8. The Rani In "Time And The Rani"
The Rani is a perfect example of a wonderful Doctor Who idea (rival female Time Lord) with boundless promise made less than great by lousy writing and dumb effects. First off, the series doesn't even bother to explain how the Rani escaped from the attacking Tyrannosaurus Rex inside her Tardis in her previous appearance. Putting that aside for the moment, the extended sequence here where the Rani pretends to be Mel to a confused, post-regeneration Sylvester McCoy is incredibly dumb and poorly executed, even for a program on the decline like Doctor Who was at the time. Kate O'Mara is a fantastic actress, but even her skills can't carry off this scene. It's at the levels of slapstick that you'd see in a Mexican soap opera. To see a supposedly brilliant scientist reduced to playing dress up is just sad. Although "Mark of the Rani" is somewhat spoiled by those ridiculous effects shots of people turning into trees, at least the Rani gets some good dialogue off at the expense of the tedious Master/Doctor rivalry. Here, her first line "Leave the girl. It's the man I want." is as camp as a row of tents and sets the stage for the awfulness to follow.