69: The Green Death - More Than Just Giant Maggots

Written by: Robert Sloman.

Companions: The Doctor, Jo Grant, the Brigadier, Captain Mike Yates, Sergeant Benton.

Monsters/Villains: BOSS, Stevens, Giant Maggots.

Brief Synopsis: The Doctor and Jo head to Llanfairfach, South Wales to Investigate Global Chemicals and a dead miner turned bright green.

Rating: 10/10.

The reputation of The Green Death proceeds itself: "the one with the giant maggots," but there's so much more going on here. Writer, Robert Sloman's "Soylent Green" inspired script simultaneously tackles the environmental issues of pollution, globalisation of the coal mines and the introduction of oil whilst also tipping to the polar opposite of the scale in an (at times) almost pantomimic haze. On paper this doesn't sound like it would be a strong combination, but the strange concoction brings a surprisingly joyous balance. 

Professor Clifford Jones and some other hippies.

We start this story with the Doctor fixing the space time coordinate programmer, a subtle moment which partially explains the TARDIS' improved accuracy of travel that would follow. The rapport in the scenes between Pertwee and Manning is breathtaking, you can really tell that we're gearing up for Jo Grant's departure. The Doctor is growing tired of Earth and it's problems, and with his new freedom, clearly wants to explore the rest of space and time. Whereas Jo is growing up and finds a new purpose in life with Professor Clifford Jones and his desires to discover alternative foods and fuels; she even discribes him to the Doctor as a "younger you."

A lovely Giant Maggot!

The Doctor goes on a brief tangent to pick up a blue crystal from Metebelis III, a planet where all the animals are giant. Random. We then head to Llanfairfach, South Wales, where UNIT is investigating a dead miner who's turned bright green. The situation escalates when vast quantities of a green substance and giant maggots are discovered in the abandoned coal mine. It soon becomes apparent that Global Chemicals are behind these aberrations; but who's behind Global Chemicals? Who's the Boss?

John Dearth is excellent as the voice of BOSS.

The answer is: the first 'Biomorphic Organisation Systems Supervisor,' the BOSS; a computer connected to a human mind, Global Chemicals' director: Stevens. 

Jerome Willis gives an inspired performance as Stevens.

There are some brilliant light hearted moments too. At one point the Brigadier takes a call from the Prime minister: Jeremy. This was a joke by the production team intended to suggest that the Liberal Party, then led by Jeremy Thorpe, could win the next General Election; Thorpe, of course never held that office.

Pertwee's background as a light entertainer is certainly used to it's fullest ever in Doctor Who in The Green Death. In order to infiltrate Global Chemicals the Doctor disguises himself as an old milk man and then to avoid detection as a female cleaner. We get so close to Pantomime at one point there is even a slosh bucket joke.

Yates: "I like your handbag."
Doctor (in dame voice): "Do you?
Well watch out I don't slosh you with it."

The Green Death stands the test of time well, Robert Sloman's words in Professor Jones' mouth ring true. It would take twelve years but in 1985 a nutritional fungus alternative to meat would turn out to be Quorn. And in terms of renewable alternative technology for energy: solar, wind turbines and hydro power have all evolved dramatically since 1973.

A giant Fly.

In the end the maggots grow in to giant flys but fortunately UNIT manages to defeat them with Professor Jones' fungus. The BOSS's ultimate plans to link up with other computers round the world and take over the human race are foiled when Stevens fights the computer with the help of the Doctor and the Metebelis III blue crystal. Stevens destroys the BOSS, sacrificing himself and the whole of Global Chemicals.

Stewart Bevan who played Clifford Jones and Katy Manning
who played Jo Grant actually dating when filming The Green Death.

And then Jo decides to leave. Professor Jones offers her the exciting proposal to go with him to the Amazon to search for a rare fungus, and then backs that up with possibly the least romantic marriage proposal of all time. "We'll just stop in Cardiff pick up our supplies, get married!" Jo replies: "Married? You didn't say anything about getting married." To which Cliff replies "Sorry love. You will though?" Hardly high romance yet Jo agrees. 

The Doctor offers his blessing to the couple and gives Jo the blue crystal as a present asking them to save him some wedding cake. However, as the party starts to get into full swing the Doctor quietly slips away, noticed only by Jo who understands why. The Doctor, upset by the departure of his good friend, gets into Bessie and after one final look back at the cottage, sadly drives away. It's a beautifully handled departure for the companion. It feels a lot closer to modern Who than any other departures to follow.

