The Daemons

"You have summoned me here, but I am not your slave."

Writer: Guy Leopald

Format: TV

Broadcast: 22 May - 19 June 1971

Season: 8.05

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis

In the peaceful village of Devil's End something very strange is happening. A professor is preparing to open a nearby burial mound and a local white witch foresees death and disaster. Meanwhile, the new vicar looks suspiciously like the Master and he is using black magic to conjure up an ancient Daemon. Can the Doctor, Jo and UNIT stop their old enemy before he succeeds?

Verdict

The Daemons was an excellent Doctor Who serial and a fantastic way to end the eighth season! I have been looking forward to rewatching this particular story for quite some time because it has something of a cult classic standing amongst fandom and I have only seen it once before and that was back in 2012 amidst a mammoth and speedy run through the show from the very start. Watching as a standalone here was beneficial and I thought part one in particular was outstanding. It felt completely different to anything that had come before it and the build up to the midnight reveal with the news report atop Devil's Hump was superb. I was a really big fan of that and I liked the simplicity of the camera actually playing a part in the storytelling. It was very good directing and definitely made a positive impact on the serial. I really liked the relationship with the Doctor and Jo in this one and the latter definitely had a strong outing as companion. She was a lot of fun and even her hairstyle here was great. It was good to get continued hints regarding the relationship between Yates and Jo as well. I also really liked the simplicity of Yates and Benton catching the rugby highlights instead of watching the BBC programme covering the opening at Devil's Hump. The fact it was broadcast on BBC3 was a lot of fun and after watching, I thought it was great that this channel didn't come about until 2003. That's another one there for the UNIT dating controversy! The Brigadier had a humorous story here and his reaction to everything that was going on from afar with the Doctor and the predicament he'd got himself into was a lot of fun. The Devil's End setting was outstanding and a big highlight of the serial. It was a perfectly contained village setting for this type of story and I also have to praise Miss Hawthorne. She was a brilliant character and I really loved that she was proudly a white witch. The occult theme of the story and seeing the Master disguised as the Magister and dealing in black magic was tremendous. Roger Delgado looked the part in his robes and the sense of evil that came with his summons and incantation was superb. I liked the threat that the Master's black magic possessed and his summoning of Azal was really good. I thought the special effects were impressive for something five decades old and the booming presence of Azal worked well. The acting from Delgado and Jon Pertwee in looking at this ancient figure was magnificent. I thought the Demon was a lot of fun and a disturbed gargoyle-like appearance was great to see. I was a big fan of the fire barrier that surrounded Devil's End and the Doctor trying to help Osgood conjure up the means of breaking through was terrific. The cliffhangers in this one were impressive and I particularly enjoyed the Doctor being frozen and apparently dead. It was also fun to have a cliffhanger with the Master in peril. I thought the action in this one was very good and the use of explosions and impactful occurrences was terrific to see. The eureka moment from the Doctor after waking up was good and I loved the opening sequence of the first part with the stormy conditions and the animal shots. It set the tone so well for what was to come. The Master shone and that was just fantastic and I like how he ended up getting captured by UNIT at the end. The Doctor's magical demonstrations were tremendous and I loved how he used it to get out of being burned at the stake as a wizard. There was the right level of humour, action and tension and combining that with a brilliant contained setting and the dark magic and religious theme was brilliant. Overall, a really strong serial! 

Rating: 9/10