Day 657: Time and the Rani Part 4

If there's one consistently good thing in Time and the Rani, it's Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor. His performance as the Doctor is one which will evolve as the series continues, but for the moment, his character is a light and fun figure, dashing about and saving the day from all the troubles that occur within it. It's a stark contrast to Colin Baker's first outing, where the Doctor was immediately unlikeable, here McCoy's Doctor is charming, if a little nutty. The best example of this, in my opinion, comes when he finds himself up against a Tetrap partway through this episode. Immediately grabbing the nearest defensive object to hand, he points an umbrella at the Tetrap with a degree of threat. When the Tetrap is then attacked and stunned by Mel, the Doctor looks at the umbrella with a degree of quiet bemusement. It's not a large comedic moment, but it endears one to the character, and goes towards making a well rounded character in the form of the Seventh Doctor.

Day 656: Time and the Rani Part 3

There are several problems with this episode that caught my attention. For instance, there's the fact that a deadly disco ball of death releases tiny computer generated blobs which are meant to be deadly insects, which is a laughable effect, and ruins any sense of terror that that scene could have brought. There's also the decision to make the Tetraps stun people with their tongue, which looks more silly than anything else, and one final thing that really irked me for some reason.

In the story, we cut away from the Doctor talking with the native people of Lakertya, the Lakertyans, to a 15 second shot of Mel being trapped in the Tetrap's base. The next scene is outside, where Mel being led by a Tetrap to the Doctor, where an exchange takes place, with the Doctor returning some vital piece of equipment to the Rani, while Mel is returned to the Doctor. But then, as Mel walks towards the Doctor, it is revealed that she is a hologram, and that this has all been a ruse by the Rani to get her equipment back. But this moment of revelation is devoid of any surprise because we have already seen Mel trapped with the Tetraps and therefore we know that something is fishy about her suddenly appearing outside without any explanation as to how this could occur. It sparks of lazy writing, as well as poor direction, and a complete lack of an editor on this project. Funnily enough though, the script editor, Andrew Cartmel, openly admits to having nothing to do with this story as it was commissioned before he arrived on the programme and Pip and Jane Baker didn't really take much input from him as they viewed him as inexperienced. Still, as has been shown here, maybe if they had listened to their editor, then they would have seen their mistake rather than just letting it happen and leaving us with a badly produced Doctor Who story.

Day 655: Time and the Rani Part 2

One of the actually quite well done things within this story is the special effects. Most of them look surprisingly convincing, and seeing how they are utilised is one of the few highlights within this story. For example, there's the ball of death that Mel finds herself in, which is achieved through a mixture of computer-generated effects to represent the ball as well as practical effects to represent explosions that go off whenever the ball hits another object. Whilst this may not be the most impressive effect that's ever been in Doctor Who, it's still something that's worth commending as the production team making a good effort to give something worth watching on screen.

And then that's all ruined when one character shoots a Tetrap (this story's monster) with glitter. This is a massive let down, considering all that surrounds it, and really diminishes the quality of the story. Between occasionally bad special effects, and regularly bad writing, you would think that there is almost nothing that could redeem this story. And yet, I'm sure that I can still find something within it that's legitimately good.

Day 654: Time and the Rani Part 1

Oh dear. Everything was going so well, and then it all went downhill so quickly. Time and the Rani is not a very well written story. There were constraints, I suppose, that necessitated these problems, such as the fact that there was no script editor, nor an actor to play the Doctor, given that Colin Baker was fired from the programme after The Trial of a Time Lord. That said, there's still no excuse that Pip and Jane Baker, the story's writers, could manage to fail to deliver anything remotely good.

A lot of this comes down to the writing style, which feels overly simplistic and a little bit childish. For instance, we get a clunky scene at the beginning where it's revealed that the Rani has captured Einstein, which is revealed through dialogue as the Rani barks orders at her slaves, where a simple visual could have sufficed of her slave labelling the cell where Einstein is kept (which actually happens within the story as well, further questioning why this scene needs to happen). There's other scenes like this throughout the story that feel like they could have been better written, or directed, or acted, or just better in general. Still, unlike Arc of Infinity, I am at least finding some things to enjoy within this story, and I might mention some of them next time, as this story continues.

