About this episode

The episode discusses the Fifth Doctor's farewell and the acclaimed story 'The Caves of Androzani' while exploring various themes and character dynamics.

It’s time to say goodbye to the Fifth Doctor as Robert Holmes triumphantly returns to the show with The Caves of Androzani – a story that is so often lauded in fandom as one of the greatest Doctor Who stories OF ALL TIME! But will the Watchers agree? Join us as we discuss the consequences of unbridled oligarchy, the brilliance of the cast of utterly awful characters, how much better the Fifth Doctor is with Robert Holmes’ dialogue, the tendency of disfigurement to turn TV & film characters into predators, and directors saying “screw you!” to Robert Holmes by casting a woman in a part written for a man (as is so often the way). As you might expect, Julie and Diana get the serious ICK from Sharaz Jek, while Reilly gets angry about Kamelion. If you would like to watch along with us, you can find this entire season available for streaming on Britbox in the USA (http://www.britbox.com) and BBC iPlayer in the UK (https://bbc.in/48GSaCB). If you’re a little old fashioned and prefer physical media (like our very own Anthony), you can also find it on the Doctor Who Season 21 Blu Ray box set available for from Amazon UK (https://amzn.to/4aLrt3v) and Amazon US (https://amzn.to/3SZYlP3)…

People in this episode

Hosts: Julie, Diana, Reilly

Topics covered

• Fifth Doctor
• Doctor Who
• The Caves of Androzani
• character analysis
• Robert Holmes
• TV and film disfigurement
• casting choices

Keywords

• Doctor Who
• The Caves of Androzani
• Robert Holmes
• Fifth Doctor
• character analysis
• TV disfigurement
• casting choices

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Britbox, BBC iPlayer, Amazon UK, Amazon US

Books & works: The Caves of Androzani, Game of Thrones: The Complete Series, Robocop, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Complete Series

More episodes of Doctor Who: Watchers in the Fourth Dimension

• Episode 166: My First Instinct Was "Beige" (Fifth Doctor Retrospective) · July 19, 2026 · 56 min
• Bonus Episode 45: Julie Hearts Jamie (The War Games in Colour) · June 28, 2026 · 1h 3m

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