Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani (Story 136)

Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani (Story 136)
by Graham Harper

Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani (Story 136)

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DVD details

Actor: Anthony Ainley, Matthew Waterhouse, Nicola Bryant, Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton
Director: Graham Harper
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-04-02
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Video / Warner Bros.

DVD Reviews of Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani (Story 136)

DVD Review: Requires suspension of logic but still a good episode
Summary: 4 Stars

I saw that this episode ranked #1 in a recent Doctor Who magazine poll so I decided to revisit it. Thinking about this review, I had to decide whether it was worth 3 stars or 4. In the end, I opted for the latter because overall I was entertained, although this episode is certainly overrated if considered to be #1.

I haven't watched Doctor Who since I was a kid viewing the original PBS broadcast. Like many I started with Tom Baker but I appreciate what all of the actors who play the doctor bring to the show. Davison is probably the least humorous and most serious of all of the actors who play the role and knowing this in advance, I don't hold it against him. In addition, everyone who enjoys this program knows that it was made with no money for special effects, costumes, sets, etc. Therefore, the story is paramount, which brings me to the problem with this episode...

There are just too many important parts that do not logically make sense. For example, the first cliffhanger where the Doctor and Peri are executed. How does Sharez Jek make the swap with the androids? The only place it could have happened is in the holding cell. How does he get in? Wouldn't the doctor have found a way out if possible. And how does he get the exact replicas made in such short notice, complete with voices and mannerisms...all this in less than an hour!? None of this is ever explained. This continues throughout the story, even to the finale that everyone raves about, where the Doctor saves Peri by recovering the milk from the Queen Bat. The sacrifice is made because the Doctor has only enough milk for Peri...why? He knows that the sickness causes paralysis so why would he take a chance of being paralyzed before getting the milk to her...why wouldn't he drink some himself first, while he had access to the source?

Don't get me wrong, this is a fast-paced story that keeps the viewer interested and I suppose no longer being a kid, I notice problems which are evident in all episodes. However, there is a distinct element of contrivance that makes this episode not quite as enjoyable as many others.

DVD Review: Caves of Androzani
Summary: 5 Stars

Caves of Androzani is an absolute must for any Doctor Who fan of any kind. Whether you prefer the new series to the old or this Doctor to that Doctor this episode is easily in the top five episodes of the show's ENTIRE history! Peter Davison's last episode was also his best. Also, no respectful Doctor Who collection can exist without Genesis of the Daleks.

DVD Review: Not the best episode maade by this doctor but a very good one all the same. intoroduces Colin Baker in the end.
Summary: 4 Stars

The hunt for gun runners traps the Doctor and Peri in it's trap by mistake and then they find they have been posioned by the very drug everyone is after. The Doctor is able to save Peri but not himself as we meet the next Doctor in Collin Baker. Not his best show, but a very good show over all. fine performances pull out a poor script and weak sets and save the show overall from the period doldrums.

DVD Review: Doctor Five's Farewell Adventure
Summary: 4 Stars

"The Caves of Androzani" is a strange beast. It is both great and goofy. It features Peter Davison's best performance as the Doctor and what I consider to be one of Nicola Bryant's worst displays as Peri. It has a very cool anti-hero, Sharaz Jek (wonderfully played by Christopher Gable), who draws sympathy from the viewer and then it has a monster in it that looks like overgrown Texas highway roadkill (In case you don't know what that is, it's an armadillo). There's a script full of deception, greed, and vengeance and then there's fade-happy direction. In all, this episode is the best and worst of both worlds.

The story is somewhat uneven. The serial opens with the Doctor and Peri on Androzani Minor, a fairly uninhabited sandy planet where a drug known as Spectrox is mined. Mistaken for gunrunners in Sharaz Jek's resistance group, the Doctor and Peri find themselves in front of a firing squad. With assistance from an unlikely source, they manage to escape and from there the story gets deeper. We learn the motives behind Jek's actions as well as the more sinister plans of Morgus (John Normington). Meanwhile, a band of soldiers are trying to find Jek and have to fight off his androids and the aforementioned armadillo of death. With all of this going on, Jek's gunrunners are in cahoots with the enemy. Finally, when the Doctor and Peri first entered the caves, they managed to stumble upon some pure spectrox and have three days to live. Whew, got all that?

