Lately, there have been too many Doctor Who reviews I've had to write about stories I happen to think are unassailable classics. The Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) era has gone through periods of fan devotion, reassessment, and even resentment concerning the Time Lord’s cozier relationship to the establishment in comparison with other incarnations, and then recently a return to respect for one of the show’s most stable and popular periods. Well, I never stopped loving the Pertwee era, particularly the core seasons of the “UNIT Family” dynamic, and I love “The Daemons.” It’s a high point of this Doctor’s time on the show, a classic of the entire series in general, and an amazing document of a particular kind of fantasy horror adventure storytelling so wonderfully ’70s and British that it just never loses its charm. It’s appropriately magical.
I first saw “The Daemons” in black and white. Seeing the show on Maryland public television back in the ’80s, there were quite a few Pertwee stories that no longer existed except as black and white film copies recovered from overseas sales. Now that the wizards of the Restoration Team have worked their own brand of technical magic – building on earlier color work done on the story for a ’90s videotape release – and brought all the color back into these episodes, I have to say it’s both exhilarating and jarring. For me, this was one story that felt right in black and white, with its dark crypts demonic imagery, and thunderstorms sweeping along old stone streets. But I am very happy to see it restored to even beyond its former glory, if only to get the full effect of the Master’s (Roger Delgado) richly decorated red cloak, which not only puts him squarely in the role of the typical Hammer Films Dracula disciple trying to resurrect his own master but also links him to that otherwise inexplicably ostentatious future incarnation of the renegade Time Lord in the 1996 TV movie. 1999 San Francisco or 1971 Devil’s End – the man always dresses for the occasion. He even puts his name on his clothes so he doesn't forget (take a look at the runes on his collar).
The plot? Oh, all right. The Master has assumed the identity of a village vicar in order to contact an ancient alien – Azal the Daemon (Stephen Thorne) – left on Earth to monitor its race’s human evolution experiment. Mankind is about to be judged, and the ruthless Time Lord wants Azal to grant him the power to rule the Doctor’s favorite planet. Our hero and the stalwart forces of UNIT must protect the citizens of the aptly named Devil’s End – including local white witch Olive Hawthorne (Damaris Hayman) – and prevent Azal from empowering the Master and dooming humanity to a horrible end.
There’s so much delight to be had in the “The Daemons” that although I could certainly point out the flaws, I’d rather just look past them. The animated gargoyle Bok (Stanley Mason) is a memorable villain with a spring in his step, but he often looks like a guy with sagging tights; that’s OK. Poor Katy Manning as Jo Grant trips and falls like a sack of potatoes in one scene with Pertwee at her side to guide her myopic self along, but that’s OK too (and I hope she wasn't hurt). And most egregiously, the up-to-the-last-second organic and nearly godlike Azal suddenly and for no reason becomes a literal-minded robot that cannot “relate” Jo’s self-sacrifice, providing the story with a far too easy explosive ending familiar to fans of any American summer blockbuster of the last 30 years. But no, I still don’t care.
Because Delgado is at his best, persuading the villagers to follow him and then insulting them and threatening their lives the very next moment. Because Miss Hawthorne is an endearing, self-possessed woman that should have appeared again and should have a long-running Big Finish audio drama series built around her (I’ll write it!). Because the entire UNIT team gets involved: Benton (John Levene) and Olive are superb together as the knight and his long-in-the-tooth damsel, Yates (Richard Franklin) rides in on a motorcycle, plucky Sgt. Osgood (Alec Linstead) does his best with the Doctor’s impatient science lesson, and the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney) figures out the heat barrier without the Doctor’s help – he’s sharp and decisive, and not the buffoon he’ll become in just another season or so. And he knows just how many rounds to fire at a living gargoyle.
“The Daemons” is a high point, illustrated by nothing less than the actual capturing of the Master after a full season of that jackanapes causing trouble, and a May Day celebration with the cast dancing the day away as the locals happily watch the filming. It’s magical and meta at the same time. And as befits a story of this stature, we get two discs jammed with wonderful material, including a great behind-the-scenes documentary and a revealing, heartfelt look at the career of producer Barry Letts with contributions from his family. This is an indispensable release for any Who fan.
Source : ign[dot]com
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