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TIME AND THE RANI
PART ONE
Written by
PIP AND JANE BAKER
PRE-TITLE SEQUENCE
1. EXT. SPACE
(From the centre of a vast galaxy, the TARDIS appears, spinning on its way to another destination. A sudden beam of a intense energy hits the top of the TARDIS causing an explosion. The time machine starts to tumble and roll through space. The beams continue to bombard the TARDIS as it falls.)
2. INT. TARDIS. CONSOLE ROOM
(The Doctor and Mel are lying prone on the floor of the console room. The TARDIS console room is moving about violently. The exercise bike has fallen over. Another lurch sends the TARDIS tool box over on to its side.)
3. EXT. LAKERTYAN SURFACE
(Lakertya is a bleak-looking planet covered in rock. From a certain cluster of rocks appears the figure of a man. His name is Ikona and he is a native of Lakertya. He is tall and lean. He wears a long orange tunic with yellow sleeves. On his head he wears a strange turban-like covering from which protrudes a vast mane of yellow and black streaked hair. He climbs to the top of the rise as though he is looking for something. His attention is distracted by a cacophony of sound from the sky. A beam of light flashes through the sky, it contains many colours. In the beam is the shape of the TARDIS. The TARDIS appears on the planet surface with a thump.)
4. INT. TARDIS. CONSOLE ROOM
(All is still within the TARDIS. The Doctor and Mel remain unconscious on the floor, oblivious to what is about to take place. The silence is interrupted by the sound of the exterior doors opening. Through the doors comes the Rani, an exiled Time Lady. She is wearing an expensive-looking scarlet outfit. In her hand is a long weapon which she used to bring the TARDIS down to Lakertya. She is accompanied by an unseen figure.)
RANI: Leave the girl; it's the man I want. Take him to my laboratory.
(She turns around and exits the console room. The lumbering form of her associate makes his way in the direction of the prone Doctor. Her associate is covered all over with long fur. On his back are some wings folded out of the way. Once over the Doctor, he leans down and rolls the Time Lord on to his back. As he turns over, the Doctor's face is a mess of distortion, his features have twisted out of recognition. The once familiar sight of blonde curly hair gives way for short brown wavy hair. The Doctor regenerates into his next body. His seventh body.)
7th DOCTOR TITLE SEQUENCE
5. EXT. THE RANI'S CITADEL
(Amongst the rocky landscape of Lakertya stand the giant buttresses of the entrance to the Rani's citadel. The Citadel is buried deep inside the rocks. On the top of the rocky exterior is the inverted form of a pyramid. At its centre is housed the ramp from which a rocket can be fired.)
6. INT. THE ARCADE
(Native Lakertyan Sarn, a young female, is carefully positioning the unconscious form of German scientist Albert Einstein into a bedded cabinet. Her father, Beyus, is watching over her. The Rani enters from her laboratory into the arcade of cabinets housing various geniuses that she has collected to aid her in her scheme.)
RANI: Sarn, stop dithering. Collecting this one has already put me behind schedule.
SARN: I don't want to harm him.
RANI: Seal it and label it.(Sarn presses a button and the bed on which Einstein lays recedes in to the alcove. A glass door closes in front of it, locking him inside. Sarn turns and looks at the Rani.)
RANI: Well, what are you waiting for?
BEYUS: You haven't given a name for the label.
RANI: Einstein.(Sarn taps the name into the keypad and the name "Einstein" appears on the label over the bed.)
RANI: Insolence could cost your people dearly, Beyus.
SARN: I'm sure Beyus did not mean to appear insolent. He would never do that.
RANI: I find your company more than enough without listening to your puerile opinions.
BEYUS: Then why not let Sarn go. You have me as a hostage, you don't need her.
RANI: I shall decide my needs; they unfortunately require the use of Lakertyans.(The Rani walks away from Beyus and Sarn and goes to another Cabinet further along the arcade.)
BEYUS: You leave me with no illusions about the hatred you hold for us.
RANI: Hatred? Another fantasy. I have no feelings one way or the other. Outside of these experiments you simply have no significance.
