The Rani attacks the TARDIS, forcing it to land on Lakertya. There, she renders the newly-regenerated Doctor amnesiac and convinces him to help her with an experiment involving an asteroid made of strange matter. Melanie meets Ikona, one of the native Lakertyans oppressed by the Rani. Together, they navigate the twin menaces of the Rani's henchmen, the bat-like Tetraps, and her lethal bubble-traps. Mel is able to restore the Doctor's memory. Together they discover that the Rani has been collecting geniuses from throughout history to use in her experiment -- a fate she also has planned for the Doctor.

On August 19th, 1986, the BBC confirmed that Doctor Who would return for its twenty-fourth season. This was a rare piece of good news in the midst of a year of turmoil for the programme. Already, script editor Eric Saward had quit and highly-respected writer Robert Holmes had passed away while still working on The Trial Of A Time Lord (Segment Four). Shortly after the announcement, the broadcast of Season Twenty-Three premiered to disturbingly low ratings, and Colin Baker was fired from his role as the Sixth Doctor. Finally, on November 28th, John Nathan-Turner learned that he would stay on Doctor Who for a seventh season as producer, rather than being moved onto new projects, as he had been promised.

Having expected someone else to be at the reins of Doctor Who in 1987, Nathan-Turner had little to work with beyond the assurance that Bonnie Langford would be returning as Melanie Bush. Consequently, his first priority was to begin lining up scripts, since none were left in reserve. As he had done when story problems mounted on Season Twenty-Three, Nathan-Turner turned to writers Pip and Jane Baker to craft the first adventure; they had written both The Trial Of A Time Lord (Segment Three) and the concluding episode of The Trial Of A Time Lord (Segment Four). Nathan-Turner had persuaded the BBC to offer Colin Baker a final contract to record a regeneration story, and he felt that a rematch with the Rani -- whom the Bakers had created for 1985's The Mark Of The Rani -- would be a suitable way to write out the Sixth Doctor. Nathan-Turner had already been in contact with Rani actress Kate O'Mara, who was then filming the soap opera Dynasty in America but was eager to return to the UK.

Pip and Jane Baker drew upon their 1986 Doctor Who book Race Against Time

It was Nathan-Turner who suggested that the Bakers' story be set on an alien planet, and feature a giant brain. Otherwise, the writers drew upon their 1986 Make Your Own Adventure With Doctor Who book Race Against Time from Severn House, in which the Rani tried to build a Time Destabiliser in order to reshape the universe to her design. This, in turn, had been based upon rejected ideas submitted to the Doctor Who production office in 1984. The Bakers' scripts were commissioned on December 22nd under the title “Strange Matter”. Several of their character names were plays on words, including Ikona (“iconoclast”), Beyus (“obey us”), Lakertyan (“lacertian”, meaning lizard-like), Tetrap (from the prefix “tetra” and referring to the monsters' four eyes) and Loyhargil (an anagram of “Holy Grail”). Urak, meanwhile, was named in reference to the unctuous Uriah Heep from Charles Dickens' 1850 novel David Copperfield.

Meanwhile, Colin Baker had rejected the BBC's offer of a farewell serial. Pip and Jane Baker telephoned the actor to try to persuade him to reconsider, but he soon accepted the lead role in the stage play Corpse, rendering him unavailable for Doctor Who's recording dates. This meant that “Strange Matter” would have to feature a regeneration scene in its early moments -- one which could be accomplished without the involvement of the series' former star. The Bakers had intended the Sixth Doctor to stay behind at the Rani's headquarters to ensure that the missile strike failed, with the ensuing explosion causing his regeneration. Instead, it was decided that the new Doctor would be introduced in a pre-credits scene -- replacing a sequence in which either King Solomon or Albert Einstein was kidnapped by the Rani. Also deleted was a giant spider which attacked the Doctor during his meeting with Ikona; the writers had included it as a rib on Colin Baker, who was arachnophobic. Until a late stage, the script for “Strange Matter” included flashbacks to The Mark Of The Rani, as well as the Rani's trial by the Time Lords.

While the Bakers worked on “Strange Matter”, Nathan-Turner was looking for both a new Doctor and a new script editor. The latter search was the first to bear fruit. Around the end of 1986, agent Richard Wakely suggested that Nathan-Turner speak to his client, Andrew Cartmel. After reading one of Cartmel's unproduced scripts, Nathan-Turner agreed to invite him for an interview. The two men got along well and, although Cartmel had no television experience beyond a series of workshops run by the BBC Script Unit, he became the new script editor of Doctor Who on January 16th, 1987. Unfortunately, Cartmel did not develop a good relationship with the Bakers: he thought that “Strange Matter” was too old-fashioned, while they felt that Cartmel lacked the self-assurance that his new position demanded.

Sylvester McCoy was twice nominated for the role of the Seventh Doctor within hours of the announcement of Colin Baker's dismissal

Casting the Seventh Doctor proved to be a more difficult challenge, although Nathan-Turner identified his lead candidate fairly quickly. This was Sylvester McCoy, who had been twice suggested to Nathan-Turner: first by BBC producer Clive Doig, who had worked with the actor on the children's series Jigsaw and Eureka, and then by McCoy's agent, Brian Wheeler. Indeed, these nominations were so closely timed -- both within hours of the announcement of Baker's dismissal -- that Nathan-Turner suspected they had been coordinated. McCoy had previously put his name forward for consideration to play the Sixth Doctor in 1983, only to find that Colin Baker had already been cast in the role.