Jo Grant did eventually see the Doctor again, in his eleventh incarnation in the Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor. She is shocked to hear the Doctor is now travelling with a married couple in the TARDIS noting that she only left because she got married. 

Elisabeth Sladen, with Matt Smith and Katy Manning.

The Green Death is a wonderful farewell for Jo Grant and I have hopefully proven so much more than just Giant Maggots.

And so we have reached the end of Season Ten. The season in which we saw the return of the First and Second incarnations of the Doctor and met the infamous Time Lord Omega. We watched the Doctor and Jo escape a carnival of monsters. We saw the return of the Master, the Ogrons the Thals and the Daleks and met the wonderful Draconians and the invisible Spiridons. Finally we faced a crazed computer and some giant Maggots and bade farewell to Jo Grant. My favourite story in this season has to be this story The Green Death. My least favourite is Planet Of The Daleks. Out of a possible 50 points I scored Season Ten 32.5/50. Giving it an average score of 63/100 putting Season Ten in eighth place overall thus far. It was a real mixed bag of a season, with some well written and produced gems. I think it was a little too "adventure serial" heavy for my tastes, but I still enjoyed it throughly.

Jon Pertwee has really become my favourite Doctor and I'm sad that there is only one more season of his to go, but it's a real corker.

Join me next time for a new season, companion, title sequence and reoccurring alien race in The Time Warrior.

65: The Three Doctors - Certainly A Celebration

Written by: Bob Baker and Dave Martin.

Companions: The Doctor, The Doctor, The Doctor, Jo Grant, Brigadier, Sergeant Benton.

Monsters/Villains: Omega, Jell guards, Time Lords.

Brief Synopsis: The Time Lords send the First and Second incarnations of the Doctor to aid the Third in stopping the infamous time lord Omega from causing universal destruction.

Rating: 4.5/10.

So here we are in the 50th anniversary year and I'm looking back to 1973 and the 10th Anniversary story, The Three Doctors. This one isn't the best, but it's certainly a celebration; it almost feels like a party. The Three Doctors boasts many impressive traits: there's yet another new TARDIS interior redesign, we're introduced to the Time Lord figure Omega, we learn a lot more about the Time Lords and their origins, we see the end of the third Doctor's exile to earth, but most excitingly, and as the title suggests The Three Doctors is the first multi-Doctor story. Which if you hadn't worked it out means, in this case: three incarnations of the Doctor all in one place and one time.

Unfortunately like most multi-Doctor stories, we don't quite get what's promised by the title; this one is more 'The Two Doctors.' Fans we're thrilled to see the return of Patrick Troughton to his role as the Second Doctor, and yes William Hartnell does make an appearance but only a disembodied one on a screen in the TARDIS.

The Time Lords with their weird circular note paper.

The Doctor should never meet another incarnation of himself as one of the Time Lords in this story remarks, "it goes against the first law of time!" So what disaster exactly would deem this extreme transgression necessary? Here is where the story gets interesting: We learn that the way that the Time Lords gained their mastery of time was owing to the efforts of Omega. 

Omega's costume is bad ass.

Omega was a steller engineer who caused a star to go super nova which enabled the Time Lords to harness enough energy to achieve time travel. Omega was believed dead but in actuality was pulled through the black hole created by the super nova where we lived as lord of the world of antimatter. The Time Lords call on three incarnations of the Doctor when Omega drains their power and threatens to destroy the universe. Fair enough.

Troughton and Pertwee. Brilliant!

So we get to see Pertwee and Troughton interact. Which is wonderful. They fight and bicker and work excellently as a comic duo. I can't help but wonder though: wouldn't you be more upset to know that at some point your version of yourself is going to effectively die and you'll be another person? Troughton doesn't even seem to consider it. The bickering is sorted out when the First Doctor gets on the scene, well sort of...

RIP William Hartnell.

Sadly this story would mark William Hartnell's last appearance as the Doctor and his final ever performance as an actor before his death in 1975. Hartnell was too ill to play a more active role in the story. Instead his scenes were filmed separately while he read his lines from cue cards. The script was rewritten with the explanation that the First Doctor was stuck in a "time eddy" due to the power drain caused by Omega.