BEYUS: I find your detachment difficult to understand.(The Rani moves from the Cabinet over to Beyus.)
RANI: All you need understand is that these specimens are geniuses, every one of them. And unless they're kept in prime condition, you'll have more than the miserable skin of this creature to worry about.
(The Rani moves from them to the door to the Laboratory.)
BEYUS: Have you managed to procure the means to repair your laboratory equipment?
RANI: Oh yes, indeed I have.
7. INT. THE RANI'S CITADEL. THE LABORATORY
(The Laboratory is very large with a door to the arcade to the left and an exit door to the right. At the back of the room is a flight of stairs leading up to a sealed chamber. In the centre is a raised area with a pyramid-shaped piece of equipment at each corner. In the centre is the control desk on which the Doctor lies unconscious.)
(The Rani walks into the laboratory and goes to the Doctor. He is lying across the centre table/scanner screen. She places her hand on his chest to test his hearts. She then moves towards the flight of stairs at the rear. She presses a button and a door opens. She is about to ascend when the Doctor begins to stir.)
DOCTOR: Oh no, Mel.
(She closes the door again and returns to the Doctor at the centre table/control desk. With a start he jumps bolt upright from his prone position.)
DOCTOR: Ah, that was a nice nap. Now down to business.
(He jumps down from the table.)
DOCTOR: I'm a bit worried about the temporal flicker in sector thirteen. There's a bicentennial refit of the TARDIS to book in. I must just pop over to Centauri Seven and then perhaps a quick holiday. Right, that all seems quite clear. Just three small points. Where am I? Who am I? And who are you?
(The Doctor spins around on the soles of his feet to face the Rani on the other side of the table. She stands there impassively.)
DOCTOR: The Rani! Stay back!
(He grabs his umbrella from off the table and backs away from her but in doing so he trips on the stairs behind him and tumbles backwards.)
RANI: This is idiotic; you'll injure yourself.
(She moves around the table to help him up but he resists her help and jumps to his feet holding the umbrella up menacingly.)
DOCTOR: Why should you care? Since you were exiled from Gallifrey, you've had nothing but contempt for all of the Time Lords.
RANI: My contempt started long before my exile.
DOCTOR: And what d'you want with me? And where's Mel?
RANI: She's perfectly safe. But how long she remains so depends on you.
DOCTOR: You're up to something. Perhaps I'll find the answer on this.(He quickly moves away from her around to the other side of the table and activates the control. The screen comes alive and shows the planet Lakertya.)
RANI: You won't recognise the planet. It's Lakertya and there's no evidence that it's ever been graced by your meddling presence.
(The screen shows an image of the planet with an asteroid spinning around in orbit. Alien script crosses over the image.)
DOCTOR: You're trying to deflect me. So the answer is on here. Quarks. One up, one down. One… Strange Matter? That asteroid is composed of Strange Matter. What monstrous experiment are you dabbling in now?
RANI: I didn't go to the trouble of bringing you here just to discuss the ethics of my work.
DOCTOR: Ethics? Don't be such a hypocrite. Your past is littered with the mutilated results of your unethical experiments.
RANI: I had all I can take of that cant in our university days. Am I expected to abandon my research because of the side effects on inferior species. Are you prepared to abandon walking in case you squash an insect under foot?(She takes a large syringe-like gun from a compartment in the table. She advances menacingly around the table towards the Doctor. He backs away around on the Doctor but he circles the other way.)
DOCTOR: Stay away. Whatever you've brought me here for, I'm having no part of it.
(Not looking where he is going, the Doctor again stumbles and comes to rest at the feet of Sarn who has entered the laboratory with her Father, Beyus. Sarn bends down to help him.)
RANI: Leave him there.
SARN: He may be hurt.
BEYUS: Sarn, don't interfere.(Sarn continues to fuss over the Doctor but the Rani takes her by the arm causing her to stop.)
RANI: I'll deal with you latter.
(Terrified, Sarn runs from the laboratory and the Rani turns to address Beyus.)
