Time And The Rani

Time And The Rani

For me, the most significant change that 'Time And The Rani' heralded was not the new Doctor or Script Editor or any of the other malarkey. No, things were different now because I'd just hired a Ferguson video recorder from the TV shop in Verwood. £45 for three months, which I could just about afford, these being the days of student grants rather than loans.

I was about to start my second year at university; I was studying physics, so all that wibble about Strange Matter vaguely meant something to me. 'Doctor Who' didn't seem to be the sort of thing that the cool kids watched, but I'd resigned myself to accepting that I was never going to be considered cool.

John Nathan-Turner had made virtually no plans for Season 24 and there's a sense of desperation just to get something on screen. But this feeling of adrenaline gives everything a dose of energy that 'The Trial Of A Timelord' was lacking.

Although I was studying physics, I actually ended up working in chemistry, which at least gives me something in common with the Rani. One thing the DVD production notes don't cover is that neat little trick she does when spiking the Doctor's glass of 'water'.

Thymolphthalein indicator goes from blue to colourless as its pH changes from above 10.5 to below 9. In other words, Kate O'Mara's glass of BLUE is an alkaline solution of some sort, to which she adds a few drops of acid (hopefully we're talking diluted stuff here, safety fans!) thus turning it into a refreshing glass of CLEAR.

That Sylvester should under no circumstances drink, of course!

Fandom seemed to be fairly optimistic, at least in the pages of the DWAS newsletter 'Celestial Toyroom'. Listeners of 'Round The Archives' who were around at the time might be amused to learn that the 'CT' cartoons of Sylvester and Bonnie were done by none other than Martin Holmes.

It really is a small world, sometimes!

Our video about 'Time And The Rani' can be seen here.

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)

(Artiness by Martin Holmes)