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…

It is said by some that an infinite amount of monkeys with an infinite amount of typewriters will eventually reproduce the complete works of Shakespeare; one can only guess therefore at how few monkeys with how few typewriters it would take to reproduce 'The Trial of a Time Lord' Episodes Five to Eight, also known as 'Mindwarp'. I'd been rather enjoying 'The Trail of a Time Lord' on this reviewing, until I was forced to sit through this tripe, which is to Season Twenty-Three what a cheese-grater is to a penis. 

Before I launch into an attack on the main body of this dross, I'll discuss the overall impact it has on the actual trial. In this regard, it actually has some merit; the decision by the Time Lords to remove the Doctor from time and space at the critical moment that they choose, and their rather dubious reasons for doing so (that Crozier's experiments pose a threat to the future of evolution throughout the universe) adds to the growing suspicion that they have an ulterior motive for placing the Doctor on trial. Indeed, the end of Episode Eight sees a furious Doctor announcing, "No, there's something else going on here… I was taken out of time for another reason and I have every intention of finding out what it is". As the Valeyard's assault on the Doctor becomes ever more vicious, it also becomes even clearer that his real motivation runs far deeper than a desire for justice, and the realization by the Doctor that the evidence presented by the supposedly infallible Matrix is being tampered with adds further intrigue. 

In addition to the plot developments, both Jayston and Baker continue to impress in the trial segments, and whilst Baker is often accused of being particularly hammy in Season Twenty-Three, I still like his Doctor here. The look of relief on his face at the start of Episode Eight when the Valeyard tells him that Peri is still alive is impressively performed and of course has extra poignancy with foreknowledge of Peri's apparent demise. Baker also conveys anger well during the episode's climax, as noted above. Unfortunately however, there are two problems with the trial segments during these episodes; the first is that Philip Martin's diabolical script extends to the courtroom, with lines as bad as "This is… not a debating society for maladjusted psychotic sociopaths", and the Valeyard's embarrassing description of the next piece of evidence as the Doctor's latest "frightening adventure". Worst still, the trial scenes become deeply intrusive here, distracting from the action on Thoros-Beta (hang on, what am I saying? This can only be a good thing, surely?). By the time that the Doctor and Peri enter the caves and have been attacked by the Raak, there have already been three trial scenes. And there's another straight after the Raak's death. 

Anyway, onto 'Mindwarp' itself. There are many promising elements in 'Mindwarp'; with sea-monsters augmented so that they can operate machinery, a wolf-man who cries for help, and the notion of brain transplantation against the body donor's wishes, the potential body horror here could rival that of 'Revelation of the Daleks' and more appropriately, 'The Brain of Morbius'. Unfortunately, after the eighteen-month hiatus, Doctor Who had its teeth pulled, and what we actually get is a gaudy sub-pantomime runaround. Fans of this story might point out that 'The Horns of Nimon' is a gaudy sub-pantomime runaround and that I like that, but 'The Horns of Nimon' is amusing whereas this is just facile. It doesn't help that the plot is actually very slight and there is bugger all else to compensate; everyone spends four episodes either working to save Kiv, or chasing up and down corridors, and it's always a bad sign when what is effectively a four-episode story drags interminably. 

The weak plot is undermined still further by the diabolic script. It's hard to believe that Philip Martin would follow the excellent 'Vengeance on Varos' with such tepid scribbling, unless I suppose you've read the almost unbelievably silly 'Mission to Magnus', in which case you might just conclude that Martin is the Doctor Who writer equivalent of a one-hit wonder. The jury's out until I hear Big Finish's 'The Creed of the Kromon', but it's not currently looking good for Martin. In addition to the crass dialogue that blights the courtroom scenes, here we get lines such as "nobody likes brain alteration" and "stop gyrating your throat". And of course almost every piece of scripted dialogue that Yrcanos gets, but I'll come to that later on.