RANI: And that's the last time she will interfere.
(The Doctor quickly jumps up and runs over to one of the Rani's pyramid-shaped machines filled with some kind of liquid. He raises his umbrella to smash it.)
DOCTOR: Stay away or I'll smash this!
RANI: Urak!
DOCTOR: I'll smash it to pieces!!
RANI: Urak!! Get in here!!(Urak enters the Laboratory from the Arcade holding a net gun. He walks towards the Doctor, who just stands staring at the monster. Urak fires his gun and, in a shower of sparks, it discharges a net which falls on the Doctor. The gun renders the Doctor unconscious. He falls to the ground. The Rani moves in, looking pleased.)
8. EXT. LAKERTYAN SURFACE
(The native Lakertyan, Ikona, stands investigating the exterior of the TARDIS. He looks around unsure, then opening the door he moves inside the box.)
9. INT. TARDIS. CONSOLE ROOM
(Inside the console room, Mel is still lying unconscious at the base of the console. Ikona stands over her and, seeing her form, he bends down, picks her up and slings her over his shoulder. Looking around the interior dimensions, he takes in its size before exiting the ship.)
10. EXT. THE RANI'S CITADEL ENTRANCE
(Beyus daughter, Sarn, flees through the imposing entrance to the Rani's base and out on to the Lakertyan surface.)
11. INT. THE RANI'S LABORATORY
(The Rani stands over the unconscious form of the 7th Doctor. Her wristwatch communicator starts to bleep. She brings it up to her mouth to speak.)
RANI: Urak. What's happening?
URAK: The female, Sarn, has escaped, Mistress Rani (Voice heard from his wrist communicator).
RANI: She won't get far.(She moves away from the Doctor's body to activate the viewer screen on the table. The image appears to show Sarn running quickly over the rocky surface.)
12. EXT. LAKERTYAN SURFACE
(Sarn runs across the rocky landscape – her arms straight, stretched out behind her in a style of run that all her people have. At another place further along the path, Ikona is walking along with an unconscious Mel slung over his shoulder. She begins to regain consciousness and struggles from his grip. Not expecting her resistance, he falls to the ground and she makes her getaway. She runs along the path and comes face to face with Sarn. Sarn is terrified and runs off in panic. Her panic causes her to trip a wire. The wire causes an explosion. Suddenly a bubble of energy forms around her. The bubble starts to ascend into the sky. She screams frantically as the bubble spins randomly. It catches the side of a rock. There is an explosion and the bubble is sent flying in another direction. The direction it heads in is directly into a rock face. The bottom of the bubble detonates causing the bubble to explode. Sarn is no more. Mel has seen the whole thing and moves over to where Ikona is standing in shock. She reaches out to offer a hand of sympathy but he pushes it back at her. He moves forward and crouches down to where the skeletal remains of Sarn lie. Tears form in his eye.)
13. INT. RANI'S CITADEL. LABORATORY
(The Rani's scanner shows the dead form of Sarn. She activates her wrist communicator and talks to Urak.)
RANI: See that the trap is reset.
URAK: Certainly. Your powers are truly wondrous, Mistress Ra…(She cuts him short by turning off her wrist communicator. She looks up to see Beyus standing at the entrance to the lab from the Arcade.)
BEYUS: What's happened?
RANI: It need not concern you. Roll up his sleeve.(She and Beyus move in on the Doctor's unconscious form. She holds a large gun-like device in her hands, from which protrudes a large needle.)
BEYUS: Why are you doing this?
RANI: To make sure he suffers a healthy dose of amnesia when he wakes.
BEYUS: Amnesia?
RANI: That's what I said.(She inserts the large needle into his arm and activates the injection.)
14. EXT. LAKERTYAN SURFACE
(Ikona is bending over Sarn's skeletal body with Mel at his shoulder. He gets up and pushes her away.)
IKONA: Go on, run. Run! The areas swarming with traps as well you know.
MEL: Me? Why should I? This is insane.
IKONA: Don't play the innocent. Your friends set this trap.
