The Caves of Androzani

What can I possibly say about 'The Caves of Androzani' that hasn't been said before? Very little, actually; it is a superb finale for Davison, and possibly my favourite story of the entire John Nathan-Turner era.

I've repeatedly declared that Robert Holmes is my favourite writer for the Doctor Who television series, and 'The Caves of Androzani' is another example of why. The characterisation is superb, even for the minor characters, and the attention to detail makes this story another example of why he was so good at portraying other societies and worlds. As in 'Carnival of Monsters' and 'The Ribos Operation', Holmes' skill at hinting at wider cultures is in evidence, with numerous references to the wider social background of Androzani Major. There are references to the planet's industry, with the copper mines controlled by the Sirius Conglomerate, and the planet's penal system. Several references make it clear that capital punishment is in use on Major (Morgus' order to Krau Timmin that the lift maintenance engineer be shot doesn't raise an eyebrow), and there is also a reference to a chawcaw picking, apparently a penalty for crimes not serious enough to warrant execution. There are also references to military customs, with death under the red cloth being a prime example. In addition, it is made clear that Androzani Major, despite the benefits that some of its people reap from Spectrox, is no utopia; businessman Morgus has considerable influence over the Presidium, in an effective demonstration of capitalism gone mad. His gift of Spectrox to the President is little more than a bribe to maintain his standing with the people who supposedly run the planet, and although the President clear doesn't like him it is implied that he often follows Morgus' suggestions. The use of labour camps as a solution to the problem of unemployment, with Morgus proposing that anyone who doesn't have a valid work permit could be shipped off for what is effectively a life of unpaid slavery, is disturbing; the President's acceptance of the suggestion is even more so, especially since he clearly realises that Morgus is exploiting the system for his own benefit. As the President points out, Morgus has been closing plants in the west, causing increased unemployment; by shipping the unemployed off to camps in the east, those citizens who he has sacked will be working for him again, but without being paid. Such corruption is clearly rife on Androzani Major, a world driven by greed and profit. And there is corruption too within the military; Morgus can effectively give orders to the military because of the power he wields behind the scenes, and in a lesser example Chellack feels unable to reveal that he ordered the execution of two androids because if he does so it will ruin his career. Had Jek really been using androids as gunrunners, the General's decision to keep quiet about it would have been criminal to say the least.

The plot of 'The Caves of Androzani' works superbly well, and although it is very similar to that of Holmes' previous (and rather poor) 'The Power of Kroll', it works far better. The reason for this is due largely to the characterisation. Even the relatively minor characters are well characterised; Krelper's attempts to rival Stotz's leadership are an example, and lead to two great character moments. One of these is their confrontation on the cliff top as Stotz humiliates Krelper, who is left pleading for his life, and the other is Stotz's casual murder of Krelper and his other surviving subordinate in Episode Four. Roy Holder plays Krelper with just the right amount of load mouthed swagger to successfully convey that for all his criticism of Stotz he is merely a thug who is totally outclassed by his psychopathic leader. Another well-characterised minor character (again, relatively speaking) is David Neal's President. He clearly dislikes Morgus but needs his support; his contempt when he points out the advantages to Morgus in shipping the unemployed to labour camps is barely concealed, as is his revelation that Morgus' funding of the campaign on Androzani Minor ought to be generous, since he owns the planet. Holmes also provides a nice detail by hinting at a past military career for the character, as he watches the apparent execution of the Doctor and Peri with disgust and declares that "In my day we'd have had filthy little swine like that shot in the back. The red cloth was for soldiers".

Krau Timmin is another particularly good example; she is initially portrayed as Morgus' confidant and possibly secretary, but by the end it is revealed that she is just as ruthless as her employer, selling him out to the presidium in order to take over as chairman of the Sirius Conglomerate. Barbara Kinghorn plays the role with a calm efficiency; she is not remotely unsettled by the explosion at the North Caul Copper Mine, even though Morgus later implies that she isn't supposed to know that he organized it, and her reaction to the death of the President is only slightly more emotional. Then there is Martin Cochrane's Chellack, a professional soldier clearly embittered by the fact that he has to obey orders to a civilian he understandably despises, and sufficiently aware of how his society works that he accepts the need to execute the Doctor and Peri despite believing them to be innocent. His aforementioned refusal to tell the presidium that he has ordered the execution of androids evokes no sense that this is a man who is happily dishonest, rather one of impotent frustration that his world requires such deception if he is to maintain his career. Indeed, he has succumbed to the pressures of Androzani society to the extent that he decides to send Ensign Cass, the only other witness aside from Salateen to the discovery that the bodies are androids, on a deep penetration mission, knowing full well that he won't return. He doesn't seem happy with the decision, but knows that if he doesn't ensure Cass's silence, his own future will suffer. Salateen contrasts nicely with Chellack; far less experienced than the General, the real Salateen has an enthusiasm about him even after months spent as Jek's prisoner. He also, once he escapes, exhibits a brash confidence that is unwarranted; his plan to trick Jek with misinformation is optimistic at best. His incautious approach to an android in Episode Four is a great example of this confidence; he doesn't even contemplate the fact that his belt plate will fail him and dies as a result. Ironically, Jek's facsimile of Salateen would never have made such a reckless mistake. Robert Glenister impressively distinguishes between the two in his performance, the android seeming far more efficient and emotionless than its original. 

