Doctor Who - The Caves Of Androzani (DVD)

...of mine. However, it’s still Doctor Who and I still love it.

When hubby received the DVD for his birthday, I knew I would be reviewing it. While not jumping up and down with excitement (as I would be at the prospect of closely examining The Three Doctors or Tomb of the Cybermen), it seemed like a good reason to sit down for a few hours and indulge myself with a little ‘80s sci-fi.

Here, then, are my musings on this ...
...a regeneration scene as the Doctor ‘dies’ and changes into a different body. In this case, he added a few stone in weight and several hundred more brain cells and became Colin Baker ;-)

So, Doctor Number 5 (Peter) and pert American companion Peri (Nicola Bryant) arrive on the planet of Androzani Minor. They find themselves in the midst of a complicated political situation full of intrigue and corruption. The twin planets of Minor and ... more

The Caves of Androzani is a fan favourite. Its position near the top of every poll is as inevitable as Jordan finding a camera to pout into. It is, admittedly, a good story. Some would say great. It is dark, unsettling, dramatic, tense. But despite its success and high quality, it is not a favourite of mine. However, it’s still Doctor Who and I still love it.

When hubby received the DVD for his birthday, I knew I would be reviewing it. While not jumping up and down with excitement (as I would be at the prospect of closely examining The Three Doctors or Tomb of the Cybermen), it seemed like a good reason to sit down for a few hours and indulge myself with a little ‘80s sci-fi.

Here, then, are my musings on this four-parter from 1984…

STORY

This is Peter Davison’s final story which, as most people will know, means there’s a regeneration scene as the Doctor ‘dies’ and changes into a different body. In this case, he added a few stone in weight and several hundred more brain cells and became Colin Baker ;-)

So, Doctor Number 5 (Peter) and pert American companion Peri (Nicola Bryant) arrive on the planet of Androzani Minor. They find themselves in the midst of a complicated political situation full of intrigue and corruption. The twin planets of Minor and Major are contrasting – Major is a developed society with its own hierarchy, while Minor is the home of the valuable and ultimately deadly Spectrox.

Androzani Minor has many dangers – killer androids, military troops, gunrunners and the terrifying Magma creature. (Well, it would have been terrifying if the BBC had been able to afford more than the odd brown mask and rubber claw!) It is also the dwelling place of the bitter and disfigured Sharaz Jek (played beautifully by ballet dancer and actor Christopher Gable).

As the Doctor and Peri turn up in the wrong place at the wrong time, things don’t look too good for them. As Peri becomes gravely ill, there is only the Doctor that can save her. But can he? And if so, at what price to himself?

THEMES

The Caves of Androzani is rather a violent story in many ways. Almost all the characters will end up dead by the time of the closing credits in episode four.

Everything is very dark about this one – it is filmed in caves, with hidden dangers lurking in the shadows; it illustrates the dark side of people and most of the costumes and sets are dark brown, blacks and greys.

The execution scene at the end of episode one must be one of the scariest cliff-hangers ever in the history of Doctor Who. Usually it is obvious that our hero will escape, but this time, the guns are pointing directly at the Doctor and Peri and we see them fire. It must have been a worrying few days for those who watched this on TV the first time round.

The themes in this story include politics, power and corruption. Most of the characters are selfish, ruthless and only out for what they can get and how they can benefit themselves. In contrast to this, the Doctor represents light and good and performs the ultimate act in unselfishness.

EXTRAS

As with most of the Doctor Who releases on DVD, there is a wide selection of extra features on the disc. The menus are clear, easy to follow and interspersed with clips from the story.

OPENING SCENE

Rating ***

There is the option to view the first episode with the new improved effects, where some of the jerky movements have been eliminated. This has been remade with the permission of the director and either the old or new versions can be viewed here.

EXTENDED SCENE

Rating *

This runs for 2 ½ minutes and only features Stotz and the gunrunners, not any of the main actors. It is mildly interesting, but I cannot imagine myself bothering to view it again.

BEHIND THE SCENES – The Regeneration

Rating ****

This lasts over 7 ½ minutes and is studio footage of the filming of the regeneration scene. This features Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant and is fascinating to watch for any fan. It is interesting to see different camera angles, the retakes and any mistakes made.

BEHIND THE SCENES – Creating Sharaz Jek

Rating ***

A five minute documentary on Christopher Gable and his characterisation of Sharaz Jek. As the actor/dancer is no longer alive, this gives a rare glimpse into what he was like. It is interesting to see how he spoke and acted both in and out of the role. He explains the way the make up was applied and the difficulties of wearing the costume and mask, which is interesting to hear. I just wish it could have had a full-face interview with him, as I still can’t picture what he looked like without the Sharaz Jek outfit on!

