September 7, 1987: a date that lives in Doctor Who infamy—at least for Chris, who rage-quit the show the moment Time and the Rani introduced the Seventh Doctor in the most cursed way imaginable. Bad wigs, mangled aphorisms, quarry overload, neon overkill, and a regeneration scene that practically dares you to change the channel: this one has it all. But is the story merely a disaster, or a pivotal disaster? Join us as we revisit Sylvester McCoy’s bumpy debut, marvel at Kate O’Mara’s all-time great “Rani pretending to be Mel” performance, and ask how the same show that made Caves of Androzani wound up here. Time and tide melts the snowman.
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Timeline:
- Intro 00:00:00
- Previously… 00:02:31
- POLL to Open 00:07:55
- Comment of the Week 00:11:10
- TL;DW 00:21:19
- Review: Time and the Rani 00:23:59
- Four Questions to Doomsday 01:02:02
- What If the Evil Plot Had Succeeded? 01:06:27
- Where Is the Clara Splinter? 01:11:59
- Final Judgment 01:15:37
- Randomizer! 01:21:14
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Story Essentials
- Season 24, Serial 1
- Story number: 147, per the The Pull To Open Codex
- Writer: Pip and Jane Baker
- Director: Andrew Morgan
- Script Editor: Andrew Cartmel
- Producer: John Nathan-Turner
- Aired 7–28 September 1987
Pull To Open: Time and the Rani
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
Music: Martin West/Thinking Fish
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Doctor Who ©️BBC 1963