MEL: Look it's all very well being upset…
IKONA: Upset!? Another of your obscene murders takes place…
MEL: Stop accusing me. This had nothing to do with me.
IKONA: Lies! If I didn't need you as a hostage, you'd be dead.
MEL: A hostage? For what?
IKONA: To exchange for our leader. Your friends took him prisoner.
MEL: Why d'you keep calling them friends of mine.
IKONA: They arrived from outer space as you did. Now they can have you back… on my terms.(Ikona grabs Mel by the arms and forces her to move on ahead of him.)
15. INT. RANI'S CITADEL. LABORATORY
(The Doctor is lying on the floor of the laboratory. He opens his eyes as he comes around. He rolls his eyes and looks around him.)
DOCTOR: Where am I? Who are you?
(He sees the back of a woman with long red curly hair and a pink exercise outfit. The woman turns around and it is the Rani dressed up in disguise as the Doctor's companion Mel.)
RANI: Mel. Melanie. Are you alright, Doctor?
(She moves forward and helps to pull the Doctor up onto his feet. He is somewhat unsteady.)
DOCTOR: Alright? am I? Of course. And you?
RANI: Me? Yes, of course, why not. (She pulls away so that he doesn't get too close.)
DOCTOR: Why not indeed. We both are.(The Doctor tumbles into the centre control desk and grabs the gun-like device that the Rani used to cause the TARDIS to crash land on Lakertya. The Rani is concerned.)
DOCTOR: A bull in a barber shop. A navigational guidance system distorter. This would force any passing spaceship into landing here. Where are we, by the way?
RANI: In your laboratory, on Lakertya. Doctor, are you sure you're well?
DOCTOR: Of course. Fit as a trombone.
RANI: Fiddle.
DOCTOR: What?
RANI: Fit as a fiddle.
DOCTOR: Are you? Nerves, I expect. Now let's see, what were we up to? Mel, did you say your name was?
RANI: You don't remember me, do you? Do you?
DOCTOR: Red hair. I recall red hair.(He touches her hair to investigate but she pulls away and looks in a mirror on one of the pyramid structures. As she tidies her own hair – the wig, the Doctor catches a glimpse of his own new reflection.)
DOCTOR: Ah, who's that?
RANI: Me.
DOCTOR: No, standing next to you.
RANI: That's you, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Me? No wonder I've lost my memory.
RANI: Look, you're supposed to be conducting an experiment, not frightening yourself to death.
DOCTOR: An experiment?(The Rani/Mel takes hold of the Doctor's arm and guides him around to the exploded machinery housed in a pyramid. It has a charred surface.)
RANI: Yes. It exploded and threw you to the floor, me too. Knocked us both cold. When I came round you looked like this.
DOCTOR: The explosion must have caused me to regenerate.
RANI: You mean this is what you're going to be like permanently.
DOCTOR: I want all mirrors removed from the TARDIS, henceforth.
RANI: So you remember the TARDIS?
DOCTOR: Oh yes, the TARDIS. And you… Mel. There's something out of sync. I must be suffering from post-regeneration amnesia.
RANI: Oh don't worry. It'll soon wear off. Meanwhile, why not repair the machine. You said it was important.
DOCTOR: Important? Did I? I wonder what I was up to.(The Doctor removes the charred cover from off the machine to take a closer inspection. The Rani/Mel takes it from him and places it against the wall.)
DOCTOR: No, seems pretty far gone. Need a genius to repair it.
RANI: But you're a genius.(He moves away, losing interesting, but the Rani/Mel's words cause him to return rather self-satisfied.)
DOCTOR: Oh yes, I definitely remember that.
RANI: Especially in thermodynamics.
DOCTOR: How did you know that, Mel?
RANI: But you told me, you said it was your specialist subject when you were at university.(He stares thoughtfully in her direction, trying to place who she reminds him of. The Rani/Mel looks worried.)
DOCTOR: University? You remind me of someone I used to know… when I was there.
(The Rani/Mel breaks his concentration and pulls him back over to the exploded pyramid machine.)
RANI: Doctor, this machine has to be repaired and you're the only person with the knowledge to do it.
