The Daemons draws Jon Pertwee’s second season as the Doctor to an end and whilst there have been some high points there have certainly been some low ones. The introduction of Roger Delgado as the Master was certainly one of them but the decision to have every story with him in it certainly became a poor idea towards the end. This is a fact that never seemed true to me but going through this marathon has made me see things different. This story is written by Robert Sloman and Barry Letts under the pseudonym of Guy Leopold. The story is set in a quaint English village where there is an excavation going on which is about to release the devil but the Master (of course) is involved. Something that they seemed to have learned from previous stories is not copping out at the end by making the Master realise the error of his ways. The Master wants power and is still trying to get it right up until the moment when Jo is willing to sacrifice her life for the Doctor thus defeating Azal.
The story does a lot about the occult and mythology and stuff like that which is something that makes me go sleepy with boredom. I know that there are people who find this stuff interesting but to me its just a load of nonsense. That said there is enough in the story to keep my interest. The fact that Roger Delgado is in it is more than enough but the location filming is perhaps the best in Doctor Who for quite sometime. The whole feeling of the filming gives a different air to it. I also thought that the supporting cast are very good. In particular Damaris Hayman as Miss Hawthorne. She is introduced as some mad witch who sticks her nose in to the business of others. However its quite clever how it turns out she is one of the sanest people in the village, even though her beliefs are somewhat misplaced. There is also the appearance of Matthew Corbett, who would go on to become famous for Sooty, Sweep and Sue. The UNIT cast are also on good form with Yates and Benton getting to do some of their most heroic moments even though they have to look like they do. I know it was 1971 but that’s still no excuse.
Five episodes is something that needs addressing. I don’t know the reasons why its this length but I think that its too long. They could easily have lost an episodes worth of material and this would have been a much snappier story. I also think that the CSO that is used in this story is somewhat iffy. The rising of Azal is not one of the finest moments and I know that it was the best that they could do but maybe less is more and not seeing the early stages of that rise would have been better. Also, Nicholas Courtney does far too much away from the main action. He seems to spend an age on the other side of the barrier before coming in at the end just as the main action is being wrapped up.
The Daemons is a good end to the season. It’s not the best Master story nor is it the best story of the season but I think that after some of the solid earlier stories then it was obvious that the standard wasn’t going to be there towards the end of the run. I think that the running time is also too long and its largely the characters that are the most interesting because the villagers have that sort of dangerous feel to them when they are under the spell of the Master. I think that its definitely worth watching purely because we get to hear the Brigadier’s most famous line;
“That chap with the wings, five rounds rapids”
The story does a lot about the occult and mythology and stuff like that which is something that makes me go sleepy with boredom. I know that there are people who find this stuff interesting but to me its just a load of nonsense. That said there is enough in the story to keep my interest. The fact that Roger Delgado is in it is more than enough but the location filming is perhaps the best in Doctor Who for quite sometime. The whole feeling of the filming gives a different air to it. I also thought that the supporting cast are very good. In particular Damaris Hayman as Miss Hawthorne. She is introduced as some mad witch who sticks her nose in to the business of others. However its quite clever how it turns out she is one of the sanest people in the village, even though her beliefs are somewhat misplaced. There is also the appearance of Matthew Corbett, who would go on to become famous for Sooty, Sweep and Sue. The UNIT cast are also on good form with Yates and Benton getting to do some of their most heroic moments even though they have to look like they do. I know it was 1971 but that’s still no excuse.
Five episodes is something that needs addressing. I don’t know the reasons why its this length but I think that its too long. They could easily have lost an episodes worth of material and this would have been a much snappier story. I also think that the CSO that is used in this story is somewhat iffy. The rising of Azal is not one of the finest moments and I know that it was the best that they could do but maybe less is more and not seeing the early stages of that rise would have been better. Also, Nicholas Courtney does far too much away from the main action. He seems to spend an age on the other side of the barrier before coming in at the end just as the main action is being wrapped up.
The Daemons is a good end to the season. It’s not the best Master story nor is it the best story of the season but I think that after some of the solid earlier stories then it was obvious that the standard wasn’t going to be there towards the end of the run. I think that the running time is also too long and its largely the characters that are the most interesting because the villagers have that sort of dangerous feel to them when they are under the spell of the Master. I think that its definitely worth watching purely because we get to hear the Brigadier’s most famous line;
“That chap with the wings, five rounds rapids”
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