Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor's Stories Ranked From Worst To Best

12. Time And The Rani

It can't be avoided. The Seventh Doctor's era did not get off to an auspicious start. For starters, the transition from previous Doctor Colin Baker to Sylvester McCoy is laughable. With Baker having been sacked, it consists of McCoy in a blonde curly wig, laying face down beside an exercise bike, unfortunately suggesting that he regenerated because he fell off it. This botched opening scene is sadly emblematic of the whole of Time and the Rani. Sporting a deliriously silly plot, something about renegade Time Lord the Rani kidnapping geniuses from history to create a giant brain, Time and the Rani is surely the campest the show has ever been. Of course, Doctor Who always has a bit of camp at its core but it's usually deployed in moderation alongside scares and drama, two things this story definitely lacks. Perhaps the story's biggest let-down is just how poor an opening reel for the Seventh Doctor it is. While he will later be known as a scheming wizard who puts the 'Who' back in 'Doctor Who', here he is a bumbling clown, suffering from 'comedy' amnesia, mincing his words and playing the spoons on the Rani's bosom (no, really). Fans can take solace in the fact that the show had been brave enough to give itself a kick and change things up. Unfortunately, sorting out the kinks of this change would take time.