The Caves of Androzani by Robert Holmes
8 - 16 March 1984
For all that it has taken me a couple
years to really chew through Peter Davison's tenure as the Doctor, it
still feels too soon when I finally arrive at The Caves of Androzani.
Maybe it sort of is, at least early by four episodes, as JNT &
company made the interesting decision to reserve the season's last story
for the incoming Doctor.
Until then, I have myself the task of giving a suitable write-up for one
of the most beloved stories in the show's whole history without somehow
coming across as incompetent... We'll see about that.
Once again, my schedule intersected with Quinn's here, and we sat down together to watch Caves. Quite fortunate, I thought, considering how good this story is.
This is actually one of the few Classic Who stories I've seen before the
marathon, as I mentioned some time ago. I watched this separate from
any ongoing marathon (back when that was still a thing I apparently did)
around April 2017, which feels like (and actually is) fucking ages ago
now. I remember liking it the first time, but couldn't remember all the
details.
I'm pleased to say that the refresher didn't alter my opinion in any big
way. The combination of Robert Holmes writing and Graeme Harper
directing is just a dream team, and the cast bring their all in
response. It's somewhat rare for Who to specifically aim for "mature,
high stakes drama" and actually land successfully in that ring, but I
have to say that the cast and crew managed it with aplomb this time.
There is a giant armadillo monster, but rather like the clams in Genesis of the Daleks I think we can charitably ignore it.
It really is a pleasure to have Robert Holmes back. At this point it's been more than five years since his last script, The Power of Kroll, and he has been missed. His biting wit and skill with satire are used to expert effect in Caves,
painting an authoritarian, corporatist society which is... really
rather familiar, come to think about it. It's like hearing the voice of
an old friend when Chellek says shooting the Doctor and Peri will make
for "great moral reinforcement" or when Morgus asks for a minute's silence in honor of the deceased miners before slashing it to half of one.
Caves comes across, to me, as an indictment of corporate greed
and the violence which is necessary to carry it out, whether it's
Morgus' cold-blooded sacrificing of his workers, or his back-stabbing as
he tries to maintain his power, his creation of his own worst enemy in
the form of Sharaz Jek, or the throwing away of hundreds of soldiers'
lives in order to maintain his profit margin. Morgus really is excellent
all around, played to perfection by John Normington. For all that he
speaks down the camera lens, often looking over his shoulder to do so
(making me and Quinn both giggle in the process), it never feels
unnatural.
Sharaz Jek, as the secondary antagonist, warrants praise as well. Calling to mind The Phantom of the Opera
with his disfigurement, his mask, and his obsession with Peri, he's
such a classic villain that I'm surprised we haven't really had his like
in Who already... Despite what could be a rather tropey and "generic"
villain role, Christopher Gable's performance elevates Jek beyond any
risk of that and into one of the most memorable antagonists this program
has ever had.
Some words are owed to dear Peri, who is really put through the wringer
on her second ever* TARDIS adventure. She's poisoned, shot at, dragged
around, and thoroughly creeped on by Sharaz Jek. It's more than a bit
uncomfortable to watch her scenes with him. These parts aside, I think
that Quinn was right when they told me that Peri feels a lot more
reactive and shows a bit less of a distinct personality than the other
two companions they've seen, namely Tegan and Turlough in Frontios. We'll have to see how Peri develops over the next couple seasons.
I find spectrox's life-extending capabilities very ironic in the context
of this episode. This is, after all, the Doctor's thanatopsis. In fact,
its raw form actually kills him. I was moved by his determination to
sacrifice his own life to save that of his companion whom he barely
knows. He barely seems to think twice about it. That's my Doctor.
He really is so brilliant here, from his regret about getting them into
the situation, to his determination to rescue Peri, and everything in
between. I'll save my more in-depth remarks on his performance for
later, though.
All in all, we thought this was a brilliant story. What a way to go out on this Doctor's tenure.
Before we get into the next episode, I have some housekeeping to do.
Specifically, our end-of-era roundup for the Fifth Doctor, coming up
next.
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 6 May 2024.)
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