Doctor Who: The Rani Elite

The difficulty with using the Rani as a Doctor Who villain, and, presumably, the reason that it hasn't been done very often in the tie-in media, is that it's hard to distinguish her from the Master. While there are some differences in motivation, to be honest, the main distinguishing feature in the TV series was that she happened to be a woman. Which makes it unfortunate, perhaps, that this play was released just a few weeks after Missy's big reveal on TV. And doubly so that, here, they chose to give the new incarnation of the Rani a Scottish accent...

In fact, the part was written for original Rani actor Kate O'Mara, who sadly passed away before it could be recorded. She was replaced by Siobhan Redmond, whose portrayal of the character is calm and collected, more reminiscent of Delgado's Master than Gomez's. However, bereft of what otherwise would have been the draw of O'Mara's reprise, the choice of this being the Rani, rather than the Master - or, indeed, any other random villain - is blunted. Redmond is good in the role, and there are some harks back to the Rani's two TV appearances, but, without knowing who the part was originally written for, it's hard to see the point.

The story is, for the most part, quite leisurely, with the Doctor and Peri wandering around a future university trying to uncover, and then foil, the Rani's plan to perform dastardly experiments on the students. To be honest, I wasn't really clear what her end game was - it's pretty obvious how she plans to get there, and what her accomplices mistakenly think she's up to, but less so what she actually expected to achieve. For the story, in this case, the means matter more than the objective.

I will say that the play is well-performed and well made, and that Redmond is particularly good in it. But there isn't much to the plot, which feels rather like filler, and doesn't really stretch the title character, or do anything to expand her mythos. That probably wasn't the point when the script was written, but, shorn of its original selling point, it turns out that the story doesn't have much left to fall back on.