Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani (1984)

Originally broadcast in March 1984, the four-part "The Caves of Androzani" brings the Peter Davison era to a close. I remember wishing that Davison could have stayed with the show another season or two, as it was just in his third season as Doctor Number Five (the classic series' twenty-first season overall) in which he finally seemed to have settled into the role and become more comfortable.

"Caves" was written by veteran DW writer/former script editor Robert Holmes ("Terror of the Autons"/"The Ark in Space"/"The Talons of Weng-Chiang", etc.) who turns out a Doctor Who adventure which is not only the best of Peter Davison's tenure as the Doctor, but also one of the show's greatest stories ever. The late Christopher Gable turns in a great performance as the tragic antihero Sharaz Jek. And John Normington is also great as the true central villain Morgus.

The Doctor and Peri (Nicola Bryant) arrive on the barren world of Androzani Minor where they find themselves caught in the crossfire of a war between soldiers from the neighboring planet of Androzani Major and the disfigured Sharaz Jek (played by the late Christopher Gable) and his army of androids. Androzani Minor is the only known source of a valuable substance known as spectrox, a drug which lengthens youth (similar to Melange, the spice in Frank Herbert's Dune). But in its raw form, spectrox is a deadly poison. Suffering from Spectrox toxemia, the Doctor and Peri race to obtain an antidote while being caught up in the web of politics, gun running, betrayal, and revenge in the battle between Jek and the army from Major.

"Caves" is well-directed by Graeme Harper, who manages to get a lot performance-wise from his cast, including Davison, Gable, and Normington, as well as Nicola Bryant (Peri) and Maurice Roeves (Stotz). In addition to directing "Caves," Harper also helmed "Revelation of the Daleks" starring Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor. He has directed several episodes of the new Doctor Who series produced by BBC Wales as well.

At the end we get to see, although briefly, Anthony Ainley as the Master, along with all of the companions from the Davison era during the regeneration scene. Peter Davison and Nicola Bryant are joined by Graeme Harper on the commentary track. Other bonus features include deleted scenes, pop-up production notes and a couple of documentaries: one on creating Sharaz Jek, and one on the filming of the regeneration sequence. "The Caves of Androzani" is Peter Davison's last and best Doctor Who outing, and possibly the best DW story of the 80's, and also possibly the last great story of the classic DW series.

Other Doctor Who DVD releases you might be interested in:

Earthshock

Resurrection of the Daleks

The Five Doctors

New Beginnings (3-DVD set)