[D.j.]

Hey.
I'm looking to get some Peter Davison Stories on DVD, does anyone have suggestions on what's the best ones?
cheers.

[Shaunieboy]

Caves of Androzani... Easily the best!

[darthbibble]

Originally Posted by Shaunieboy

Caves of Androzani... Easily the best!

agreed

Add

Kinda
The Visitation
Earthshock
Enlightenment
Frontios

to the mix too

[Shawn_Lunn]

Earthshock
The Five Doctors
The Caves Of Androzani

[JohnnyForget]

In alphabetical order:-

Black Orchid
Earthshock
Enlightenment
Mawdryn Undead
The Five Doctors

I'm one of that bizarre minority, who doesn't particularly like "Caves Of Androzani".

[doublefour]

Lots to choose from Peter Davison's era. The Caves of Androzani I believe is a superb all round story. Stunning characters, moments and plot.
Earthshock is highly recommended, has a cracking pace throughout.
Kinda has lots of themes going on, a very interesting different classic Who story.
Would also recommend The Visitation and Black Orchid from Peter Davison's first season as entertaining well told stories..

[Philip_Lamb]

I always liked Arc of Infinity. Androzani is ok for a one off watch but it just seems a bit tedious and padded at times

[daveyboy7472]

I would say anything bar Time-Flight from Season 19, but The Visitation, Black Orchid and Earthshock in particular. Season 20 is not so bad aside Terminus and obviously Resurrection Of The Daleks and the superb Caves Of Androzani to finish it off from Season 21. No matter how many times I watch that story it is just that...superb!

[Mulett]

I seem to be the only person who doesn't rate The Caves Of Androzani. Apart from the fact its a regeneration story, I find it a bit dull.

For me its most of his first season, especially Black Orchid and Earthshock, nothing in season 2 and the Dalek story in season 3.

[JohnnyForget]

Originally Posted by JohnnyForget

I'm one of that bizarre minority, who doesn't particularly like "Caves Of Androzani".

Originally Posted by Mulett

I seem to be the only person who doesn't rate The Caves Of Androzani. Apart from the fact its a regeneration story, I find it a bit dull.

You are not the only one. See the quote above yours.

[king yrcanos]

I enjoy:
Kinda
The Visitation
Black Orchid
Earthshock
The Five Doctors
The Awakening
The Caves Of Androzani

[Mulett]

Originally Posted by JohnnyForget

You are not the only one. See the quote above yours.

Yay!

[Pull2Open]

Earthshock...I will never forget the exitement of the reveal!
Caves of Androzani
Black Orchid - Absolutely loved that story
Mawdryn Undead
The Visitation

[Shawn_Lunn]

I like Davison but if I'm being honest, he's my least favourite Doctor.

[bennythedip]

cave,earthshock,mara tales,black guardian trilogy.avoid kamelian tales and arc of infinity and time fliight

[Lady of Traken]

Personally I didnt like Arc of Infinity or Kings Demons so wouldnt recommend those to start with. Of the others Earthshock, Black Orchid, The Five Doctors, Caves of Androzani, Enlightenment, Kinda are all a good place to start.

[meglosmurmurs]

I find Caves of Androzani very average too.

I prefer Earthshock, Mawdryn Undead, Enlightenment and The Awakening.

Oh, Kinda and Snakedance too.

[Meisste]

I would put Davison's stories in this order from Good to Bad

1) Earthshock
2) The Caves of Androzani
3) The Five Doctors
4) Kinda
5) Enlightenment
6) Frontios
7) The Awakening
8) Mawdryn Undead
9) Snakedance
10) Black Orchid
11) The Visitation
12) Castrovalva
13) Ressurection of the Daleks
14) Planet of Fire
15) Warriors of the Deep
16) Four to Doomsday
17) Terminus
18) The Kings Demons
19) Arc of Infinity
20) Time-Flight

The First 8 are really good, probs best steering clear of Arc of Infinity and Time-Flight.

[tortfeasor]

Earthshock, Kinda, Enlightenment and the Caves of Androzani are a must.

I personally like Planet of Fire because you get to find out more about the enigmatic Turlough and of course Peri is introduced (the bikini scene... well you know!), and it's good to see Anthony Ainley's Master in a position of weakness.

Mawdryn Undead, The Five Doctors, Arc of Infinity and The Awakening are all worthy of watching too. I had a bargain when I bought the DVD set of Arc of Infinity and Time Flight: it was new from an Amazon seller and I paid less than £5 including delivery. Time Flight is definitely one of the weakest stories they did but the commentary for it on the DVD is entertaining and goes some way in explaining why the story is a let down after Earthshock, In some ways it's a pity the season didn't end with Earthshock.

