Review of Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani (1984) by Tim L — 25 Nov 2007

"The Caves of Androzani" is a "Doctor Who" serial featuring Peter Davison as the Doctor. The story concerns two neighboring planets, Androzani Minor and Androzani Major. Major is a center of governmental operations, but Minor contains a valuable resource. On Minor there is a war between government and resistance resources that is at a lingering stalemate. The situation is altered when the Doctor and companion Peri land in the TARDIS on Minor.

Peter Davison is in top form as the Doctor, playing the character as knowledgeable with occasional touches of sarcasm. Admittedly I always thought Peri was never an especially good companion for the Doctor. She gets better as the serial progresses, but too often whines, screams or squeals. I would say that her character is the only major detractor of the serial. John Normington is memorable as the cold, brooding capitalist that pulls the strings on Androzani Major. Christopher Gable is also notable as the enigmatic resistance leader Sharaz Jek, a masked character surely inspired by the Phantom of the Opera.

The sets for the dark caves of Androzani are well-made and the effects for space travel are amazingly seamless. The serial has many elements that make it an excellent one: political machinations, gunrunners, androids, minor military conflicts, duplicity, ambiguity and plot twists. Even the brief appearances by a rubber monster that terrorizes random British actors are decent. This is definitely a serial worth seeing for those that enjoy serials from the Peter Davison years.