Day 653: The Trial of a Time Lord Part 14 - The Ultimate Foe Part 2

This episode isn't great. There's a good reason for that though. Script editor Eric Saward is not one of Producer John Nathan-Turner's greatest pals. They disagreed fundamentally on the direction in which the series would be going, and this all came to a head when the conclusion to The Trial of a Time Lord came to be written. Saward envisioned something written akin to Holmes's original vision for the ending of the story, which would involve a cliffhanger ending where the Doctor would be trapped in a battle with the Valeyard for all eternity. Nathan-Turner disagreed with this, which proved to be the final straw for Saward, thus he tendered his resignation and left the programme entirely whilst bad-mouthing the production office to anyone who will listen. It's a shame to lose Saward, as he's been getting progressively better as the series has been going on, but there's no denying the fact that the stories have been less consistent in terms of quality over his time as script editor, so I guess that maybe his decision will force some new life to come into the programme.

Unfortunately, that new life is Pip and Jane Baker, who were rushed in to complete this story. They aren't the most imaginative of writers, generally striving for mediocrity instead of quality. And aside from a nice sequence at the beginning featuring the Valeyard and some clever editing, and another scene involving a bait-and-switch and the Trial sequence, there's not too much to recommend this story about.

And yet, I still love this story with every fibre of my being. I love it because it's a story that's all about remembering how to write good Doctor Who stories after four series with such uneven quality as to make me consider throwing in the towel and stopping this blog altogether (I'm looking at you, Time-Flight). We've got a story in The Mysterious Planet that reminds us of how Doctor Who can be fun without being a terrible story. We've got a story in Mindwarp that reminds us of how Doctor Who can be scary without resorting to a blood-bath. We've got a story in Terror of the Vervoids that reminds us of how Doctor Who can rise above design problems, provided that the idea is strong enough. We've got a story in The Ultimate Foe that reminds us of how Doctor Who can be weird, without being incomprehensible. And above all else, we've got a story in The Trial of a Time Lord that reminds us that Doctor Who can be utterly fantastic. All I can say is, I cannot wait until tomorrow, to see what's in store in this absolutely fantastic series.

Day 651: The Trial of a Time Lord Part 12 - Terror of the Vervoids Part 4

The end of Terror of the Vervoids has the Doctor killing all of the Vervoids, mainly in self defense, for if any of them were to survive then they would destroy all animal life on Earth. It's an ending that doesn't feel that out of place, considering the generally darker tone that stories have been taking over the past few series, as well as the fact that the Doctor is able to immediately justify his actions. That said, it still feels out of place, and is quickly followed up on in the trial scenes.

Here, it is clearly pointed out that the Doctor has committed genocide, and that that is a bad thing. He's going to be punished for this, and it's quite clear that the trial will find the Doctor guilty of a number of offences. And, in a way, he deserves it. The series has been getting too focussed on action for its own good, and that's leading to all sorts of problems for various stories, as we see the Doctor act out of character time and time again. The series needs to desperately reinvent itself, and although we're beginning to see elements of that reinvention in The Trial of a Time Lord, it's perhaps going to be a little while before that reinvention finally takes place...

Day 650: The Trial of a Time Lord Part 11 - Terror of the Vervoids Part 3

The Vervoids are strange creatures, plants that have become sentient and now wish to destroy all humans. They also look ridiculously rude. It's easy to see why, they wanted to go for an image of a flower in bloom, but accidentally invoked more of an image of genitalia. And whilst it's easy to look down on this moment and say that it's another example of the series going horribly wrong, I choose to look at it in another way.

We've just come off a couple of series where, if something in the story isn't up to scratch, then the entire story falls on its face. We've had disasters like Time-Flight, Arc of Infinity, The Twin Dilemma, Warriors of the Deep and Timelash where one small little problem seems to cascade into a lot of larger problems. But Vervoids doesn't go that way. Instead, we just have this problem of design of the costume, and not much else. It's not a perfect story, but it's still quite enjoyable, and that's more than can be said of the previous stories, all of which were unambiguously awful. So we're now able to see a production team finally get back on its feet, ready for all new challenges that face it and hopefully with less stories of uneven quality.

Day 649: The Trial of a Time Lord Part 10 - Terror of the Vervoids Part 2

One of the interesting things about this story is its genre. It's a simple mystery story, where the villain has not yet been revealed, so we follow the Doctor and Mel as they try to find the culprit behind the series of murders that have been ocurring on this spaceship. And in a time when I occasionaly yearn for Doctor Who to try new things and new story ideas, I'm going to be a bit hypocritical and say that this isn't that bad. It's written well, by Pip and Jane Baker, who make a nice pacy adventure that's quite enjoyable, if a little average.