What can salvage is a slight plot is decent characterisation complemented by good acting. Sadly, there is little of either here. The Doctor's apparent treachery throughout Episodes Six and Seven might be intriguing, were it not for the fact that Colin Baker delivers his worst performance in the role to date, and here he really is hammy. He delivers the line "Now I'm just like you Sil" with an painfully exaggerated grin, and his brutal interrogation of Peri, which could have been disturbing, is actually so embarrassing that, in defiance of all probability, it makes me fondly yearn for 'The Twin Dilemma'. Then there's Sil. It's hard to believe that the character who was so effective in 'Vengeance on Varos' is here reduced to mere comic relief, and it's doubly unfortunate since 'Mindwarp' is about as amusing as receiving bill from the Inland Revenue. His sadistic gloating over the Doctor at the end of Episode Five is rather good, but aside from that he does nothing except kiss Kiv's arse and deliver witless lines, and although Nabil Shaban seems to be enjoying himself, I find that I am not. And the redesigned costume he gets is a bit crap too. 

Elsewhere in the acting stakes, we are presented with the really rather discomforting fact that in a story filled with silent black slaves, every non-white actor cast here is really, really bad. Trevor Laird's Frax and Alibe Parsons' Matrona Kari are both incredibly wooden, whilst Gordon Warnecke's Tuza is merely trying far too hard. Meanwhile, Patrick Ryecart is often praised for his dignified portrayal of Crozier, but he's far too laid back to be convincing, except during Episode Eight when he rants about how he has discovered the secret of immortality, at which point he delivers his lines in such a way that he sounds like he's gargling with shit. Which considering the script, is in a sense true I suppose. It also doesn't help that silliness surrounds his character; he's the most unconvincing surgeon ever, as he sips tea in the middle of operations, and allows his clearly confused patient to attend business meetings minutes after having brain surgery. It also strikes me as a bit of a leap from brain transplants to mind transference, although as they are both currently the stuff of science fiction I perhaps shouldn't quibble. 

Fortunately, Nicola Bryant does reasonably well out her final story, forced to strike out on her own once the Doctor seemingly betrays her, and she gets some great moments such as when she knees Frax in the groin and of course her constant placating of Yrcanos. Bryant also does well with Peri's death scene (I'll talk about massive cop-outs when I get to Episodes Thirteen and Fourteen in case anyone is wondering), managing to seem reasonably sinister once Kiv takes up residence in her body, and seeming genuinely frightened as Crozier and Matrona Kari prepare her for the operation beforehand. She even manages to come out of the dire scene in which she teaches Yrcanos about love without too much embarrassment. Which brings me, inevitably, to Brian Blessed. 

Brian Blessed is a great actor. I know this, because I've seen the Avengers episode 'The Superlative Seven'. Unfortunately since appearing as Richard IV in Blackadder, he's been typecast as an over-the-top, shouting, eye-rolling buffoon. Which is exactly how he plays Yrcanos in 'Mindwarp'. So astonishingly hammy is Blessed here that he makes me remember Stephen Thorne with fondness, as he bellows his way through a script that has him uttering such verbal diarrhoea as "Vroomnik!" and "Slugs!" at every opportunity. Amusingly, Peri at one point tells Yrcanos that he'd like Earth because it is full of "lots of actors playing over the top" (incidentally, for some reason Peri's introduction of herself as "Perpugilliam of the Brown" always puts me in mind of the South Park episode in which the kids discover the fabled "brown note"). Every time Blessed flares his eyes and nostrils, I cringe, and every time he grabs somebody's lapels and shakes them I, erm, also cringe. It is a truly horrendous performance that must rank amongst the worst in the series' history. 

As for the production, the fact that director Ron Jones fails to elicit any decent performances from his actors whatsoever tells you all you need to know. On the other hand, the sets are quite well designed and I also rather like Richard Hartley's incidentally score, which often seems to get panned by critics, although, as with Glynn's score for 'The Mysterious Planet', it frequently becomes intrusive. There isn't anything else really worth mentioning, except the hideous costumes. It's a sign of how tacky things are that Matroni Kari, an assistant during a surgical procedure, is dressed as a cheap hooker. But then I suppose this is appropriate to the story really; rather like the special effects used to colour the surface of Thoros-Beta, 'Mindwarp' is crass, tacky and a complete waste of time and money.

