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


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== Plot ==
== Plot ==
=== Part 1 ===
=== 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 [[Luddite]]s 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.
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. [[The Master]] 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]], [[the Rani]]. She is a gifted [[chemist]] and is using the set-up of the bathhouse to anaesthetise the miners and distill 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 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]], [[the Rani]]. 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.
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 ===
=== Part 2 ===
The Doctor is saved by inventor [[George Stephenson]]. He and [[Peri Brown|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.
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.
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 [[the Rani]] 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.
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 [[the Rani]] 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...
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...
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* Peri Brown goes and searches for valerian (''[[Valeriana officinalis]]''), a herb to cure the Rani's victims.
* 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.
* The [[land mine]]s of the Rani turn animal beings into conscious vegetable beings.
* Talking about ecology and the difference with 1800s, Peri says that in her time some species of [[butterfly]] and [[bird]]s are almost extinct.
* 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 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.
* 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.  
* According to the Rani, a tree has four times the life expectancy of a [[human]] being.  
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* 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 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 (real world)|BBC]] wish to acknowledge the cooperation of the [[Ironbridge Gorge Museum]]."
* The following credit appeared in both episodes: "The [[BBC (real world)|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]]'', directed by [[Hettie MacDonald]], in 2007.
* 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 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]]''. Kate O'Mara reprised the role for the charity special [[TV]]: ''[[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]] being considered possible Ranis-in-disguise.
* 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.
* 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.


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=== Myths ===
=== 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 production of this story and her later return in [[Time and the Rani]].)''
* [[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 ===
=== Filming locations ===
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* 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 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. Next shot, they come from the other room.
* When they discover Peri, she stands at the foot of the Doctor. 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 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.
* 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 ==
== 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]]''. (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.)
* 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.)
* The Rani appears in [[PROSE]]: ''[[State of Change]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[Time and the Rani]]'', ''[[Dimensions in Time]]'' and [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Rani Reaps the Whirlwind (audio story)|The Rani Reaps the Whirlwind]]''.
* 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]]'')
* 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 ==
== Home video and audio releases ==
=== DVD releases ===
=== DVD releases ===
This story was released as ''Doctor Who: The Mark of the Rani.''
This story was released as ''Doctor Who: The Mark of the Rani.''


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


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* [http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/6x.html A Brief History of Time (Travel): '''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''']
* [http://www.doctorwholocations.net/stories/markoftherani The Locations Guide to Doctor Who - '''The Mark of the Rani''']
{{DWTV}}
{{DWTV}}
{{Master stories}}
{{Master stories}}

Revision as of 18:25, 17 November 2018

RealWorld.png

You may be looking for the titular mark.

The Mark of the Rani was the third serial of season 22 of Doctor Who. A new Time Lord villain, the Rani, was introduced in this serial. She would later return in Time and the Rani.

Synopsis

In 19th century England, the Doctor finds himself facing two competing enemies: his old adversary, the Master, and the Rani, 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. Miners 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, 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. The Tremas Master 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, the Rani. 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 deduces 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 mines 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:

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

Uncredited cast

Crew

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 mines 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 birds 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 carnivores.
  • 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 Lords are immune to it.
  • The Rani uses impregnated worm parasites to swallow for mind control.

Cultural references from real world

Individuals

TARDIS and time travel

Weapons

Story notes

  • This story had working titles of Too Clever by Far and Enter the Rani.
  • This was the debut performance for Kate O'Mara as the Rani. Her first line in the role, said while disguised, was: "There's wise ones. First here, the water's hot and clean."
  • 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, 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. Kate O'Mara reprised the role for the charity special TV: 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. 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 Missy being considered possible Ranis-in-disguise.
  • With the appearances of George Stephenson and Lord Ravensworth, this was the first televised Doctor Who story to feature an historical figure as an onscreen character since TV: 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.)

Filming locations

  • Most of the location filming, including the village scenes, was done as 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 Raven's offices)
  • Blists Hill Victorian Town, Madeley, Shropshire
  • Park Wood, Bury Street, Ruislip, Middlesex (The tree scenes)
  • BBC Television Centre (TC6), Shepherd's Bush, London

Production errors

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • 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. 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

Home video and audio releases

DVD releases

This story was released as Doctor Who: The Mark of the Rani.

Released:

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:

It was released as issue 63 of the Doctor Who DVD Files.

VHS releases

  • This story was released on VHS in July 1995.

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

Mark of the Rani novel.jpg
Main article: The Mark of the Rani (novelisation)

External links