BBC / 1984 / 99 mins / NR

THE EPISODE:
The story on the latest “Special Edition” double dip from the vast library of DOCTOR WHO DVDs is truly one for the ages. Voted by the shows legion of fans as not only a great story, but THE Best Doctor Who story of the classic era (and when the poll was taken three years ago, it ranked as the best story in the entire 47 year run; including the new series!) “The Caves of Androzani” is absolutely DOCTOR WHO at its finest. If there is a single story to show fans of the new series why we loved it back in the day, this is it. It has everything DOCTOR WHO strived to be and most of the times succeeded at, but rarely as well as here. A great operatic villain that may not be a villain at all; a beautiful and spunky assistant who does a little more than just scream; a rip-roaring story that was complex and intelligent; and The Doctor sacrificing his own life without a moment’s hesitation to save his companion.

Written by one of the classic era’s greatest writers, Robert Holmes, and directed by the equally legendary Graeme Harper (who still directs stories in the new series) “The Caves of Androzani” has an age old feud, exploding planets, killer robots and shades of The Phantom of the Opera all rolled into one. Arriving on Androzani Minor, The Doctor (Peter Davison) and Peri (Nicola Bryant) accidentally (and unknowingly) become infected with a slow acting poison. They are soon immersed in the personal feud between the powerful business tycoon and war profiteer Trau Morgus (John Normington), who controls the mining of the valuable drug spectrox from the neighboring planet Androzani Major, and the disfigured roboticist Sharaz Jek (Christopher Gable) who is orchestrating revenge fueled attacks against the man who disfigured him. Will The Doctor and Peri be able to find an antidote to the poison before time runs out, or will they be caught in the crossfire of the escalating war? This time, The Doctor may not actually make it.

There is so much to praise in this episode, it is difficult to know where to start. To begin with, there is Harper’s direction. One of the complaints from fans who have only seen the new series is that the classic era stories move so slowly. While that is very true, this story is an exception. Holmes’ script and Harper’s direction keep this story moving at a breakneck pace. Harper knows DOCTOR WHO and given a great script, he will deliver a spectacular episode. His ability to think quickly and creatively is perfectly demonstrated by an actor’s flub: Normington’s Morgus directly addressing the camera. The actor misunderstood the directions given him and breaks the fourth wall looking directly into the camera lens. Having no time to reshoot and correct the error, Harper has Morgus address the camera whenever he delivers one of his introspective monologues, thus turning an error into a stylistic decision. It is touches like this that make Harper one of the series’ best directors and this one of his greatest triumphs.

While not quite the iconic Time Lord Tom Baker is, Peter Davison truly nails the essence of The Doctor in this story. Clever, worldly, sarcastic, fearless and selfless to a fault, Davison’s performance in this story permanently placed him in the upper echelons of Great Doctors. To date, his is the only regeneration that hits an emotional level deeper than the sadness of just seeing The Doctor change. His calling out the name of fallen companion Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) set the precedent that the current series clings to with an iron grip: that the past is not forgotten and The Doctor’s character is shaped by the companions he travels with. I said it before and I’ll say it again: This is DOCTOR WHO at its finest.

THE DISC:
While these “Special Edition” re-releases of classic era DOCTOR WHO boast restored picture and sound, there is only so much you can do with the original materials. The classic shows never looked particularly stunning (especially compared to the new series) and the change from filmed exteriors to video-taped interiors is always glaring and jarring. However, the full frame 1.33 picture here is quite nice and looks better than it did when it was aired originally aired on PBS back in the mid-1980’s. If you look at it side by side with the original 2001 DVD release, you can notice some minor improvements but nothing immediately noticeable.

Likewise, the Dolby Digital 2.0 sound mix probably offers a little more clarity, but it is so slight I was unable to notice it. The episode looks and sounds as good as it probably ever will. The main reason for these “Special Editions” is that the original DVD releases had very few supplements and this new release loads up on the goodies in the manner equal to the recent releases. So what do we get here? Let’s see….

THE EXTRAS:
“Chain Reaction” (the original title for “Caves of Androzani”) is the big making of for this story and features input from virtually every major player in front of and behind the camera. Well worth checking out.

“Directing Who: Then & Now” has Harper discussing how directing the series has dramatically changed from the classic series to the new series (he helmed such new series episodes as “Rise of the Cybermen,” “Turn Left” and “The Waters of Mars.”) This is a fantastic featurette and must see viewing for all Whovians.

“Behind the Scenes: The Regeneration” is the footage from the original DVD release with commentary from Davison, Bryant and Colin Baker.

“Behind the Scenes: Creating Sharaz Jek” looks at the mask application with actor Gable, again brought over from the original DVD.

A little over four minutes worth of “Extended Scenes” are available (about twice the amount that was on the original DVD.)

The original BBC trailer for the first episode is here.

“News” contains the three announcements about Davison’s departure from the original DVD: The BBC One O’Clock News and Nine O’Clock News from 7/28/83 and the “South East at Six” segment with Davison and producer John Nathan-Turner from the following day.

“Russell Harty” is a fascinating but slightly embarrassing piece featuring Davison and Colin Baker appearing on the talk show. They both come off as feeling very uncomfortable.

A Photo Gallery, the always recommended Production Notes and a trailer for the “Seeds of Doom” DVD round out the goodies on this set.

It looks like the only thing missing from the 2001 DVD release is the “Who’s Who” biography section of the cast.

MY SAY:
I absolutely can not recommend “The Caves of Androzani” highly enough. This is what classic era DOCTOR WHO is all about and with a doubt one of the finest moments from the series’ five-decade long run. Highly Recommended!

Reviewed by Jeff Allen