Doctor Who: Classic 22x3: "The Mark of The Rani" Parts 1-2 | Reaction!

[@Duncan_Hart]

I'm so glad you're enjoying this season and old Sixie. Colin is probably my favourite Doctor and this story is one I used to rewatch over and over again on VHS as a kid. In fact I love this whole season The Rani is a great addition to the Whoniverse and the dynamic between her, The Master and The Doctor is a joy to watch. In fact Colin Baker & Kate O'Mara had appeared together a decade before in a long running BBC serial called The Brothers, in which Colin played villian Paul Merroney - once dubbed "The Most Hated Man in Britain." She so enjoyed playing the role that she told producer JNT that she'd love to reprise it As you both point out visually this is a beautifully produced & shot episode. The script has some interesting ideas, there's some cracking dialogue and a few howlers. The plot doesn't really hold up to scrutiny but to be blunt it doesn't really matter, it's just a lot of atmospheric historical fun. As many have probably pointed out - the plan with the 6th Doctor was to start off with the character being totally ailen, crochety and verging on unlikeable with him gradually mellowing out. You can already see it happening. Colin is just great to watch. It was this story that made me into a full on 6th Doctor fan. I too didn’t really enjoy The Twin Dilema when it first aired and as a young fan (i was 7 at the time) I was worried by the new Doctor. I gradually started to warm to him during this Season and this story turned him into a firm favourite. I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the season - it's certainly one I enjoy revisiting. I have such a soft spot for the next few stories so I'll be really intrigued to hear both your thoughts. Anyway - really chuffed that you're both warming to the 6th Doctor, particularly after The Twin Dilema. It's just like rewatching the journey I went on as a kid! Ahh well, you know what they say - nostalgia ain't what it used to be!

[@Sandman_jazz1983]

The main location for the story is a ten minute drive from my childhood home. It is Blists Hill Open Air Museum. We would frequently go there on school trips when in Primary school, though no one ever mentioned it was a Who location (except me once or twice.)

[@bjgandalf69]

The 2 characters taken from history: Thomas Henry Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth (8 February 1775 - 7 March 1855), known as Sir Thomas Liddell, 6th Baronet, from 1791 to 1821, was a British peer and Tory politician and George Stephenson (9 June 1781 - 12 August 1848) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer during the Industrial Revolution.[1] Renowned as the "Father of Railways",[2] Stephenson was considered by the Victorians as a great example of diligent application and thirst for improvement. His chosen rail gauge, sometimes called "Stephenson gauge",[i] was the basis for the 4-foot-8+1⁄2-inch (1.435 m) standard gauge used by most of the world's railways. These are the first characters from actual history on DW since "The Gunfighters" back from William Hartnell's era, a story about the Gunfight at the Ok Corral. Info from Wikipedia...

[@kemmdog4444]

Nabil Shaban, who played Sil ,was born with a brittle bone disease called osteogenesis imperfecta. He co-founded Graeae-a theatre group which promotes disabled performers.

[@MrJ.Smith1234]

Wow it's very unusual for your Dad not to instantly know historical figures when there mentioned. 😀 This I consider to be the stand out for this season just for the dialog and the Rani who really puts the Master in his place.

[@alexthehunted]

Wonder if the time lords ever looked at Borusa classes because seems like all his students became renegade time lords. The doctor, master, rani, monk, drax according to cannon where in the same class together with borusa as there teacher.

[@MrPaulMorris]

Michael Faraday was an engineer/scientist active around the late 18th and early 19th century. He was a childhood hero of mine. His main advances were in electromagnetism; he invented the first electric motor and dynamo as well as discovering foundational principles in the field on which later scientists built. All this despite starting his work as a chemist.