It isn't quite as confusing as it seems, and the characters are drawn out very well despite all of the subplots. Davison pulls out all the stops with his performance, making the Doctor a protective father figure to Peri (perhaps due to the loss of another companion in another serial). As many have mentioned before, this is his final adventure as the Doctor, and we get to see his regeneration into the sixth Doctor, Colin Baker. Bryant's accent wavers, especially in Episode 1, and her performance overall is less than stellar. Still, she runs through a large range of emotions in this serial that makes some of her goofs forgiveable. Christopher Gable turns in a wonderful performance as the masked Jek, and is rivaled only by John Normington's sinisterly subdued Morgus. The rest of the cast is fairly solid as well.

The DVD is very good. There are only a few noticeable blemishes throughout the entire serial. As always, the special features are excellent. There are three newscast snippets focusing on Davison's farewell as well as a wonderful documentary on the development of Jek narrated by Gable. The process of filming the regeneration scene is given a somewhat boring treatment, but it's fun to watch a production happen. The standard extras are also here, including a photo gallery, a "Who's Who" on selected actors and an excellent audio commentary.

Is this the best fifth Doctor story? Some would argue that it is. I personally don't think so. It's weighed down by its direction, sometimes confusing script and a very bad monster. However, it does feature Davison's best performance, a wonderful villain, an even better anti-hero, and a nice introduction to the Colin Baker era. Recommended.

DVD Review: The Creativity of Doctor Who
Summary: 5 Stars

Regretably there is so much garbage on television these days. There was a time in its history when there were good, decent, intelligent shows on the air. Dr. Who is amongst one of the few legendary programs of high quality and intelligence that is still on the air. This particular episode, featuring Peter Davison as the fifth doctor, captures the essence of humility and kindness which unfortunately is lacking from the intellects of our society. His character was willing to lay down his life for his travel mate. Scripture teaches that "no greater love has a man than this that he would lay down his life for his friends." Despite incredible intellectual prowess he is still a humble, caring character. The Christian influence may not have been intentional in the history of the series but it is still a dominant factor in a number of the episodes. Peter Davison has a natural charisma about him that gives this doctor a very personal, real ambiance. Regretably he didn't continue the role of the Doctor as this was his final role. If you want something truly thought-provoking that speaks to the human condition, I highly recommend this episode. Watch it with discernment, it may open your eyes to our history.

Description of Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani (Story 136)

"Curiosity's always been my downfall." Captured for arms-running on the mining planet of Androzani Minor, the Doctor and Perry are under sentence of death. Then a mysterious masked intruder comes to their aid. But is Sharaz Jek, master android creator, really their saviour? The rulers of the planet are certainly desperate for his head. But then, he does control Androzani's supply of spectrox and it's a substance men are prepared to die for. Originally transmitted 8-16 March 1984, this four part adventure marks the end of the Peter Davison era for Doctor Who and the timelord's sixth regeneration.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:by actors Peter Davison and Nicola Bryant and director Graeme Harper
Biographies
Deleted Scenes
Documentaries:on creating Sharez Jek and regeneration sequence
Production Notes:Optional caption stream

Peter Davison's final adventure, "The Caves of Androzani," pulls out all stops to give this Doctor an unforgettable farewell. Deep within the titular caves, the disfigured, masked antihero Sharez Jek (Christopher Gable) and his regiment of androids are locked in conflict with an army unit and a group of smugglers for control of the life-extending Spectrox. When the Doctor and Peri (Nicola Bryant) enter this labyrinth, they immediately become victims of deadly Spectrox poisoning. The story's numerous subplots involve espionage, betrayal, and revenge, as well as big-business corruption, political assassination, and silly-looking reptilian monsters. And the first episode has one of the best cliffhangers ever: our heroes are executed by a firing squad armed with submachine guns.

Robert Holmes (who wrote the more satirical Doctor Who story "The Sun Makers") here concentrates on delivering a breathlessly paced action thriller, with relentless death and destruction unfolding like in a Sam Peckinpah film, making Davison's heroic pacifism all the more effective. --Gary S. Dalkin

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