I can't help but question: how ambiguous is the Time Lord's explanation of the 'power loss?' "Cosmic energy is being drained away, leaving the Time Travel facility in danger. Unless the energy losses can be stopped the whole fabric of space time will be destroyed." Ummm, why? Also why does it have to be the Doctor(s) who come to the Time Lords aid? Because: "No one [else] can be spared. Everyone is needed to combat the energy losses." Oh, okay! That makes sense...

These are called Gell Guards. I have no idea why.

UNIT HQ is assaulted by monsters that look like ear wax. Eventually The Doctor, the Doctor, Jo, the Brigadier, Benton, Bessie, the TARDIS and UNIT HQ itself all end up in the universe of antimatter, dragged there by some matter/antimatter-combo-time-bridge-organism-thing. Each one undergoing a conversion process allowing them to survive in the anti-matter world, which, of course, is a quarry! It feels like the regulars have gone on holiday, but they let Benton make the reservations. 

"I'm fairly sure that's Cromer."

The Doctor is brought before Omega, whom he respects and reveres, and knows from legend. Omega's reason for bringing the Doctor to his domain is simple. Someone must remain there in order to maintain the universe of antimatter or he cannot leave so he wants the Doctor to take his place.

Omega/Doctor silent disco, sexual wrestling match?

Jo then comes up with their escape plan. The Doctors' combined wills are greater than that of Omega so they could overpower him. Then there is this mega weird silent, black lit, sexual disco wrestling match between Pertwee and the dark side of Omega's mind. It's p-retty strange. The Doctor loses and agrees to take Omega's place, until he learns quite shockingly that underneath Omega's protective clothing there is literally nothing left of him. He is only alive because he wills it so.

The day is saved in a rather odd way. The whole fabric of space time is saved by a recorder. The recorder was inside the forcefield generator on the TARDIS and wasn't processed for the anti-matter world. Omega knocks it out of the Doctor's hands, the recorder falls out of the generator and all the matter and anti-matter atoms combine and annihilate everything.

Everyone is returned to their proper times and place and the epilogue concludes with the Time Lords sending the Doctor a new dematerialisation circuit and restoring his knowledge of time travel which neatly brings to an end the three year story arc of his exile to earth.

This is all well and good, but I can't help but feel like nothing has really happened. The Doctor or even Doctors don't save the day, it's all a bit of a fluke. It's been great learning more about the Time Lords and their sordid beginnings, and getting to see Troughton and Hartnell again, but I can't help but feel in all this jubilation someone forgot to write an actual story. It's a great idea to bring all the Doctors together in a story, but if we go by later examples one can't help but wonder if this orgy of Doctors is somewhat of a poisoned chalice? However, whatever you may think of multi-doctor stories, it can't be denied that The Three Doctors is certainly a celebration.

I wonder if we'll see a multi-Doctor story for the 50th Anniversary and if it'll be any good if we do... Also don't forget to check out my 2 year Bloggiversary Giveaway! There are some great prizes up for grabs. 

For info on how to enter the comp click here.

Join me next time for the rather wonderful story, The Carnival of Monsters.

64: The Time Monster - Masterful But Hardly A Master-Piece

Written by: Robert Sloman.

Companions: The Doctor, Jo Grant, Brigadier, Captain Mike Yates, Sergeant Benton.

Monsters/Villains: The Master, Kronos, Minotaur.

Brief Synopsis: The Master goes all the way to Atlantis to unleash and harness a powerful being known as Kronos.

Rating: 5/10.

Here we are at the end of Season 9. It's been a fantastic one, but what of the Season Finale? We're back in Atlantis, but it doesn't bare the slightest resemblance to how it appeared in The Underwater Menace just 5 years prior. Penned by Robert Sloman and Barry Letts, The Time Monster is not one of the most loved, or highly thought of stories; this is most likely due to it lacking a memorable design element. The "monster" of this piece spends most of the story waiting in the wings, the location and studio work for the Newton Institute are pretty good, but not particularly memorable, the odd camera work and poor design of Atlantis really pull down the production as a whole and the less said about the one-off, washing up bowl interior TARDIS redesign the better.

The Master's assistants Stuart and and Ruth.