DOCTOR: Your confidence in me is very flattering, Mel.(The Rani/Mel picks up another cover from the charred machine and moves it out of the way to rest with the other one.)
16. EXT. LAKERTYAN SURFACE
(Ikona drags Mel along down the side of a steep incline. He has bound her hands. Both of them slip and slide at regular intervals.)
MEL: Will you listen? How many more times do I have to tell you? I'm not your enemy. Look, can we start from scratch? My name's Mel and I come from Earth. Your turn.
IKONA: This is no game.
MEL: Alright, let's try another tack. You claim I was alone when you found me.
IKONA: Oh, don't go on about this Doctor again.
MEL: I have to.
IKONA: There was no one else in the strange box. If he exists, he must have left you.
MEL: No way! The Doctor wouldn't do that.
IKONA: If he had any sense he would.
MEL: It's not even up for discussion.
IKONA: Good, I shall enjoy the silence.
MEL: Watch out!(Mel pulls Ikona away just in time as he trips the wire on one of the Rani's bubble traps. There is an explosion and one of the bubbles forms. It ascends into the sky and spins off to the side, catches a rock and finally explodes.)
MEL: Now will you accept that I'm not your enemy.
IKONA: We must hurry. The Tetraps will come to investigate.(Ikona starts to untie Mel's hands.)
MEL: Oh, what made you think I was in league with them?
IKONA: You're not Lakertyan. You don't belong on this planet.
MEL: Then they're human, like me?
IKONA: No not like you. Although almost as hideous.(He brushes himself down and moves off with Mel following. They are observed from on high from Urak, her clawed hand grasping a rock.)
17. INT. THE RANI'S CITADEL. LABORATORY
(The Doctor is working away at the damaged machinery whilst the Rani (impersonating Mel) watches over his shoulder.)
DOCTOR: Come on, come on.
RANI: Come on where?
DOCTOR: Why I chose you as an assistant I'll never know. Perhaps I will when I've regained my memory.
RANI: Well, what is it you want?
DOCTOR: Well look at me, can't you see. Mop my brow.(The Rani produces a handkerchief from her sleeve and does as he requests. Once she has done that she looks away, trying to stifle her irritation. The Doctor continues his work but then sees some spoon-shaped items and reaches to take hold of them. A mischievous grin comes over his face and he starts to play them, first on his knee and then moves over to play them across the Rani's chest. In anger she lashes out and they go flying across the room.)
DOCTOR: What did you do that for?
RANI: It was your fault.
DOCTOR: A bad workman always blames his fools.
RANI: Tools!!! Blames his Tools!!!
DOCTOR: Do I detect a hint of bad temper, Mel? Why are you behaving so uppity? Could it be that you think yourself superior to me.
RANI: How could I possibly think that, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Quite. Though at the moment I feel far from superior. This is all a mystery to me.(He starts to move over to the centre of the room away from her side to gain a better view of his surroundings.)
RANI: But surely there's a catalyst?
DOCTOR: Oh, yes, yes. Must you state the obvious? I know that its functions defuse the impulses from there with this goo. But what's it for? I'm beginning to think this set-ups got nothing to do with me.
RANI: Why d'you think that?
DOCTOR: Omnipotence. The mind behind this bag of tricks operates on a grand scale.
RANI: Well, all the more reason to suppose that it's you, Doctor.(She walks over to him and purposefully leads him back to the damaged machinery so that he can continue with his repair work.)
18. EXT. LAKERTYAN SURFACE
(Mel and Ikona are making there way across the rocky landscape. Mel stops and clings on to a large boulder as a support.)
MEL: Hold on. I need a breather.
IKONA: We must keep moving.
MEL: What happened to the rest of your people? Won't they help?
IKONA: No, they've been completely subdued.
MEL: We could at least try.
IKONA: The only one they'd listen to is Beyus our leader.
MEL: Well let's go to him.
IKONA: He's the hostage I wanted to exchange you for. Ssshhh. Listen. Quickly!
MEL: We can't go that way, it's completely exposed.