[@whobp8]

1)The Rani was created at the suggestion of John Nathan Turner, who thought that the Master was becoming a little too much of a pantomime villain and wanted a more "straight"Time Lord threat for the Doctor. 2) Consequently, Anthony Ainley was very unhappy about this story, as he was concerned that he was going to ultimately be replaced by the Rani character. 3) Pip and Jane Baker were a husband/wife writing team. No relation to Colin. 4) This was filmed at a couple of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum sites. Similar to Colonial Williamsburg in the U.S, these are open air museums that maintain historic buildings and try to present life as it was in a past era. 5) The Rani is played by Kate O'Mara, who had previously co-starred with Colin Baker in the dramatic series The Brothers, probably Colin's best known non-Doctor Who work. On that show Kate was the goody and Colin was the baddie. Right around the same time that Mark of the Rani was made, Kate went to America and appeared on the prime-time soap opera Dynasty for awhile, playing Alexis (Joan Collins) sister. 6) George Stephenson is considered the "Father of the Railway" and helped develop the first steam locomotive. Michael Faraday amongst other things, experimented with electromagnetism, which is what you kinda remembered. 7) This is the first story since The Gunfighters to feature real people from history as characters. 8) This is the last story of the original series to be directed by a woman. 9) During the scene where the Doctor disguises himself as a miner by rubbing dirt on his face, Colin Baker unwittingly rubbed some dog poo on his face as well, leading to a lot of ribbing by the production crew 😂

[@domsquared9878]

Where the Master is immoral, the Rani is distinctly amoral

[@jonathanmurphy3141]

I visited the location for this, near Shrewbury, location Ironbridge Gorge/Blitis Hill - museum of the Industrial Revolution. I drove around the U.K. for two weeks in 1990. I liked this story already, and enjoyed seeing the location.

[@michaelwebster8666]

Pip&Jane Baker wrote well for Colin's Doctor, and understood what he was trying to do with the part. They returned to write again for his second and final season. Thank you both for another enjoyable watchalong/review

[@Darren79]

30:17 - Following the cancellation of another drama, all the BBC drama producers were offered a fully paid for BBC film crew and Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner was the first to grab them. As a result scenes in this that were written for studio were rewritten for location. The experienced film cameraman was given licence by the director (Sarah Hellings - her only Who story, she only agreed due to the period setting as she had no interest in sci-fi) to get atmospheric shots. This was the second time that a Steadi-cam was used on the series (the first being Destiny of the Daleks in season 17).

[@secretsymphony]

As a Sixth Doctor fan, It's cool to watch you guys enjoying his episodes. Kate O'Mara who played the Rani was a class act. She was well-known in the UK but also had fifteen minutes of fame in America in Dynasty. She was cast as Alexis's (Joan Collins) sister. In this clip she has just arrived as an unwelcome guest: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5-yeIR-f9-Bd5I

[@barriehull7076]

Ernest Albert "Pip" Baker (3 January 1929 - 14 April 2020) and Iris E. E. "Jane" Baker (30 December 1924 - 29 August 2014), professionally known as Pip and Jane Baker, were an English husband-and-wife team of television writers known mainly for their contributions to the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who. Pip is a name of English origin. It is a nickname for individuals named Philip or Philippa. Other variants include Pipkin, Pippin, Pippa, and Piper. Philip Pirrip, called Pip, is the protagonist and narrator in Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations (1861). Wikipedia.

[@iansmith4023]

This story was the first to be written by husband and wife Pip and Jane Baker, who many in fandon seem to denigrate; and I really don't understand why. Their plots may not be up there with the best of them, but they're always well researched (particularly with historical and scientific detail); witty and fast moving; with a use of vocabulary that doesn't speak down to it's audience - perhaps because they had an excellent pedigree of writing tv shows and books aimed at a young audience. I remember, as a child, absolutely loving their TV drama series "Circus"; which was a crime/thriller story for kids. It absolutely gripped me. In addition, they also wrote screenplays for MGM; Hammer films (a horror movie franchise); were novelists; and were part of the Gerry Anderson writing team (Space 1999). Perhaps it was the fact that they were prolific in writing successful 'low brow' fare that was the issue. Or that they weren't (by their own addmittance) specifically Dr Who fans. They were writers, doing their best to write whatever they were hired for. Mark of the Rani is a good example of this. The story was filmed at Blists Hill open air museum, in Shropshire. I visited it some years ago, and it was exactly the same as it is in this story. The reason much of this was on film was because the producer,at the last minute, managed to obtain the services of a BBC film crew who's scheduled job had been cancelled. Pip and Jane Baker spent much of the production on location, frantically rewriting scenes in order to have them take place outdoors. I also need to mention the music score. I find it a very pleasing use of washes of synth, but in an appropriately pastoral style.

