The Caves of Androzani (DVD)
Science Fiction Video -- Dr. Who story No. 136
Written by Robert Holmes
Starring Peter Davison
ISBN: 0-7907-6659-0
Publisher: Warner Home Video / BBC Video, $24.98
Continuing with their current run of Greatest Hits DVDs (as I call them), BBC Video recently released The Caves of Androzani. This is the last, and probably the best, storyline that starred Peter Davison, and is an interesting adventure.
In this story, the Doctor (Peter Davison) and Peri (Nicola Bryant) land on the planet Androzani Minor, and as usual end up letting their curiosity get the better of them. Just a few minutes into the first episode, they are caught up in the war that has been going on under the planet’s surface, all for a longevity drug called Spectrox.
The best thing I enjoyed about all four episodes of The Caves of Androzani is that there are so many subplots within the main plot. You have General Chellak and his military group trying to fight for the drug supply. They’re fighting against Sharez Jek, a rather sinister and twisted renegade scientist who has control of the main supply of Spectrox, and has been hiring gun runners to supply himself and his army of robots with needed weapons. However, the gun runners themselves are actually being hired by another true villain who is keeping General Chellack and Sharez Jek at bay, so as to keep the cost of the Spectrox drug very high. And these are only some of the subplots within the main story. It makes the whole thing just that much better, as you never know quite what is going on till the last episode.
Sharez Jek himself is one of the main reasons I really like this Dr. Who story. The character’s portrayal makes him a damn cool anti-hero of sorts, as he really isn’t a true villain. His costume, along with superb acting, make the character truly come alive. I actually feel kind of sorry for the poor sap when he gets it in the end!
As for the rest of the support cast, I can’t think of a single actor that didn’t do a wonderful job in this show. The entire story is fun to watch, suspenseful at times, and has its own share of fun, which is what Dr. Who is all about. About the only bad thing I can say about Androzani is the so-called Lava Monster, which shows up a few times during the show. It’s your typical B-grade movie monster, which isn’t saying too much. Luckily, they don’t use it to any great extent (except for one cliffhanger), so it doesn’t take away from the main plot, and it’s nowhere near as bad as the “rat” from another Dr. Who show that looked like a giant plush toy!
This is also one of the few Dr. Who episodes that I know of where one of the villains (Sharez Jek) and the Doctor actually have quite a bit of face-to-face discussions, resulting in one of my favorite Dr. Who quotes, “You have the mouth of a prattling jackanapes, but your eyes, they tell a different story.” There's also quite a bit of other such humor along the way, which is another thing I’ve always liked about Dr. Who. It never takes itself too seriously, unlike other shows.
As for the DVD itself, this one has some extras on it that are rather good (unlike a few past Dr. Who DVDs). First off, there is a commentary during the show by Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant, and the director Graeme Harper. For once, the banter that goes on is all about the show and the actors within. They point out all the little mistakes that happen, and of course make note of the brilliant directing and acting jobs that were done in the show too. They even point out that Sherez Jek’s mask was based on an actual African Zulu mask, which I thought was rather sleek. They were also pretty good at making jokes at their own work, in a good and tasteful way. It was a joy to actually watch this story again with the commentary, and I’d recommend anyone buying this DVD to so do.
They also include the usual “extra footage” on the DVD, which amounted to one extended scene, and the original first episode where they show the jerky background that was fixed with modern technology for the main DVD showing. Some Dr. Who fans complained about this, but I think it was wonderful, as it fixed a background problem and didn’t take away from the show one darn bit. The short Behind-the Scenes Documentary was fairly good, showing what went on during the shooting of the final scene where Peter’s Doctor regenerates into Colin Baker. There are also a few other extras, such as a Music Only option (which I found rather silly) and BBC trailers, which were just okay.
Definitely at the top of my list of the Dr. Who series, The Caves of Androzani is a worthy addition to any science fiction fans collection!
(review (c) June 2002 / David Flemming)