After twelve episodes, 'The Trial of a Time Lord' finally concludes with Episodes Thirteen and Fourteen, also known as 'The Ultimate Foe'. Finally, the real reasons for the Doctor being placed trial, hinted at throughout, are revealed, as is the Valeyard's motivation for wanting him dead. And considering the production nightmare that plagued this finale, the fact that it works reasonably well is frankly astonishing…

Robert Holmes' final episode for Doctor Who doesn't quite achieve the classic status of much of his work, but is still nevertheless a worthy departure, albeit one cut short by his tragic death. The various hints that the Time Lords had ulterior motives for taking the Doctor out of time and placing him on trial bear fruit, as it is revealed that the corrupt High Council are seeking to cover up an atrocity committed in order to protect their own interests; dragging Earth light years across space and renaming it Ravalox in order to conceal secrets stolen from the Matrix by the Andromedans and almost wiping out the planet's inhabitants in the process. Finally, the censorship of segments of the evidence in 'The Mysterious Planet' and the Doctor's assertion that other evidence has been distorted makes sense, as Holmes' revisits his version of the Time Lord society from 'The Deadly Assassin', revealing that "the oldest civilization" is "decadent, degenerate, and rotten to the core", a collection of corrupt politicians who will stop at nothing to safeguard their own power base. 

More dramatically however, we also finally discover the true motivation behind the Valeyard's obvious desire to see the Doctor dead. The revelation that he is a distillation of all that is evil in the Doctor, and that he wants take the Doctor's remaining lives so that he can gain independent corporeal existence free from his better side is a startling development and one which is undoubtedly memorable with both fans who like the idea and those who do not. The concept of a "dark Doctor" would be revisited during Sylvester McCoy's tenure in the role, again more obviously during the New Adventures, and yet again more recently in Big Finish's Doctor Who Unbound series, but it is worth remembering that this is the first time the concept was really explored since the First Doctor gradually shook off the trappings of an anti-hero back in Season One. Jayston's performance makes it work especially well, and the script makes it work too; the choice of the Doctor's dark side as an ally in their attempt to dispose of the Doctor and thus reduce the chances of the Ravalox affair being discovered by the High Council makes sense given the Doctor's resourcefulness, since they are in effect recruiting the Doctor to defeat himself. And it nearly works, but for an unlikely intervention in Episode Thirteen.

'The Ultimate Foe' is the third and final time that Robert Holmes would write for the Master, and the only occasion on which he would write for the Anthony Ainley incarnation. Although Ainley tends to ham up the role (allegedly on instructions from John Nathan-Turner), watching the series in order has forced me to accept the fact that I'm usually pleased to see him in spite of this, or perhaps even because of it. I rather like the idea that the Doctor is facing a death sentence with no means of escape until his arch-enemy reveals himself in order to put a spanner in the works, and I love his reasons for doing so; the fact that the Master is unprepared to countenance a rival in his long running feud with the Doctor harks back to the Pertwee era, and the master's seeming need to impress his old foe. Perhaps more significant is the implication in Episode Fourteen however that the Master really has cause to fear a version of the Doctor unfettered by moral scruples; the Doctor has after all defeated the Master on numerous occasions and occasionally spared or saved his life in the process, but the Valeyard would hardly be so generous… Despite as usually grinning like a Cheshire Cat on numerous occasions, Ainley is quite good here, conveying the impression that the Master is genuinely flattered when Mel describes him as "utterly evil", which is deeply silly but an amusing nod to the character's essential shallowness. 

