The Caves of Androzani

Premise: On Androzani Minor, the insane Sharaz Jek plots to regain the power he was cheated out of, enlisting the help of a corrupt industrialist on Androzani Major.

Notes: Veteran series script writer and former script editor Robert Homes returned for this serial, not having written for the series since he did The Power of Kroll in 1978. Part four's effects heavy regeneration featured companions from throughout Davison's era and required new recordings to be made rather than stock footage. The actors involved were Matthew Waterhouse (Adric), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Mark Strickson (Turlough), Gerald Flood (Kamelion) and Anthony Ainley (The Master), the majority of which were already contracted for the season anyway whereas Matthew Waterhouse and Sarah Sutton, who had left in previous seasons, received special contracts to return on.

Verdict: A serious and doomladen war story in which practically everything comes together perfectly. Slow at the start but once it gets going it caries you through to the very end with lashings of atmosphere and a real sense of hopelessness 9/10

Resurrection of the Daleks

Premise: The Daleks rescue Davros from his prison in space. However, he is just one part of a plan to replace the High Council of the Time Lords with killer duplicates.

Notes: This serial was originally scheduled to be part of Season 20, but was pushed back due to a strike with minor modifications. Michael Wisher, who played Davros in Genesis of the Daleks was scheduled to return but he was unable to do the role when the serial was moved to a later date. Terry Molley took over the role instead and would return in both Revelation of the Daleks and Remembrance of the Daleks. The story was produced as four parts but when the schedule clashed with the Winter Olympics, it was made into two double-length episodes (a format which would then be used in the next season of the show) and shown on two consecutive Wednesdays.

Verdict: A mess of good ideas clumsily realised which is weighed down even more by it's obsession with continuity. Both the Daleks and Davros have improved a bit since their last appearance, with Terry Molley giving a satisfactory performance. Tegan's goodbye is squeezed onto the end and there are a lot of poorly acted death scenes. Among all this there is some fun to be had if you try hard enough but overall it's a poor production 5/10

The Awakening

Premise: An ancient evil - the Malus - exists within the church at Little Hodcombe. Local re-enactments of the English Civil War are creating the psychic energy needed by it to break free.

Notes: Originally submitted to the then script editor Robert Holmes in the mid seventies under the title War Game, Pringle was turned down but resubmitted the idea to Eric Saward during the early eighties and this time it was accepted and renamed The Awakening. This story introduced a new, alternative costume for the Fifth Doctor which he would wear until the end of his tenure. An early edit of part one featured a scene with Kamelion but this was cut because the episode was overrunning. 

Verdict: A callback to the style of Jon Pertwee stories like the The Dæmons, The Awakening proves to be a fun little romp but even at two parts it can be a bit tedious at times. The visuals are great and the Malus is an especially well realised creation  8/10

Warriors of the Deep

Premise: Earth's two power blocs are close to destroying one another. Under the ocean, the Silurians and Sea Devils are provoking a war that will leave them sole heirs to the planet...

Notes: In this story the Silurians and Sea Devils refer to themselves by them names, whereas previously these were nicknames given to them by others. When Margaret Thatcher announced a parliamentary election there was a sudden demand for studio space which meant this story's production schedule lost two whole weeks. The rush created by this is evident in the finished product with some scenes only having one take and the Myrka costume was only completed an hour or so before it was scheduled to be used.

Verdict: The script is good enough and while there may be more violence than necessary at least it's not without context. The main problem this story is its abysmal production values which plague it from the start and when the Myrka shows up they only get worse. Peter Davison, however, is on top form here 6/10 

The Five Doctors

Premise: Who is kidnapping the Doctor from his time streams and placing him in the Death Zone on Gallifrey? As friends team up against old enemies, the answer may lie in Rassilon's Tomb...

Notes: To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Doctor Who, this TV Movie was made and saw Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton reprise their roles while the first Doctor was portrayed by Richard Hurndall as the original actor, William Hartnell, had died but was still credited for a clip taken from the Dalek Invasion of Earth. Tom Baker did not reprise his role so footage from the cancelled serial Shada was used to make up for this.

Verdict: Although underrated, it's a fairly enjoyable story with a decent plot. It is great to see Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee again (both as good as ever) and Richard Hurndall really captures the feel of the first Doctor. It may be rushed in places but overall it's a great way to celebrate two decades of Doctor Who 8/10

Snakedance

Premise: Tegan has programmed the TARDIS to go to the Federated world of Manussa, but is unaware of this. The Mara, still hiding within her subconscious, wants to be reborn...

Notes: The success of this sequel to Kinda lead script editor Eric Saward to commission a third script from Christopher Bailey which would again feature the Mara. However, production problems lead to it being abandoned. In post production, part four overrun very badly and so had to be completely restructured. This meant a scene which left an open door for the Mara's return ended up being excluded from the broadcast episode. Elisabeth Sladen's husband, Brian Miller, appeared in this story as Dugdale.

Verdict: While not as good as its predecessor, this story again features some intelligent writing and great acting all around. Martin Clunes excels and the snake while still slightly less than impressive, has seen a vast improvement since its last appearance 8/10

Earthshock

Premise: On 26th century Earth the Doctor discovers a bomb powerful enough to destroy the whole planet. After defusing it, he traces its signal back to a freighter of Cybermen in space...

Notes: This was the first episode to feature the Cybermen since 1975. The decision was made to keep the Cybermen's return a secret until the end of the first episode. For this reason, Eric Saward was instructed not include any reference to the Cybermen in the title. This serial also used archive footage for the flashback scene and clips were chosen from some of the Doctor's previous encounters with the Cybermen. The clips were taken from the Tenth Planet, the Wheel in Space (although the Cyber-leader describes the events of the Tomb of the Cybermen) and Revenge of the Cybermen. To preserve continuity, the clips were shown in monochrome as the first two were recorded in black-and-white as apposed to the colour format that it is in now.

Verdict: A stunning production which features the Cybermen as master tacticians as well as very sadistic, trying to prove to the Doctor that emotions are a weakness. Adric's death is moving and all actors are at their best. However, the Cyber-leader might be a little bit too emotional 9/10