Rating: 
Summary: Emotionally gripping!
Review: I thought I wrote a review for this, Hmm. Other Davison stories pale in comparison to this one. Like another viewer said stories about Bearuocracy and Big Buisiness crooks(who do it legally) make excellent stories by today's standards. I truely hated Morgis he was what should define evil; and the actor who played him should be in box office movies, he was excellent! Sharez Jek was also good, makes you think, once he was a handsome and probaly goodly sort who's morals fried with his face, could happen to any of us. Peter Davison was at his best in this one. I liked his witt, "Oh goody, we'll go on nature walks and roast marshmellows." He wasn't afraid of Jek. All of his stories should have been this intense. A masterpeice.
Rating:
Summary: You were expecting something else?
Review: I'm pleased to announce that the uniformly high quality of the first three States-side "Doctor Who" DVD releases was not a fluke. The newly-offered "The Caves of Androzani" is another highly-regarded story given a glossy new, features-packed look.It's the final story for Peter Davison, the 5th Doctor, and is notably gloomy and dark. Roger Limb's militaristic score, replete with a rattlesnake motif, and Graeme Harper's inspired direction -- full of cross-fades, matched dissolves, and Shakespearean soliloquies to the camera -- is light-years beyond the dull visual look for which so much "Who" is unfortunately remembered. The script is Robert Holmes at his darkest: a planet run by a mega-corporation is involved in a bitter war against a deformed mad scientist and his android army over supply of a life-preserving drug. Into this picture stumble the Doctor and Peri, who both contract fatal poisoning within minutes. The acting is superb, from John Normington's evil-CEO Morgus, who delivers chilling asides to the camera, to former dancer Christopher Gable as the mad Sharaz Jek, stalking the camera (and Peri) in skin-tight leather and a memorable black-and-white mask. The features are a slight decline from those in the first set of DVD releases. The raw studio footage of Peter Davison's regeneration scene is tolerable only with Davison and Harper's voiceover commentary -- but the DVD doesn't inform that this track exists over the featurettes as well as over the story. Similarly, the extended scene (featuring just 20 seonds of new material) works best with this commentary. The photo gallery and TV trailer strike of tokenism. Better is a featurette narrated by (the late) Gable, describing the creation of Sharaz Jek: possibly the best original featurette on a DW disc thus far. Also grand is a 1983 TV interview in which a female reporter tries to bully Davison into admitting that his casting as the Doctor was a mistake! Harper and Davison's full-length commentary is an absolute riot -- celebrating the story, while poking vicious fun at its (few) plot-holes and visual goofs. Davison's description of the Part Two cliffhanger is roll-on-the-floor funny. Nicola Bryant says little, but her regret at Peri's performance in this story is a revelation (considering what awful roles Peri would be assigned when Colin Baker became the Doctor). Also fine are the pop-up production notes, which describe Holmes's original script in tantalizing detail. You might not choose to sit through 90 minutes of the music-only sound option, but I enjoyed watching key scenes (including the regeneration) in this fashion. Overall, one of "Doctor Who"'s finest TV stories, with a couple of nifty DVD-only additions that make this 20 year-old story a 21st-century triumph.
Rating:
Summary: Leaves you wanting more...
Review: If only the rest of the Davison era was as good as this story! I've always thought Robert Holms was one of the best scriptwriters for the series (an opinion shared by many fans), so it's no wonder that his only Davison-era script is by far and away the 5th doctor's best. As in many Holms' scripts, the characters the Doctor and Peri meet are neither good nor evil, but merely different shades of grey. Everyone present has a score to settle, and in the middle, the Doctor and Peri are caught trying to find a cure for a disease that will kill them if not treated. The story leaves you on the edge of your seat right up to the final scenes when you realize that the doctor isn't going to make it. Classic stuff. And I might as well cast my ballot on this tired topic--yes, this is THE best regeneration scene of the series, followed only distantly by the 4th doctor's. Anyway, if you have not seen this story, you're missing out on probably the best Doctor Who story of the '80s and therefore one of my top five all-time!
Rating:
Summary: The best Peter Davison story!
Review: In this 4 part story Davison performes great and the story is getting better and better every time you watch it. A must have for every Doctor Who fan.
Rating:
Summary: Davison finally earns some respect
Review: It took him three years, but Davison finally earned himself some respect in this one. Instead of playing the cowarding little boy (e.g. Four to Doomsday, Enlightenment, Terminus) he holds his own taking on Sharez Jek, the money-hungry little little corporate executive, and the military. I originally saw this episode in 1985 and it's as good now as it was then. I was particularly pleased with it because it had all the "Iran-Contra" overtones (i.e., big government and big business) are not to be completely trusted. The regeneration scene was a classic. Although I'm a die-hard Tom Baker loyalist, Caves' regeneration sequence was definitely better than that in Logopolis (not to say Logopolis' bad). This is a must see for Davison. Would also suggest: The Visitation, Earthshock, Mawdryn Undead, The Awakening, & Ress. of the Daleks. Loved the incidental music and the last episode definitely rocked! You won't regret getting this one.
