Looking Back: The Dæmons

MERRY CHRISTMAS

                                                                 AND SO FORTH

It's the Master.

In 1971, the Master was the new big thing in Doctor Who. The series was in its eighth season and was showing all the better for it, with new and exciting stories every week and a new and exciting villain (and one of the Doctor's own race) hiding in every plot. There were Autons, there were Axons, there was a nuclear missile and an alien colony on a faraway world, and in the middle of this were Jo and the Doctor and the Brigadier, always ready to tackle the next foe the world would inevitably face. If nothing else, Season Eight has a homely and warm sense to it, and a set pattern to its stories which is charming if approached from the right angle. It's all good, and at the heart of all of it is the Master.

See, in the early seventies, Doctor Who needed a new villain. It already had the Daleks, the Cybermen and, to a certain extent, the Ice Warriors, but the production team working on the show felt that the Doctor needed a nemesis not only to present danger and peril, but also to act as the Doctor's equal. The concept was that of a Moriarty figure to the Doctor's Sherlock Holmes, and producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks chose a title worthy of the Doctor's to fit Doctor Who's new super villain - the Master. Letts also had just the man for the job, and chose the despicably excellent Roger Delgado as the first (and, arguably, the best (at least in the classic series)) incarnation of the evil Time Lord. Delgado had previously wanted to work on the show and was a close friend of frontman Jon Pertwee's, and so presented himself as the obvious choice for the role. All Letts and Dicks needed now was an introduction, and in 1971 Season Eight of Doctor Who began with a little story called 'Terror of the Autons', which I'm sure we'll get to in time. Now, 'Terror of the Autons' is significant in a number of ways - it features the return of the Autons, a popular villain afforded little screen time, the introduction of the Doctor's new assistant Jo Grant (played by Katy Manning), and the debut of the Master into Doctor Who. Nobody at the time could possibly have imagined what the Master would still be today.

But we're not reviewing 'Terror of the Autons'. We're reviewing this, a five-part story that concludes Season Eight and, in my opinion, sends it out with a really, really great bang. By the end of the season, the Master character was already getting a little worn (cough - appeared in every story that year - cough), and the team behind the series decided that it might be best to put him away for a while, as he had evaded capture a number of times already and, frankly, it was getting ridiculous. Come on, the guy had turned up literally every story that season. I mean, imagine the Daleks being in every story of a season. How dull would that get? Anyway, ever wise and venerated, Letts decided give the character a little breathing space and sent him off for a while. The 'Master Season' was to conclude, appropriately, with the final (cough) carting off of the Master, and Doctor Who was to return to basics once again. For a bit. But this is that story.

Famously, 'The Dæmons' is a true classic, often regarded as the epitome of the Pertwee era. Is that true? Well, no. I'm going to say that outright. Not for me. But it's damn good. It was written by Robert Sloman and Barry Letts (yeah, that guy from earlier), who also penned 'The Green Death' and 'Planet of the Spiders', which gives these guys a pretty good track record. I mean, ask anyone what to watch when it comes to the Pertwee era, and two of the answers you're going to get pretty often are 'The Green Death' and 'The Dæmons', because people remember them. The one with the maggots and the one with the exploding church. Those ones. I mean, it's not like Hinchcliffe and Holmes (because they're very different eras), but it's solid and good and fun. It's also a story directed by Doctor Who hallmark Christopher Barry, who, way back in 1963, was given the job of directing the second ever Doctor Who story 'The Daleks', featuring the introduction of - well yeah. Among other stories, Barry also directed 'The Power of the Daleks' and 'The Brain of Morbius', so - wow. 'The Power of the Daleks' and 'The Brain of Morbius'. This guy can direct. So anyway, what I'm trying to say is that this story has some good things looking it's way - can it live up to the hype? Is it just another 'Time Monster' (a story Sloman and Letts also cowrote)? Please no? Well, there's only one way to find out what's going down with this story...

Let's do it!

Before I write anything solid I'd just like to say that I really, really enjoy this first part. It's tense, exciting and, though we don't know exactly what they are, it has insane stakes. I love a story with stakes, and not knowing what the stakes are is actually remarkably effective - I mean, the Doctor knows. And he generally turns out to be pretty right about stuff, so just that he's so insanely worried about what the hell is going down at Devil's End is enough to get us interested. What does he know? What's the secret of Devil's End? And what on Earth is the Master doing dressed as a vicar?

