Editing The Mark of the Rani (TV story)

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{{Infobox Story
|image                  = Markoftherani title.jpg
|novelisation           = The Mark of the Rani (novelisation)
|series                 = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|season number          = Season 22
|season serial number   = 3
|story number           = 139
|doctor                 = Sixth Doctor
|companions             = [[Peri Brown|Peri]]
|enemy                  = {{Ainley|c}}, {{O'Mara}}
|setting                = [[Killingworth]], [[19th century]]
|writer                 = [[Pip & Jane Baker]]
|director               = [[Sarah Hellings]]
|producer               = [[John Nathan-Turner]]
|epcount                = 2
|broadcast date         = [[2 February (releases)|2]] - [[9 February (releases)|9 February]] [[1985 (releases)|1985]]
|network                = [[BBC1]]
|format                 = 2x45-minute episodes
|serial production code = [[List of production codes|6X]]
|prev                   = Vengeance on Varos (TV story)
|next                   = The Two Doctors (TV story)
|made prev              = The Two Doctors (TV story)
|made next              = Timelash (TV story)
|clip                   = Doctor Who - Master of earwigging - Mark of the Rani - BBC
|clip2                  = Time distortion in Killingworth? - Doctor Who - Mark of the Rani - BBC
|clip3                  = The Doctor Vs Rani and the Master - Doctor Who - Mark of the Rani - BBC
}}
{{you may|Mark of the Rani|n1=the titular mark}}
'''''The Mark of the Rani''''' was the third serial of [[season 22]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. A new [[Time Lord]] villain, {{O'Mara}}, was introduced in this serial. She would later return in ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]''.

== Synopsis ==
In [[19th century]] [[England]], the [[Sixth Doctor]] finds himself facing two competing enemies: his old adversary, {{Ainley}}, and {{O'Mara}}, another [[Time Lord]] with a sinister plan. The local population is turning violent and unpredictable. With a major meeting of the brains of the [[Industrial Revolution]] due to happen in the village soon, the Doctor must work out what exactly is causing all the problems. Only the Doctor can stop the Master and the Rani's evil plans.

== Plot ==
=== Part 1 ===
Something is amiss in the mining village of [[Killingworth]] in early [[19th century]] [[England]]. [[Miner]]s are being gassed in the bathhouse and turned into thugs and vandals, attacking men and machinery, seen as Luddites by other locals. The [[Sixth Doctor]] and [[Peri Brown]] witness this when they arrive in Killingworth looking for the cause of some sort of [[time distortion]]. They also notice one of the rampaging miners has a strange red mark on his neck. With his usual audacity, the Doctor foists himself upon the local landowner, [[Ravensworth|Lord Ravensworth]], who is concerned at the ferocity of the attacks, with the most passive of men suddenly turning violent and unpredictable.

The answer lies in the local bathhouse. {{Ainley|c}} has turned up at this key point in human history. He forces his way into the presence of the old woman who runs the bathhouse, in reality, another [[Time Lord]], {{O'Mara}}. She is a gifted [[chemist]] and is using the set-up of the bathhouse to anaesthetise the miners and distil from them the neuro-chemicals that enable sleep. This is what causes the red mark on the victims. These chemicals are synthesised for use back on [[Miasimia Goria]], a planet she rules and which the Master has visited, where her other experiments have left the inhabitants without the ability to rest. He persuades her they need to deal with the Doctor together. He also steals some of the precious brain fluid she has collected to ensure her collaboration. It is a rocky partnership, full of half-truths and deceptions. The Master goes to deal with the Doctor, egging on local miners to attack his enemy and persuading some to throw [[the Doctor's TARDIS]] down a mine shaft.

The Doctor has meanwhile dressed as a miner and entered the bathhouse. He soon [[deduce]]s the Rani's schemes. She traps him but he challenges her ethics. She reveals she has been coming to Earth for centuries to harvest her precious chemicals. The Master convinces the Rani to let him deal with the Doctor. He has the TARDIS pushed down a mine shaft. The angry Luddites put the Doctor in a cart to ensure that he follows it.

=== Part 2 ===
The Doctor is saved by inventor [[George Stephenson]]. He and Peri return to Lord Ravensworth's, where Stephenson has planned a meeting of scientific and engineering geniuses in the village. The Doctor is worried about the wisdom of such a meeting in the current circumstances, but the Master is so desperate to see the event take place, he uses [[mind control]] of Stephenson's young aide, [[Luke Ward]], telling him to kill anyone who tries to prevent it. The Master wants to use the finest brains of the [[Industrial Revolution]] to speed up [[Earth]]'s development and then use the planet as a power base. He strikes a deal with the Rani; she may return to Earth at any time to harvest more brain fluid if she helps him achieve this.

