I got this one because of the rumor that the 11th Doctor, Matt Smith will be getting the re-appearance of an old villain, the Rani, a Timelord who first popped up here going against the 6th Doctor, and also dealing with the Master. Another timelord villain is certainly a good thing (and also hints more at the return of Gallifrey in the new series). As I have said I was not a fan of the sixth doctor, and his obvious feelings of superiority, but I am enjoying him more and more, the more I watch. Certainly not one of my top doctors, but he is still a Doctor after all, even if he did eventually get fired from the role. Still overall, this is an enjoyable historic doctor who, with 2 strong villains, and often the Doctor does seem to be in real danger.

In 19th Century England, in a town known as Killingsworth something is amiss. Miner from the local mine return to bath at the bathhouse of an old woman (Kate O’Mara), where she does something to them and they become strangely violent Luddites, with red marks on their necks. The Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and Perpigullium “Peri” Brown (Nicola Bryant) arrive, and stop some of the Luddites who attack a man brining some equipment to Lord Ravensworth (Terence Alexander), so they head out to see the Lord and see what is going on. Ravensworth is holding a gathering of scientific minds, led by the inventor George Stephenson (Gawn Grainger) who has his labs on the premises, and the Doctor and Peri go to talk to Ravensworth, but they are attacked by more Luddites, who have been befriended by the evil Timelord the Master (Anthony Ainley) who has convinced them that the Doctor is their main enemy. The Master has also found the source of the “Luddites” which is in fact the old woman, who is really the Rani, The Rani is another exiled Timelord, one specializing in chemicals, who is stealing a chemical from the brains of the miners (leaving the red marks, which are the mark of the Rani), to create a chemical she will use back on the planet she took over Miasmia Goria. It leaves the human’s unable to rest, and makes them easily suggestible, and she has been doing it for hundreds of years. The Master steals the chemical from the Rani to make her work with him in his plans to destroy the Doctor.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

The Luddites chase the Doctor and Peri, but are really after the Doctor, but a quick shotgun blast from the guy running the mine makes the luddites run.

The Master then gets the Luddites to steal the Doctor’s Tardis and shove it down the mine shaft.

The Doctor finally realize something is amiss with the bathhouse, and he dresses as a miner, but is captured by the Rani. She straps him to a table, and explains to him how she has been coming to Earth for hundreds of years to harvest this chemical from humans, and has never been noticed. The Rani goes with the Master, leaving her slaves to watch the doctor. Peri comes in and manages to get the Doctor free, but they are chased by the minions of the rani.

Peri manages to run to get help, but the Doctor is strapped to a mine cart, and pushed towards the mine shaft, and is only saved by George Stephenson. The Doctor wants him to stop the meeting, as it is currently too dangerous to have such great minds all in one place.

The Master also takes control of Stephenson’s aide, Luke Ward (Gary Cady) to keep the scientific meeting going, so that he can control the greatest minds on Earth, and take over the planet, and from there the universe. He makes a deal with the Rani to help him destroy the Doctor, in exchange for her being able to return to Earth and harvest her chemical anytime she likes, since he will rule the Earth.

The Doctor returns to the Bathhouse and sneaks into the Rani’s Tardis. It is very different from his own, looking very high tech, and even having preserved Dinosaur embryos in jars around it. He boobytraps it, but not until after the Rani calls it to the old mine with her remote with the Doctor in it (the Doctor is very jealous of the remote, and even thinks of asking her to help him install it in his Tardis). The Rani and the Master enter her Taris and talk about the mines they have laid in a nearby Dell. The Doctor then manages to escape, and go back to Stephenson and mention his wariness of Luke.

Luke though has headed off with Peri to the Dell to find some herbs to help the affected miners. The Doctor runs to save Peri, but Luke steps on a land mine, and is changed into a tree. Still able to move her holds Peri, stopping her from stepping on a mine.

The Doctor meanwhile surprised the Rani and Master and with the Master’s Compression Eliminator he makes the Rani go into the mine field and save Peri. Peri leaves her in charge of them, while he goes off, but of course the Rani enables them to escape, and tehy run into the mine, and into the Rani’s Tardis, and escape, or so they think.

The Doctor has sabotaged the Navigation system, so the Tardis is out of Control, and the Dinosaur embryos fall, and begin to grow, with the Master and the Rani unable to move, stuck to the walls.

Ravensworth has retrieved the Doctor’s Tardis, and the Doctor gives him the vial of brain fluid, which he tells him how to give to the affected miners. And the Doctor and Peri depart in the Tardis.

•••

The Sixth Doctor can be quite annoying, but he is growing on me. And his episodes are exceptionally dark, which I do enjoy. I plan on exploring more of the sixth doctor.