The Caves Of Androzani was written by Robert Holmes. On the cave-riddled world of Androzani Minor, the Doctor and Peri inadvertently find themselves caught in a war fought between the ruthless General Chellak and the sinister Sharaz Jek and his army of androids. The duplicitous politician Morgus wants Chellak to execute the time travellers as spies, while the disfigured Jek seeks to keep Peri forever hostage within his stronghold. But the Doctor soon realises an even more gruesome fate awaits them-they have been infected with fatal spectrox toxemia, and there is no cure...

Hunted by both factions and with death just hours away, how far must the Doctor go in order to save his friend's life?

From its very first screening in 1984 The Caves of Androzani has been one of the most highly regarded Doctor Who stories of all time. On this one magic occasion there is something truly extraordinary to be found in each and every element: the direction, plot, visual effects, music and performances all work together in order to create one of the most chilling and moody Doctor Who serials. Here Director Graeme Harper takes Robert Holmes' dark script and uses every opportunity to add menace and meaning to every shot and scene. Every character in this story is grotesque, twisted and genuinely uncaring of any matter not serving their own selfish interests. And yet it is testament to a combination of the writing,directing and strong performances that although this world is populated with such monstrous personalities, each has their own realistic motivations and goals,with the audience occasionally tempted to sympathise with them. Here Harper and Holmes present us with an entire misguided culture sustaining itself around greed and self-preservation at the sacrifice of humanity. Placing the Fifth Doctor into this hopeless world, we see how his values are so diametrically opposed to the attitudes of its citizens. Perhaps, then, this environment serves as a fitting final outing for this incarnation of the Doctor. Over three years of adventuring we have seen him try to convince ［amongst others] Cybermen, conditioned Dalek agents and traitorous companions to value life. And in his final moments we see him take the moral code he champions to the very extreme...

Extras Include: Commentary by Peter Davison [The Doctor], Nicola Bryant [Peri] and Graeme Harper [Director] Chain Reaction Cast and crew look back on the making of this story. Directing Who: Then and Now Graeme Harper examines the experience of directing Doctor Who in two very different eras. Behind the Scenes - The Regeneration Featuring optional commentary track. Behind the Scenes-Creating Sharaz Jek. Extended Scenes Featuring optional commentary track·Russell Harty Peter Davison and Colin Baker meet on this chat show to discuss the transition. News Reports Contemporaneous reports regarding Davison's departure. Isolated Score Listen to Roger Limb's incidental music on a separate audio track. Radio Times Billings(PDF DVD-ROM-PC/Mac]. Production Information, Subtitles, Photo Gallery. Coming Soon Trailer. Digitally remastered picture and sound quality.

DISC ONE:

Commentary by Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant and Graeme Harper. Peter Davison was already a household name by the time he assumed the mantle of the Doctor, having played the role of Tristan Farnon in the BBCs All Creatures Great and Small. After taking on the role for three years, he departed Doctor Who in this very story and has been often quoted as saying that he would have been more likely to have stayed for a fourth year had there been more scripts of The Caves of Androzani's quality. Other television work includes Holding the Fort, Sink or Swim, A Very Peculiar Practice, Ain't Misbehavin', Campion, The Last Detective, At Home with the Braithwaites and Marple. At Bertram's Hotel. He returned to the role of the Fifth Doctor in 2007 for Children in Need's Time Crash. Nicola Bryant successfully auditioned for the role of feisty American student Perpugilliam Brown soon after finishing drama school. She stayed in the role for three years, firstly with Peter Davison and then continuing into the Colin Baker era. After Doctor Who she appeared in television series such as The Biz and The 10%ers but her passion remains in theatre work,having appeared in numerous productions such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,Purple Politics,The Great Gatsby and Daphne du Maurier's Don't Look Now. Graeme Harper worked in a number of production roles in the 1960s and 1970s and eventually resigned from the BBC in the early 1980s so that he could be employed for his first role as a director for The Caves of Androzani. On the strength of his innovative work he was immediately offered Revelation of the Daleks the following year. Following several other directorial duties Graeme was nominated for an Australian Film Institute Award for See How they Run in 1999, and then shared a BAFTA award for Custer's Last Stand Up in 2001. In 2006 he was given the opportunity to return for the new series of Doctor Who, and he has worked on several episodes to date including Doomsday which won him a futher BAFTA Cymru award in 2007. He has also directed many episodes of CBBC's Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. Behind the Scenes-The Regeneration. This unique look inside the studio during the filming of this story's climatic scenes is accompanied with an optional commentary track recorded by Graeme Harper, Peter Davison and Nicola Bryant Behind the Scenes-Creating Sharaz Jek - Examine the drives and motivations of this sinister villain, courtesy of audio recordings made of the late Christopher Gable talking about his role in the story, incorporating photographs from his collection and footage from the studio recording sessions. Extended Scenes
Three scenes from the original story are presented in extended versions using time-coded film
sequences.The first scene is accompanied by an optional commentary track by Graeme Harper.

Trailer - A BBC-1 trailer previewing the first episode. News Reports - sorted press releases and interviews relating to Peter Davison's decision to move on from his role as the Fifth Doctor. Isolated Score - Listen to Roger Limb's menacing music score for The Caves of Androzani on a separate audio track. Coming Soon - Get a taste of another exciting adventure with the Doctor from a forthcoming DVD release. Easter Egg - Bonus content hidden on this disc. Radio Times Listings
Listings for The Caves of Androzani from the Radio Times at the time of its original transmission are included in a PDF format[DVD-ROM only,can be viewed on PC or Mac]. Production Subtitles - Need to know even more? These subtitles provide the viewer with cast details, script development and behind-the-scenes information relating to The Caves of Androzani.

DISC TWO

Chain Reaction - The cast and crew of The Caves of Androzani look back on the making of a legendary story. Actors Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant, Maurice Roeves (Stotz], Robert Glenister [Salateen)and Martin Cochrane (Chellak) join Director Graeme Harper, script editor Eric Saward, production designer John Hurst and composer Roger Limb in their analysis of this story's creation. Directing Who:Then and Now - Graeme Harper is currently the only director to have worked on the classic series run of Doctor Who and its newer run of stories. Here he adds his unique insight in discussing the different production techniques particular to each era of the programme. The Russell Harty Show - In March 1984 both Peter Davison and Colin Baker made an appearance on The Russell Harty Show to discuss their transition between The Caves of Androzani and The Twin Dilemma. Photo Gallery A collection of production, design and publicity photos from the recording of The Caves of Androzani are included.