IKONA: For once don't argue.(The pair of them run hastily into the open and across a shallow patch of water. They come to rest inside a large pipe they buries itself into the rock face.)
IKONA: Hopefully they'll think we doubled back to stay undercover.
MEL: Always providing they don't flush us out first.
19. INT. THE RANI'S CITADEL. THE LABORATORY
(The Doctor is standing at the back of the lab pointing up at the sealed chamber. The Rani/Mel is sitting on the centre control desk swinging her legs in mock innocence.)
DOCTOR: What's in there?
RANI: I have no idea.(In anger, the Doctor storms over to where she is feigning ignorance.)
DOCTOR: Are you as clueless as you appear, Mel?
RANI: Don't blame me, Doctor. I've never been inside, you wouldn't let me.
DOCTOR: Wouldn't I?
RANI: No. You said the air wasn't sterile enough for humans.
DOCTOR: That's it then, I'm doing nothing until my memory returns. Nothing until I know what I'm about.(He sits down on some steps defiantly. The Rani/Mel moves over to join him.)
RANI: Oh come on now.
DOCTOR: No, I will not work in the dark like this.
RANI: But you thrive on challenge.
DOCTOR: I'm adamant. This could be of some diabolical scheme.
RANI: To do what?
DOCTOR: That's the question.
RANI: Oh, Doctor, really.(The Rani/Mel gets up and walks back over to the centre control desk. She takes out a phial. Then her expression changes to be quite threatening.)
20. INT. THE RANI'S CITADEL. THE TETRAP EYRIE
(Beyus moves to a grill in the flow with a hooked metal pole in his hand. He uses the pole to lift up a metal grating that leads down to the Tetrap lair. He walks cautiously down the steps and peers into the darkness. He pulls a metal change which releases a milky mixture down a slope into a large container. The Tetraps start to stir in the darkness and rush forward for there food. Beyus exits hastily and closes the metal grating behind him.)
21. INT. THE RANI'S CITADEL. THE LABORATORY
(The Rani/Mel pours some water into a glass and empties a mixture from the phial into it. She swills the glass around so that the mixture dissolves.)
RANI: You're just over-excited. Here, drink this.
DOCTOR: What is it?
RANI: Just water.
DOCTOR: Oh, you drink. I don't want it. Don't try to humour me. Leave me alone.
RANI: You can't just loll around; it's simply not like you.
DOCTOR: How d'you know what I'm like. I've regenerated. I mean, look at me, look at me.
RANI: Yes, you've changed outwardly. But I'm sure deep down you still have the same sweet nature.
DOCTOR: Perhaps this is my new persona; sulky, bad-tempered. I mean, think how I spoke to you earlier.
RANI: But you didn't mean it, I was at fault.
DOCTOR: Even so, that's probably how I am now. You don't understand regeneration, Mel. It's a lottery and I've drawn the short plank. Anyway, I need a radiation wave meter and, brilliant as I am, even I can't improvise that.
RANI: What about the TARDIS? Won't there be a radiation wave meter there?
DOCTOR: The TARDIS? D'you know where it is?
RANI: Yes. Of course.
DOCTOR: Oh good, I fancy a breath of fresh air. We'll both go.(The Doctor jumps up from his seating position and makes his way across the laboratory before the Rani/Mel has time to react.)
RANI: Oh wait.
(The Doctor rushes out from the Laboratory leaving the Rani/Mel alone. She activates her wrist communicator to speak to Urak.)
RANI: Urak?
URAK: (from the wrist communicator) Yes, Mistress.
RANI: Remove the girl from the TARDIS immediately.
URAK: She is not there, Mistress.
RANI: Well then find her, you incompetent fool.(The Doctor re-enters the Lab but doesn't hear her conversation. The Rani/Mel quickly composes herself.)
DOCTOR: Are you coming, Mel?
RANI: Yes, Doctor, coming.(She puts on an innocent expression and follows him out through the door.)
