Empire Of The Rani

Empire Of The Rani was the second story of Season 36 of Doctor Who. It was written by Christopher Bulis, directed by Marcus Mortimer and featured Richard E. Grant as the Doctor, Eric Roberts as The Master and Helen Baxendale as Ori.

## Empire Of The Rani

### Director

Marcus Mortimer

Synopsis

The TARDIS comes to ground in ancient Rome and is rendered powerless, stranding Ori and the Doctor in a landscape of disturbing anachronisms. They escape from a sealed tomb to find the skyline of the imperial capital broken by the startling shapes of smokestacks and electrical towers, and a majestic airship looms above the Colosseum. The so-called Romano-Egyptian Dominion is in the throes of an age of rapid and dangerous transformation, all thanks to the prophecy and divine guidance granted by a mysterious oracle. Unravelling the origin of this demented alternate history, the wayward travellers become embroiled in a dangerous game of politics and deceit, a contest that pits brother against brother against sister as the children of Cleopatra—Cleopatra Selene, Alexander Helios, and Ptolemy Caesar—compete for control of an empire on the verge of developing weapons capable of destroying their world.

Convincing the triumvirate to trust the Doctor won’t be easy, for he has been afflicted by dangerous transformations of his own and grows more unstable with each moment spent in this twisted timeline. In unexpected bursts of elemental energy, the Doctor is regenerating, regressing through past incarnations! As the Time Lord is transformed from wide-eyed bohemian to whimsical tramp to crotchety old man, an overwhelmed Ori comes to see that no one is as they seem, least of all Cleopatra Selene, for behind the guise of this wicked queen schemes one of the Doctor’s oldest and most unpredictable enemies. The earthbound Rani has been waiting for the Doctor to return to the era of the Roman Empire, and she intends to make the most of her revenge!

Plot

Part 1

To be added.

Part 2

To be added.

Part 3

To be added.

Cast

The Doctor - Richard E. Grant

Ori - Helen Baxendale

The Master - Eric Roberts

The Rani - Dervla Kirwan

To be added.

Crew

Executive Producer - David Renwick

Writers - Christopher Bulis

Producer - Sue Vertue

Script Editor - Steven Moffat

Director - Marcus Mortimer

Director of Photography - Geoff Harrison

Production Designer - John Asbridge

Visual Effects - Orange Tree VFX

Make-Up Designer - Vanessa White

Casting Director - Andy Pryor

Music - Richard Attree

Costume Designer - James Baylan

Edited by - Mark Lawrence

Original Theme Music - Ron Grainer

Title Music - Julian Stewart Lindsay

Title Sequence by Mike Tucker

Memorable Quotes

To be added.

Background Information

Development

To be added

Pre-Production

To be added.

Production

To be added.

Post-Production

To be added.

Reaction

Part One received a 7-Day Viewing Figure from BARB of 8.70m viewers. It ranked at 28th over the week.

Part Two received a 7-Day Viewing Figure from BARB of 8.66m viewers. It ranked at 23rd over the week.

Part Three received a 7-Day Viewing Figure from BARB of 8.55m viewers. It ranked at 29th over the week.

Story Notes

To be added.

Continuity

The Doctor mentions meeting Harry Houdini (DW: Planet of the Spiders) and that he once visited the court of Kublai Khan. (DW: Marco Polo)