For me the highlight of the Fifth Doctor's reign comes at the very end, with the wonderful Caves of Androzani.
It's packed with rich characters, political backstabbing and some pretty adult themes - drugs and arms. Add to that the gritty setting and the direction of Graeme Harper and you've got yourself a classic bit of telly.
In some respects you could think that this isn't really a Doctor Who 'bit of telly' but that's the beauty if the show - the variety of stories and scenarios the 'traveller in a time machine' basic premise throws up. Maybe you can't go quite this dark every week on Who but when it's this good - and to finish a Doctor off - then why not?
The dark 'is he quite the baddy he seems?' Sharaz Jek and John Normington's Morgus are two of the most well-rounded and memorable guest characters. Oh and Ash from Hustle is in there too! The gun runners are a little more two dimensional but they still work.
Caves is also a triumph for Davison - pushing his vulnerable and caring Doctor to the limit - you do wonder if there's a tinge of regret in there somewhere that he hadn't had something quite this good to go on in the rest of his reign.
Poor Peri is thrown straight into this mess with Nicola Bryant handling all that is thrown at her - Jek and all - with aplomb.
There's also two cracking cliffhangers - the firing squad and the rocket crash - and a well handled regeneration scene to throw in for good measure.
Caves has to be up there in my top 3 of all time - a sheer joy that still holds up with age.
Other notable mentions for the Fifth Doctor? Resurrection was a VHS that I wore out through constant rewatches, Earthshock and I'm looking forward to seeing if I enjoy Planet of Fire as much when I snap that up on DVD. I've got good memories from UK Gold...!
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