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The Caves of Androzani Format Reviewed: DVD Review Regeneration stories tend to aim to be greatly impactful, but sometimes miss the mark a little, Androzani however delivers in spades. The plot, direction and acting is some of the best in this era of Doctor WHo, and is backed up by a wonderful guest cast and strong performances typified by the wonderful realisation of the characters of Sharaz Jek and Morgus. I think the weakest member of the guest cast here was Salateen, although this is probably being a bit picky. One other thing about regeneration stories is that the outgoing Doctor generally gives one of his best performances during the story. This is very true of Androzani, and Peter Davison gives a powerful and unflustered performance in the face of the strong guest cast characters. The interplay between the Doctor and Sharaz Jek is wonderful, with lines such as: "You have the mouth of a prattling Jackanapse Doctor, but your eyes, they tell a different story." Wonderful, simply wonderful. A mention here should also go to the character of Stotz, who was perfect for the role and conveyed the perfect balance of arrogance, deturmination, cunning a ruthlessness demanded of the character. Now comes my overly whinging and critical side. Whoever made the decision to make Colin Baker's Doctor arrogant and, to be honest, unpleasant, needs to be told that they made a big error. The plan was that Colin's Doctor would develop over the many years he would play the role, and lose the more negative sides of his character. In hindsight, I would have preferred a friedlier face on the sixth Doctor from the outset, something I think might have improved the chances of the show not being cancelled. Either way, Androzani sees the end of "my childhood Doctor", and the first change of the lead character for me as a kid. Overall, it's a wonderful story, well realised and is a fitting end to Peter Davisons sometimes maligned and in my opinion, much underrated reign. Rating:  |