Serial: 7D Episode Nos. 662, 663, 664, and 665. Title: Time and the Rani
The Rani shoots down the TARDIS, injuring the Doctor and causing him to regenerate.
She requires his talents to repair a machine of hers and to contribute his knowledge of time
to that of other geniuses she has kidnapped from throughout the universe. Can the Doctor
and Melanie stir up the indolent local people into fighting back, or will the Rani's scheme succeed?
This story marks the debut of Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor.
starring Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, Bonnie Langford as Melanie, and Kate O'Mara as the Rani.
Written by Pip and Jane Baker, Produced by John Nathan-Turner, and Directed by Andrew Morgan.
Originally
transmitted from
DVD Features:
Doctor Who: Time and the Rani starring Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, Bonnie Langford
as Melanie, and Kate O’Mara as the Rani.
- All 4 episodes of the story, digitally remastered and restored.
- Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for
the hearing impaired.
- Optional commentary track by actors Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford, and
writers Pip and Jane Baker.
- Information Text subtitles option. Displays pop-up production trivia throughout
the story.
- “The Last Chance Salloon” A 29-minute featurette about the rapid setting-up of this
entire season, casting the 7th Doctor, and production of this story. Features interviews
with former BBC Executive Jonathan Powell, producer John Nathan-Turner,
director Andrew Morgan, actors Sylvester McCoy and Kate O’Mara, incoming script
editor Andrew Cartmel, and title sequence designer Oliver Elmes. Also features footage
from the screen tests recorded by Sylvester McCoy, and other hopefuls David Fielder
and Dermot Crowley, acting opposite Janet Fielding as a villain.
- “7D FX.” An 11-minute featurette about the making of the special effects for this story,
which for the first time included extensive CGI. Features interviews with visual effects
designers Mike Tucker, Colin Mapson, and Dave Chapman.
- “Helter Skelter” A 9-minute featurette about the creation of Doctor Who’s first CGI
title sequence by designer Oliver Elmes and Gareth Edwards of CAL Video.
- “Lakertya” A 2-minute featurette of dueling interview subjects: the director Andrew Morgan,
and writers Pip and Jane Baker over their visions of what this alien planet should’ve looked
like.
- “Hot Gossip” A 2-minute featurette where some of the subjects of the previous interviews
talk at length about their co-stars Wanda Ventham and Donald Pickering.
- “On Location” A 4-minute segment from a magazine show from 1987 that took a look at
the location recording and interviewed Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford, and Kate O’Mara.
- “Blue Peter” A 1-minute segment from a 1987 edition of venerable kids’ magazine show
Blue Peter that introduced the new Doctor to the viewers.
- Photo Gallery. An 8-minute package of still photos taken during the production.
- PDF Materials. : the Radio Times listings are available as a .pdf file if you put the disc
into a computer. These include some season-launch interviews.
- 3 Easter Eggs. Highlight the blank area below to see what they are and how to find them.
Egg 1: Go to the
Special Features menu, highlight the “7D FX” feature, and press the
left arrow. A Doctor Who logo will appear. Click this and you’ll see a new version
of the regeneration scene where Colin Baker’s real
face has been added to the start
of it.
Egg 2: Go to the
Special Features menu, 2nd page.
Highlight the PDFs option and press
the left arrow. You
will see Sylvester McCoy tell a story about how he was in a play
with Timothy Dalton when he was informed he’d be
taking over James Bond, and at
almost the same time Sylvester had won the part of the
Doctor.
Egg 3: Go to the Special Features
menu, 2nd page. Highlight the
Blue Peter option and
press the left arrow.
You will see a short interview section with Kate O’Mara and other
crew where they relate the story of an injury she suffered
to her eyes from hanging
upside-down too long with the Tetraps.