However this story does have some wonderful touches, the most noticeable has to be the Master having assistants. The Doctor's "best enemy" often has allies or cronies, both willing or hypnotised but in this story it feels somehow different. When we first see him posing as Greek Professor Thascalos, the genius behind TOMTIT (Transmission Of Matter Through Interstitial Time) he is working with Dr. Ruth Ingram, and Stuart Hyde; clear assistant archetypes. Surely someone of the Master's intellectual prowess wouldn't need assistance. He is changing. Maybe he thinks it's the Doctor's assistants are what give him the edge. And later the Master takes Krasis under his wing and even in to his TARDIS. In what would be Roger Delgado's penultimate story as the Master, he really excels as the maniacal renegade time lord.

Delgado at his best.

He has some fantastic moments including a reminder/in-joke about how he hasn't used hypnosis in a while, an impression of the Brig, some wonderful scenes of an amorous nature with guest star Ingrid Pitt, and of course being the third explanation/person to blame for the destruction of Atlantis.

Baby Benton.

I noticed something that was clearly homaged recently in with Matt Smith's Doctor in the episode The Lodger. The Doctor constructs a Time Flow Analogue, which is kind of like jamming a radio signal, claiming the Master and he, "used to make them at school to spoil each others time experiments."

The Doctor makes a Time Flow Analogue.

The Doctor makes a similar device in The Lodger.

The story plays out fairly consistently, the Brig and UNIT get frozen in time and Benton gets regressed into a baby. Everything is going well until, at the beginning of episode 5, the Doctor and Jo follow the Master and arrive in Atlantis. The first time we see Atlantis at the very beginning of this story is in an appropriately filmed bad dream of the Doctor. When we finally arrive there in episode 5 it seems as thought the director has forgotten we're not still in a nightmare, as the camera filter quality remains rose-tinted. The sets are equally lacking in budget, this is especially noticeable when the Atlantian hero Hippias, is thrown through a mirror clearly made of tin foil. Fans defend Doctor Who through many tribulations, but this one might be hard to explain away. 

Kronos.

We don't see much of the titular Time Monster itself, and when we do, you can see the stings in an entirely literal sense. The design is impressive but badly presented and sadly underused.

Ingrid Pitt as Atlantian Queen Galleia.

The story boasts a couple of impressive guest stars, Ingrid Pitt (Hammer Horror Starlet) as queen of Atlantis, Galleia. And the second but easier to miss is Dave Prowse who plays the minotaur, famed for another unrecognisable role, as the body of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films.

Dave Prowse as the Minotaur.

There is a wonderful monologue from Pertwee in a scene where the Doctor and Jo are locked up: "When I was a little boy, we used to live in a house that was perched halfway up the top of a mountain. Behind our house, there sat under a tree, an old man. A hermit, a monk. He'd lived under this tree for half his lifetime, so they said, and had learned the secret of life. So, when my black day came, I went and asked him to help me." This presumably alludes to something to do with what would come to be known as regeneration. The hermit is almost certainly a character that we will meet in person in Pertwee's final story, Planet of the Spiders.

The denouement of the story is impressive, but the stakes aren't entirely clear. The Master finally manages to release Kronos thus destroying Atlantis, and escapes with his and the Doctor's TARDISes and Jo Grant. He seems to have finally won. He's bested the Doctor, with Kronos in his control the Master could dominate the universe and he holds all the cards. The Doctor threatens to Time-Ram the Master, which would destroy them both and stop Kronos. But the Doctor can't do it, he can't kill Jo.  In the Master's eyes the Doctor's compassion and pity are his weakness. It is Jo who takes the impetus and activates Time-Ram. This is a huge moment for the role of the companion. When the Doctor's values, which we cherish and respect so much, stop him from doing what he must it is Jo who steps up and saves the universe.

Jo saves the Universe.

Thankful for it's freedom, Kronos saves the Doctor and Jo and at the Doctor's behest the Master as well. The Doctor and Jo are returned but the Master escapes, his ex-assistants Ruth and Stuart manage to free the Brig and UNIT and return Benton to his correct age. After all this impressive high octane stuff, the story fizzles out at the end with a naked Sergeant Benton asking "Can anyone tell me what exactly is going on?"

A Nude Benton.

My answer: "No, I really can't." There are some wonderful moments in this story, some parts I really love but it's let down on too many points to ignore. Roger Delgado rules as the Master, but the story isn't well produced, ultimately it just doesn't feel like a season finale.