While the villains are away, the Doctor returns to the bathhouse and dodges booby traps to enter [[the Rani's TARDIS]]. Her control room holds jars of preserved [[dinosaur]] embryos. She summons her ship to the old mine workings with a remote control device, with the Doctor still inside. He hides while his adversaries talk. The Rani has also set [[land mine]]s in nearby [[Redfern Dell]]. When the coast is clear, the Doctor slips away to report back to Ravensworth, Stephenson and Luke, who is behaving strangely.

Peri is making herself useful by using her botanical knowledge to make a sleeping-draught for the afflicted miners. Her quest for herbs leads her to Redfern Dell. The Doctor surprises the Master and the Rani, who are lurking at the edge of the dell. Soon after he does, he sees Luke step on a mine and get turned into a [[tree]]. The Doctor takes the other two Time Lords prisoner with the Master's own [[Tissue Compression Eliminator]]. Peri takes charge of them but the Rani's deviousness outstrips the Master's and she is the one who enables them to escape. The Rani and the Master flee in her TARDIS, but the Doctor also has a trick or two:

[[File:Doctor Who - Will the Master and the Rani escape? - Mark of the Rani - BBC|thumb|left|The Doctor having sabotaged [[the Rani's TARDIS]], [[the Master]] and {{O'Mara}} are defeated.]]
he has sabotaged the navigational system. The ship is out of control. In the destabilised condition, one of the jars holding a [[Tyrannosaurus Rex]] embryo falls on the floor and the creature, affected by the [[time spillage]], starts to grow.

The Doctor and Peri make a swap with Ravensworth, who has retrieved the TARDIS. He gets the phial of brain fluid, which he is told to give to the affected miners. Before the eyes of an astonished scientist and his financier, the TARDIS departs...

== Cast ==
* [[Sixth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Colin Baker]]
* [[Peri Brown|Peri]] - [[Nicola Bryant]]
* {{Ainley|c}} - [[Anthony Ainley]]
* {{O'Mara|c}} - [[Kate O'Mara]]
* [[Ravensworth|Lord Ravensworth]] - [[Terence Alexander]]
* [[George Stephenson]] - [[Gawn Grainger]]
* [[Luke Ward]] - [[Gary Cady]]
* [[Jack Ward]] - [[Peter Childs]]
* [[Guard (The Mark of the Rani)|Guard]] - [[Richard Steele (actor)|Richard Steele]]
* [[Tim Bass]] - [[William Ilkley]]
* [[Edwin Green]] - [[Hus Levent]]
* [[Sam Rudge]] - [[Kevin White]]
* [[Drayman]] - [[Martyn Whitby]]
* [[Young woman (The Mark of the Rani)|Young Woman]] - [[Sarah James]]
* [[Old woman (The Mark of the Rani)|Older Woman]] - [[Cordelia Ditton]]

=== Uncredited cast ===
* [[Josh (The Mark of the Rani)|Josh]] - [[Nigel Johnson]] ([[DWM 217]])
* [[Tom (The Mark of the Rani)|Tom]] - [[Alan Talbot]] ([[DWM 217]])
* Miner - [[Nick Joseph]] ([[DWM 217]])

== Crew ==
* [[Writer]]s - [[Pip & Jane Baker]]
* [[Assistant Floor Manager]] - [[Penny Williams]]
* [[Camera supervisor|Camera Supervisor]] - [[Alec Wheal]]
* [[Costumes]] - [[Dinah Collin]]
* [[Designer (crew)|Designer]] - [[Paul Trerise]]
* [[Director]] - [[Sarah Hellings]]
* [[Film Cameraman]] - [[Kevin Rowley]]
* [[Film Editor]] - [[Ray Wingrove]]
* [[Film sound|Film Sound]] - [[Barrie Tharby]]
* [[Incidental Music]] - [[Jonathan Gibbs]]
* [[Make-Up]] - [[Catherine Davies]]
* [[Producer]] - [[John Nathan-Turner]]
* [[Production Assistant]] - [[Carolyn Mawdsley]]
* [[Production Associate]] - [[Sue Anstruther]]
* [[Production Manager]] - [[Tony Redston]]
* [[Script Editor]] - [[Eric Saward]]
* [[Special Sounds]] - [[Dick Mills]]
* [[Studio Lighting]] - [[Don Babbage]]
* [[Studio Sound]] - [[Keith Bowden]]
* [[Technical co-ordinator|Technical Co-Ordinator]] - [[Alan Arbuthnott]]
* [[Title Sequence]] - [[Sid Sutton]]
* [[Theme Arrangement]] - [[Peter Howell]]
* [[Doctor Who theme|Title Music]] - [[Ron Grainer]]
* [[Video effects|Video Effects]] - [[Dave Chapman]]
* [[Videotape editor|Videotape Editor]] - [[Hugh Parson]]
* [[Vision Mixer]] - [[Jayne Beckett]]
* [[Visual Effects Designer]] - [[David Barton]]