NEWS REPORTS

Rating ****

There are three clips from the News in July 1983, when it was announced that Peter Davison would be leaving the series. A 22-second one from the BBC One o’clock News is almost pointlessly short, but the other two are longer.

There’s a 1 minute 23 second interview with Peter Davison by News stalwarts Kate Adie and Michael Buerk, as Peter looks very windblown, which is good to watch but the best of these is a 3 ½ minute segment from South East At Six. This is where Peter is joined by the late great John Nathan-Turner discussing what they are looking for in the Sixth Doctor and talking about the upcoming anniversary special The Five Doctors.

MUSIC ONLY OPTION

Rating ***

When viewed as the music only option, the start of this story reminds me of Philip Glass’ music only film Koyaanisqatsi, as the scenery is very dramatic and the musical score is very atmospheric.

Although I don’t think I’d choose to watch the whole story this way, it is interesting to see some of it. It seems strange when the actors’ lips are moving, but you cannot hear them speak and I found this rather irritating.

On the positive side, this feature does illustrate the importance of the music to the whole effect of the story. It also ably demonstrates how each piece of music carefully fits in, conveying a message or adding to the drama and tension of the scene.

TRAILER

Rating *

The trailer used by the BBC to preview the first episode of this story is brief and unexciting, but worth viewing once.

PHOTO GALLERY

Rating ***

Although photo galleries are often rather tedious, I was impressed with the one on this DVD. It contains lots of good quality, clear photographs and plenty I hadn’t seen before. There are many lovely ones of Peter and Nicola, which are worth looking at.

ON SCREEN PRODUCTION NOTES

Rating *****

As usual, the on screen production notes are one of my favourite features. No matter how well I feel I know a story, these notes add an extra dimension and fill in the gaps in a fan’s knowledge and often answer questions that have been puzzling us sad fans for too long.

The notes are clearly displayed at the bottom of the screen in a font which is just the right size - being easily read without intruding too much over the main action of the story. It contains various trivia as well as details of other acting jobs the cast have had, how and why certain scenes were shot and so on.

The notes for The Caves of Androzani include answers to such burning questions as – Why was the first scene changed? Why did the Fifth Doctor have that stick of celery in his lapel? And who did those pretty paintings behind the TARDIS’ landing scene?

COMMENTARY

Rating *****

The commentary is provided by Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant and the director Graeme Harper. The three of them have a good rapport and they find plenty to discuss, meaning there is rarely an uncomfortable silence or a dull pause.

Nicola – as always in commentaries – seems to be trying her best to compete with the males, while failing miserably. Although she is a lovely woman, she often comes across in this as trying too hard and gives the image of being slightly pretentious and obsequious.

Peter and Graeme dominate the commentary, chatting along happily and obviously getting on well. The only problem is that their voices sound quite similar and if you have the commentary subtitles on the screen, you will see they have confused Graeme and Peter’s voices several times there!

It is interesting hearing the director’s views, as well as those of the two leading actors in this story. It is fascinating hearing Graeme’s reaction to how the scenes were filmed, which effects and props were used and how he might have done things differently.

My favourite bits are explanations of continuity errors or behind the scenes gossip, but the best bit is definitely Nicola’s bouncing! No, I don’t mean her famous cleavage either. In one scene, Peri falls down a hole and lands in some deadly Spectrox. Unfortunately, the film wasn’t quite edited correctly and after we see her fall down, we see her bounce up again! Classic.

The overall feel of the commentary is a very happy one, as the three of them have a lot of laughs and their humour and congeniality come across very well to the viewers.

RATINGS

***** Brilliant - like Delgado’s Master
**** Very good - like Ace hitting a Dalek with a cricket bat
*** Good, but not great – like the Raston Warrior Robot
** Below average - like the Sixth Doctor’s costume
* Awful - like the 1996 TV movie

OVERALL

The Caves of Androzani is a story which has stood the test of time well. It is a strong adventure story which is geared more towards adults with several complicated plot threads, but children will enjoy it too – although it may scare the youngest viewers, hence its PG rating.

Sharaz Jek is a memorable villain and although this is only Peri’s second story, she is competent and credible as the Fifth Doctor’s final companion. Peter Davison had many of the best stories in the history of Doctor Who and to many fans, this remains one of the greatest.

Highly recommended.

INFORMATION

Available from Amazon for £15.99 or Play.co.uk for £12.99

Rated PG

Subtitles: English SDH
Mono
Regions 2 + 4
4:3
99 minutes
 

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