The Mark of the Rani

After the grim and grittiness of 'Attack of the Cybermen' and 'Vengeance on Varos', 'The Mark of the Rani' is something of a change in tone. It is notorious for several reasons; one criticism often leveled against it is that three renegade Time Lords arrive in the same period of Earth's history for different reasons. This isn't actually true; the Rani arrives first, the Master follows her from Miasimia Goria, and then he draws the Doctor there. A second issue is a certain special effect, which I'll come to below, and the other thing for which 'The Mark of the Rani' is notorious is that it sees the Doctor Who debut of husband and wife writing team Pip and Jane Baker, who aren't terribly popular with many fans and who are renowned for writing pompous overblown dialogue. Nevertheless, 'The Mark of the Rani' is rather entertaining.

The actual plot is very straightforward; the Rani has been visiting various historical periods in order to steal a chemical from human brains that gives them the ability to sleep, since she needs it for her work. The Master is attempting to pervert the course of history and has decided to take advantage of the Rani's presence whether she likes it or not, and the Doctor wants to stop them both. All of which is merely a framework to allow Pip and Jane Baker to have fun with the relationship between the Doctor and the Master, with the Rani as acerbic commentator. This is, on the whole, rather effective; I have misgivings about bringing back the Master after his seeming demise in 'Planet of Fire', although since it was probably inevitable I can't help being amused by the fact that the script takes the piss out of his tendency to pop up unexpectedly, often in a stupid disguise. There is absolutely no need for him to disguise himself as a scarecrow, and the fact that the script calls upon him to do so smacks to me of a big knowing wink to the audience, especially since he soon sheds this guise. Likewise, after his immolation at the end of 'Planet of Fire', his flippant comment that he is "indestructible - the whole universe knows that" reflects the tendency in certain types of science fiction and fantasy (especially comics) for arch-enemies to return from seemingly certain death. 

The presence of the Rani prevents 'The Mark of the Rani' from being the usual Doctor versus Master runaround. She's actually quite a good character here; she is utterly amoral, with no concern whatsoever for what she sees as lesser beings, and unlike the Master she has a very clear motivation; a proficient biochemist, she is obsessed with scientific discovery, to the point that she has no time for ethics. With the current tendency for scientists to be cast in a rather poor light by the British media, this actually feels quite relevant at the moment, although the Bakers exhibit little interest in social commentary. Despite her ruthless and uncaring approach to her work, and her irritation at any interference, the Rani also has something of a vicious streak, as her smug attitude to Luke's transformation into a tree attests. However, she is for the most part a clear contrast to both the compassionate and emotional Doctor, and the Master who here is portrayed, in almost tongue in cheek fashion, as a raving lunatic. And that is the modest beauty of 'The Mark of the Rani' - at its best, it is very witty. The Rani is constantly used to mock both the Doctor and the Master, with lines such as "You're unbalanced… no wonder the Doctor always outwits you", "asinine cretin", "He'd get dizzy if he tried to walk in a straight line", and perhaps most pointedly, "Do stop squabbling and get on with it" as the Master has the Doctor at his mercy but accidentally allows him, in pure Dr. Evil style, to escape because he can't resist the chance to gloat. 

The relationship between the Doctor and the Master is lampooned throughout, and not just when the Rani is present. The Master obviously knows that dropping the TARDIS down a mineshaft won't damage, it but he arranges it anyway, just to cause the Doctor enormous inconvenience. By far my favourite line from the Master is his description of the Doctor: "mean looking… wears yellow trousers and a vulgarly coloured coat". In addition, the Master has a plan here which whilst superficially similar to that in 'The King's Demons' is far more in keeping with his characterisation during the Pertwee era, in that he plans on tampering with Earth's history but wants to do so in order to transform the planet into a power base, rather than simply causing chaos. And as during the Pertwee era, the Master's obsession with humiliating the Doctor is the cause of his own defeat, since it is he that forcibly involves the Doctor in the first place. 

What really makes 'The Mark of the Rani' work in this way is the acting. Anthony Ainley often plays against his lines and puts in a fairly straight performance, which works brilliantly because it makes the Master seem really bonkers rather than just over the top. Kate O'Mara is excellent as the Rani, bringing a memorable dominatrix air to the role as she strides about in figure hugging clothing and constantly belittles her fellow Time Lords; O'Mara conveys the Rani's lack of tolerance for the Master in particular very well. What also interests me about the two villains is that whilst the Rani would dearly like to clear off and leave the Master to his feud with the Doctor he if hadn't purloined her brain fluid, the Master seems almost besotted with her - it is unusual for him to take an ally without at some point trying to either double-cross or kill them, but he seems genuinely determined to impress her. 

Colin Baker is also crucial to the three-way rivalry of 'The Mark of the Rani', and he conveys very well the Doctor's contempt for both the Master and the Rani. Like the Master the Doctor seems to have some measure of respect for the Rani, or rather for her intelligence, but makes no secret of the fact that he can't stand her. The Doctor's fury at Luke's transformation is one of Baker's best performances of moral outrage during Season Twenty-Two, and it is interesting that it is focused more at the Rani (who created the traps) rather than the Master, who put her up to using them. It reflects an earlier line, suggesting that whilst the Doctor dislikes the Rani, he is disappointed to find that she has sunk to the depths plumbed by his old archenemy. One of things I like most about 'The Mark of the Rani' however, is the denouement; the Doctor spends most of Episode Two on the trail of the Master and the Rani, and maintains the upper hand for a good deal of it. His eventual defeat of the Master and the Rani is beautifully simple; he sabotages the Rani's TARDIS and sends them hurtling off into the depths of space, out of control. The reason I like this relatively low-key defeat is that for all the Master's overly complicated plans to humiliate his old enemy, the Doctor manages to outwit both him and the Rani with simplicity and ease. 

The other cast members in 'The Mark of the Rani' are all perfectly adequate, although they tend to be overshadowed by the performances of the three Time Lords. The only one who really stands out is Terence Alexander as Lord Ravensworth, who's first meeting with the Doctor prompts him to reluctantly concede, "You just might be a gentleman". As for Nicola Bryant, she's fine as Peri, although she gets relatively little to do here. Nevertheless, there is some nice use made of Peri's botanical background, and in keeping with the light hearted feel that permeates much of the story, her usual bickering with the Doctor has by this point clearly become that which can exist between close friends. The Doctor and Peri may exchange lines such as "Occasional, just occasionally, your smugness infuriates me!" but they are obviously deliberately winding each other up rather than offering genuine or angry criticism. 

The production is generally rather good; the location filming is stunning, and the sets, despite looking rather artificial, match up with the exteriors very well. The Rani's TARDIS is worthy of particular note, since it is far more imaginative than the design used for the Master's in 'Planet of Fire', which was of course identical to the Doctor's but black instead of white. Sarah Hellings does a great job of directing (the cliffhanger, insertion of an extra frame into the reprise, is highly effective) and is aided and abetted by an impressive score from Jonathon Gibbs. 

On the whole then, 'The Mark of the Rani' works very well. Despite the Bakers' reputation, the dialogue is not too overblown, aside from odd exceptions such as "Fortuitous would be a more apposite epithet", or it is overblown but used for comic effect in the case of some of the lines uttered by the three Time Lords. But one thing I have to mention, inevitably, is the tree. I don't care that it looks fake, its just a low-budget prop when all is said and done, but what does make me cringe is the fact that it is able to bend its branch and save Peri from being similarly transformed. It seems the Rani's evil genius lies not in transforming hapless victims into trees, but into Ents…