Review: Doctor Who Classic: The Caves of Androzani

The Phantom of the Opera is here, inside my mind.

"Change, my dear. And not a moment too soon."

Two of my Classics in the November collection were written by Robert Holmes, one of Classic Who's most prolific and talented writers. Despite a somewhat formulaic story structure of a disfigured, trapped villain fighting to return to former glory, Holmes penned some of the greatest stories of the Classic series, such as The Deadly Assassin, Spearhead From Space, The Talons of Weing Chang and today's story, The Caves of Androzani, which was Peter Davison's grand finale.
     There's a vaguely Shakespearean vibe to the story, especially in the comparisons to Hamlet; villain Sharaz Jek is a man whose lust for revenge has turned him into a monster. That, and Peri is the only character to survive the story, if you count The Doctor's regeneration as a death. Five's era was often accused of having death-filled episodes, and it's fitting that his final story leaves not even he alive.
     The Doctor takes Peri, fresh from her intro in Planet of Fire, to the planet of Androzani Minor, twin to the large trade planet of Androzani Major. The Doctor is intrigued to find signs of life in the caves, and after stumbling through some poisonous webbing, they become caught up in a gunrunning cartel and are accused by the local law enforcement of assisting the madman behind the operation, Sharaz Jek. Jek is being fought by the corrupt leader of the mining operation, known as Morgus, who has a long-running rivalry with the villain and has been running guns himself. At the first cliffhanger, it appears that The Doctor and Peri are shot dead by firing squad.

The Doctor and Peri face excecution.

     This cliffhanger is oft considered to be one of the best in Who history, and I can see why - its unrelentless, pessimistic scenario seems to have no escape, and the solution to the cliffhanger ties into the story instead of being a quick fix. The one problem that I have with the acting is this story is from John Normington's Morgus, who is incredibly, incredibly wooden.
     It turns out that the killed heroes were instead Androids under the control of Jek, who has lifted the pair to his deep sanctum. There they meet Jek, as well as a man named Salateen, the android version of which was monitering the authorities that found them. Salateen explains that the company mines a substance called Spectrox, which lengthens life. The pair have come in contact with the substance's natural form, and have now contracted a disease called Spectrox Toxemia. Jek reveals to Peri the reason for his Phantom-of-the-Opera-esque mask; Morgus led him into a mud-burst accident that permenantly disfigured him. Soon The Doctor works out a way to escape Jek's lair, but he becomes embroiled in an encounter with the gun-runners and is approached by a giant Magma Beast! Of this episode's few technical failures, the Magma Beast is the only one that really stands out. It has little to no real purpose being there really, and it stains what is otherwise a creepy, Victorian atmosphere.
     The Doctor escapes but is caught by Jek, who tortures him. Peri and Salateen return to the General, who they tell about the Android imposter. The Doctor is taken onto a transport ship on its way to Major. Salateen plans on using the android to lead Jek on a wild goose chase, while The Doctor manages to escape his bonds and takes control of the ship. Fearing deception, Morgus assassinates the President. The cliffhanger of this episode is also one of the best that I've seen, and is one of Peter Davison's finest moments. The episode ends on The Doctor about to crash the ship, and his desperate cry of, "I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU STOP ME NOW" demonstrates Davison's range. You can feel his desperation, his will to fight his own demise to save the life of another.

Lots of rubber in this mine...

     On the run, The Doctor lands on Minor with an escape pod, arriving in time for there to be a tremendous gun battle between the androids and the gun runners. Jek's mask is removed and in his disgrace he assists the Doctor in retrieving the antedote to the Spectrox Toxemia. As a mud-burst arrives into the caves, killing both Jek and Morgus, The Doctor retrieves the antedote and carries Peri across the exploding surface of Androzani Minor to the TARDIS, where he sets her down and gives her the antedote. He collapses, and regenerates into Colin Baker.
     Davison's regeneration is actually one of the more interesting of the series, utilising the era's effects well. Instead of seeing him physically transform, we see what he sees, and the effect flashes on and off through his vision as he fights off death. Upon regeneration wee see all of the companions of the Fifth Doctor's era - Adric, Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough, Kamelion. It's quite good, actually, and provides a very interesting insight into the process of regeneration that standing up and firing energy out of one's arms simply doesn't do.
     The Caves of Androzani isn't perfect, but it comes damn near close. The writing is top notch with a wide variety of fascinating themes that reflect the nature of beauty in our society, as well as a lot of commentary regarding Capitalism. The Fifth Doctor's era was a rough one, but it ended on a story that did the era and his Doctor all the justice it deserved. We'll look more at the Doctor's era after Christmas, when I follow on in Chronological order from my review of Four to Doomsday.      

Goodbye, Peter.

Thanks.

P.S. A head's up to the Tardis Wiki for the screencaps.

NEXT WEEK: Colin Baker nearly meets his maker in Vengeance on Varos. Marshminnow?