Doctor Who Needs to Do Better By the Rani

Despite Disney, the BBC, and returning showrunner Russell T Davies being adamant that the Ncuti Gatwa era of Doctor Who would be super friendly to newbies who hadn’t dipped their toes into the franchise’s vast 60-some odd years of history before, that claim didn’t turn out to be all that true. Davies’ second turn in the TARDIS saw him bring back a former Doctor (David Tennant), multiple previous companions (Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble and Bonnie Langford’s Mel Bush), and a barrage of classic villains and old school characters that ranged from ancient enemy The Toymaker to death god Sutekh. Heck, even the Time Lord’s long-lost granddaughter, Susan (Carole Ann Ford), showed up at one point. Doctor Who 101, this was not. 

But while it was genuinely fun for longtime fans to see so many references to the show’s storied history, greet familiar characters, and indulge in some serious deep cut lore, many of those stories weren’t exactly what you might call fleshed out. In fact, most of these reappearances lacked the context to really hit all that hard as part of their respective stories outside of the nostalgia and fan service of it all. (And please don’t get me started on whatever the heck that mess was with Omega.) But this era of the show has failed no character harder than the Rani, a figure whose return fans had been clamoring for and speculating about for literal decades, but whose arrival satisfied almost no one. 

A classic Doctor Who villain who hadn’t appeared on the main series since 1987’s “Time and the Rani,” the character had grown rather infamous in the modern era for not returning to the show’s canvas. (The characters who turned out to be Madame Kovarian, Missy, and the Fugitive Doctor? All were initially speculated to be the Rani by many fans. We’ve been waiting a while.) But almost none of us expected that Ruby Sunday’s (Millie Gibson) bizarro neighbor, Mrs. Flood (Anita Dobson), would turn out to be the renegade Time Lady, or that she would ultimately bi-regenerate into two separate versions of the character, with the second played by former The Good Wife star Archie Panjabi. And, neither, it turns out, did the woman who played her. 

“For the first series, I was oblivious and just really enjoyed all the little character things and mannerisms that Russell was throwing at me,” Anita Dobson, who played Mrs. Flood, told the Radio Times. “Then, when he asked me back for another series, my curiosity was piqued as to who she was… But it wasn’t until I read the last few scripts of that series that I found out, and I was completely shocked.”

Girl, we were too. Not just because we got two Ranis—but because neither of them felt all that much like the original incarnation. The character is one of the Doctor’s more intriguing adversaries, sort of an antihero more than an outright villain, albeit one that is less interested in simply getting the Doctor’s attention or using violence as a love language in the way that pretty much every incarnation of the Master is. A scientist who is willing to sacrifice anything in the name of her research, the Rani is an amoral figure, but not a particularly vicious one. She doesn’t care much (or, really, at all) about who gets caught in the crossfire of her various projects, but her goal isn’t to cause harm or mayhem for its own sake. 

But while it’s obvious in “The Reality War” that the Rani is basically seeking to resurrect Gallifrey for her own personal ends, that’s… kind of the only thing either of these new incarnations has in common with her former self. Dobson’s in particular was wildly strange, suddenly completely subservient to her other half and more than a little stupid. (And while the Rani is certainly many things, no version of her should ever be dumb.)

Plus, there are still tons of unanswered questions about Dobson’s version of the character, which seemed so very different than any version we’d ever seen before. Why was Mrs.Flood so obsessed with Fifteen’s companions, sometimes seeming more interested in them than the Doctor himself? (How many houses did that woman own anyway? Is she everyone’s neighbor?) Why did all of her outfits so frequently mirror other characters from the Doctor Who universe? (That cape at the end of “Empire of Death” screamed Romana.) How did she know about Sutekh’s existence back in season 14? And what happened to her after the Archie Panjabi version was unceremoniously (and far too quickly) killed off?

Dobson’s not saying, but she’s not averse to stepping back into the role again to find out. “Anything is possible,” she said. “And if Russell asked me now, I’d be out that door so quick.”

In all honesty, it’s not the worst idea. Dobson’s an actor who’s more than capable of walking the fine line between drama and camp that a significant villain role in this universe requires, and fans deserve more from the Rani’s return than a muddled reappearance and quick death. Heck, the character deserves better than that! So let Dobson take another crack at it, as the real and only Rani this time, and give the character a chance to face off against her long-time adversary in a way that actually feels important and necessary to the story. Don’t make us wait another few decades to see her again.