With the Valeyard's true nature thus exposed, the story changes gear as the Doctor pursues him into the Matrix, and Holmes' revisits the surreal dreamscape concept of 'The Deadly Assassin' to good effect, with nothing as it seems. There is a surreal creepiness to proceedings, such as the eerie singing of children in the background, and the cliffhanger ending to Episode Thirteen as the Doctor is pulled into the sand by clutching hands is a memorable image, for once justifying a close-up of Baker's face. Dominic Glynn's incidental score helps considerably in creating this atmosphere. Holmes' old skill at characterisation also becomes evident one final time in the shape of Mr. Popplewick. Geoffrey Hughes is perfectly cast as this pompous, stuffy living embodiment of bureaucracy, and he provides an opportunity for some amusing lines that poke fun at such bureaucracy, such as "The holy writ of order is procedure" and his defense of absurd regulations, as typified by his conversation with Glitz in Episode Thirteen. Having explained "the junior Mr. Popplewick is not permitted to expect anyone", his indignant reaction Glitz's entirely reasonable question "Why didn't you put him in the picture?" is of course, "And upset the procedure!?".

Another plus here is the return of Sabalom Glitz. Whilst I criticized Tony Selby's performance in 'The Mysterious Planet', he seems more assured in the role here, which benefits the character. Without Dibber (or a gun) to back him up, Glitz loses his edge somewhat and stands exposed as a bit of a coward, albeit a rather likeable one, and his constant switching of allegiances is rather amusing. He agrees to help the Doctor in Episode Thirteen because he's worried that the Valeyard intends to dispose of any witnesses to what is taking place, then when the Master provides sanctuary from the nerve gas in Episode Fourteen he rejoins his old business associate. He even briefly tries to suck up to the Valeyard at the start of Episode Fourteen, getting dismissed as an "oaf" and a "microbe" for his pains. But he isn't merely a buffoon; his willingness to betray the Doctor to Popplewick in Episode Fourteen for the sake of his wallet is a reminder that Glitz is inherently untrustworthy, and the Master's inability to hypnotize him is not entirely unimpressive. This particular scene is especially entertaining, as Glitz is more interested in the value of the "bauble" that the Master uses to try and hypnotize him forcing the Master to resort to simply bribery since it is more likely to appeal to Glitz's "crass soul". 

But despite all of these good points to 'The Ultimate Foe', it doesn't work quite as well as it should do. There are numerous minor failings: Holmes returning to the Doctor's habit from 'The Mysterious Planet' of making crap insults based on the Valeyard's title, here calling him "the railyard", betrays the patchwork nature of what is ultimately a single fourteen-episode story. The revelation that Peri did not die at the end of 'Mindwarp' but instead has been set up as a warrior queen by King Yrcanos is a massive cop-out akin to revealing that Adric managed to survive 'Earthshock' after all. Although I like the Doctor's impassioned ranting at the Time Lord's in Episode Thirteen (his famous "In all my travellings throughout the universe, I have battled against evil, against power-mad conspirators. I should have stayed at home!" speech), there are also some truly appalling lines of dialogue. Mel gets more than her fair share from Holmes, including "That's it Doc, now we're getting at the dirt" and "How utterly evil!", and even more when Pip and Jane Baker take over for Episode Fourteen as she gets to spout drivel like "Never mind the Sidney Carton heroics". The Valeyard gets to join in as well, with the cringe worthy but strangely memorable "There's nothing you can do to prevent the catharsis of spurious morality". And I should also mention James Bree's performance as the Keeper of the Matrix, an exercise in wooden acting that proves that he hasn't honed his art since his diabolical performance as the Security Chief way back in 'The War Games'. 

In addition to this, I'm suddenly forced to realize exactly why so many fans dislike Mel. Whilst I liked her in 'Terror of the Vervoids', she's simply awful here, partly because of the horrid dialogue Langford is given and partly because, with circumstances meaning that the character has less opportunity to enjoy herself here, Mel suddenly becomes shrill and irritating. Also, Langford's acting suddenly takes a nose-dive, a fact that is especially obvious when she has to deliver the line "the Doctor's convinced he has to sacrifice himself… and you're content to let him!". 