=== Uncredited crew ===
* [[Visual effects assistant|Visual Effects Assistant]]s - [[Tom Davis]], [[George Reed (crew)|George Reed]] ([[INFO]]: ''The Mark of the Rani'')

== References ==
=== Biology ===
* An embryo of ''[[Tyrannosaurus Rex]]'' is in the Rani's TARDIS. The Doctor imagines she took it from the [[Cretaceous]].
* Peri Brown goes and searches for valerian (''[[Valeriana officinalis]]''), a herb to cure the Rani's victims.
* The [[land mine]]s of the Rani turn animal beings into conscious vegetable beings.
* Talking about ecology and the difference with the 1800s, Peri says that in her time, some species of [[butterfly]] and [[bird]]s are almost extinct.
* The Doctor says that the Master would probably turn into a [[laburnum]] if he stepped on one of the Rani's mines since it is a poisonous tree.
* The Rani blames the Earthlings for being [[carnivore]]s.
* According to the Rani, a tree has four times the life expectancy of a [[human]] being.
* Peri Brown is afraid of [[rabies]] and guesses [[Time Lord]]s are immune to it.
* The Rani uses impregnated worm parasites to take over the minds of her victims and turn them into slaves, which is her version of [[hypnotism]]. When the parasites take hold, the eyes of the victim glow a blue colour briefly. 

=== Cultural references from real world ===
* The Rani's TARDIS is covered with a work by [[J. M. W. Turner|Turner]].
* The Doctor calls a [[dog]] "Fido".
* The Doctor and Peri were originally headed to the [[Kew Gardens]].
* The scientists [[Thomas Telford]], [[Michael Faraday]], [[Humphry Davy]] and [[Marc Brunel]] are expected to attend the meeting.

=== Individuals ===
* {{O'Mara|c}} was exiled from [[Gallifrey]] because her giant [[mouse|mice]] ate the [[Lord President]]'s [[cat]] and took a bite out of the President himself according to the Master. She now rules [[Miasimia Goria]], where she controls a race of aliens. The Rani had come to Earth for centuries, unnoticed; she has extracted brain fluid from people in the [[Trojan War]], the [[Dark Ages]] and the [[American War of Independence]]. She is also aware of the Master's failed plan on [[Sarn (planet)|Sarn]] and had thought he was dead.
* The Master briefly disguises himself as a [[scarecrow]].
* The Doctor refers to Stephenson's "Rocket" in a pun. Peri tells him his puns are getting worse.

=== TARDIS and time travel ===
* The [[TARDIS key]] manages to open [[the Rani's TARDIS]].
* The Rani has her TARDIS connected to a [[Stattenheim remote control]]. She is considered a genius because she managed to invent it. Both the Doctor and the Master are amazed by the achievement.
* [[Time spillage]] causes one of the ''[[Tyrannosaurus Rex]]'' embryos in the Rani's TARDIS to begin maturing rapidly.
* The Doctor sabotages the navigational system and the [[velocity regulator]] of the Rani's TARDIS. He foresees they will be flung beyond the [[Milky Way]], maybe at the borders of the universe.
* The acceleration in the Rani's TARDIS sends the Master and the Rani towards the wall in a manner similar to G force.
* The Master uses [[The Master's TARDIS|his TARDIS]] to override [[the Doctor's TARDIS]], bringing it to [[Killingworth]].
* The Doctor traces the Rani, thanks to a tracking device for [[time distortion]]s. It detects a [[time machine]] nearby, perhaps belonging to a [[Time Lord]], a [[Dalek]] or another [[alien]] force.