Rating: 
Summary: The best Peter Davison
Review: Let me start by saying that Peter Davison was the weakest of those who played the time travelling Doctor. Its probable following the greatest of the Doctors Tom Baker that he was forced to play the Doctor as he did in his earlier episodes. That being said this episode is great. This is how he wanted to play the Doctor Im sure. The story has sense of tension throughout. Its a great story with outstanding acting. The last episode made me almost wish he wouldnt leave after finally giving the performance as the Doctor that he always wanted to. Peter Davison goes out in in grand style almost as his predessesor did. Unlike past regeneration episodes this one gives you a little glimpse of his next persona Colin Baker. This is a must see for fans of the Doctor. The Doctors 5th incarnation says farewell.
Rating:
Summary: The Whats of Where?
Review: Okay, first of all, I'd better start off by saying that no die-hard science fiction fan is going to mark this review "helpful". In fact, I suggest those of you who fall under that category stop reading this right now. I am not and have never been a big sci-fi fan, but I have always been an almost ridiculously devoted fan of Peter Davison (ever since first seeing him in All Creatures Great & Small when I was six years old). As a result, I have no idea what was actually going on in this story, I just know that I loved watching him in it. I enjoyed watching Nicola Bryant (Peri) as well, though she didn't have a very good hold on her American accent! To sum up: this would be an excellent buy for any sci-fi or Dr. Who fan - or those of you who are like me, and would gladly watch a DVD of Peter Davison staring at a blank wall. (With audio commentary, perhaps?) :-)
Rating:
Summary: The Whats of Where?
Review: Okay, first of all, I'd better start off by saying that no die-hard science fiction fan is going to mark this review "helpful". In fact, I suggest those of you who fall under that category stop reading this right now. I am not and have never been a big sci-fi fan, but I have always been an almost ridiculously devoted fan of Peter Davison (ever since first seeing him in All Creatures Great & Small when I was six years old). As a result, I have no idea what was actually going on in this story, I just know that I loved watching him in it. I enjoyed watching Nicola Bryant (Peri) as well, though she didn't have a very good hold on her American accent! To sum up: this would be an excellent buy for any sci-fi or Dr. Who fan - or those of you who are like me, and would gladly watch a DVD of Peter Davison staring at a blank wall. (With audio commentary, perhaps?) :-)
Rating:
Summary: Could this be death?
Review: On so many levels this is the finest Who story and the most memorable of them all when PBS used to show them in serial.
The lighting in the caves is great (it is even explained as natual phosphoresnce in the rock) and the desert landscape of Androzani major is classic; as we find out through the commentary it wasn't hot as it was made to look by bubbling pools of mud and swirling steam winds--it was only 5 degrees. Nicola Bryant who plays Peri winds up getting pneumonia and frostbite. The rubber suited magma creature is ridiculous, but classic Who nonetheless. As far as cliffhangers go, this story is one of the best. The Doctor narrowly escapes certain death at the end of each episode.
At the end of the fourth episode as the Doctor succombs to the Spectrox poisoning, he wonders is this death. In a way, this was the begining of the end for the show and each regeneration seems to drive the Doctor a little more crazy. The eccentric portrayal of the Doctor by Colin Baker in the insuing incarnation is as motley as his clothes. This is where to start your Doctor Who DVD collection. Unfortunately the show itself has seen better days at this point and it's a good idea to build your collection backwards from here.
Rating:
Summary: Change, my dear. And it seems not a moment too soon...
Review: One of my favorite Doctor Who stories ever and Peter Davison's final outing as the Gallifreyan timelord ends on a high note (eclipsing Tom Baker's regeneration sequence in Logopolis). The plot centers around the Doctor and Peri (played by the lovely Nicola Bryant) who land on Androzani Major, only to find themselves in the midst of a political war between a tyrannical corporation and underground gunrunners led by the sinister masked figure Sharez Jek for control of a precious substance known as Spectrox. Of particular note is the well scripted story by Who alumnus Robert Holmes who injects dramatic suspense into this four-part regeneration serial and creates one of Doctor Who's most memorable and diabolical villains of the Who canon. This DVD is a real treat for fans of the series, featuring behind the scenes documentaries on the Creation of Sharez Jek, The Regeneration Transformation, BBC1 announcing the departure of Peter Davison from the role, an isolated incidental music-only track by composer Roger Limb, extended scene featuring Stotz and his cronies, original opening scene, and a wonderfully recorded commentary track with Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant and Graeme Harper. The chemistry between Davison and Bryant reuniting for the commentary is superb as they muse about the dated special effects and production anecdotes. It is a shame that the two of them had only worked together for this serial and the previous episode entitled "Planet of Fire" but their brief tenure is regarded so fondly by both and is demonstrated not only by their respective commentaries but also in their performances as well. The video quality of this DVD transfer is rather limited due to the integrity of the original analog PAL masters with lots of graininess and RF noise throughout, especially during machine gun fire sequences. The audio is unfortunately mono and a new 5.1 Dolby Digital mix (like the one on The Five Doctors) would have been a plus but is more than made up for by the Special Features provided on the disc. An essential disc to have in any Dr. Who collection.
| 