But above all, 'The Ultimate Foe' leaves me with a feeling of anticlimax. Episode Fourteen is perfectly serviceable, in that it wraps up the story line as well as introducing further developments. The Valeyard's intention to wipe out the court is perfectly consistent with his motivation, since he would hardly want witnesses left alive had he succeeded in taking the Doctor's remaining lives. Likewise, the revelation that in addition to trying to get the Doctor and the Valeyard to eliminate each other the Master is also making a play for power on Gallifrey is perfectly in character. The concept of the trial within a trial as the Valeyard creates a duplicate of the courtroom in the Matrix to try and trick the Doctor is a novel idea and also worthy of mention, although Chris Clough's unsubtle direction rather spoils it; the sinister background noises and Langford's ever-so-slightly suspicious performance are unnecessary and alert the viewer to the fact that something is wrong before we find out for certain, thus spoiling the surprise. The main problem with Episode Fourteen is that it somehow feels like a by-the-numbers attempt to finish the story off and tidy up, and it all falls a but flat. The Valeyard suddenly becomes a Master clone at the end, laughing maniacal, gloating, and explaining his plan. There is too much technobabble, with a "megabyte modem", "particle disseminator", and "limbo atrophier" and it all ends with a big explosion. The ending feels particularly tacky; I can buy the idea of the Inquisitor throwing the case out after the events of the last two episodes, but the suggestion that the Doctor runs for President is as ghastly here as it was when Flavia suggested it at the end of 'The Five Doctors'. Ultimately, the conclusion to 'The Trial of a Time Lord' feels adequate, but I can't help wishing that it felt spectacular. 

The Completely Useless Encyclopedia has an entry that reads "Carrot juice, carrot juice, vworp-vworp, carrot juice", and defines it as "famous last words". It's an unfortunate fact that whether or not 'The Trial of a Time Lord' is any good, the controversial sacking of Colin Baker means that he gets a fairly ignoble final scene, as he departs, under threat of exercise, with a slightly paradoxical companion (for anyone who cares, the obvious explanation for resolving this can be read in Pip and Jane Baker's novelisation of 'The Ultimate Foe', or the Missing Adventure 'Time of Your Life'). His tenure in the lead role is arguably the most controversial of any of the seven Doctors that appeared in the main run of series, and he departed under ignominious circumstances, with fandom divided to this day about whether or not he ever managed to make a good Doctor. Thirteen years later however, and with the advent of Big Finish, the redemption of the Sixth Doctor would begin…

It is unfortunate that Colin Baker made so few Doctor Who stories for television, but his short era is fascinating, as in many ways it is a microcosm of the series. In Season 22 there is a multi-Doctor story, a Dalek story, a Cybermen story, and this, a pseudo historical adventure set during the Luddite riots in England. While on the whole it is probably one of the better Sixth Doctor adventures, lacking as it is many of the obvious faults that befell his two and a bit seasons, it is still a somewhat misjudged.

The title refers to a Time Lady, the Rani, who has been stealing brain chemicals from pit workers in 19th century Newcastle. The Doctor and Peri arrive, forced there by The Master, who plans to kill his nemesis. But they both become involved in the strange events, the former trying to prevent the alteration of history, the latter planning to use George Stevenson to aid him in his dreams of world domination.

The script, by Pip and Jane Baker, is intriguing, but they come up with some of the most preposterous dialogue heard in series history. They should probably be praised for trying to enlarge our vocabularies, but then again does anyone know what "Apposite epithet" means, or even care? They also seem to get the characterisation of The Doctor and Peri wrong, and insert a set piece in which The Rani and Peri must traverse a field of mines...that turn unfortunate victims into trees. It's so out of place you have to suspect that substances were involved during the writing...mind you, some of the blame must be pointed at poor Eric Saward. He might've been apathetic to The Master, but that's no reason not to provide an explanation as to his escape from death in Planet of Fire. Sometimes, I think he's undeserving of most of the critical flack he receives. But for laziness like that, most of the time I have to agree with it.

