The Caves of Androzani
(DVD)



Starring Peter Davison
4 Episodes
1984
100 minutes (color)
Single Disc




 

 

Production Notes
Doctor Who
Peter Davison

Peri Brown
Nicola Bryant

Written by
Robert Holmes

Directed by
Graeme Harper
Produced by
John Nathan-Turner

Original Airdate
Mar 8, 1984 - Mar 16, 1984

US DVD Release Date
April 2002

Warner Home Video
#E1608

U.K. Cover


 

 



 

Cover Blurb
In Peter Davison’s farewell story, the Doctor and Peri find themselves embroiled in an underground war soon after arriving on the barren world of Androzani Minor. 

As they follow a mysterious trail into some nearby caves, they unwittingly violate General Chellak’s military blockade and are summarily sentenced to death as gunrunners. An unexpected rescue by unsavory gunrunners throws them into the clutches of the sinister Sharaz Jek, a masked renegade scientist who has gone underground, both figuratively and literally. Jek has amassed a force of lethal androids to guard his subterranean domain. For in the heart of the caves is a rich source of Spectrox - the most valuable commodity in the universe… and in its raw form, the deadliest! 

Once the Doctor learns that the mysterious substance he and Peri handled in the caves was raw Spectrox, he realizes time is running out - for Peri as well as himself.

 

 

 


 

DVD Features

  • Behind the Scenes- The Regeneration:

 One of the really neat extras included on this disc is the 7 minute segment showing the behind the scenes filming of the regeneration sequence from Peter Davison (Doctor #5) into Colin Baker  (Doctor #6).  Another bonus is that commentary was recorded for this segment so you can also hear Peter Davison (Doctor #5) Nicola Bryant (Peri) and Graeme Harper (director) discuss various aspects of this event.  Very cool feature.  
 

 
  • Original Opening Scene:
 At the request of director Graeme Harper, the Doctor Who Restoration Team touched up and stabilized some particularly wobbly special effects scenery in the opening moments of this story.  This newer version is the one that plays by default when the disc is inserted.  If you'd like to see the original shot (bad effects and all) then this is the feature you'd go to.  It is also worth a look at to see what the quality of the video was like before restoration work began on it.
 

 
  • Extended Scene:
 Included in the features section is an extension of a scene used in episode two when Stotz is threatening Krelper with a suicide pill.  The extended scene continues for a further 45 seconds.  Nothing earth shattering, but a nice addition nonetheless.
 

 
  • Creating Sharaz Jek:
 This 5 minute feature was created using an audio interview with the late Christopher Gable (Sharaz Jek) and combining it with studio footage from the filming of the story.
 

 
  • BBC1 Trailer:
 A 30 second trailer for episode 1.
 

 
  • BBC One O'Clock News:
 A very short segment from a BBC news program reporting the announcement that Peter Davison would not be returning to Doctor Who.
 

 
  • BBC Nine O'Clock News:
 Another news report, this time a bit longer (90 seconds) and includes an interview with Peter Davison.
 

 
  • South East at Six:
 Peter Davison and producer John Nathan-Turner appeared in this 3 minute segment of South East at Six to discuss Davison's departure from the series.
 

 
  • Information Text:
 Lots of trivia and tidbits of Whovian detail are provided.  The text appears intermittently along the bottom of the screen and is written by Richard Molesworth of the Doctor Who Restoration Team.
 

 
  • Who's Who:
 A feature unique to the North American DVD releases.  It lists short biographical information on many of the actors involved in the story.
 

 
  • Photo Gallery:
 Lots of rare and never before seen photos taken during the production of this story.  Very nice.
 

 
  • Audio Options:
 Under this feature you have two choices.

The first choice is a commentary track.  Commentary is provided by Peter Davison (Doctor #5) Nicola Bryant (Peri) and Graeme Harper (director).   All three are very enthusiastic and have a enjoyable time discussing the show.  One of the best Doctor Who commentaries done to date.

The second audio option is the isolated soundtrack.  With this feature you will hear Roger Limb's superb musical score sequentially as it appears in the episode (rather than edited together as in the case of "The Five Doctors Special Edition" DVD).  This does mean that there are long gaps of silence in between music cues.
 

 
  • Easter Eggs:
 None.  For a full list of known Easter Eggs and screen grabs of them click HERE.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Notes
  • Probably one of the highest ranked Davison stories, "The Caves of Androzani" marks the end of the Davison era with a bang.
  • This story is written by Doctor Who alumnist Robert Holmes, who wrote this adventure after a 7 year absence.
  • An explanation is finally provided concerning the Doctor and the celery stalk on his lapel.
  • Breaking with tradition, "The Caves of Androzani" was not the final story of the season.  The next adventure "The Twin Dilemma" was the last story to be filmed, and it gave audiences a sneak peak at the new Doctor rather than waiting over the long summer hiatus.
  • The Doctor Who Restoration Team, at the request of director Graeme Harper, touched up the opening TARDIS scene by stabilizing the shot and (in essence) removing the wobble scene in the original version.  The procedure proved controversial for some in Who fandom, while others have been very supportive of this small change.  Both the new, higher quality shot and the original matte shot have been included on the disc.

 


The picture on the left is from the DVD release while the one on the right is from the original VHS version.
Screen capture courtesy of Doctor Who Image Archive.