Yes, the mercenaries clearly use Super Soakers as their weapons. Yes, Sharaz Jek is nothing more than a Phantom of the Opera ripoff. Yes, the “technology” hasn’t dated all that well. Yes, one of the bad guys speaks in Shakespearean soliloquies directed at the camera (and, really, why can’t we see more of this on television?). Yes, Peri’s “American” accent shifts into British at certain spots. Yes, the death of one of the supporting characters in Episode 3 could have easily been improved upon with Adobe After Effects. Yes, they had no budget. But, man, this is some pretty fun stuff — in large part, because the script and the acting are pretty fantastic under the circumstances.
Witness the Doctor Who episode, “The Caves of Androzani” on YouTube: [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] Part 8] [Part 9] [Part 10] Part 11] [Part 12]
Robert Holmes was always my favorite writer on classic WHO. I wish he was still around to see what he’d do with the new WHO.
You’re right: “under the circumstances.” I borrowed this one from the library just last month. We’re having fun revisiting the oldies while awaiting news of when the next season of new series might air here.
Ah, one of the classics. The DVD commentary is pretty good, too, what with Davison taking the occasional stab at comedy. “Look at the clever plan the Doctor uses to escape from the magma creature — he slowly walks away from it!” (I might be paraphrasing, here.)