This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Vengeance on Varos

Surprisingly, this might be one of the most consistent seasons of Doctor Who yet. This is another really solid story that introduces a new villain; the Rani. Kate O'Mara is great as the titular character, especially in her dynamic with Anthony Ainley's Master. It's also nice to see a Time Lord villain that isn't just a carbon copy of the Master and it gives us a great perspective on how other Time Lords view the rivalry between the Doctor and the Master. The story itself is nothing remarkable; it's a decently captivating adventure. It does feel like it lacks substance a little. There isn't much of a mystery after the identity of the Rani is revealed and that's fairly early on.

I think part of what makes me enjoy this story is how authentic it feels. It rarely feels like the Doctor actually time travels, especially in the early days. Normally the cramped studio sets and hammy acting give away the low-budget nature of the show. This story is an exception with excellent location filming, costumes and dialogue. Overall, this is a story that follows the historical formula to a tee and greatly benefits from it. Colin Baker is really starting to shine as the Doctor and I appreciate that this is a more grounded and less zany story.

Next Story: The Two Doctors

Part one of The Mark of the Rani is a real gem. Pip & Jane Baker introduce a great setting for a story and a tonne of different, interesting ideas such as enlightenment leaders vs possessed luddites, a new Time Lords enemy and the Doctor’s TARDIS being thrown down a pit. Unfortunately none of this comes to anything in part two, where they introduce embryo dinosaurs and landmines that turn people into trees. The Master and The Rani lack of any kind of coordinated plan, they kind of want to control all these great Enlightenment minds - but we don’t see any significant or dramatic moves towards reaching those aims. You finish the story scratching your head, wondering what they main thrust of the whole thing was meant to be.

Ainley is thankfully on good form and Kate O’Mara’s Rani is very fun! Both completely bombastic but a good reflection of the incumbent Doctor, who also has settled into the part well by this point. It was nice having a baddie for The Master to sort of collaborate with - it was about time a major new Time Lord character was introduced.

Unfortunately the second part starts to feel a bit slow and has no pay off. It is educational in parts but does not have much story to go round. The Rani’s TARDIS however is a true delight. I wish The Doctor had gotten something as spaceship-like as this!

This wasn't terrible and reminds me a bit of Revelation of the Daleks, in that both seem to stand out a bit better as content compared to the rest of the season.  I found this story a lot harder to get through than Revelation, though.  In comparison, this one spends a lot of time with really lousy dialogue that feels totally forced and unnatural, while, even though this story isn't really that long, it feels like it drags on a bit.  The whole historical background of this story was interesting but most of the scenes that come out of it wound up being pretty boring.  I've really come to dislike Anthony Ainley's acting for the Master, too.  He's just not fun like Roger Delgado or even the Decaying Masters were.

I'm giving it a decent bit of a pass though, because at the end of the day, it has a goofy comic book feel to it I could quite appreciate.  The Rani and the Master teaming up is simple, but a lot of fun, and I did enjoy how they introduce her character here.  We basically don't have any other female recurring villains like this and won't again until Missy, I guess, so it is nice to see her here and this might just be the only halfway good television Rani story, so that's something.

I like the synth work in the soundtrack (reminds me of Play-era Moby, real lucid flying dream stuff) and the Rani's minefield is the kind of mad science I respect. But oh lord, is this one dull. The Rani does little to distinguish herself from the Master (a woman and a mad scientist, two things the Master can be and has been to much greater effect), and while their interplay is okay for the most part, I can see why she hasn't returned to the revived series yet. I'd be happier for a new appearance from the Monk, quite frankly.

A fairly fun romp; it takes it a bit to get moving, but the undeniable chemistry (pun intended) that the Rani adds to the Doctor and Master's dynamic is delightful. I could watch them sniping at each other all day. It also gives Peri something to do with her botany knowledge for once. I would have liked for Stevenson to have had a bit more to do with the main plot, but ultimately the historical portion of the episode is about the Luddites, rather than the industrialists.