I actually love the Master in this. And not just because he's being the Master and he's all mysterious and there's a considerable mystery attached to his role in this community (he's the vicar. The vicar). It's not just that he's that. I think perhaps that Letts and Sloman do something with the Master's role that they don't necessarily do too often, which is put him, at least in the later episodes, in a position of weakness. He totally oversteps himself in this, and we all know it's happening and it's really really interesting seeing his plans just collapse (and really collapse this time. Collapse collapse). I mean, yeah, this does happen quite a lot - thinking about 'Terror of the Autons' and 'The Mind of Evil', and.. actually a whole lot of other stories. Okay so my point doesn't ring so true. But it's really a lot more noticeable in this, and for that reason it's a whole lot more fun and intense. Sort of.

I think a lot of the intensity in this story comes from the tone of the piece, as a whole. I mean, take the scene we open on; it's dark, windy, stormy, there's lightning, and a guy gets killed. He gets killed in the dark by an unknown force - yes we've seen that a lot in Doctor Who, but here it's so much more... powerful and scary and - I mean, I hesitate to say realistic. It's just way scary and dark and intense - we should have done this for Hallowe'en. It's definitely that kind of piece, and I think that much of the relentlessness of this first part comes from Pertwee, who totally gets what he's doing in this and does it as well as he possibly can. He's great. It's really here that Pertwee's talent and understanding of the role shines through, and seeing him so scared, so terrified by the prospect of what's going on at the dig at Devil's End makes this story really raw and enjoyable. It's just a shame that he's asleep for most of part two. 

Also noteworthy is the direction of Christopher Barry, who's talent shines through here I think more than anything he does before or after. The shots in the darkness, the intercutting of scene to scene, everything down to the angle of the camera up on the mound above the dig, which is also lovely. I like the way Letts and Sloman manage to convey a sense of realism to our characters working on the dig, and the BBC3 news report is a genius decision. You see it here as you see it in 'The Ambassadors of Death', an earlier Pertwee story, and it just works so well. I mean, we can all connect with a good news reporter, can't we? And seeing one here feels like an effective and natural way to introduce us to the threat and location the rest of our story will inevitably move onto. And this worries the Doctor. Big archeology. Bad omens. A witch, too. Let's get this straight - nobody who's into classic Doctor Who will dispute that this is an incredible introduction to our story. And my god, the Doctor and Jo racing to stop the Devil's Hump being opened and failing. Much intense. Very scary. Thrilling.

As is a theme appearing with this blog, I tend to go deep into the first episode, just to set up the characters and setting and such, and then skim the main points of the next few to give you a taste of how the story unravels and expands. So this is what I'm going to do.
Carrying on through the story it's great to see later episodes living up to what the first promised. Obviously the second and third parts aren't quite as good, they couldn't be - the purpose of middle parts is to flesh out the story and wheel-spin until the climax and resolution in parts four and five (obviously this story is a rare five-parter, so it's structurally quite different to some others, and therefore rather slower). I have to say that the wheelspinning is most evident in part three, which, although good, feels very padded and quite Pertwee-samey. Which is, I suppose, not the worst thing, considering that at that point in the story viewers could really do with a little explanation for what's going on. It's okay, it's not so awful - not so unbearable as 'The Monster of Peladon', for instance. There's still plenty to enjoy, and the ideas behind this story are really fascinating.

So like I said, I love the mythology that backs this up. The Dæmons sound awesome (and are, but that's only in the last episode), there's a tiny tiny spaceship in the Devil's Hump, there's talk of alien races influencing mankind throughout the aeons - seriously, if it's sciency and mysterious, this story's got it. Alright, so yeah, how many times have we heard about alien races guiding humanity in Doctor Who. It's a great premise, but think of this story, and then Scaroth in 'City of Death', and Fenric in 'The Curse of Fenric' - oh, and the Silence in the modern series. And the Daleks too. You get my point, but here it seems a lot more fresh than the others, probably because this was the first time the concept was really fully fleshed out in the series, and, while it might not be as powerful or intriguing as in the Scaroth or Fenric plots (because they're both quite excellent and in a league above this for me), I think that there's a lot going for the lore and backstory to 'The Dæmons'.

