Doctor Who Regenerations: A Tribute To 11 Epic Changes

3. March 1984: Fifth/Sixth Doctor

A planet of volcanic caves, a hideously disfigured man living underground behind a mask, self-serving politicians, ruthless military men, drug running and a fatal infection without cure. The Caves Of Androzani might just have been classic Doctor Who's first truly dramatic outing into the real world. Or at least into a version of it. Interwoven with all the duplicity is the fundamental proposition behind every single thing that happens, from the opening minutes of episode one to its resolution in the closing moments of episode four: Peri's been infected by something that's making her extremely ill and the Doctor needs to work out what it is and how to fix it. The levels of dramatic tension are amped up tenfold in comparison with virtually any other classic series story and are maintained right to the bitter end. In the closing minutes of the last episode the Doctor, knowing he's also been infected with Spectrox Toxaemia, relies on tiny oxygen canisters and then on his ability to stop breathing to reach the depths of the caves and collect a vial of Queen Bat's milk, the only known cure for the condition. By now decidedly unwell himself and having collected what little bat's milk he could, he battles his way back to the upper reaches of the caves to collect Peri and get them both the hell out of there. By the time he finally gets back, all hell has broken loose, virtually everyone is either dead, dying or soon to be deceased and the caves are literally about to boil over. Covered in dirt and blood, he struggles over the planet's sandy surface and around mud bursts under the more-or-less dead weight of a still-comatose Peri until finally reaching the TARDIS. As he struggles to open the door he drops the vial of Queen Bat's milk, spilling half of it in the sand. Saving the remainder and hoisting Peri up with all his remaining strength, he crawls into the TARDIS, closes the doors and sets the controls for flight. The TARDIS dematerialises just as a massive mud burst erupts on the very spot where it had been. Cradling Peri's head in his hands The Doctor feeds her the remaining bat's milk, drops the vial, clutches his chest and, looking skywards, whispers "is this death?" before falling to the floor. Peri makes an almost instant recovery and rests The Doctor's head in her lap. He explains that there was only enough bat's milk for her and that he'll soon be gone. "I might regenerate, I don't know", he says as he slips back to the floor. His last words, "it feels different this time", really set the scene for the drama to come. As his regeneration begins, the Doctor imagines his former companions willing him to live, followed by The Master willing him to die. His features blur and there's a deafening roar, followed by a loud 'boom'... and a brand new man sits up where the battered old Doctor had been. Peri, struggling to comprehend what's just happened, questions who he is: "Doctor?". "You were expecting someone else?", the new man snaps back. More dazed by the second, Peri trips over her words as she tries to verbalise her confusion, to which the new man responds, dismissively, "That's three I's in one breath. Makes you sound a rather egotistical young lady". When the poor bewildered creature asks what's happened the new Doctor simply replies, without looking at her, "change, my dear. And it seems not a moment too soon." A suitably dramatic end to a suitably dramatic story... and perhaps the foretelling of three of the show's most turbulent years to follow.