Is `The Caves
of Androzani` the best Doctor Who story ever? It’s a bold claim that’s
not quite as unanimously supported as people imagine. Looking at old zines
recently I found a letter from someone who preferred `The Twin Dilemma`! What
we can say is that it is the best of this season by a significant distance and
probably the best story for eight years at least. Had Robert Holmes not been
contracted (producer John Nathan Turner was initially opposed to any old
writers returning) or had Graeme Harper not been given a chance despite
relatively little overall directorial experience, then the fifth Doctor’s
finale might have turned out rather differently. The old hand and the new
recruit combined to create something that still seems fresh and which, unlike
most old Doctor Who, could still be shown to modern audiences and appeal
to their sensibility.