But for all the great supporting characters in 'The Caves of Androzani', it is the two main villains who dominate. Morgus and Sharaz Jek are very much opposites; Jek is emotional and unstable, whereas Morgus is cold, and calculating. Sharaz Jek is a superb character, played deadly straight by Christopher Gable, in an astonishing performance. Jek is frighteningly mad; in the blink of an eye he changes from gloating genius to a deeply embittered and damaged individual shaking with uncontrollable fury. Jek's volatility is evident throughout, and it brings an edge to his scenes with the Doctor and Peri that make him utterly unpredictable; Gable acts with both his voice and his body, becoming a physical threat in an instant as he towers over Peri and demands whether she wants to see his face beneath the mask with sheer rage in his voice. His motivation is perfectly devised, a once handsome and popular man betrayed and abandoned and turned into a monster as a result. So bitter is he and so desperate for revenge that he will stop at nothing to get at Morgus, denying Spectrox to everyone on Androzani Major and orchestrating the deaths of hundreds of Chellack's troops as they fight to regain control of Androzani Minor. His desperate loneliness and need for beauty is pathetic, and almost sympathetic, but he's also brutal and dangerous; he thinks nothing of having the Doctor's arms torn out to gain the information he requires. His desire for Peri is interesting, because the impression is given that he really won't hurt her, despite the predatory sexual overtones. 

Morgus meanwhile is very different to Jek; whereas Jek is motivated by a desire for revenge, Morgus is motivated by power and profit. Wheras Jek is passionate and unstable, Morgus is icy cold; his destruction of his own copper mine and his murder of the President are the actions of a man determined to control his profit margin and his power base whatever the cost. He orders sabotage and executions with casual calmness and never loses his composure. When he believes that the President has discovered that he has been secretly providing Jek with weapons to prolong the war and drive up the price of Spectrox, he is forced to think quickly, but he doesn't panic. His murder of the President is carefully calculated; he swiftly plans to leave Major taking with him financial resources sequestered on the outer planets. Even when Timmin usurps him and reveals that he is wanted on seventeen counts and that his assets on the outer planets have been frozen, only a tight lipped expression and a widening of his eyes hints at the emotions this engenders. And he remains calm even then, quickly proposing to Stotz that they attempt to secure Jek's store of Spectrox. John Normington's portrayal of Morgus is superb, with even his breaking of the fourth wall, which could have been horribly tacky in the hands of a lesser actor and a lesser director, providing a chilling glimpse into the character's thoughts. The final scene between Jek and Morgus is astounding; Morgus, motivated purely by profit, pulls a gun on Jek and demands the Spectrox, with no apparent interest in their past history. Jek on the other hand is finally faced with the man for whom hatred has motivated his every waking moment for long months; with revenge consuming him, he has the strength to strangle Morgus and fight off Stotz even with bullets pumped into his body. With Morgus dead and his reason for living gone, he slumps, finally, into the arms of his greatest creation. Both Gable and Normington are superb in this scene, Gable embodying loathing whilst Normington shows Morgus, his icy calm finally punctured by the iron grip around his throat, unable to do anything but struggle weakly in Jek's death grip. 

Two great villains - Jek is passionate and unstable, embittered by betrayal and motivated solely by a desire for revenge. Morgus is cold and calculating, motivated by power and profit. His destruction of his own copper mine, plus his murder of the President, are both carried out with calm, ruthless efficiency. Jek's obsession with Peri has disturbing sexual undertones. He's sympathetic and pitiful, but utterly mad. By the end, Morgus has lost everything but remains calm and calculating. Jek's final scene is superb, as he finally confronts Morgus and kills him, his hatred allowing him to fight off Stotz and withstand bullets until his task is complete. 

