Doctor Who: Every Doctor's First Episode Ranked Worst To Best

Like The Twin Dilemma, Sylvester McCoy's debut story Time and the Rani was hampered by behind-the-scenes drama. This time, it was the dramatic exit of script editor Eric Saward, and the firing of Colin Baker.

Saward's departure meant that John Nathan-Turner had to find a replacement quickly, and also meant that there was a dearth of workable scripts. Colin Baker's refusal to film a regeneration scene meant that the Seventh Doctor's debut came out of a fairly unremarkable end for his predecessor.

It's a minor miracle that Time and the Rani even got made, and it's a lot better than many would have you believe. It marks a significant upgrade to Doctor Who's VFX, and Sylvester McCoy is great fun as the Seventh Doctor.

However, the tedious aliens and the Rani's giant brain can feel like an embarrassing hangover from the worst sci-fi tropes of 1980s Doctor Who.

Time and the Rani doesn't resemble what the McCoy era would quickly become, meaning that many see the superior Paradise Towers as the true start of the Seventh Doctor's era.