But it is, which means we've reached the end of Season Nine. The season in which we saw the long awaited return of the Daleks. We took a trip to Peladon and met the Ice Warriors once more. We caught up with the Master twice, we discovered the Silurians' brothers: the Sea Devils, saw the oppressed Solonians freed from the tyranny of the evil Marshal and colonial Earth and finally, returned to Atlantis. My favourite story in this season has to be The Curse of Peladon. I don't really have a least favourite, if I had to pick one it would be this story, The Time Monster. Out of a possible 50 points I scored Season Nine 37/50. Giving it an average score of 74/100 putting Season Nine in second place overall thus far, after Season 7. It was a really strong season with great monsters, ambitious plots, and thought provoking themes. It didn't quite have the consistency of Season 7 but it certainly earns it's number 2 slot so far.

Join me next time for a new season, an anniversary special, and the return of some familiar faces in The Three Doctors.

60: Day Of The Daleks - A Surprisingly Unusual Time Travel Plot

Written by: Louis Marks.

Companions: The Doctor, Jo Grant, Brigadier, Captain Mike Yates, Sergeant Benton.

Monsters/Villains: The Daleks, Ogrons.

Brief Synopsis: Freedom fighters from the future attempt to thwart a Dalek invasion by coming back in time to assassinate a delegate at the second World Peace Conference.
Rating: 8/10.

Hello wonderful blogtastics, I can only apologise for my absence of late, I've been kept busy with various other projects, auditions and trying to write a musical, but I am back with a vengeance to give you a full report on the first episode of Jon Pertwee's third season and the ninth overall, The Day of The Daleks. Since Dalek creator Terry Nation, was unavailable to write this one we welcome back Louis Marks who wrote the Hartnell story Planet of Giants, and would go on to write two Tom Baker stories: Planet of Evil and The Masque of Mandragora. The script that had originally been submitted wasn't called Day of The Daleks and didn't actually feature the intergalacticly infamous pepper-pots at all. It was called The Ghost Hunters and featured a fairly nondescript group of alien oppressors. Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts liked the story and decided to develop it, substituting it's extraterrestrials for the Daleks, who hadn't been seen for five whole years after being destroyed (for good, supposedly) in the Patrick Troughton story, The Evil of The Daleks.

Radio Times cover.

They pulled out all the stops, including a specially shot television trailer, an illustrated Radio Times cover, and even a contest to win your own Dalek. In 1972 this was Event TV and it clearly paid off as the story received 10.2 million viewers. The Daleks return brought in the viewers and the story was excellent, if flatly directed, but what of the Daleks themselves? They spend most of their time in a control room, barking orders, and then try to invade earth with just three Daleks.

The most interesting part of The Day of The Daleks is it's surprisingly unusual plot that centres around time travel. Uncannily similar to James Cameron's motion picture 'The Terminator' (1984), the story centres around a small group of Guerillas from the future who time-travel to the present day to avert the domination of a totalitarian dictatorship, but end up causing the very events they set out to prevent. In Cameron's case it's Skynet, in the Doctor's it's the Daleks. 

It's the most interesting part of this story because surprisingly Doctor Who doesn't do it very often. You'd think in a series where the main premise centres around a man who can travel in time and space, you'd get this sort of thing all the time, but it's surprisingly rare.

The Doctor with the Guerillas, Boaz and Anat.

The story also has a political connection. The Guerillas Target is Sir Reginald Styles who is on a mission of peace. He is trying to coax the Chinese to attend the Second World peace conference (The first having taken place in The Mind of Evil) and prevent the escalation of war. This is a direct reference to the Sino-Russian border conflicts of 1969 which almost spiraled into a nuclear strike on China by the USSR. Styles's last attempt to broker peace by flying to Peking is also an analogue to the February 1972 visit of Richard Nixon to China that would eventually establish the future Washington–Beijing–Moscow diplomatic relationship. It is also interesting to see that when the story starts we are meant to believe that the Guerillas are "the baddies," but they turn out to be "the goodies." It forces an interesting notion, that the characterisation of good or bad, of terrorist of freedom fighter is totally in the eye of the beholder.

The Daleks have got themselves a police force, the Ogrons.

Rather shockingly the Doctor acts in a very uncharacteristic way in this story. He drinks wine, something we rarely see him do, but much worse than that, he kills two Ogrons. I'm sure the script suggested that he was defending himself but in actuality he seems to calculatedly kill two Ogrons in cold blood. This is certainly one of those moments, much like Hartnell's 'I'm gonna bludgeon this guy with a rock,' moment, where I initiate my selective memory.

