A recently unearthed cache of old Doctor Who scripts sheds new light on the Eighth Doctor’s regeneration – and it involves the Rani.
The Rani, as you probably know, is a renegade Time Lord and scientist from Gallifrey, created by Pip and Jane Baker to face off against the Sixth and Seventh Doctors in the classic era. The character later returned in Ncuti Gatwa’s final episode as she enacted a bizarre plan to retrieve Omega from the anti-matter universe.
However, a newly-discovered first draft script of the Eighth Doctor minisode ‘The Night of the Doctor’ reveals that the Rani was originally slated for the show’s 50th anniversary, and indeed was going to be the cause of the Eighth Doctor’s regeneration. This script was purchased in an auction and made available by a Redditer known as Penguintim, along with a stash of other rarities including the shooting draft of ‘The Time of the Doctor’ and the first draft of ‘Hide,’ here titled ‘Phantoms of the Hex.’
Reading ‘The Night of the Doctor,’ it appears that this earlier script from Steven Moffat plays out as originally broadcast, in the opening scenes at least. The Doctor tries to rescue a pilot named Cass, who rejects him and allows her vessel to plunge into the atmosphere of the planet Karn, where it is destroyed. Both Cass and the Doctor are killed in the explosion.
The Eighth Doctor then wakes up in a cave, and converses with a woman who has temporarily brought him back to life. In the broadcast version, this was Ohila from the Sisterhood of Karn, who were last seen in the Tom Baker story ‘The Brain of Morbius.’
However, in this earlier version, the woman in question is the Rani. The Sisterhood of Karn are still involved (the Rani has joined them) but this time it’s the Rani who has prepared a special elixir to trigger the Doctor’s regeneration. Obviously, because of who the Rani is and her history with the Doctor, the ensuing dialogue is quite different from what appeared in the final episode.
In the original version of ‘The Night of the Doctor,’ Ohila’s primary motive in reviving the Doctor was to create a warrior who could fight in the Time War and save the universe from destruction. In the first draft, this is also the Rani’s intention: “I care about the end of the universe,” she says. “It’s where I live.”
But there are undertones of something more sinister. The Rani seems more interested in getting the Doctor to throw off his “good man” image and unleash the warrior inside. “For the sake of everything there has ever been, or ever can be… renounce the name of the Doctor,” she urges. “Be the warrior this moment needs.” The Rani repeats this sentiment at the very end of the episode when she asks, “Is it done? Have you renounced the name of the Doctor?”
And when the Doctor asks the Rani whether the process will hurt, her response is creepier than Ohila’s: “More than you can imagine,” she says.
Despite these changes, fans will be pleased to see that the Eighth Doctor’s salutation towards his former companions Charley, Cr’izz, Lucie, Tamsin and Molly remains the same, although interestingly his final line, “Physician heal thyself,” is missing from the early draft. Instead, the Eighth Doctor simply signs off with the words “I apologise” before drinking from the cup and beginning his regeneration.
Shortly after the script resurfaced, Steven Moffat himself appeared on X to comment on the Rani’s abandoned appearance. “I’d completely forgotten this,” he tweeted. “My script team felt I was throwing away the Rani on a minisode and we should hold her back – and while I didn’t entirely agree, I took the point. Given that I was throwing a spanner into Who continuity (an extra Doctor!) I wanted some Who lore in there to compensate – hence the Sisterhood… I bet Russell was pleased I rethought. But never mind, wasn’t Clare Higgins amazing? I so loved her.”
Another X user commented that the “rights issues” surrounding the Rani must have been a factor, to which Moffat replied, “If there were rights issues, no one told me.”
(C) BBC
One question that will be at the forefront of fans’ minds is whether Kate O’Mara (the original Rani) would have been hired for a return appearance. She was still alive in 2013, so this would (theoretically) have been possible, and indeed the script itself doesn’t seem sure. It describes the Rani as an “old woman, watching from a cave mouth” who’s wearing “strange, witch-like robes.” And when the Doctor realises who she is, he says: “Loving the new regeneration – or have you just got old?” This is vague enough to allow Kate O’Mara or a new actor to fill the Rani’s boots.
And if you’re hungry for more unbroadcast goodness, it’s worth delving into the rest of the script pile. The Eleventh Doctor’s regeneration at the end of ‘The Time of the Doctor’ is also different from the version broadcast. The Time Lord still delivers his emotional speech in the console room, but in this edition there is a whole host of characters waiting to send him off: there’s Barnable, holding Handles the Cyberhead, and River Song blowing him “the sexiest kiss,” along with Amy and Rory. And this time, Amy’s dialogue reflects her final line from ‘The Angels Take Manhattan‘: “Raggedy man… goodbye.”
These early scripts give Doctor Who fans a tantalising glimpse into the creative process, and open the door to an alternate universe where some of their favourite stories played out differently. How would you have felt if the Rani had put in an appearance for the 50th anniversary? And should River Song have turned up to give the Eleventh Doctor a farewell kiss? Let us know in the comments below.
Well the Rani had already caused the Sixth Doctor’s regeneration and at least it wasn’t two in a row!
I loved the new Rani too but the whole “regenerating” thing is just a load of nonsense to appease Tennant.