On January 6th, Nathan-Turner and his partner, Gary Downie, attended a production of The Pied Piper which had been written especially for McCoy. Afterwards, Downie was enthusiastic about the prospect of McCoy as the new Doctor, and Nathan-Turner grew to share this sentiment as well. The producer envisaged the Seventh Doctor as being reminiscent of the Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, and McCoy suited this profile very well. When he joined the production office, Cartmel also voiced his support for McCoy. Now convinced, Nathan-Turner sought the approval of Jonathan Powell, the BBC's former Head of Drama who had recently been made BBC One's Controller of Programmes.

Powell, however, was concerned that McCoy did not possess the screen presence necessary to play the Doctor, and so he asked Nathan-Turner to consider other options. The producer drew up a shortlist which included Andrew Sachs (Manuel in the classic sitcom Fawlty Towers), Chris Jury (later Deadbeat in 1988's The Greatest Show In The Galaxy) and McCoy's mentor, comedian Ken Campbell. On February 18th, McCoy joined David Fielder and Dermot Crowley to record screen tests opposite Janet Fielding, who had played companion Tegan Jovanka in the early Eighties. Coincidentally, the other candidates were actors who had largely worked in the theatre, but had enjoyed small parts in two of 1983's biggest-budget science-fiction films: Fielder was the Olympic runner in Superman III while Crowley, an Irishman, had played General Madine in Return Of The Jedi. After viewing the auditions, both Powell and former Controller Michael Grade, who was now the BBC's Director of Programmes, concurred that McCoy was best-suited to play the Doctor.

McCoy's casting was announced on February 27th, with a photocall alongside Langford following on March 2nd. He was formally contracted for Season Twenty-Four on March 6th, with an option for two additional years. McCoy had followed Doctor Who for a decade from the mid-Sixties to the mid-Seventies, and he agreed with Nathan-Turner's notion that he should approach the Doctor in a manner similar to Troughton. He also wanted to incorporate some of the tetchiness exhibited by William Hartnell's original Doctor, balanced against the passion of an eccentric scientist. McCoy had played several silent film stars during his career, and he wanted to emulate the ability of master thespians like Buster Keaton to juxtapose madcap comedy against strong dramatic incident.

The mangled proverbs were a way of distancing the Seventh Doctor from Colin Baker's loquacious incarnation

By now, Andrew Morgan had agreed to direct “Strange Matter”. He had previously been offered the director's chair on 1982's Time-Flight, but had turned down the job after objecting to the quality of the scripts. Meanwhile, with all of the elements for the new season finally falling into place, the Bakers set about putting the finishing touches on their scripts, using McCoy's audition tape as a basis upon which to write for the new Doctor. A late addition was the running joke of the Doctor mangling proverbs; this was conceived by Nathan-Turner as a way of distancing the character from Colin Baker's loquacious incarnation, who was prone to verbose literary quotations.

Similar thinking went into dressing the Seventh Doctor. It was generally agreed that the Sixth Doctor's “totally tasteless” outfit had been a miscalculation, and something much more subdued was now desired. In consultation with McCoy and Nathan-Turner, designer Ken Trew came up with the idea of a costume which would appear to be normal at a distance but unusual on closer inspection. McCoy had worn a straw hat to his initial meeting with Nathan-Turner, and one was incorporated into Trew's plans. The only element that the actor disliked was the question-mark pullover, which Trew had included at Nathan-Turner's insistence; it followed on from the question-mark collars which the producer had devised for the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Doctors. McCoy decided to remain silent on the issue, in the hope of eventually being allowed to vary his wardrobe as he saw fit.

In March, Nathan-Turner approached Keff McCulloch to provide a new arrangement of Ron Grainer's Doctor Who theme music. Although Dominic Glynn had composed a revamped version the year before, it had not been well-received. Nathan-Turner had come to know McCulloch through the musician's girlfriend, Tracey Wilson, who had appeared in the Christmas 1986 edition of the producer's annual Cinderella pantomime. McCulloch would later be asked to score “Strange Matter” as well, albeit at very short notice.

The design for the Tetraps evolved considerably during pre-production. Their original, more gargoyle-like appearance survived in the statuary outside the Rani's headquarters -- which itself deviated considerably from the Bakers' description of a Gothic castle. Another substantial change was the realisation of the surface of Lakertya. Mindful of the budget, Nathan-Turner had asked the Bakers to ensure that location filming could take place near London, prompting them to think in terms of the woodlands near their home in Ruislip. Sarn's death, for example, occurred when the bubble-trap in which she was snared collided with a tree. However, designer Geoff Powell feared that such a setting would look insufficiently otherworldly, and he encouraged Morgan to reimagine the planet as a barren, rocky wasteland.