[gslam2]

The last big vote of all stories in DWM - The Mighty 200 gave these as the top 5 for Davison.

The Caves Of Androzani - Number 1 overall
Earthshock - 19 overall
The Five Doctors - 38 overall
Kinda - 69 overall
Enlightenment - 72 overall

Which I would broadly agree with though Caves wouldn't be top for me. The Visitation came next and I'd add that and Snakedance into that group.

Bottom five were

Time-Flight (196)
Warriors Of The Deep (185)
The King's Demons (181)
Arc Of Infinity (177)
Four To Doomsday (173)

Which again is hard to argue with though Arc Of Infinity is worth buying for the commentary alone since both Peter Davison & Colin Baker are on it and along with Janet Fielding & Sarah Sutton provide one of the most entertaining ones of the whole range. I'd probably switch in the appallingly bad Black Orchid which fails as a piece of drama at every level.

[Talma]

It depends what you want to get from watching; agree with the (most of) the others that Caves Of Androzani is one of the best regeneration stories, but with Black Orchid you have the last real historical story - no aliens, just being back in time, and Nyssa has more to do than in any other. The Visitation is historical too but with aliens, Mawdryn Undead has the bonus of the Two Brigs. Kinda is Tegan's finest moment and Earthshock is just fantastic and the shock end is perfectly acted all round.
I also enjoyed Castrovalva and Terminus but then I enjoyed all of them to some degree!

[allen_who]

Originally Posted by JohnnyForget

You are not the only one. See the quote above yours.

Yeah., me too... I just don't get the hype with this story at all. Quite dull for me am afraid

[daveyboy7472]

Originally Posted by allen_who

Yeah., me too... I just don't get the hype with this story at all. Quite dull for me am afraid

Well, I'm not looking to change people's opinions on Androzani, everyone to their own, but you asked so I'm gonna repost my opening to The Caves Of Androzani Thread I did last year so you can see my reasons why I think it's a fantastic story.

I guess from comments I read in the City Of Death thread that this story is very much a Marmite story. People seem to hate it as much as they love it. One comment that stood out for me was the one that said they didn’t understand it why people rate The Caves Of Androzani so much. So from my point of view, I’m going to explain exactly that and say why I personally think this is not just the best Davison Era story but from Classic Who overall for me and is indeed one of my favorite stories ever. And also the many reasons why I think it topped the last DWM Poll.

Peter Davison
Talk about saving the best until last! Davison puts in an absolute brilliant performance. People have said he should have played the role this way all the way through; I agree with this to a certain degree, but would this performance have been so special in this if he had? I loved the humour used, but I also like the way he played the Fifth Doctor’s final moments with dignity and nobility(unlike a certain blubby Doctor two years ago) I also liked the way the Fifth Doctor’s traits were all packed in. Running, celery, curiosity sacrifice. The one constant aim throughout the story is simply to rescue Peri, find a cure for Spectrox Toxemia and get the hell of Androzani Major. What makes his situation so unusual is that there is major plan to stop, no villain to defeat, all he does is get involved in a mess not of his own making and the local wars that are taking place. He eventually does all that but it comes at a price.

Nicola Bryant
One of her best performances. In this there is none of the whinging and arguing that is to follow. Peri is at ease with The Fifth Doctor and her reactions as she faces death in the first episode I really liked. Then she has not just the prospect of death by Spectrox Toxemia to cope with but Sharaz Jek’s obsession with her as well. As she comes close to death, the situation around her deteriorates along with her health and she plays it wonderfully.

My Dream Team!
My Favourite Doctor with my Favourite Companion! I liked the banter between them at the start of the story. That is something I would liked to have seen more of and it’s a shame the two of them didn’t get more stories together. I also loved all that ‘Sir’ stuff in the first episode.

Two Villains!
Yes, not one but two! Morgus is my favourite sort of villain. Humanoid, cold, clinical, manipulative, I just love the way John Normington portrayed him, (though the ponytail was a bit naff). On the flip side to Morgus is Sharaz Jek. Emotional, angry and a bit crazy, I thought he was a neat counterpoint to his rival. Rarely has a story had two such brilliant and opposing villains like this. I like the fact Sharaz Jek liked Peri. It worked this time but afterwards it began to become a bit unbelievable. I also liked the way both used the ‘Fourth Wall’ to get their expressions and views across, it sort of added to the story really. I also liked the way their hatred for each other is displayed in two completely different manners, it was fascinating to watch.

