The Caves of Androzani

I was initially rather disappointed with this story when it first was on television, but with hindsight now regard it as one of the true classics of its time. The problem was that I was expecting another Logopolis type story, with a dramatic threat-to-the-universe type scenario as befitting a Doctor's regeneration tale. This rather sordid gun-running drama didn't, to me, seem really worthy to be the Fifth Doctor's final adventure; not for a Doctor who had been back to Event One, saved the universe on Terminus, faced Omega again, etc. Also, I was really, really wanting an old monster to appear for this final story - I love stories with old monsters so rather enjoyed Peter Davison's run - but there wasn't one. We saw tantalising glimpses of Sharaz Jek in part one - close ups of his mouth, eyes etc, and I was hoping that this would be some old foe from the Doctor's past, but alas.

However, what we are left with is still an action filled, tense and extremely exciting tale. I loved the fact that machine pistols were used by everyone and not some space laser guns; it made the thing more realistic and gritty. The characters were uniformly excellant - Jek, Chellack, Morgus, Stotz. Some of them were wonderfully evil throughout whilst others had evil more or less thrust upon them by being in a difficult situation at a difficult time. I particularly liked Salateen who, while being ruthless at least had a sense of fair play - he didn't do anything bad without a reason and also didn't hog all the credit for his and Peri's escape from Jek's headquarters. He was fair minded but ended up just as dead as everyone else.

All the episode endings were superb but the ending of episode one was a bit flat in comparison - we see a panel slide open in the back of the Doctor and Peri's cell moments before they are led to the firing squad, so this rather spoils things as we know that the doctor and peri do not face certain death. We don't yet know about Jek's ability to create replicas, but we now know that SOMETHING happened. If we hadn't seen that panel open beforehand the ending would have been much more spectacular, but as it is the suspense is spoiled somewhat.

Then, after a load of treachery, explosions, shootings and death, the Doctor regenerates after a typical act of noble sacrifice - beware of Trions carrying beautiful half-drowned American girls into one's Tardis the moment one's back is turned is I suppose the moral - but regenerates into what? Who is this new persona who is rather sharp with the bewildered Peri at the story's closing moments? That, as we all know, is another story.....