=== Weapons ===
* The Rani employs [[mustard gas]] as a defensive mechanism against those who mean to break in [[the Rani's TARDIS|her TARDIS]]. The [[Sixth Doctor]] and [[Peri Brown]] wear masks to avoid its effects.
* [[The Master]]'s [[Tissue Compression Eliminator]] now makes people and animals vanish totally.
* The Master's device is able to unlock a wooden door secured by a wooden latch.

== Story notes ==
* This story had working titles of ''Too Clever by Far'' and ''Enter the Rani''.
* The music score for this story was provided by composer [[Jonathan Gibbs]]. [[John Lewis]] was originally hired to compose the score, but a sudden illness — which ultimately resulted in his death — prevented him from finishing the work and forced the production team to give the assignment to Gibbs just after Lewis had scored the first episode. Lewis' score for the first episode was included on the DVD release.
* The following credit appeared in both episodes: "The [[BBC]] wish to acknowledge the cooperation of the [[Ironbridge Gorge Museum]]."
* This was the last story of the original series of ''Doctor Who'' to be directed by a woman. The next such occasion was [[TV]]: ''[[Blink (TV story)|Blink]]'', directed by [[Hettie MacDonald]], in 2007.
* ''The Mark of the Rani'' was shown in four twenty-five-minute episodes in the USA, Canada, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Australia and New Zealand.
* The Rani was conceived as a new, ongoing villain, but the character only appeared once more in the series, two years later in [[TV]]: ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]''. Kate O'Mara reprised the role for the charity special [[TV]]: ''[[Dimensions in Time (TV story)|Dimensions in Time]]'' (which is considered to be a non-legitimate story by many fans and this wikia) and the spin-off audio production [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Rani Reaps the Whirlwind (audio story)|The Rani Reaps the Whirlwind]]''. The possibility of the Rani returning to the revival series has been a source of fan speculation since 2005, with virtually every female character from [[Rose Tyler]] to [[Donna Noble]] to [[Lucy Saxon]] to {{Gomez}} being considered possible Ranis-in-disguise.
* With the appearances of [[George Stephenson]] and [[Ravensworth|Lord Ravensworth]], this was the first televised ''Doctor Who'' story to feature an historical figure as an onscreen character since [[TV]]: ''[[The Gunfighters (TV story)|The Gunfighters]]'' in 1966.

=== Ratings ===
* Part one - 6.3 million viewers
* Part two - 7.3 million viewers

=== Myths ===
* [[John Nathan-Turner]] cast [[Kate O'Mara]] as the Rani because of her starring role in the popular American soap opera ''Dynasty''. ''(O'Mara had yet to begin work on ''Dynasty'' when she was cast as the Rani. She was well known for her appearances in UK soap operas, including for the BBC ''The Brothers'' - opposite Colin Baker - and ''Triangle''. Her appearances on ''Dynasty'' were filmed between the production of this story and her later return in [[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]].)''

=== Filming locations ===
* Most of the location filming, including the village scenes, was done at [[Blists Hill Open Air Museum]] in [[Shropshire]].
* Granville Colliery Spoil Heaps (now known as Granville Park), Lodge Road, Donnington Wood, Telford, Shropshire (Scene of the TARDIS landing)
* Coalport China Museum, Coalport, Telford, Shropshire (Lord Ravenworth's offices)
* Blists Hill Victorian Town, Madeley, Shropshire
* Park Wood, Bury Street, Ruislip, Middlesex (The tree scenes)
* [[BBC Television Centre]] ([[List of stories recorded at BBC Television Centre|TC6]]), Shepherd's Bush, [[London]]

=== Production errors ===
{{discontinuity}}
* When Peri enters the bathhouse, she locks the door with the wooden bar. When the Rani and the Master return, the wooden bar is unlocked.
* When they discover Peri, she stands at the foot of the Doctor. In the next shot, they come from the other room.
* When the Doctor dangles above the pit, one of his three attackers falls in. A moment later there is a close-up of three pairs of hands aiming weapons at him. This shot belonged to an earlier part of the sequence before they arrived at the pit.
* When the Doctor first dangles above the pit, he barely fits. When the TARDIS is thrown down, it also fits but is much bigger than the Doctor.

