Here we go again…

• There’s no getting around it - this one is pretty rough. Overlong, and not terribly interesting.
• The drama surrounding the Sixth Doctor’s regeneration into the Seventh is pretty well-documented, but it’s still wild that “Sylvester McCoy in a wig” was considered an adequate substitute.
• The regeneration-related hijinks were the most entertaining aspect of the story for me, by a pretty wide margin. The Rani’s truly awful Mel disguise was at least amusing, and Mel and the Doctor’s scene of mutual mistrust was actually kind of clever, making good use of the Doctor’s post-regeneration amnesia.
• The Tetrap costumes manage to be truly awful, but still kind of great with those beautifully-sculpted heads.
• The Lakertyans, on the other hand, look pretty bad all around.
• The story is largely an excuse to run around in a quarry (classic!), and there’s really not much to say about it.
• As for the Rani…unfortunately, she’s largely reduced to a standard tyrant, with none of the unique “dispassionate mad scientist” feel until the final episode. It’s a waste of what set her apart from the Master, and with no one to play off aside from her lackeys, she doesn’t really stand out.
• But hey, at least we got to hear Mel scream a lot.