DWM Mighty 200 - Top Ten Watchathon: The Caves of Androzani (#1) Reaction Post
Who_Daily Link: < a href="http://persiflage-1.livejournal.com/324599.html">DWM Mighty 200 - Top Ten Watchathon: #1 Reaction Post by < lj user=persiflage_1>
This week's episode is the number one in the Doctor Who Magazine survey of readers' favourite episodes. Written by Robert Holmes and directed by veteran Graeme Harper, it's the Fifth Doctor's finale outing: The Caves of Androzani.
This is only Peri's second story, but she's already feeling free to call the Doctor 'a pain'!
- Peri facetiously suggests that the Doctor got a merit badge for tracking when he was a Boy Scout.
- The Doctor claims he once tried keeping a non-chronological diary, but due to his time-travelling, he didn't really have to keep it up to date.
- Eep! It's a big, scary reptile-like creature!
- Peri asks why the Doctor wears a stick of celery in his lapel. I've not re-watched many of the Fifth Doctor's stories since they aired - is Peri the first person to ask this since Four's regeneration into Five? (I don't remember it being mentioned in 'Castrovalva'.)
- Why does General Chellak think that Peri and the Doctor are gun-runners, given they're not armed? Surely he'd expect gun-runners to have at least one weapon apiece?
- Whenever someone tells a soldier that they long 'to stand shoulder-to-shoulder' with them, I know they're lying through their teeth.
- Morgus is very quick to condemn the Doctor and Peri, yet they don't look dangerous.
- The Doctor says curiosity has always been his downfall.
The Doctor, Peri and the mysterious, leather-clad Sharaz Jek.
- Apparently Sharaz Jek's leather mask is based on a Zulu design. No, I don't know why!
- So everyone wants Spectrox because it gives longevity to humans? The President of Androzani Major is 84...
- Morgus wants the war with Jek to continue because it's pushing up his profits. I hope that comes back to bite him on the bum!
- Blimey! Suddenly the Fifth Doctor doesn't seem so scared of his own shadow when he's commenting on the execution being a mockery of justice. I realise Five's probably not as ineffectual as I keep thinking he is - and I know it's probably my fault for not re-watching more of his stories (I've seen very few since they first aired).
- Ooh! Nice cliffhanger, with Five and Peri apparently being executed by a firing squad.
- Oh Morgus, you're such a lying git! Of course you thought of the fact that those people who're shipped to work in the Eastern labour camps are going to be working for you for free, and no doubt that's exactly why you closed down the Western plants and made them unemployed!
- Jek wants to keep the Doctor and Peri with him permanently. Mostly because he thinks Peri's hot and he wants her...
- I like how protective the Doctor's being of Peri, given this is only their second story together.
- That line of Jek's about Five having the mouth of a prattling fool while his eyes tell a different story could be applied to another incarnation (who's shortly going to die).
- Ah! So Jek wants Morgus' head because Morgus tried to kill him by giving him faulty equipment. Because Morgus would hate to share his nice fat profits with anyone.
- Oh really, Morgus, I know that you don't give a damn about that copper mine being destroyed. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if you'd engineered that yourself!
- Salateen's amusement at the fact that the Doctor and Peri are suffering the early stages of Spectrox Toxaemia seems rather disproportionate to me.
- Uh-oh! The Doctor's been knocked unconscious and Salateen's grabbed Peri and legged it.
- Blimey! That magma monster's got wings!
- Why didn't General Chellak realise that Salateen was an android? It seemed obvious to me from quite early on that he wasn't all he seemed - he was too damned perfect.
- Ouch! That had to hurt when Jek slapped the Doctor for his flippant response as to why the androids didn't kill him.
- Chellak's planning to drag Jek's body in chains through every city on Androzani Major. This seems a bit excessive.
- Why's Morgus talking to the camera as he works out that the Doctor's execution was faked?
- The Doctor's celery is starting to look very wilted by the time he's captured and aboard the gun-runners' ship.
- Morgus warns the President that someone's planning to assassinate him - then shoves him down the lift shaft!
- And then Morgus orders that the lift maintenance engineer be shot!
- Jek tells Peri that the gun-runners have taken the Doctor to Major, and tries to persuade her that the Doctor's abandoned her. Surely she won't fall for that?
- Oh no, not another cliffhanger ending! The Doctor's about to crashland (more or less) Stotz's ship on Minor. Yikes!
- The Doctor says he has to rescue Peri because he got her into this mess. Well yes, you did!
- Blimey - major chaos now - mudbursts, gun-runners and an army raid.
- Peri screams when she sees Jek's burnt face - but we still haven't!
- Timmin has betrayed Morgus? Oh you ROCK!
- The Doctor's made it back to Jek's HQ and persuaded him to tell the Doctor where the queen bats are nesting, but surely it's too late?
- While the Doctor's fetching the bat's milk, the music is very mournful. It actually sounds like church bells being tolled.
- So, Stotz shoots Jek, Android!Salateen shoots Stotz, Jek kills Morgus, and then dies in the android's arms, just as the Doctor arrives and grabs Peri.
- Just after the TARDIS takes off a huge mudburst explodes on the spot where it was standing. Phew! But it's not over yet!
- The Doctor gives Peri the bat's milk, then asks 'Is this death?' What're the chances of Ten uttering a similar line?
- The Doctor's not sure if he'll regenerate this time, and says it 'feels different'.
- The Doctor 'sees' Tegan, Turlough, Nyssa and Adric, who all encourage him to regenerate, while the Master encourages him to die.
