The Mark of the Rani Part Two

The one where people are turned into trees...

Not many people can say their life was saved by George Stephenson, but the Doctor certainly can thanks to the timely intervention of the northern inventor (played by Gawn Grainger, husband of Zoe Wanamaker, don'tcha know?). It's endearing how distracted Stephenson is by the metal alloy used to shackle the Doctor to the trolley, to the point where he forgets to release him!

It's great to have a real historical figure in Doctor Who again. When was the last time a real person from Earth history appeared in the programme? I reckon you'd have to go right back to the 1960s (perhaps even the Hartnell era?), if you overlook the appearance of King John in The King's Demons, who wasn't really King John at all. I might be wrong, but it's certainly been a while.

The Mark of the Rani Part One

The one where the TARDIS is thrown down a mine shaft...

What wonderful scene-setting from director Sarah Hellings at the start of this story, coupled with some gorgeous, contemplative music from Jonathan Gibbs (so different to his work on Warriors of the Deep and Vengeance on Varos). It feels so mellow and laidback, and we're given the time to work out where we are, when we are, and what's going on. It feels like a Catherine Cookson adaptation, and the location filming at Blists Hill open air museum gives it vital authenticity. It's a gentle opening which capitalises on the BBC's famous expertise when it comes to period drama. This episode feels good already.

We watch a bunch of tired miners eschew a pint at the local inn for a good bath, making their way to the local bath-house for a scrub. They don't quite manage to get fully undressed before a mysterious gas floods the room and they're rendered unconscious. There's an immediate assumption that these men are dead, but it's not long until they're back on their feet, only rather more active than before. Whatever's been done to them has made them more violent, ready for a fight, and they rampage through the village, kicking over baked potato stalls, shoving little kids to the ground, and accosting a cart transporting some kind of machinery.