No Other Good Guys
In the majority of stories, there is always another good guy or girl, someone who helps The Doctor or is on there side. In this story, The Doctor and Peri were on their own from start to finish. No-one else was there to help them, when they were split up, they really had to fend for themselves big time though in Peri’s case, her illness made this task more impossible. So that also makes the story unique.

Cliffhangers
Part 1 and 3 had amazing cliffhangers, ones that were not always easy to predict the outcome. In Part 1’s case it’s easy to see in hindsight but on first viewing I really thought The Doctor and Peri were a goner. You even saw the shots being fired, there was literally no chance it seemed for a reprieve. Part 3 echoed some of the regeneration sequence in it’s effects again it seemed all was lost. Part 2, not so strong though.

The Writer
The script was amazing. I’m so glad JNT ditched his opposition to using old writers and let Robert Holmes write this. Eric Saward has claimed he didn’t have to change a line and I reckon he was right. He isn’t the best writer the show ever had for no reason and it shows in this story. Without the baggage a lot of the writers had in the Davison Era, Holmes time away from the show worked. He pulled out a brilliant script which was unusual in itself in that even though there were a couple of partnerships, Morgus and Krau Timmin/ Stotz and Krelper, they both lacked the humour of Jago and Litefoot or Glitz and Dibber, which considering how humourous Davison was in this is a bit weird!

Direction
In conjunction with a brilliant script, we had some superb direction from my favourite Director of all time: Graeme Harper. Compared to all the other stories in the Davison Era, this is outstanding. Handheld camera shots and just an entire different and better way to film the story, it gave it a completely unique feel of it’s own.

Incidental Music
Another key to the story’s success for me, the incidental music just matches the action perfectly. It’s quite tense and creepy at times and when the action really got going the music really made you feel it. Even during the slower scenes, there was the music there to convey some menace that was occurring and I loved it!

The Regeneration Scene

This is where The Caves Of Androzani does pale a bit for me against Logopolis. I do prefer the Fourth to Fifth regeneration scene better but in it’s own right, it’s still not bad. It repeated the Logopolis trick of getting all the companions back but in a novel way this time. I like the way it was done and the feeling of that tunnel effect thingy just getting faster and faster until the regeneration was complete. Off course, for me the best part was Nicola Bryant's cleavage, which has been remarked upon by Peter Davison several times!

So these are the things that particularly make The Caves Of Androzani special for me but there are other things as well that I like. The supporting characters are good as well, including the sly Krau Timmin and the violent Stotz. Plus General Chellak, who is caught up in the middle of everything that is happening on Androzani Major. Salateen is another dark and unlikeable character, as is his Robot duplicate. Also liked the Androids, as they were just that, Androids and not Androids copying humans for a change.

The idea behind the cause of the regeneration was a good one as well. Just for once, The Doctor didn’t have to save the Universe, it was just a straight forward infection of Spectrox Toxemia and I found that refreshing.

The only two very minor niggles are the Magma creature which didn’t seem to suit the story and it looked out of place and the obvious double heart thingy Davison was wearing on his chest when viewed by the Android.

Just a quick word on Colin Baker’s brief debut. On first viewing this, I absolutely hated this Doctor from the off, especially as he picked on Peri from the start. On watching it today, I’m still not keen on it but at least I know now the best Sixth Doctor stuff is to come. It was really sad not seeing Davison at the credits and being replaced by this horrid sounding person!

Just one final word on why I like this story so much. Peter Davison was my Doctor. As this was his swansong, I’m bound to feel some sort of special attachment to it. It was the end of a super era for me, barring the odd calamity or two. If you’re not a Davison fan I can well understand why you wouldn’t rate this story so highly. But for me, all the things I mentioned above dovetail beautifully into each other to produce a brilliant story. What also makes it so special is that it feels and looks so different to every single other Davison Story, which was appropriate giving it was his last. I think I can agree with Sovietusername that is a better story than Logopolis, aside the regeneration and therefore I now declare it my sole best story ever!

Personally I think The Caves Of Androzani is far from dull. If I wanted to watch dull Doctor Who I'd just watch Series 5 of New-Who. I'd take this story over the majority of that Series anyday.

[gboy]

Pretty much all of season 19 (with the exception of 'Timeflight').

'Mawdryn Undead' and 'Enlightenment' from season 20.

'The Awakening' and Caves of Androzani' from season 21.

Honourable mentions go to 'King's Demons' and 'Resurrection of the Daleks'.

[davrosdodebird]

I thought Arc of Infinity worked very well from a characterisation point of view, the portrayal of Omega was a great counterpoint to The Three Doctors; in Arc we get to feel sorry for Omega, particularly towards the end, wheras in Three Doctors he was basically just a shouty villain (albeit a good one)