Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Siobhan Redmond, Andrew Bone, Becky Wright, Mike Noble, Charlie Morton.
In the saddest of circumstances comes lightness, it just may take a while for the listener to see it for what it truly is.
When a much loved actor from a television programme passes on it can be hard to imagine anyone playing their character again. In the world of soap-operas they could, if they so desired perhaps get away with an actor coming in a year or two later having had facial surgery or recovering from a major operation. In others, the character would just be allowed to be retired and thought of with ceremonial fondness every now and then. In science fiction though, the sheer possibilities are endless and enjoyable.
To think of another female actor to step into the shoes of the great Kate O’Mara is one thing though that might be resisted on all fronts by many fans of the scheming chemist and Doctor/Master equal The Rani. Kate O’ Mara, like the late great Roger Delgado, is firmly entrenched in Doctor Who history as being one of the pivotal early protagonists in which The Doctor found himself being pitted against. It would take a formidable actor in which to step into those shoes.
In the final episode of the latest trilogy for Colin Baker’s incarnation, the Doctor comes up against the new embodiment in the tantalising The Rani Elite and Big Finish couldn’t have had a better woman in mind to play the role than the tremendous Siobhan Redmond.
The Doctor, never the one to turn down an academic distinction or indeed give a lecture to a body of students, turns up at the C.A.G.E, the College of Advanced Galactic Education, to receive an Honorary Doctorate in Moral Philosophy…Morals it seems that are in short supply within the halls of this particular institution of academia.
Justin Richard’s The Rani Elite takes a look at the idea of regeneration but within the parameters of what it means to those outside of Gallifrey. The idea that to be young once more, alluded to by Peri’s self assertion that she would be now considered a mature student, is all that is needed to be able to enjoy life forever. It is a premise that has been used before throughout all science fiction but one in which the makers of Doctor Who and their team of writers always seem to capture with preciseness for the consequences inherited with such thinking.
The small cast doesn’t detract from the enormity of the story, in many ways it enhances the claustrophobic feel that can come with being immersed into such a community as a University, only flourishing when the right cogs have connected, only standing out when somebody sees further potential. It is that further potential that interest The Rani and in an effort to harness knowledge and take it to the extremes, in a way a kind of reverse Frankenstein’s Monster effect, the fate of all on campus is threatened.
To be young and fit enough to be amazing, it is the curse of all who feel as though their life has been perhaps squandered, foolishly misspent or misused. The Rani Elite serves notice that such obligations to the past are no longer an issue and in the space of one new audio drama, The Rani is reborn, both spiritually and drama wise, physically.
No one can ever replace Kate O’ Mara in the affections of many Doctor Who fans, and neither should they but the superb Ms. Redmond certainly lives up to the great Rani’s reputation and expectations of a tremendous female adversary for the Doctor to mentally challenge.
In difficult and sad circumstances, all involved have come up with a perfect farewell to Kate O’ Mara, her legendary status lives on in a new face and it the best you could imagine.
Doctor Who: The Rani Elite is available to purchase from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.
Ian D. Hall