Master.
Anthony Ainley is not well served by a script which has him wait in a field dressed up as a scarecrow-no it really happens! He is clearly secondary to the Rani but at least has fun with the Master fancying her-the Doctor seems quite keen on her too.
Nicola Bryant is at her most covered up in a period dress and shows some botanic skills.
The story is frequently bonkers e.g Master and Rani planning to harness the genius of Stephenson, Faraday et al. What is this diabolical plan they must have involving steam trains and lightbulbs?
A truly appalling bit of FX sees a man turned into a tree and then using his branch to pull Peri out of danger-looked pathetic then and still does.
A really fun romp despite a few deficiencies.

A great documentary has Colin, Nicola and Kate among others telling how the story got made and how odd Mr Ainley could be. There's a chance to hear a mournful original score for part one and a commentary with Colin, Nicola and Kate discussing being beaten up by extras & the importance of good annunciation among other things-very jolly.

A great package for Classic Who fans, but only for those current series fans who really love visits to the past. Show it to the wrong person and you'll never hear the end of "that tree"!

Historical adventure with science fiction thrown in
Filmed in and around Ironbridge in Shropshire, Mark of the Rani is the only Colin Baker adventure to feature an historical setting and is indeed one of only a handful of stories during the 1980s to feature an adventure set in the past rather than the present or the future. In the story, written by husband and wife team Pip and Jane Baker, The Doctor attempts to take Peri to the Great Exhibition of 1851, but instead the Tardis lands in North East England during the 1810s at the time of the Industrial Revolution. Although he may have missed the great exhibition, there is still an important gathering taking place in the area where the Tardis has landed, as a group of the finest scientific minds of the period have gathered to discuss their discoveries. However, a renegade Timelady The Rani has also shown up along with The Doctor's old enemy The Master.
With all these ingredients Mark of the Rani should seemingly be a classic story, however the inclusion of The Master is unnecessary and he actually comes off second best to Kate O'Mara's The Rani. The success of the Rani character is demonstrated by the fact that she is still remembered some 21 years after her last appearance in the show and indeed there was recent press speculation that the character would reappear in the new series. Anthony Ainley however reverts to his usual characterisation of The Master which always threatens to go into pantomine. Other familar actors in this story include Terence Alexander of Bergerac fame and Peter Childs who is best remembered for his role as DS Rycott in Minder.
Colin Baker actually did many of own stunts in this serial, included a good scene in which Childs character attempts to push The Doctor down a mine shaft.
In many ways the first 45 minute episode is the best of the 2 part story, with the story plodding a little in episode 2. Episode 2 also features an infamous sequence in which a character is turned into a tree, which is not the best effects every seen in the programme. In contrast to this scene however, The Rani's Tardis is extremely impressive and the use of Ironbridge by director Sarah Helling's adds much to the serial.
Pip and Jane Baker seem to write more for the younger audience of the programme, in contrast to Eric Saward who wrote for adults and dealt with adult themes in his serial later in the same season. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it adds variety to the season and certainly does not give much substance to the argument that the programme had become stale by this stage of its history.
There are some good commentaries and documentaries on the disc as well including contributions by Eric Saward and Colin Baker. As an added bonus there is also an old Blue Peter segment featuring a trip to Ironbridge.