- Oh look, it's a new Doctor - blond, curly-haired and sarcastic!
Feel free to add your thoughts/comments below. Thanks to everyone who's joined in the discussions over the last 10 weeks!
This week's episode is the number one in the Doctor Who Magazine survey of readers' favourite episodes. Written by Robert Holmes and directed by veteran Graeme Harper, it's the Fifth Doctor's finale outing: The Caves of Androzani.
This is only Peri's second story, but she's already feeling free to call the Doctor 'a pain'!
- Peri facetiously suggests that the Doctor got a merit badge for tracking when he was a Boy Scout.
- The Doctor claims he once tried keeping a non-chronological diary, but due to his time-travelling, he didn't really have to keep it up to date.
- Eep! It's a big, scary reptile-like creature!
- Peri asks why the Doctor wears a stick of celery in his lapel. I've not re-watched many of the Fifth Doctor's stories since they aired - is Peri the first person to ask this since Four's regeneration into Five? (I don't remember it being mentioned in 'Castrovalva'.)
- Why does General Chellak think that Peri and the Doctor are gun-runners, given they're not armed? Surely he'd expect gun-runners to have at least one weapon apiece?
- Whenever someone tells a soldier that they long 'to stand shoulder-to-shoulder' with them, I know they're lying through their teeth.
- Morgus is very quick to condemn the Doctor and Peri, yet they don't look dangerous.
- The Doctor says curiosity has always been his downfall.
The Doctor, Peri and the mysterious, leather-clad Sharaz Jek.
- Apparently Sharaz Jek's leather mask is based on a Zulu design. No, I don't know why!
- So everyone wants Spectrox because it gives longevity to humans? The President of Androzani Major is 84...
- Morgus wants the war with Jek to continue because it's pushing up his profits. I hope that comes back to bite him on the bum!
- Blimey! Suddenly the Fifth Doctor doesn't seem so scared of his own shadow when he's commenting on the execution being a mockery of justice. I realise Five's probably not as ineffectual as I keep thinking he is - and I know it's probably my fault for not re-watching more of his stories (I've seen very few since they first aired).
- Ooh! Nice cliffhanger, with Five and Peri apparently being executed by a firing squad.
- Oh Morgus, you're such a lying git! Of course you thought of the fact that those people who're shipped to work in the Eastern labour camps are going to be working for you for free, and no doubt that's exactly why you closed down the Western plants and made them unemployed!
- Jek wants to keep the Doctor and Peri with him permanently. Mostly because he thinks Peri's hot and he wants her...
- I like how protective the Doctor's being of Peri, given this is only their second story together.
- That line of Jek's about Five having the mouth of a prattling fool while his eyes tell a different story could be applied to another incarnation (who's shortly going to die).
- Ah! So Jek wants Morgus' head because Morgus tried to kill him by giving him faulty equipment. Because Morgus would hate to share his nice fat profits with anyone.
- Oh really, Morgus, I know that you don't give a damn about that copper mine being destroyed. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if you'd engineered that yourself!
- Salateen's amusement at the fact that the Doctor and Peri are suffering the early stages of Spectrox Toxaemia seems rather disproportionate to me.
- Uh-oh! The Doctor's been knocked unconscious and Salateen's grabbed Peri and legged it.
- Blimey! That magma monster's got wings!
- Why didn't General Chellak realise that Salateen was an android? It seemed obvious to me from quite early on that he wasn't all he seemed - he was too damned perfect.
- Ouch! That had to hurt when Jek slapped the Doctor for his flippant response as to why the androids didn't kill him.
- Chellak's planning to drag Jek's body in chains through every city on Androzani Major. This seems a bit excessive.
- Why's Morgus talking to the camera as he works out that the Doctor's execution was faked?
- The Doctor's celery is starting to look very wilted by the time he's captured and aboard the gun-runners' ship.
- Morgus warns the President that someone's planning to assassinate him - then shoves him down the lift shaft!
- And then Morgus orders that the lift maintenance engineer be shot!
- Jek tells Peri that the gun-runners have taken the Doctor to Major, and tries to persuade her that the Doctor's abandoned her. Surely she won't fall for that?
- Oh no, not another cliffhanger ending! The Doctor's about to crashland (more or less) Stotz's ship on Minor. Yikes!
- The Doctor says he has to rescue Peri because he got her into this mess. Well yes, you did!
- Blimey - major chaos now - mudbursts, gun-runners and an army raid.
- Peri screams when she sees Jek's burnt face - but we still haven't!
- Timmin has betrayed Morgus? Oh you ROCK!
- The Doctor's made it back to Jek's HQ and persuaded him to tell the Doctor where the queen bats are nesting, but surely it's too late?
- While the Doctor's fetching the bat's milk, the music is very mournful. It actually sounds like church bells being tolled.
- So, Stotz shoots Jek, Android!Salateen shoots Stotz, Jek kills Morgus, and then dies in the android's arms, just as the Doctor arrives and grabs Peri.
- Just after the TARDIS takes off a huge mudburst explodes on the spot where it was standing. Phew! But it's not over yet!
- The Doctor gives Peri the bat's milk, then asks 'Is this death?' What're the chances of Ten uttering a similar line?
- The Doctor's not sure if he'll regenerate this time, and says it 'feels different'.
- The Doctor 'sees' Tegan, Turlough, Nyssa and Adric, who all encourage him to regenerate, while the Master encourages him to die.
- Oh look, it's a new Doctor - blond, curly-haired and sarcastic!
Feel free to add your thoughts/comments below. Thanks to everyone who's joined in the discussions over the last 10 weeks!