The performances are mixed. Colin Baker is as good as ever, but Nicola Bryant is growing increasingly annoying. Granted, she gets some of the worst dialogue ("You suspect another motive?"), but she still doesn't have the skill to deliver it in a way to make it sound half-decent, and her American accent is growing even more wobbly. She also wears too much, although that's perhaps a more trivial complaint. Anthony Ainley returns with an oddly restrained performance, acting as nothing more than The Rani's lackey throughout the story. And The Rani herself? Well, Kate O' Mara's not bad, but essentially her character is nothing more than a female Master, and when she's in a scene with former co-star Colin, or Ainley, things really do get cheesy.

It's left to director Sarah Hellings to make up for these deficincies. Helped by an atmospheric location, she works wonders, which are magnified when you look at who directed the two stories surrounding this one. There are some delightful visual touches, like the volcano, The Rani's TARDIS (which, I'm afraid to say, is a lot better than the Doctor's) and the odd shot at the end in which one of the dinosaur embroyos inside her TARDIS begins to grow at an accelerated speed, which is a surprisingly effective, er, effect.

Unfortunately though, The Mark of the Rani also has bad dialogue and some duff performances, so they negate these good points to a certain extent. But I'm prepared to be generous to this one as Colin made so few, and was such an enjoyable and under-rated Doctor, even when the odds were stacked against him.

Many people dislike Mindwarp, saying it is all about people escaping, running along tunnels, being recaptured etc, and not having any story. I think rather that,like Resurrection of the Daleks, it has too many interwoven plotlines - the selling of arms to Ycarnos and his warlords, finding a transplant doner for Lord Kiv, the Trial itself, the overthrow of the Mentors.....and it doesn't all hang together that well. It is still, also like Resurrection, one of my favourite stories for the following reasons.

Firstly the characters I find uniformly excellant. The delightfully loud Ycarnos providing much needed light relief,the dour Frax, and of course Crozier. This man, outwardly so ordinary looking and not some ranting power mad megalomaniac, was nevertheless sinister and utterly without compassion; destroying (so we are lead to believe) one of the Doctor's companians,this quietly spoken man becomes one of the Sixth Doctor's biggest threats. So we are lead to believe.

For this story must be unique in that the events seen on the Matrix screen are, it is hinted, maybe not entirely as they transpired. We can only guess how the events on Thorus-Beta end, we are not told. We don't really know if we are watching the lies of the Valeyard, the Doctor suffering from the effects of that machine, or the unvarnished truth. Or a mixture of all three.

But I was talking about what I like here which is, the Mentors! I always like a story with cool monsters and these Mentors look good and are funny as well as being ruthless and clever. Clever because it is only their ability to control people's minds that makes them able to have slaves who would otherwise be able to crush them underfoot.

Mindwarp is a delightfully amoral story. No one really cares about their actions - Kiv, Sil, Crozier, even the Sixth Doctor. Or is it illusion? Da, da!

The Ultimate Foe! What a remarkably accurate title for a change, no inaccuracy here! I don't know if the resolution to the trial of a time lord makes a lot of sense, but what a brilliant way to end it! Now then, unless you have been living in a cave, in Mars, with your fingers in your ears, you will know that the Valeyard was in fact the Doctor himself, in his twelfth and last regeneration, and that he wanted the sixth Doctor (himself) dead so that he could steal his remaining regenerations for himself.

Absolute rubbish? Possibly, possibly, but an ending surely noone could have predicted. and is it all that unlikely? Here is a future incarnation of the Doctor, possibly thousands of years into the future - it is likely to assume that a person's priorities might change in all that time from good to evil, even the Doctor's. And he was facing death after his next regeneration, so was presumably desperate enough to try drastic measures to prolong his life - for a time lord who's lived so long, death when it comes must be even worse than for a human.

I also loved Mr Popplewick who was (cave in Mars, fingers in ears) also the Twelfth Doctor. I would like to see a load of new adventue novels featuring Mr Popplwick in a Tardis, maybe slowly tranforming from good to evil. No? Oh well.

But a good ending to a good series. On the whole. I personally thought that there was a bad Sixth Doctor that we were seeing on the matrix screen - a doppleganger who we were seeing doing all those bad things, and not the good sixth Doctor at all. Well, it seemed plausable at the time!