Considering that John Nathan-Turner's promotional efforts in America were at their peak at this time, it's not hard to see Season 22 as a big export push. There's 45-minute episodes (ideal for commercial channels); the larger action quotient; the high attention paid to dramatic cliff-hangers; all the big baddies are in there (the Daleks, Cybermen and The Master all grace the same series for the only time, to date, in the series' history, while we have one of the better-known 'second division' monsters, the Sontarans); the appearance of the second Doctor also establishes the idea of other Doctors, while Peri gives us a sexy, American regular. There's a fair stab at covering all the bases, with a black comedy, an action adventure, an alien planet story, a glossy overseas caper, a satire and a pseudo-historical. Of course, this theory falls down a bit when at least two stories are overtly fannish, the Daleks barely feature in their story and "Timelash" is as camp as Butlins.

While that as much served to cover my general shortcomings with introductions, it could well be a reason why we're left with only "Mark of the Rani" as a moderately traditional Doctor Who story. The backdrop of the Industrial Revolution is a good canvas for an interesting historical story that isn't about a bunch of people being killed, which is nice. The science fiction element largely comes from the Bakers' new villain, The Rani, an immoral, if not necessarily evil, Time Lord. Kate O'Mara captures the character's arrogance and apathy brilliantly, and she's very well written. Of course, also thrown into the mix is The Master, in probably his best appearance between "Castrovalva" and "Survival", and he works well contrasted with the Rani. Whereas she has a set of goals, his plans don't extend much further than killing off The Doctor. Her obvious irritation at his antics, and her mocking of his rivalry with The Doctor, is tremendous fun, and it's interesting to have a different definition of a villain other than someone who wants to take over the universe.

Colin Baker is on fine form as The Doctor. The characterisation during this one isn't as bombastic as elsewhere in his era, and there's a refreshing lack of violence. His personality has settled down, and while he's still capable of a bit of arrogance, he's likeable. His joy at meeting Stevenson is tremendous fun, while the light-hearted bitching with Peri also points to a happier Doctor, which is nice after everything else Season 22 has thrown at us.

The guest cast aren't left with much, besides O'Mara. Gawn Grainger is a believable Stevenson, while Terrance Alexander is adequate as Ravensworth. Gary Cady is actually more wooden as Luke that when the character becomes a distinctly rubbery tree, he's more animated.

Ah yes, the silly bits. Sadly, "Mark of the Rani" has a couple, and they're pretty indefensible. Most famous of all is the scene where Luke and two of The Rani's stooges are turned into trees by her chemical mines. This is silly enough, until the one which had been Luke uses a branch to prevent Peri bumbling to the same fate. Yeh, there's nothing good anyone can possibly say about that bit. The tree even looks rubbish. Peri even looks rubbish. Why not just give the poor girl a bit of credit and have her realise there's a minefield? There's also a bizarre scene when The Doctor hangs on a chain over some pit machinery while Luddites take swings at him and Peri tries to help him out by peppering the thugs with tiny bits of coal. That one's just so surreal you don't really mind too much.

The main characters are saddled with some preposterous dialogue ("Fortuitous would be a more apposite epithet" is probably my favourite), but to be fair the actors largely pull it off. The plot is nice and simple, allowing the leads to fashion a great set of performances, and while it's silly in places, the script succeeds in extracting the best from everyone.

As well as the trees, unusually for a historical story the sets are pretty poor, being obviously artificial, especially when contrasted with the lush location filming. Sarah Hellings' direction is excellent, managing to make several illogical scenes work, and it's a shame she didn't work for the series again.

Despite several less-than-perfect moments, the story remains tremendous fun, a handful of daft moments not undoing the acres of good work on hand. Unlike much of Season 22, it doesn't have that feeling of a missed opportunity running through it, and as such it's probably the Colin Baker story that stands up best. A charming, solid, straightforward adventure.

Review written: 28/06/2006
"Mark of the Rani" VHS @ Amazon.co.uk