[@kemmdog4444]

One Time Lord you missed was Drax from the Armageddon Factor.

[@nasmannen]

And the War chief from War games.

[@glenmcculla6843]

I've always been fond of this story as it's the Doctor Who adventure that takes place closest to me (Killingworth, where it's set, 1s about 11 miles from my house). That was always a nice frisson. I really like the direction and score of this one, too.

[@MuchWhittering]

So I'm from Chesterfield, and we've basically claimed George Stephenson as our own, as he lived the last decade of his life here, and is buried in one of our cemeteries, I've seen his grave. Our local theatre began life as the George Stephenson Memorial Hall, and his name is still on the building. Back when I was in my local youth theatre group I did a few things about him, since local pride is strong there. This is early 1800s. Stephenson invented his most famous train, the Rocket, in 1829, so it's before that. It's just occurred to me, but this was made in 1985 when Thatcher was in charge, so I assume that doing a coal mining story was topical. I love The Two Doctors. Don't listen to the haters.

[@Duncan_Hart]

I love this whole season but I certainly have a soft spot for The Two Doctors. It's great fun!

[@7thHourFilms]

Oh... Yes, let's be sure to not take negative opinions about the Two Doctors personally... It's all just a bit of fun! Right?

[@Darren79]

Originally the idea that the producer proposed was that the Master would have an evil female companion (that came from an actress that he wanted to have on the show) but the writers developed the idea of a female Time Lord as a sort of replacement for the Master (Anthony Ainley's original contract had expired with Planet of Fire). But events outside of the show conspired against that.

[@DuncanEvans-t7q]

This story holds a special place in my heart, because filmed a few miles away from me. And it strangely makes me affectionate about Warriors of the Deep, because have a copy of that novel signed by Colin, Nicola and Kate O'Mara

[@davidbull7210]

This is a quietly significant story. For the first time since the William Hartnell era we meet an actual historical figure (Bad King John doesn't count). When Who went off the air a myth developed that this happened regularly when in fact it was only done when the series was finding its feet. Nowadays it is used constantly as a cheap gimmick to pin a story to.

[@JAYWALKER1000]

Kate O'Mara (the Rani) was a recurring character on AbFab.

[@Adrik-v7i]

Mark of the Rani is my favorite 6th Doctor story!! I enjoy the suedo-historical adventures.

[@joshuajoshua2732]

Just on the subject on the names of the Doctor, the Monk, the Master and the Rani, not all Time lords go by title some have gone by their actual names such as Romana thats short for her long Romanalavatununda and Drax and Omeg or Borusa or Rasilon and before the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) regenerated into the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) when he mentions to his successor you musnt tell anyone your name because apparently no one would understand it anyway. In regards to Spock Richard, Spock is his name but apparently it's his last name the name he says you couldn't pronounce was his first name.

[@jacobhogan3208]

I watched this story a few weeks back and it made me find an appreciation for the Rani, I think a good writer could do a really good job with her in the modern series.

[@kierenevans2521]

This is probably the most easy to watch of the season as it's the least violent. For me it's mostly good up to the end quarter. The tree minefield loses me a little. Rather than the North East, location work was at the Blist Hill museum, Ironbridge, Shropshire. I grew up in neighbouring Worcestershire so I've visited a few times. These days the area is somewhat rural but it was very heavy industry back in the day.

[@davidbull7210]

No, the fifth story is the least violent. Violence is a key part of this story's plot

[@AmyWarriorPrincess]

Colin broke one of his pinkies, when he was hanging on to the chain. Poor guy.

