VHS : Doctor Who - Time And The Rani

Rating: - Cant see what all the fuss is about this GREAT story!
I dont agree with the views of many people about this GREAT story. I will list all the great things about it below:

Sylv McCoy: His debut as the Doctor is strong and really different from any of his predecessore. He really feels and comes across as really enjoying the role, and is full of enthusiasm for the role. He really does impress on this his first outing as one of the best incarnations of the time lord actually.

Kate O Mara: If anyone had to pretend to be the Doctors companion, no one else could have done it with the finesse that Kate O Mara does it with as the Rani in this story. Yes, and she is even stronger than in her debut and even seems to look younger! Shes really quite good looking.

Special Effects; This story definitely boasts some of the best effects from the whole classic series. The great glass spheres, the flies, the guns and all that. And the starscape start is one of my favourite opening moments of a Doctor Who story ever.

If the story really was rubbish, i do believe no one would have wanted to be in it!! And this story is actually one of my favourite stories of the whole series, and if only more stories had been like this then maybe the series wouldnt have been cancelled at all. This story really is excellent with plenty to offer for anyone who is bothered to look for them.

Another story again where the incidental music is great and eerie too. This is great stuff and I cant wait for this story to be put out on dvd.

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Rating: - The worst story ever
In 1985, the then controller of the BBC, Michael Grade axed Doctor Who. In hindsight this was a very strange decision, as the debut story of season 22 Attack of the Cybermen had attracted very good ratings, and the programme maintained healthy audience figures throughout the rest of the run. Grade had justified dropping the programme because he felt that the series had become violent and had declined in quality. Although it is true that at this stage in the programmes history, the series had become over reliant on maintaining continuity with what it happened past, the viewing figures suggested that people were not that unhappy with the programme and still tuned in. Rather it appears, as Grade admitted some years later, that he simply disliked the programme, and but for the public outcry, Doctor Who would not have reappeared at all. Following an 18 month hiatus, the show did return. Unfortunately the season entitled, The Trial of a Timelord, was not a success, and Colin Baker was informed that he was being axed from the role after just 2 years. Understandbly, Colin Baker refused to return either for a farewell story or a regeneration sequence. Although Baker would later come back to Doctor Who as the Sixth Doctor, with his highly acclaimed series of audio adventures. These help demonstrate just how good a Doctor he was.
Several people were considered for the role of the seventh Doctor, including Ken Campbell. Joh Nathan Turner eventually chose the 43 year old Scottish comedian and entertainer Sylvester McCoy. In contrast to the adult nature of season 22, season 24 was much lighter in tone and the programme appeared to be aiming for the children's market.
Time And The Rani begins with The Tardis being attacked by laser beams in outer space, and forced to crashland on an alien planet. Presumbly as a consequence of injury from this attack, The Doctor regenerates. Although companion Mel suffers no serious injuries. Due to Baker's refusal to return. McCoy simply wore a blond wig for this sequence. It was hoped that nobody would notice that prior to his regeneration The Doctor had also lost 6 inches in height. It is revealed that renegade Timelady The Rani is behind the crash, and she needs the Doctor as part of a scheme, involving transferring his knowledge into a giant brain. The Rani has also set numerous traps on the planet, to enslave the population there. These traps are maintained by alien monsters called the Tetraps.
McCoy very much emphasises humour as the new Doctor, and indeed he said that when he started, he was playing it very much for laughs. Unfortunately this does not work. One early characteristic which was thankfully dropped, is The Doctor regularly getting familar sayings wrong.
It is also not clear why The Doctor is not more angry with the Rani for taking away one of his lifes. The supporting characters are also not memorable, and the plot is unengaging.
This ultimately is not just the worst debut story of any Doctor, but also the worst story and season. Thankfully the programme would get better, but this would not be until the following year

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Rating: - Only a Skullbrain would like this
Contary to believe, the McCoy era produced more good stories than bad. Sadly, this IS BAD, no, worse than that, it is complete CRUD!!!!!

Sylvester McCoy is one of my favorite Doctors (Thrid to Pat Troughton and Tom Baker in fact) but he is not at all good in this, and Bonnie Langford is rubbish, she screams and screams and screams till we're deaf with anger at the writing and acting, in fact, only McCoy and Kate O' Mara are good.

However, the Tetraps are VERY freaky to look at, and the ep 2 cliff-hanger is as good as The Curse Of Fenric ep 2, Remembrance of the Daleks ep 1 and to some extent Paradise Towers ep 2 (If Ace, my fav companion was in Mel's shoes, I'd have been having nightmares) and Urak was good and eerie. The 7th Doctor is very good as well and very interesting to watch, he is a lot more funny and entertaining than Jon Pertwee, but I was upset when he senselessly killed a Tetrap, Colin Baker had gone, but the brutalness remained.

This was going to get one star, but, because of the Tetraps and McCoys and O' Mara's performances, I give it two.

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Rating: - An era I like to forget.
I remember 'trying hard' to be a fan of this story and the McCoy era. Nice man outside the role, but these story's were the reason for killing it off back then. Why couldn't JNT continue in the same vain as the last Tom Baker season. I would rather watch a blank tape than this poorly put together rubbish. Like the previous reviewer said. Poor Doctor, Poor story's, Poor theme and graphics.

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Rating: - Typical sequal.
For anyone who doesn't know, this is a sequal/follow-up to 'Mark of the Rani'. This story doesn't work as an introduction for a new Doctor, a camp comedy, serious sci-fi, or an action thriller. As childish nonsense it works perfectly. This was a point in Dr Who's history when the show seemed to be moving into the realms of one-dimensional, panto-like light entertainment, and this story has to be the worst offender of all. The plot involves the Rani kidnapping the Doctor (the latest in a long line of geniuses she has abducted in the hope they can come up with a way of destroying an asteroid made of Strange Matter, which she plans to use to create a time manipulator). So what we have is four day-glo episodes of running around, being captured, escaping, being re-captured and the awful Mel screaming, whining and generally being irritating. True, the special effects are good and the Rani is still a strong character, but they're wasted in a tale which combines feeble, unfunny slapstick comedy with some half-hearted attempt to be educational. It's amazing the series ever picked itself up from the gutter of stories such as this. My advice - if you want to see McCoy's Doctor then watch stories like Ghost Light, Curse of Fenric, Survival and Remembrance of the Daleks. If you want to see the Rani then watch Mark of the Rani.