20x6. The King's Demons
Writer: Terence Dudley
Director: Tony Virgo
Script Editor: Eric Saward
Producer: John Nathan-Turner
Synopsis: The TARDIS arrives in 13th
century England, where the crew are initially mistaken as demons and
the Master is using a robot named Kamelion to impersonate King John and
prevent the signature of the Magna Carta, so as to undermine the future
of British democracy and further his plans for universal domination.
Review: Perhaps
the most telling statement about "The King's Demons" is that I can
barely think of anything to say about it as a reviewer. About the only
points worth comment, I'd say, are that (1) Turlough's somewhat
contrary nature is reinforced by the fact that he still dislikes Earth
and is less than pleased to end up there again; (2) the crew get
mistaken as demons because they appear to possess supernatural powers
to a 13th century mind; and (3) the Fifth Doctor continues to be
fallible when it comes to keeping his companions safe (in this case
it's Turlough who spends a while locked up before the Doctor and Tegan
find an opportunity to do anything about it). Past that...well, it's
not exactly bad, but it's
hardly anything we haven't seen before: once again, we have the
standard-issue BBC medieval period piece (of which I've never been a
fan), once again one of the TARDIS crew is captured and
endangered, and once again the Master is trying to take over the
universe. (And, as others have pointed out, surely undermining British
democracy - to which the Magna Carta was not that important in the
first place - could be but a tiny sliver of what he'd have to do if
that's really his goal.) The addition of Kamelion to the TARDIS crew
has potential, but sadly it would end up largely wasted.
While the new Doctor Who
series has found success with shorter stories, the two-parters in the
original series have yet to produce anything close to a classic, and I
think the problem is that they stick to the slower pace and style
typical of the longer serials. The result is not so much a more
efficient brand of storytelling as simply a slighter one, with the
script managing to do little beyond check off the necessary boxes to
get to the end.
Rating: ** (out of four)
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