"Oh no, someones shot him. Me? No it wasn't me!"

Episode Four was originally to have featured a confrontation between the Doctor and the Daleks, in which the Daleks explain how they destroyed those of their number who were infused with the Human Factor in the events seen in The Evil of the Daleks, and then turned their attention to conquering Earth by means of time travel. This scene was actually recorded but had to be cut at the editing stage for timing reasons. What I would give to see that...

Aubrey Woods gives a stage-like, exaggerated yet excellent
performance as the Dalek's Human Controller subordinate.
He's also really shiny and wears silver nail polish.

The Guerillas try to assassinate Sir Reginald Styles as they believe his death will stop the Daleks future domination of earth, but it is his death that would in fact be the cause. However we don't get this temporal paradox fully explained until an expositional scene in the last episode of the story. In the end the Doctor gets Styles to safety and one of the Guerillas sacrifices himself to destroy the invading Daleks.

Just three??

The story's most infamous moment is when the Daleks have followed the Doctor back to present day and along with a handful of ambling Ogrons attempt to invade earth with just three Daleks. This issue along with many others including, the somewhat stilted Dalek voices, lack of future earth imagery and sometimes longwinded editing has been adressed by Steve Broster in a special edition included on the official DVD release. The special edition includes, new effects shots, extra material including a vastly larger Dalek invasion force and new Dalek voices supplied by Nicholas Briggs. I was lucky enough to attend the first screening. It's an excellent piece of work and really brings the story bang up to date.

CONTROLLER: Where there any complications?
OGRON: No complications!

Without a doubt, one of my all time favourite moments in Doctor Who takes place in this story. I like it for all the wrong reasons. It's the "No complications" line. There are two extra actors who are playing the Ogrons reporting to the Controller on their mission to kill one of the Guerillas. One explains they were successful in his best attempt at how an Ogron might speak. When the controller asks, where there any complications the first Ogron's counterpart replies just a little too abruptly in a comparatively normal and unaffected voice, "No complications." It's hilariously bad and that's why I love it. 

All in all the story is incredibly strong, but it is let down by incredibly poor direction. Steve Broster makes up for some of this in his wonderful special edition, but it's still just a little under par. The prototype 'Terminator' story is excellent, and the political parallells to the story's creation are handled tastefully but the actual return of the Daleks seems a little stilted and inanimate.

Join me next time for the return of the Ice Warriors in The Curse of Peladon.

59: The Dæmons - Undeserving Of Its "Cult" Reputation?

Written by: Guy Leopold (Robert Sloman & Barry Letts)

Companions: The Doctor, Jo Grant, Brigadier, Captain Yates, Sergeant Benton.

Monsters/Villains: The Master, Azal, Bok.

Brief Synopsis: The Master, posing as a rural vicar, summons a cloven-hoofed demon in a church basement.

Rating: 6/10.

So this one has quite a reputation. It's a 'fan favourite,' or least that's always been my understanding. But who actually cites The Dæmons as their dearest Doctor Who story and why? The story clearly relies quite heavily on referencing a sort of British Hammer Horror kind of genre and the story itself is rather unsubtly lifted from Quatermass and the Pit. The rather charming British Horror style certainly adds an atmosphere to the story but the stories are glaringly similar. Both utilise the idea that devils and demons may be a race memory of horned aliens who conducted a eugenics experiment on early humans. The village of Devil's End is essentially the same as Hobb's Lane, the fictitious London setting of the earlier story; Hob being an old name for the Devil. Even the use of iron to hold both Azal and Bok at bay is an old folk superstition that is also referred to in the Quatermass story.

It's clear to see why this story is perhaps wrongly held in such high regard. It's got all the elements that epitomizes this era of Doctor Who: the UNIT 'family,' the Master, a memorable location, a strong supporting cast and some good 'monsters' with the Dæmon Azal and the animated stone gargoyle Bok. The Dæmons is a well produced story as well and really looks great, with the possible exception of Azal, whose CSO growth falls down the wrong side of impressive, but the plot just isn't very good.

There are some odd holes in the story line. When Azal descends on Devil's End, why does he create the heat barrier as a kind of force field around the village? He's an incredibly powerful being, that can destroy with a look, the last of a race that has molded mankind for 100,00 years, he seems hardly the type who needs to hide away. Also the Dæmons' ability to shrink and enlarge objects, particularly shrinking their spaceships. Surely it would make more sense to save on resources, build small ships and then shrink themselves to fit.