== Continuity ==
* The Master returns in this story, with no explanation given of his escape from what appeared to be a fiery demise at the end of [[TV]]: ''[[Planet of Fire (TV story)|Planet of Fire]]''. (The [[Planet of Fire (novelisation)|novelisation]] appears to assume he had actually been shrinking out of existence and gives the explanation that the flames generated gases that saved him. [[PROSE]]: ''[[A Town Called Eternity (short story)|A Town Called Eternity]]'' features a burned Master who is healed by the fountain of youth.)
* This incarnation of the Rani later appears in [[PROSE]]: ''[[State of Change (novel)|State of Change]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]'', ''[[Dimensions in Time (TV story)|Dimensions in Time]]'' and [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Rani Reaps the Whirlwind (audio story)|The Rani Reaps the Whirlwind]]''.
* By the [[1980s]], a story had developed that the Rani was a witch. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Carrionite Curse (audio story)|The Carrionite Curse]]'')

== Home video and audio releases ==
=== DVD releases ===
This story was released as ''Doctor Who: The Mark of the Rani.''

Released:
* Region 2 - [[4 September (releases)|4 September]] [[2006 (releases)|2006]]
* Region 4 - [[2 November (releases)|2 November]] 2006
* Region 1 - [[7 November (releases)|7 November]] 2006

Contents:
* Commentary by [[Colin Baker]], [[Nicola Bryant]] and [[Kate O'Mara]]
* ''[[Lords and Luddites]]'' - Actors and crew recall the making of ''The Mark of the Rani'' in this specially-shot documentary, featuring Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Kate O'Mara and [[Gary Cady]], writers [[Pip & Jane Baker]], script editor [[Eric Saward]] and composer [[Jonathan Gibbs]]
* Deleted Scenes - Nearly ten minutes of additional material from an early edit of Part 1
* ''[[Now and Then]]'' - A short film featuring the Blists Hill Victorian Town location
* ''[[Playing With Time]]'' - An interview with the story's composer, Jonathan Gibbs
* ''[[Blue Peter]]'' - A short film from 1978 exploring the history of [[Ironbridge Gorge]] and [[Blists Hill]]
* ''[[Saturday Superstore]]'' - An extract from 17 March 1984 featuring Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant and [[Anthony Ainley]]
* Alternative Soundtrack - The option to view Part 1 with the partially-completed original music score by [[John Lewis]]
* Isolated Music Score - Clean synchronous music is available for both episodes
* Radio Times Listings (DVD-ROM)
* Photo Gallery
* Production Subtitles
* Easter Egg- Navigate down to Special Features on the first menu and press the left arrow to highlight a hidden ''Doctor Who'' logo. Press select to see continuity clips from the original BBC1 broadcast

Notes:
* Editing for the DVD release was completed by the [[Doctor Who Restoration Team]].
* An extended version of the Saturday Superstore extract was also included in the ''Doctor Who: [[:Vengeance on Varos (TV story)|Vengeance on Varos]]'' DVD on [[15 October (releases)|15 October]] [[2001 (releases)|2001]].
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
Mark rani region2.jpg|Region 2 cover
The Mark of the Ranidvd.jpg|Region 4 cover
The Mark of the Rani.jpg|Region 1 cover
</gallery>It was released as [[DWDVDF 63|issue 63]] of the ''[[Doctor Who DVD Files]]''.

=== VHS releases ===
* This story was released on VHS in [[July (releases)|July]] [[1995 (releases)|1995]].
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
The Mark of the Raniuk.jpg|UK VHS cover
The Mark of the Raniaus.jpg|AUS VHS cover
The Mark of the Ranius.jpg|US VHS cover
</gallery>

=== Digital releases ===
* The story is available for streaming in the US through Hulu Plus or Amazon Instant Video in the UK.
* It is also available to download through iTunes.

== Novelisation ==
[[File:Mark of the Rani novel.jpg|right|75px]]
: ''Main article: [[The Mark of the Rani (novelisation)]]''
* Novelised by [[Pip and Jane Baker]] in [[1986 (releases)|1986]].

== External links ==
* {{Bbcepguideclassic|markrani/}}
* {{radiotimes|2012-05-01/the-mark-of-the-rani}}
{{dwrefguide|who_6x.htm|The Mark of the Rani}}
* [http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/6x.html A Brief History of Time (Travel): '''The Mark of the Rani''']
* [http://www.doctorwholocations.net/stories/markoftherani The Locations Guide to Doctor Who - '''The Mark of the Rani''']
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[[Category:Doctor Who (1963) television stories]]
[[Category:The Master television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in England]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 19th century]]
[[Category:Season 22 stories]]
[[Category:Two part serials]]
[[Category:The Rani stories]]