Thursday, April 14, 2022

Time and the Rani Part Three


The one where the Rani releases a swarm of killer insects...

There may be some pretty ripe dialogue in this story, typical of Pip and Jane Baker's wordy work, but the cast seems to cope with it amiably. It might not be the most sayable dialogue ever written, but the actors say it with conviction, which is what just about gets it by. There's a great scene between the Doctor and Beyus, after the latter rescues the former from the Tetrap lair, which is loaded with awkward lines, but the essence of them is character-forming, especially for Sylvester McCoy.

The Doctor is clearly angered by the Rani's scheme to pluck geniuses out of time to place them in some kind of menagerie (or "abysmal parade"). His outrage at what the Rani's up to tells us that this is the same Doctor who has railed against injustice and inhumanity since we first got to know him in 1963. He's also frustrated that he can't find out what's behind the Rani's big door, and confused by Beyus's willingness to obey the Rani. But Beyus sends him on a mission to discover why he is complicit, at the Centre of Leisure/ Indolence.

The entrance to the Centre of Leisure is nicely done, using models and forced perspective, with the little stepping stones across the water punctuated by mini flaming torches. McCoy is characterising his Doctor on the go, that much is clear, but while he takes a mis-step occasionally (the malapropisms are getting tiresome now, and the slapstick demeanour a bit much) he also makes positive choices.

Take, for example, the scene where he narrowly escapes a bubble trap, and unintentionally pushes a Tetrap into it instead. The creature explodes, and the Doctor removes his hat in mourning. It would have been nice to stay a bit longer on the Doctor for him to say something in sorrow, but at least we don't get a distasteful Bond-style quip. It's a nice little moment which says something about his Doctor, as does the bit when he copies Ikona in the Lakertyan ritual of touching the stone on the way in to the Centre of Leisure. This is a Doctor who cares, who notices and reacts more empathically (certainly more than his predecessor).

The Centre of Leisure set reminds me of Castrovalva, with its steps and walkways, although I'm not convinced those hammock seats would be all that leisurely! Hanging above the square is a new addition from the Rani, a spiky orb which does not match the simplistic Lakertyan decor one bit! Within moments the Rani punishes Beyus for allowing the Doctor to escape by releasing a swarm of poorly-realised deadly insects from the orb, which buzz about biting and killing the indolent Lakertyans. Less than a second after the insects are released, a disembodied voice shouts "Look out, they kill!", and everybody runs screaming. I don't know who says this, but whoever she is she's remarkably well-informed!

The Doctor agrees to swap the microthermistor he stole from the Rani in exchange for Mel, but the viewer knows the real Mel is hanging upside down like a slab of meat in the Tetraps' larder. The Doctor is tricked into returning the microthermistor, and welcomes a hologram of Mel with open arms. This hologram is apparently about as substantial as the Rani's scruples, another eye-rollingly bad line from the Bakers, but given as much life as possible by McCoy.

Bonnie Langford impressed me in this episode too. Aside from the ear-shredding screams (most prevalent when she's attacked and stung by the Tetraps), her performance is nicely balanced. Wanda Ventham brings the best out of Langford in their scene together amongst the rocks: because Ventham is calm and understated, so too is Langford. Later, when Mel has to face-off against the Rani, the tone is heightened, but it works because Langford is opposite famous soap super-bitch Kate O'Mara. I like how Mel gets easily riled by the Rani, with Beyus having to stop her charging after her!

Bits:
  • The "action scenes" in the Rani's laboratory are poorly staged. After the embarrassing routines in part 1 (when the Doctor wakes up) and part 2 (when the Doctor and Mel wrestle), here we have the Doctor tripping Beyus up with his brolly, and Donald Pickering tumbling to the floor like the old ham he is.
  • I like the moment between husband and wife Beyus and Faroon, where Beyus explains he is collaborating with the Rani because he wants her to go, "and our lives can return to normal". But as Faroon notes, they will not return to normal, because their daughter Sarn is dead (pretty remiss of Beyus to forget that). It's a nice little scene between two supporting characters, and I'm pleasantly surprised Sarn hasn't been forgotten.
  • Keff McCulloch's "sad Doctor Who theme" is rather lovely. I always like it when the musician incorporates the theme into the score, and this example is sweetly melancholic.
By the end of the episode we've seen what's behind the Rani's big door: it's a giant pink brain (of course it's pink!) with throbbing veins which is able to speak, boasting about the new knowledge it's acquiring from the imprisoned geniuses. The cliffhanger is quite ominous, with the Doctor trapped in his cubicle and his knowledge of time being transferred into the giant brain. I'm not sure what the Rani is intending to do with this big clever brain, and that lump of strange matter in space, but it's certainly colourful fun finding out.

First broadcast: September 21st, 1987

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The vampire bat-like Tetraps are so well realised. The masks are great, and Urak actor Richard Gauntlett has a shuffling gait which adds to the animalistic alien's nature.
The Bad: I can't decide whether it's Donald Pickering's melodramatic trip, or the rubbish killer insects. Let's say both.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆


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