Warning: contains spoilers for recent episodes of Doctor Who!
The Rani recently returned to the world of Doctor Who, but fans may not be aware she encountered David Tennant’s 10th Doctor. Just like the Doctor, the Rani is a renegade Time Lord. Yet unlike the Doctor, the Rani has no morals. Long absent from screens, she returned in the latest season of Doctor Who, but she actually made an appearance in the comics in 2017’s Tenth Doctor: Year Three #12.
Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor: Year Three #12 saw the Rani return in an untitled backup story written and drawn by Rachael Smith. The Tenth Doctor and Rose are trying to contain an outbreak of killer plant monsters. The pair learn the creatures were created by the Rani, leading to a “showdown” between her and the Doctor. After insulting both the Doctor and Rose, fans learn the Rani’s intentions are actually benevolent: she has an affection for Earth plants, and wanted to make some better before taking them back with her.
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The Rani’s return in “The Interstellar Song Contest” episode in Doctor Who’s latest season came as a shock to long-time fans. The Rani also hails from Gallifrey, and made her debut during Colin Baker’s tenure as the Sixth Doctor, in the story “The Mark of the Rani.” A childhood friend of both the Doctor and the Master, the Rani was a brilliant neurochemist, who, unfortunately, saw other lifeforms as below her. She viewed others as disposable test subjects for her experiments, an attitude that put her into conflict with the Doctor.
The Rani: Who Has Played Her Over the Years? |
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|---|---|---|
Name |
Actress |
Notes |
The First Rani |
Kate O'Mara |
|
The Second Rani |
Siobhan Redmond |
Audios only |
The Third Rani |
Anita Dobson |
"Mrs Flood" |
The Fourth Rani |
Archie Panjabi |
Counting her debut, the Rani only made two on-screen appearances, but left a huge impression on fans. The Rani was another evil Time Lord (or Time Lady), just like the Master. What separated Rani from the Master, however, were her intentions: the Master’s plans were all about conquest and subjugation, but the Rani’s were about the pursuit of knowledge, no matter the cost. A regular critique of the Time Lords was their aloof and distant natures, and the Rani embodies this trait more than the Doctor or the Master ever could, making her a great Doctor Who villain.
The Rani Was a Great Villain for the Doctor
The Tenth Doctor's Meeting with Rani Needs to Be in Canon
While the Rani’s appearance in Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor: Year Three is played mostly for laughs, it demonstrates why she makes such a great foil for the Doctor. Doctor Who lore established that the Rani and the Doctor were once friends, and Rachael Smith’s story in Year Three reinforces this idea: the Rani was able to get under the Doctor’s skin, insulting his recent regenerations as well as calling out his choice of companions. The extensive history between the Doctor and the Rani gives the latter plenty of ammunition to use.
The story also slightly revises Doctor Who continuity. Set during Rose Tyler’s travels with the Tenth Doctor, this story would have taken place during the second season of the Doctor Who revival. At this point in the timeline, the Doctor believed he was the last of the Time Lords. Previously, the Doctor thought he had killed the Time Lords at the end of the Last Great Time War, including the Master and the Rani. Why the Doctor is not shocked to see the Rani is never explained, owing to the story’s fun and light tone.
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The BBC’s official policy on what constitutes Doctor Who canon allows for all stories to be “in continuity.” Given that the Doctor travels through time, altering events as he goes along, having a “set in stone” canon makes no sense. This means that the Doctor’s meeting with the Rani in Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor: Year Three actually happened. How this encounter can be squared with established lore remains to be seen. It is possible the Rani used a trick to wipe the Doctor’s memory, leaving him unaware that he had just met one of his oldest foes.
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Regardless of whether the story is part of Doctor Who lore, it provides fans with a look at how David Tennant’s Doctor would have reacted to her. The story seems to imply that the Doctor might have once had feelings for the Rani, which is a new development for the series. The Rani was not to be underestimated, and her appearance in this story drives that point home: she nearly completed her scheme with Earth’s plants before the Doctor ever found her. Just this once, the Rani’s intentions were good, which is fortunate for the Doctor.