22. EXT. LAKERTYAN SURFACE. THE PIPE
(Urak leaps down on to the ground from a rock. All the time his four eyes are surveying the landscape for any sign of Mel and Ikona. Meanwhile, Mel and Ikona are hidden out of sight in the pipe. Mel slowly ventures forward toward the pipe exit but Ikona is more cautious.)
MEL: No one about. Come on.
IKONA: No! It's too soon.
MEL: Not for me. I'm going to find the Doctor.
IKONA: If he's been captured he's as good as dead.
23. EXT. LAKERTYAN SURFACE. SARN'S SKELETON & TARDIS EXTERIOR
(Whilst making their way across the rocky landscape, the Doctor spots the skeletal remains of Sarn. He stops to have a look and the Rani/Mel joins him.)
DOCTOR: Rather unusual species. Can't say I recognise it. Humanoid with reptilian influences. Wouldn't you say, Mel?
RANI: Lakertyan. A race so indolent they can't be bothered to bury their dead.
DOCTOR: Really?
RANI: Yes.
DOCTOR: I suppose we've explored this planet. I wish I could remember.
RANI: There's not a lot to remember. The benevolent climate has induced lethargy. They've failed to realise their full potential.
DOCTOR: Rather a harsh judgment, Mel.
RANI: Not mine. Yours.(The Rani/Mel walks away to the nearby TARDIS leaving the Doctor alone.)
DOCTOR: The more I know me, the less I like me.
(The Doctor gives a sad little wave to the skeleton before moving off in pursuit of the Rani. He catches up with her outside the TARDIS. He gets his key from his pocket and opens the door. They enter.)
24. EXT. LAKERTYAN SURFACE. THE PIPE
(Mel and Ikona are crouched in the pipe out of sight.)
MEL: All right, I'll find him without you. One thing about the Doctor, you can't miss him in that outfit.
(Mel jumps up and moves out of the pipe. Ikona makes a move to prevent her but fails to pull her back.)
25. INT. TARDIS. WARDROBE ROOM
(The Doctor discards his old multi-coloured coat in an open treasure chest. He moves to stand in front of the mirror. He is wearing the kind of outfit that Napoleon would have worn.)
DOCTOR: No, I think not. Lacks my natural humility.
(He removes the hat and moves out of sight behind a clothes rail only to reappear wearing a Bearskin hat.)
DOCTOR: Doesn't look right without a horse. I need something more dignified, Timelord-ish.
(He moves onward amongst the rails and disappears again only to reappear wearing a mortar board and cape. He moves to where the Rani/Mel is standing.)
DOCTOR: A little portentous perhaps, Mel.
(He moves away from her to find further items of clothing to try on.)
RANI: Pretentious is the word.
(He reappears wearing a long coat and scarf with a felt hat.)
DOCTOR: Old hat.
(Tossing the hat away, he moves off only to return moments later wearing a version of the clothes he wore in his third incarnation – velvet smoking jacket and frilly shirt.)
DOCTOR: Not frilled.
(The Rani/Mel shakes her head in frustration and the Doctor moves off to reappear wearing a cricketer's outfit as worn by his fifth incarnation.)
DOCTOR: How's that. Would that bowl the maiden over?
(The Rani despairs even more. He disappears again and this time he reappears wearing the enormous fur coat that he sometimes wore in his second body. He pulls the coat apart to reveal the clothing he has settled on: check trouser, white shirt, pull-over and a cream jacket topped off with a rather battered panama hat. The Rani/Mel moves forward to encourage him to stick with this outfit.)
RANI: Yes, yes, yes. Very elegant.
DOCTOR: Ah thank goodness in this regeneration I've regained my impeccable sense of Haute couture.
RANI: If you've finished preening, could we please get what we came for?(Whilst looking in the mirror to admire his new outfit, he notices that there is something amiss with Mel – he turns to look her in the face – as he does so her face distorts and he briefly sees the face of someone else much younger – the face of the real Mel. The Rani/Mel slaps him across the face to break his concentration. She sends him tumbling into the large mirror.)
RANI: I'm sorry but you seemed to be losing control.