The Master, rocking out in the cavern.

Roger Delgado is at the high of brilliance as the Master, excelling as both the Minister, Mr. Magister and in his true colours, leading the cult in his red robes. He achieves a popularity that might even be said to rival the Doctor; even being threatened in an end of episode cliffhanger. 

Damaris Hayman is perfect as Miss Hawthorne.

The theme of Science versus Magic, is a good touch, but perhaps comes down a little too firmly on the side of science, stating that something should never be assumed to be 'magic' just because the explanation for it is not immediately apparent. Damaris Hayman does an excellent turn as the self professed white witch, Miss. Hawthorne. The Doctor is rather unusually non-accepting of Hawthorne's magic beliefs. In a few scenes the Doctor is uncharacteristically presented as a bit of a patronising, know-it-all. This character nuance is probably intended to convey his irritation at being exiled on one planet, but it results in rendering him as rather unlikeable, in contrast to his usual charming and comforting self.

Azal, played by Stephen Thorne.

The back-story of the Dæmons from the planet Dæmos is impressively fleshed out. Azal is the last of his race. The Dæmons came to Earth 100,000 years ago to engineer mankind's genetic development. They helped Homo Sapiens kick out Neanderthal Man and inspired the Greek civilisation, the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution. Azal says "my race destroys its failures," even claiming the responsibility for the destruction of Atlantis; something which was explained in The Underwater Menace and would go on to be touched on yet again at the end of this very season in The Time Monster.

Two of 'The Headington Quarrymen" from Oxford
hold the Doctor prisoner.

The inclusion of evil demonic Morris Dancers and an ominous May Pole are strokes of genius. It's Doctor Who taking something ordinary and turning it against you. It's great and the morris dancers are a troupe based in Oxford, which is also where I hale from. For those of you who don't know, a May Pole is a mast with multiple thin strands of multicoloured material attached at the top. In a rather odd May day tradition (that I unfortunately had to take part in at school) a group of people each take up a strand and perform a sort of intricate dance, entwining the various strands, for some unknown reason that must be demonic in nature.

The Doctor tied to a May Pole.

Yates and Benton in their civvies flying a helicopter.

Yates and Benton get some good action sequences and more to do than usual and the Brigadier utters his perhaps most infamous order to despatch the Gargoyle statue creature Bok: "Chap with the wings there, Five Rounds Rapid"

Without a doubt the weakest part of the whole story is the ending. The Doctor has refused Azal's offer to give him his almighty power. Azal decides to imbue the Master instead, and is about to kill the Doctor when Jo steps in front of him, offering herself in his place, and Azal just goes mental. This act of self-sacrifice doesn't make sense to him and he just dies taking a model-shot of the village church out with him. So technically this one concludes with Jo committing the accidental genocide of the Dæmon race, who helped mankind progress and develop. Oops! Maybe that's why the world is on a decline?

Azal "blows a fuse."

The execution of this denouement is laughable. It feels so rushed and spoils all of the good stuff that has gone before. The Master is taken prisoner and we get a funny little coda, with the Doctor, Jo, Benton and Miss. Hawthorne May pole dancing. While Yates quips: "Fancy a dance Brigadier?" To which the Brig replies, "I'd rather have a pint."

The elements are all there and it's certainly well produced, but with the plot holes, "borrowed" story line, uncharacteristically in-compassionate Doctor and rushed ending it just doesn't quite do it for me. There is certainly a lot there to love about The Dæmons, but I'm still not convinced that it deserves it's  reputed cult status.

And so we've reached the end of Season Eight. The season in which we saw the introduction of the Doctor's arch-nemesis, the Master and the return of the Autons. We met an evil mind Parasite, suffered the not so impressive Axons, witnessed the struggle of the miners and the colonists and finally, met the Devil, of sorts. We lost a companion and gained one. My favourite story in this season has to be Colony In Space, but The Mind of Evil is a close runner-up. My least favourite is The Claws of Axos. Out of a possible 50 points I scored Season Eight 32/50. Giving it an average of 64/100. It was a fairly strong season let down by one or two weaker stories.

Join me next time for the start of Season Nine and a long awaited return in Day Of The Daleks.