Doctor Who: Series 22, Episodes 5-6 – “The Mark of the Rani” (1985)

As far as series 22 stories go, this one is pretty good.  It introduces a neat new villain, has a little fun with history, and displays some nice creativity.  No, it doesn’t equal the other Doctors’ best stuff, but for a Six story, I’ll take it.

The Sixth Doctor and Peri arrive in an 18^th-century English village in the midst of the Luddite rebellion.  Here, though, the locals’ fervor exceeds that of the usual Luddites – any type of machinery whips them into a frenzy, and they tear it apart with their hands.  The root of the problem becomes clearer when the Doctor discovers the presence of the Rani, a brilliant Time Lady whose unethical scientific experiments got her banished from Gallifrey.  It’s up to the Doctor and Peri to figure out what the Rani has done and reverse it before the villagers rip the town to shreds.

The big draw here is the Rani, who’s a fun new baddie.  I like that she’s more amoral than immoral.  Rather than having an explicitly evil plan, she’s someone who’s all about scientific pursuits and sees everyone around her as potential subjects – this means she doesn’t shy away from brutal methods and she’s unbothered by any collateral damage she creates.  Still obviously a huge problem, since the by-product of her experiment is wreaking major havoc and she doesn’t care in the slightest, but different from the usual power-hungriness/greed/hatred/active desire to destroy.  Also, she makes landmines that, when deployed, turn people into trees, and she totally decorates her TARDIS with baby dinosaurs suspendedly-animated in jars.  (In comparison, the Master, who’s also in this serial, comes across as a lot less interesting.)

I’m always a sucker for stories set in the past that give alien explanations for historical occurrences.  While the Rani’s shenanigans don’t cause the Luddite rebellion, since it’s still going on elsewhere in the country, she definitely exacerbates the situation.  I also like the use of inventor/engineer George Stephenson, who created an early steam locomotive.  Between Stephenson (who uses invention for the benefit of others,) the Rani (who uses science for her own purposes,) and the Luddites (who see technology as a threat to their way of life,) the story offers some interesting contrasts on the subject of intellectual pursits.  No surprise, by the way, who the Doctor sides with on that front.

Speaking of which, the Doctor is all right here, although he plays the “dump on Peri” card a bit too often for my liking.  That said, I enjoy his scenes with Stephenson, he has great interactions with the Rani, and he gets himself into a few absolutely ridiculous conundrums that make me laugh.  Peri is decently good.  She’s still not the most useful companion around, but she doesn’t mess around when it comes to the combined threat of the Rani and the Master, and her botany knowhow comes in handy – there’s just something I love about any scene where Peri’s interest in plants factors into the plot, both because it’s not the most common interest around and because it’s nice to get a reminder that the show is capable of seeing her as more than a means of getting her boobs from Point A to Point B.