As such, three quarries in Somerset owned by the Amey Roadstone Company were used to represent Lakertya's landscape. The first of these was the Cloford Quarry in Cloford, where work took place on April 4th, 6th and 7th, most notably for scenes around the Rani's base. In between, on April 5th, the cameras rolled at the Whatley Quarry in Whatley; Melanie escaped the bubble-trap at a lake there. Finally, April 8th saw Morgan's team relocate to the Westdown Quarry near Chantry. Amongst other material, this venue was where the TARDIS materialised and where the Centre of Leisure was found. After filming concluded on April 6th, McCoy entertained the cast and crew at the unit's hotel bar with a performance that included playing the spoons. The production team subsequently agreed to Powell's suggestion that this act should be incorporated into the “Strange Matter” script, in spite of the Bakers' objections. On the whole, however, Nathan-Turner found himself trying to discourage McCoy from indulging in too much comedy.

Recording for “Strange Matter” resumed on April 20th and 21st at BBC Television Centre Studio 8 in White City, London. The first day dealt with scenes in the eyrie and the Doctor's TARDIS. For the pre-credits sequence, McCoy himself donned a blond wig to pose as the regenerating Sixth Doctor, with visual effects obscuring his features. As an in-joke, the TARDIS wardrobe was seen to contain items reminiscent of previous Doctors' outfits, including a velvet jacket of the type worn by the Third Doctor, the Fourth Doctor's burgundy coat and scarf, and the Fifth Doctor's cricketing costume.

Action recorded on the second day took place in the Rani's TARDIS, the Centre of Leisure, and the inner workings of the pyramid machine. Although the set for the Rani's console room had been retained after The Mark Of The Rani, it had been damaged during its two years in storage. Instead, a model was constructed into which actors could be inserted via chroma key. Originally, the Rani was to be seen hanging upside down in her workroom but, during rehearsals, O'Mara was left in this position for so long that she burst blood vessels in her eye. This forced Morgan to change his plans for the shot. Also completed during this session were the effects shots of the Rani's bubble-trap.

Sylvester McCoy and Kate O'Mara suggested a rematch between the Doctor and the Rani set on a pirate galleon

Production concluded in TC1 from May 3rd to 5th. The sets for the laboratory and the arcade were in use throughout, together with the brain chamber on the last two days. O'Mara enjoyed reprising her role as the Rani, and she and McCoy spoke to Nathan-Turner at the serial's wrap party to suggest a rematch between the two Time Lords set on a pirate galleon; however, nothing would come of this. Soon afterwards, Nathan-Turner asked the Bakers to come up with an alternative to the title “Strange Matter” which would advertise the Rani's involvement. Inspired by JB Priestley's 1937 play Time And The Conways, they suggested Time And The Rani, which was adopted on May 12th. This would turn out to be the Bakers' final contribution to televised Doctor Who.

The advent of a new Doctor gave Nathan-Turner the opportunity to refresh the Doctor Who title sequence. The starfield version designed by Sid Sutton had been in use -- with some modifications -- since 1980, and Nathan-Turner had considered changing it for Season Twenty-Three, only to find that his budget was insufficient to do so. Graphic designer Oliver Elmes now created a sequence which followed the TARDIS as it tumbled through the cosmos. He was strongly inspired by comic book aesthetics, which also influenced his revised Doctor Who logo, replacing the neon design which had also been introduced in 1980. CAL Video was hired to realise the new titles, and Nathan-Turner was generally happy with the result. However, he objected to the indistinct, skeletal appearance of the Doctor's face -- which formed out of stars and nebulae -- and so it was decided to superimpose photos of McCoy over the digital footage.

Doctor Who had returned to its traditional Saturday teatime slot in 1985 and 1986, after airing on weekday evenings throughout Peter Davison's tenure as the Fifth Doctor in the early Eighties. However, the family audiences which once swarmed to the television set on Saturdays seemed to be dwindling. Grade decided that Season Twenty-Four would not only be relocated to Mondays, but also transmitted about an hour later than Davison's episodes, at 7.35pm. The new timeslot -- between Wogan and Hi-de-Hi! -- had previously been occupied by the first season of the American sitcom Head Of The Class. This scheduling put Doctor Who squarely against ITV's long-running juggernaut Coronation Street, with the idea being that it would provide effective counterprogramming for the juvenile audience against the older-skewing soap opera. At a time when many households still owned only one television, this would place Doctor Who firmly in the ratings crosshairs when Season Twenty-Four premiered on September 7th...

• Doctor Who Magazine #198, 14th April 1993, “Archive: Time And The Rani” by Andrew Pixley, Marvel Comics UK Ltd.
• Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition #10, 13th April 2005, “Crazy Crazy Nights” by Andrew Pixley, Panini Publishing Ltd.
• Doctor Who: The Complete History #43, 2016, “Story 144: Time And The Rani”, edited by John Ainsworth, Hachette Partworks Ltd.
• Doctor Who: The Eighties by David J Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker (1996), Virgin Publishing.
• Doctor Who: The Handbook: The Seventh Doctor by David J Howe and Stephen James Walker (1998), Virgin Publishing.
• In·Vision #91, August 2000, “Production” edited by Anthony Brown, Cybermark Services.