Also lovely in this story are the many subcharacters and smaller roles that collect to build it up. Olive Hawthorne, the local witch, is interesting and very proper, as are the more developed Captain Yates and Sergeant Benton. Oh, and Olive and Benton have a kind of... thing going on. Maybe I'm wrong, but they have a load of chemistry and subtext there (some of which I might be making up), and to watch it all play out in the background is very reassuring and fun. Of note too is the Brigadier, who is always wonderful, and the way in which Letts and Sloman put him out of the way until the delightful climax seems to me an unusual choice for this season, which is notably Brigadier- and UNIT-heavy. Of course, this story is also very UNIT too - there are delightful car/motorbike/helicopter chases, explosions and guns as well as black magic, spaceships and witchcraft.

Obviously I'm not forgetting the Doctor in all this. I think it's wonderful seeing Pertwee really playing with the character all through this story, and in a lot of scenes it's really plain to see the energy and purpose he spills into the role. The car chase is sublime Pertwee, as is his slow realisation of just what the hell is going on here. He plays remarkably well off Delgado as the Master (as usual), and reacts to his companions with a great warmth typical of this incarnation. There are scenes that really properly show off just how good this man was at being the Doctor - one that really springs to mind is when the Mayday villagers are holding the Doctor at gunpoint in the town green. The way Pertwee puts his argument across to the Master's followers, and how he deals with the situation at large, is wonderfully intelligent and great to watch after seeing the Doctor so consistently done over all through the story so far. In front of Azal, Pertwee really puts across the reality and danger of the situation, just adding that edge that some other Doctors didn't always possess.

Successful also in this story are the villains/monsters introduced at various points throughout. We start, of course, with the Master, and all the potential hazards he represents, but all the way through all five episodes we are treated to more and more threats, building and supporting on each other in a gloriously well-devised way. First after the Master comes Bok, and Bok, I find, is truly one of the most unsettling little shits Doctor Who ever came up with. A gargoyle that comes to life may sound silly and already done, but consider for a moment the dark, black magic backdrop this story already has and Bok becomes something of a nightmare. His eyes glow red, he shoots sparks from his hands and he moves in a childishly excited way that never seems forced or silly, only perverse and sudden and terrifying. Also, he's kinda indestructible and inspired the incredibly famous Brigadier line: 'Chap with wings there - five rounds rapid'. So props to Bok.

After Bok, but hinted at all through 'The Dæmons', comes at last Azal, the last of the mighty Dæmons. Now Azal, tall and devil-like with horns and red eyes, has returned to Earth at last to study how mankind has continued to develop, and to decide whether or not to abandon the 'experiment' (in other words whether to discard Earth and destroy the human race or to leave it to its own devices). So that's a pretty cool concept in itself, but adding into the mix that Azal can change his size at will and kill using heat and raw power and you've got yourself a villain who is pretty much just a legend in his own right. And nothing about him ever really seems contrived. Jolly jolly jolly.

Finally, of course, this story has to be resolved. After five episodes of danger, of stakes and chase scenes and mystery and magic and science and rivalry and terror and wit, we have a climax that is, without ever appearing too convenient or too difficult to understand, simply satisfying beyond belief. Not mind-blowing. Not revelatory. Just a big happy sigh. It sees the imprisonment of the Master, the destruction of Bok and the demise of the Dæmons in Azal, who breaks down as he struggles to understand human nature. And, solid throughout, the Doctor and Jo and the Brigadier and Yates and Benton stand victorious, leaving viewers for another year with a general feeling of tranquility and all-the-world-is-right. I think, above all, this seems like a fitting end to a season like Season Eight, which more than many others deserves a great and sizeable payoff. Also I love the Brig and Yates going for a pint.

Last Words?

This is one of my favourite Jon Pertwee stories.

Even without the great contributions almost all cast and crew, the bulk of ideas behind this story are gripping enough to merit and surpass the story's celebrated place in Who-lore. The direction is elegant, the script is remarkably fun, and the lead actors give performances that do themselves and each other more than enough justice. The villains are intriguing and terrifying throughout, the Master is gloriously Master-y with a healthy dose of being unavoidably out of his depth, and the structure of the story - while occasionally falling slightly flat as in parts three and four (where it does a bit) - is unusual and refreshing (due to the unusual and refreshing length of the story). I think it's fair to say that 'The Dæmons' is up there with 'The Curse of Peladon' and 'Spearhead From Space' as far as the Pertwee era goes, and at least up to the standards of a lot of later era stories too. It shows only too well on watching and rewatching the story; 'The Dæmons', I'm happy to report, lives up to all the hype and gives something to the Pertwee era that can never be taken away. It's a brilliant showcase for the Master, moreso for the Doctor, and displays Doctor Who at its very best in a totally unique way. I love it, and so will you. Merry Christmas everybody