[@ftumschk]

25:57 I'd love it if we get to see a villainous Timelord actually called "The Pope" :)

[@flaggerify]

Wasn't Romana a time lord/lady?

[@7thHourFilms]

Yes she was... Woops!

[@phantomsidious2934]

A very underrated season, with i might add decent to good viewing figures overall so the show wasn't in any danger of losing its audience. It was cancelled because of a very vindictive bbc controller with a very small package, and unfortunately the show never recoverd from it

[@gus4u2c]

He really canceled this show to fund his pet project, Eastenders.

[@BernardJKD]

The dog pi**ed in the bucket of clay they used to dirty up The Dr's face. They didn't tell Colin till after.

[@ftumschk]

I thought it was p**p, not p**s

[@DamnQuilty]

He get dizzie if he tried to walk in a straight line That always gets me.

[@jch13213]

My Moto G 2023 has a headphone jack! Under $100 and 95% as good as the Pixel I had previously. The quality jump from low priced phones to high prices phones is nowhere what it used to be

[@flaggerify]

Apple has one of the best user privacy policies.

[@icantthinkofagoodusername4575]

I don’t know where you heard bad things about The Two Doctors. Unless you’re thinking about the story that follows it

[@franohmsford7548]

Rani is an Indian title.....Look up the rani of jhansi.

[@JAYWALKER1000]

Forgot Romana?

[@7thHourFilms]

Completely!

[@joshuajoshua2732]

You are correct that the whole female Doctor idea started when Tom Baker announced he was leaving in 1981 although it was a joke at the time an idea not to be taken seriously because alot of fans believed a female Doctor was never going to happen because it would be like making James Bond a female that was until 36 years later unfortunately there's some fans that still have trouble accepting the idea the only Doctor was against the idea was Peter Davison as considered this a loss of role model for boys. The word "Rani" means "Queen" in Hindi. Although this is set in history I don't consider this a proper historical since most of the characters are fiction the only real person is Stephenson I wouldn't even compare these historical episodes to the Hartnell era as that was a different time the show has evolved since the 60's.

[@flaggerify]

Making the Doctor a female is pointless considering that there are many time lords and Tardises. Just make a new female time lord. It's supposed to be a Whoniverse. Also - continuity has to be considered. It's not like a woman playing Hamlet.

[@travisgray8376]

I love the two doctors

[@travisgray8376]

Yeah i love this season always had.

[@Jaketherobonrd]

Mark of the Rani honestly i find bit boring. Its cool to be introduced to The Rani and Kate o Mara is good in the role. I just hope we will get to see the Rani in new Who, it’s on my wish list. But I remember before Missy was revealed to be the Master, I thought she was going to be the Rani but nope! It wasn’t the case as I hoped for. And remember being really peed off honestly

[@joshuajoshua2732]

It depends on the rights issue if they can use The Rani in New Who or not but to be honest I couldn't imagine someone being as good as Kate O'Mara was personally I think she should he one of those characters best left in the past because I think Disney would ruin that character.

[@JohnSmith-pw9lk]

I'm surprised that they didn't see the black face as racism after all the other things being called racist or problamatic

[@joshuajoshua2732]

I don't see how putting dirt on your face is racist? That's just ridiculous.

[@JohnSmith-pw9lk]

Its called blackface and I don't think its racist ether, just like a white actor playing a chinese person or a Japanese actor portraying a Roman@@joshuajoshua2732

[@JohnSmith-pw9lk]

Its called blackface and I agree its not racist just as a white person playing an asian person isn't racist or a Japanese person playing a roman isn't racist@@joshuajoshua2732

[@gus4u2c]

You’re just looking for trouble

[@JohnSmith-pw9lk]

Hi there trouble, do you use that pick up line often?@@gus4u2c

[@Benji568]

Billy Garrett-John of The Review of Death podcast on KZbin has a very strong dislike for this Doctor Who story.