“Castrovalva” is the first adventure of the nineteenth season of “Doctor Who” classic series which aired in 1982. It follows “Logopolis” and it’s a four parts adventure written by Christopher H. Bidmead and directed by Fiona Cumming.
The story
After his regeneration, the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) is still weak so Adric (Matthew Waterhouse), Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) and Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) bring him into the Tardis to recover. While the Doctor rests, Tegan and Nyssa discover the instructions to drive the Tardis but when they go for a trial trip they realize that the coordinates have already been entered, a trap set by the Master.
The Doctor is able to intervene to save them from the trap but is still weak. Tegan discovers in the archive the planet Castrovalva, an ideal place for the Doctor to recover but when they arrive not everything is what it seems.
Extras
This DVD is rich in extras. There are typical contents such as production subtitles, Radio Times Billings and a gallery of pictures from this adventure.
There are comments in the adventure alternative audio track by protagonists Peter Davison and Janet Fielding, director Fiona Cumming and writer Christopher H. Bidmead.
Being Doctor Who. Peter Davison talks about how he became the Doctor and his experience in taking a role as prestigious.
Directing Castrovalva. Director Fiona Cumming talks about her experience as a director of this adventure.
The Crowded TARDIS. A short documentary that examines the reasons why after years in which the Doctor generally had one companion at one point he had three companions together.
Peter Davison on Blue Peter. Peter Davison interviewed in the show Blue Peter.
Peter Davison on Swap Shop. Peter Davison interviewed in the show Swap Shop.
Deleted Scenes. Two scenes deleted from this adventure.
Theme Music Video. A new version of the theme music.
Music-only Option. The option to listen to the soundtrack composed by Paddy Kingsland in an isolated audio track.
Trailers and continuity announcements. BBC ads and promos for this adventure.
The Doctor Who Annual 1982. The 1982 issue of the magazine “The Doctor Who Annual” in PDF format.
BBC Enterprises Literature. Assorted BBC materials concerning “Doctor Who” nineeenth season in PDF format.
There’s also an “easter egg”, showing footage of a parade dedicated to “Doctor Who”.
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Peter Davison was cast to play the Doctor. Tom Baker’s legacy was heavy and Davison had initially declined the offer but eventually he decided that he wanted to be the Doctor. At the time, he was the youngest actor to have played that role.
Another major change involved the day of the “Doctor Who” broadcast. The audience on Saturday afternoon got lower during the eighteenth season so the BBC decided to move the show and to air two episodes a week, on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Originally, another adventure was scheduled for the Fifth Doctor debut but it included invisible characters and this was the element that led producer John Nathan-Turner to decided to abandon the idea. There was time to find a new story to produce because in the meantime the production of an adventure to be aired later started, “Four to Doomsday”.
Producer John Nathan-Turner convinced former script editor Christopher Bidmead, already author of “Logopolis”, to write what became “Castrovalva”. This new script had to include the presence of the Master and introduce the Fifth Doctor, who had to be more vulnerable than his predecessor.
Christopher Bidmead decided to include a part of the adventure set in the Tardis to explore some of its parts. For the citadel on Castrovalva, the inspiration came from two prints by the Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher that showed particular perspectives with recursive loops in stairscases.
The result has flaws similar to those of “Logopolis”. There’s less technobabble but, like the previous adventure, “Castrovalva” has a story that’s a bit uneven and looks like the union of some subplots attached together. There’s of course the Doctor’s regeneration, there’s the trap set by the Master and finally there is the part on Castrovalva, which is also the most convoluted.
These parts, however, are put together pretty well because in the end “Castrovalva” is focused on the new Doctor. It’s true that initially he’s weak and his companions must carry him because he’s too weak but he slowly recovers and becomes more and more important in the story.
Determining the characteristics of a new Doctor is important so producer John Nathan-Turner and Peter Davison talked about it a lot, though on a number of elements they disagreed. In “Castrovalva” it was necessary that only the foundations of the Fifth Doctor’s personality were showed and at the beginning the Doctor goes through phases in which he shows the personalities of his predecessors calling his companions with names of past companions.
In his past regenerations, the Doctor had initial moments of confusion and instability but in “Castrovalva” this transition phase lasts much longer, an appropriate beginning for what became the most vulnerable Doctor. This also gives way to Tegan and Nyssa to have a little more space and this is positive because they are two companions who got into the show just recently.
The new Master, in the version played by Anthony Ainley, has some space too. The original version of the character had more strength, also for his relationship with the Third Doctor, the Master in this new version is mostly a megalomaniac. Ainley plays him well but he’s a villain with no great depth.
“Castrovalva” has some flaws but succedes in its purpose, which is to introduce the Fifth Doctor. For the audience who spent the previous seven years watching Tom Baker’s adventures it couldn’t have been easy to find another actor playing the Doctor but in this adventure the great transition is handled almost gently. Inevitably, part of the extras on the DVD cover the Peter Davison’s debut. In general, the extras are rather interesting.
This DVD is part of the “New Beginnings” box set, available on Amazon UK
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