DOCTOR: I was hallucinating. I had an overwhelming sense of evil. And there was a word, Ra… Ra… Ran… Rad…
RANI: Radiation wave meter, that's what we came here for.
DOCTOR: Oh yes. Where d'you reckon I'd keep it?
RANI: Tool room.
DOCTOR: Won't be a jiffy. Absence makes the nose grow longer.(The Doctor moves off out of the room and the Rani watches him go before making her way to the console room.)
RANI: Cretin.
26. EXT. LAKERTYAN SURFACE
(Mel is making it on her own apart from Ikona. The path is quite treacherous but she is concentrating greatly. Ikona is following her at a discreet distance so that he isn't seen by anyone, namely a Tetrap. Mel doesn't notice that she is being followed by Urak whose claw appears over a rock behind her.)
27. INT. TARDIS. CONSOLE ROOM
(The Rani enters the console room just as her wrist communicator starts to bleep. She activates it and brings it to her mouth to speak into it.)
RANI: Yes, Urak. What is it?
URAK: (Voice heard from her communicator) I have found the lost girl, Mistress.
RANI: Focus in on her.
URAK: (Voice heard from her communicator) Certainly, Mistress Rani.(The Rani activates a control on the console and the doors over the scanner screen open to reveal an image of Mel clambering over the rocks. The Doctor bursts into the console room from the inner corridor, carrying the tool they went to the TARDIS to collect.)
DOCTOR: Rani, that's the name, the evil name.
RANI: Is that her, Doctor?(The Rani points at the scanner screen that shows Mel. The Doctor turns to look.)
DOCTOR: Yes. Yes, it must be. Yes.
RANI: And she's evil.
DOCTOR: Completely.
RANI: Then she must be destroyed.
DOCTOR: Destroyed? Let's not be hasty.(The Doctor turns to look once again at the scanner screen. A knowing smile crosses the Rani's face and she turns to see Mel clambering over the rocks.)
28. EXT. LAKERTYAN SURFACE
(Mel finally reaches the bottom of the steep slope. She hears a noise behind her and catches the sight of something in the corner of her eye. Sensing that it is not something she wants to be found by, she breaks into a run. Urak remains at a discreet distance but still follows her. Running at speed, Mel fails to notice the tripwire at her feet. She trips, triggering an explosion, and a bubble of energy forms around her. She lets out a terrified scream. The bubble starts to ascend into the sky. It rises up and over a cliff face. As it makes its descent, it catches the side of the rock face causing an explosion. This causes the bubble to spin further downwards. Mel screams helplessly as the bubble spins her to her death...?)
CAST
The Doctor
SYLVESTER McCOYMelanie
BONNIE LANGFORDThe Rani
KATE O'MARAIkona
MARK GREENSTREETBeyus
DONALD PICKERINGSarn
KAREN CLEGGUrak
RICHARD GAUNTLETT
PRODUCTION CREW
Theme Music Composed by
RON GRAINERTheme Arrangement / Incidental Music
KEFF McCULLOCHSound
DICK MILLSProduction Manager
TONY REDSTONProduction Associate
ANN FAGGETTERProduction Assistant
JOY SINCLAIRAssistant Floor Manager
JOANNA NEWBERRY
CHRISTOPHER SANDEMANOB Lighting
IAN DOWOB Sound
DOUG WHITTAKEROB Cameramen
ALASTAIR MITCHELL
JOHN HAWESVisual Effects Designer
COLIN MAPSONVideo Effects
DAVE CHAPMANVision Mixer
SUE THORNETechnical Co-ordinator
RICHARD WILSONCamera Supervisor
ALEC WHEALVideotape Editor
HUGH PARSONSLighting Director
HENRY BARBERSound
BRIAN CLARKCostume
KEN TREWMake-up Designer
LESLEY RAWSTORNEScript Editor
ANDREW CARTMELGraphic Designer
OLIVER ELMESComputer Animation
CAL VIDEODesigner
GOEFF POWELLProducer
JOHN NATHAN-TURNERDirected by
ANDREW MORGANBBC MCMLXXXVII