The Caves of Androzani

In my opinion, and the opinion of many other fans, this story is one of the best of all time. The Caves of Androzani gives the 5th Doctor the very finest send off possible and Peter Davison not only is brilliant in this story he is given superb material to demonstrate the full potential of his Doctor. Robert Holmes contributed so much of the best work on Doctor Who both as writer of many great stories and script editor overseeing the greatest era of the show in Tom Baker's first few seasons. Here he has written another immaculate script and excellent plot. The intelligence and quality of the dialogue is as good as it gets and the dark, gritty story full of action but also deeper themes makes for an adventure that is thoroughly impressive and absorbing.

The Doctor and Peri get caught up in a 3 way battle of intrigue, violence and greed where different factions seek to exploit the mining of a hugely valuable elixir of youth. Meanwhile both Peri and The Doctor suffer poisoning which leaves them facing death unless an antidote can be found.

As well as Peter Davison on top form this boasts an entire cast providing top notch performances. Christopher Gable as Sharaz Jek creates one of the finest villains in the history of Who. He is cunning, clever, has a wonderful way with words and has great menace. In addition, the character has depth in how he shows the trauma he has suffered and how it drives him to insanity. John Normington is also perfect as ruthless leader Morgus and other characters are all spot on. I am not a fan of Nicola Bryant as Peri but this story and the material provided gloss over any weakness in that role.

The only element which is not as well realised on screen as it could be is the Magma Beast which is not very good but does not detract from overall quality. The rest of the effects, set and production values are top Doctor Who standard.

Simply phenomenal. 10/10

Oh man did five get a send out!
Caves is cruel and gritty, and easily gives Peter his toughest televised adventure. The characters all have motives to further themselves. Meanwhile the poor doctor just wants to help his companion. But trouble is coming down all directions. The doctor becomes associated with a terrorist. We meet perhaps the best human enemy the shows ever had. And by gosh is everyone nasty! Fitting end to the good five!

Perfect. Absolutely perfect. I know the complaints: “Its too dark, its too grim, its too action packed.” I don’t care. This episode to me ranks as one of the best, and about as perfect as Doctor Who can get. The Doctor and Peri land on a mysterious planet and quickly get tangled up in a political and commercial conspiracies. And, to top it all off, the Doctor knows he’s going to die the entire time. I mean seriously, what a great setup/setting for a story. The rest of the episode is him struggling to make his last moments count. The characters are complex and layered, and the Doctor is heroic and cunning - exactly what the 5th Doctor SHOULD be. This episode makes your hairs stand on end and your spine tingle with fear. Perfect perfect perfect.

This is not only the Fifth Doctor story but arguably perhaps the best Classic Who story ever made on TV. It's a strong claim to make but those who have seen this story know exactly what I'm talking about. When the Fifth Doctor and Peri arrive on Androzani Minor and get involved in the struggles of a mining corporation versus rebels who control a life-saving drug, they are both poisoned from the mines themselves and desperately need to stay alive to find the poison and in the process stop the conflict before it gets out of hand. The story is powerful and easy to follow. The drama is climactic and almost Shakespearean at moments. The cast (even the side cast) is on it's A game. Peter Davison gets to show off the best of the Fifth Doctor and who he is in the most dramatic and intimate sacrifice of the show's history, giving his life to save his friend. It has the best cliffhanger in the show's history between episodes 3 and 4 (watch it to see what I mean). It has a great soundtrack that is one of the few to be re-released on CD. It has....well to be honest kind of shoddy special effects especially in the incredibly badly made Magma Beast that stalks the mines. The pacing is also not quite the greatest in the world...I guess. But everything else in this story is absolutely perfect. There's a reason that this story is ranked so highly and it deserves all of the praise that it gets. Check it out and find out for yourself as you see the absolute best that the Fifth Doctor and Classic Who has to offer. (P.S. This is also the story that offers the explanation of where Five's celery stalk on his lapel comes from. If that doesn't sell you, I don't know what will.)