There is another villain worthy of mention in 'The Caves of Androzani'; Maurice Roeves plays Stotz as a charismatic psychopath with great effect. Stotz is brutal, but not stupid; his ill-fated attempt to follow Jek to the Spectrox storehouse is logical, but foiled by the presence of the Magma Creature, and his threatening of the rebellious Krelper at various points leave the viewer in little doubt that anyone who crosses Stotz is likely to end up dead very quickly. He accompanies Morgus back into the caves at the end partly because he wants to settle his score with Jek, and his murderous anger towards the Doctor at the end of Episode Three is utterly convincing. Roeves also brings a laid-back attitude to the role when appropriate; he has not particular axe to grind with the Doctor until Morgus orders him to remain in geo-stationary orbit, and as a result he chats casually to his prisoner even as he chains him up. His finest moment however is his murder of Krelper, an utterly casual final lesson to a subordinate who dared to cross him. 

Graeme Harper's direction of 'The Caves of Androzani' is of course crucial to its success, and rightly so. Harper brings a variety of techniques to the production that is responsible for creating the highly dramatic atmosphere throughout. His use of camera angles and slow fades is masterful; in particular, the slow fade from Jek in Episode Two after he explains that he wants Morgus' head to Morgus just as he learns that his sabotage of the copper mine has been successful and back again, nicely juxtaposes the two very different enemies. Virtually every aspect of the production is a triumph here, from model work to costumes, and with highly impressive cave sets. Roger Limb's score also adds greatly to the atmosphere. The costumes also work very well (obviously including Jek's highly distinctive leather suit), and the use of machine guns rather than ray guns adds considerably to the gritty realism of the story. The main shortcoming is of course the Magma Creature, which looks awful; it is doubly unfortunate that it is virtually extraneous to the plot, since it does little except provide a cliffhanger to Episode Two. This is however, a very minor criticism. 

Finally, there are the regulars. After Peri's happy and enthusiastic characterisation in 'Planet of Fire' (and the intervening Big Finish audios), here she undergoes a significant change. Her obvious enjoyment of her travels with the Doctor is evident at the start, but is soon knocked out of her as she is gets Spectrox Toxaemia and becomes increasingly ill, nearly gets executed, and then suffers the attentions of a obsessive lunatic. It is quite natural therefore that she spends most of 'The Caves of Androzani' increasingly traumatized and unhappy, a trend that will continue into the following story. Nicola Bryant is great in the role, conveying the impression that Peri is genuinely frightened throughout, especially when faced with the overpowering Jek. 

But it is Peter Davison who really steals the show, in what is for me his finest performance in the role. Having got himself and Peri into trouble through his own curiosity, he spends the rest of the story desperate to save his companion's life. The Doctor is at his most heroic, as he increasingly frantically struggles to rescue Peri and find a cure for the Spectrox Toxaemia; the cliffhanger ending to Episode Three is one of the series' finest and this is largely because of Davison. He is like a man possessed as he disregards Stotz's threats with a manic cheeriness, shouting that he owes it to Peri to try and find a cure. Indeed, it is concern for Peri's life rather than his own that seems to drive him, culminating in his final sacrifice as he gives the bat's milk to Peri and, effectively, dies. Throughout Episode Four, as nearly all of the supporting characters die around him and the mud burst begins, the Doctor fights his way through chaos to reach the Queen Bat, and then get back to Peri. As the Doctor struggles with his own increasingly ill health and carries Peri in his arms, Davison's ability to combine the impression of illness with one of manic desperation is incredibly good. Interestingly, whilst the Doctor unknowingly catalyses events throughout 'The Caves of Androzani' and is thus crucial to the denouement, his need to save Peri means that he spends most of his time in single-minded pursuit of this goal, raising the question of how differently events on Androzani Minor might have played out had the Doctor focused his full attention on the conflict. The final scene is beautifully directed. Graeme Harper provides my favourite regeneration in the series to date, with a rising crescendo and light and noise accompanying the transformation. The appearance of all of the Fifth Doctor's television companions seems fitting rather than a gratuitous nostalgia trip, mainly because it results in "Adric" being the last word that the Fifth Doctor speaks; final recognition of the companion that this incarnation couldn't save, and whose death has undoubtedly contributed to his increasingly serious attitude throughout the Fifth Doctor's era. It is a fitting end. 

The decision to give the new Doctor lines at the end of final story of the old is an effective one; the Sixth Doctor's caustic comments speaks volumes about the character of the new incarnation, and tantalizes with a glimpse of a Doctor who is obviously going to very distinct from his predecessor. In summary, 'The Caves of Androzani' is not just one of Doctor Who's finest stories, it is also a stunning swansong for Peter Davison and offers an intriguing hint of what is to come. Which means that the following story comes as a bit of a shock…