7D2 - Time and the Rani 2

There's already signs of Sylvester McCoy settling down into the role, even at this fairly early stage, which makes for a nice change of pace after the previous two post-regeneration stories have had the changeover between Doctors be their primary focus. Once The Doctor and (the real) Mel finally meet here in Episode Two, the last mention of any amnesia or trauma is discarded, and one gets the impression that if the two hadn't been separated early in the story, the regeneration would have been done and dusted quickly.

With everything now in place, the persona of the Seventh Doctor starts to take shape. McCoy's own penchant for playing the spoons is first seen, and his Doctor actually forms a not bad pairing with Mel. Whereas Mel would run off with boundless energy only to be unsuccessfully restrained by Colin Baker's Doctor during their brief time together, the push-pull factor here is more tolerable. I like how The Doctor hands Mel a stethoscope so she can listen for herself the mysterious door at the top of the stairs in the Rani's laboratory. It's not only a handy way of creating dialogue between Doctor and companion, but it shows a great deal of trust by The Doctor to his companion, a companion whose identity was only confirmed to him minutes before.

I'm halfway through this story now and, call me blind or stupid (please don't, though - it'll hurt my feelings), but I can't see why this story is so universally loathed by everyone. Hey, at the very least it's better than The Twin Dilemma, isn't it?