But it's also a return to the heart of storytelling in Doctor Who. The series is allowed to work in any genre that it likes, but in the past few stories, it feels like it's just been action-adventure science fiction stories. So it's nice to have a change, and to see something different being done by the series, so as to remind the audience that Doctor Who can do a lot of things, not just generic science fiction stories.

Day 648: The Trial of a Time Lord Part 9 - Terror of the Vervoids Part 1

The interesting thing about this story is the way in which it is told. The eponymous trial that the Doctor is undergoing is using evidence from the Doctor's adventures, with the previous two being taken from his past. This adventure, however, bucks the trend and chooses to go for an adventure from his future. We thus get a new companion, Mel, who we've never met before (and indeed will never properly 'meet'; we will never get a 'proper' introduction story for her character), as well as a few other things, such as a calmer temperament for the Doctor, showing that his character has evolved since the time which the trial has taken place.

But more than that, it also shows how the production team have chosen to take advantage of the format of the overall story arc. Instead of just confining themselves to the events of the past, they have decided that, since this is a show about time travel, they can nip into the future and tell a story that way. Granted, aside from the addition of Mel, there's not much to distinguish it from any other story that could have been told, but it's the thought that counts, and I appreciate this story for that fact.

Day 632: The Mark of the Rani Part 2

The Mark of the Rani, as I said yesterday, is a story that i don't really think is great. But that doesn't mean that I think it's terrible either, and there are certainly strong things to find within the episode.

For a start, there's the concept behind the villainous Rani. The Rani is a renegade Time Lord, much like the Doctor or the Master, but her defining feature is that she is a scientist. And, as a scientist, she therefore disregards all human life as worthless and so uses it as part of grand experiments to further her own scientific knowledge. It's an interesting motivation, and certainly one which is true (I know of several friends studying science who would very easily take over the world because of a general hatred for all human life), and it also leads to a way for some cool concepts to be shown on screen. For instance, there are some landmines that The Rani has created that turn whoever steps on them into a tree. It makes for a nice and memorable effect, and helps to give a sense of menace to this villain.

The only problem is, however, that The Rani doesn't really get that much menace to her. Instead, much of the episode is spent with her, The Doctor and The Master (and occasionally Peri) delivering witty dialogue to each other as they insult and constantly one-up one another. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing, and the dialogue is one of this story's strong points. The major problem, however, is that so much focus is put on the dialogue that there's no real sense of danger when dealing with either The Master or The Rani. Instead, we just accept that these characters are in opposition and move on with out lives. The climax to this story, for instance, is just The Master destroying a pillar in an old mine shaft, causing it to slightly collapse. There's no need to be worried about what will happen to our heroes, which crucially means that there's no reason to feel triumphant at the end of the stlry that the protagonists have defeated the villains. Because of this, the story just feels like it ends with a whimper, which doesn't help the overall quality of the story.

And with all of these good points and bad points, it just feels like they all cancel each other out in my mind and leave me completely apathetic to this story. Which is a shame, as there's plenty to be opinionated about here, it's just that I can't quite allow myself to point one way or the other with regards to this story's quality. That is, of course, except for the final scene, which features a beautiful pun and is almost enough to make me want to like this story. But, sadly, not quite enough.

Day 631: The Mark of the Rani Part 1

I've got an odd relationship with The Mark of the Rani. It's a story that seems to be completely average for me, and yet there is so much within it and within my relationship with it that I either want to get an appreciation for it or dislike it intensely, but I can't find it in my heart to do either.

I suppose I should begin with my personal relationship with this episode. It was the second Doctor Who story I ever watched, however, unlike the other Doctor Who stories that I watched in that first wave of discovery, I don't have any real emotional connection to it. There isn't the fear that I experienced with Inferno, the reappraisal that I found with Frontier in Space, or the joy that I got from either The Curse of Peladon or The Five Doctors. The Mark of the Rani is instead, for me, a story that I just watched and kind of enjoyed.

And that, for me, is the heart of the problem, in that I want to have an emotional connection about watching it, and yet it doesn't provide it for me. Any memories that I have of this episode are rather mundane, such as a scene with the Doctor and Peri in the TARDIS, or a scene where the Doctor disguises himself by throwing dirt all over his face. I want to remember laughing at the surprisingly witty dialogue or getting thrilled at the rather exciting cliffhanger, and yet these things didn't have that much impact on me as a child, so the episode leaves me feeling cold instead of feeling the warmth that I really want to receive from it.

In the end, I suppose that that is why I kind of dislike this episode, and yet, by watching it, I'm surprised too find little things that make me rather pleased, as we'll discuss tomorrow.