A Decent but Confused Start for the McCoy Era
3
By Noj-Esco
Personally the only problems I had with the McCoy era were that the stories were commonly on autopilot and ended with an event of totalic and oversized proportions. Essentially, it was come up with some really cool concept for an energy source/field, a weapon, a super lifeform or empire, have the story unfold in a traditional series of twists and turns, and have The Doctor sometimes trick them into destroying their entire kind. I mean, when the entire Cyberman fleet and the planet of Skaro were destroyed, it was as if they were trying to wrap up the series to a final closing as quickly as possible, and while Skaro's destruction was a good climactic spectacle, it really felt like the producers were just trying to get rid of the daleks once and for all, regardless of if the show ran another two decades.
Anyway, Time and the Rani is an interesting enough episode, after the somewhat jarring opening sequence where Sylvester McCoy's incarnation of The Doctor is introduced, primarily becuase McCoy's character kicks right off. You'll immediately notice he's a lot more talkative right off the bat than Colin Baker's Doctor, a bit more energetic, and largely a tad less aggressive. It is interesting that his first moment waking up in his new form was with The Rani, a wise move to both show us his new personna's way of addressing both exposition and being in the close presence of a recognizable enemy.
The episode is largely split between The Doctor's side of things, and Melanie's wandering around the planet. The Doctor's doesn't really go anywhere fast, unfortunately, while Melanie screams a considerable lot in her half, at one point for about a minute straight. Her half covers the enslaved and tortured society endiginous to the planet, and except for a senseless end moment, they are fully enjoyable, with a believable sociology and interesting architectures. One of the highlights of the episode, however, is when The Doctor and Melanie finally meet - he was convinced that SHE was really the Rani, and seeing them duke it out, in a hillarious yet surprisingly well staged fight scene, while they bicker, is wonderful.
The climax plays out fine, and The Rani's fate at the end is surprisingly creative - that is, not how she is defeated, but rather, what happens to her afterward. The confused ride ends with a mostly satisfactory conclusion, and some better (and worse) days were ahead.
