| THE KING'S DEMONS by Terence Dudley |
| Story 128 Synopsis: At Fitzwilliam Castle, King John is dismissive of his host, Lord Ranulf. Ranulf's son impugns the King's champion, Sir Gilles Estram, and a joust is ordered. During the contest, the TARDIS materialises, and the King welcomes the Doctor and friends as 'demons', according them his privilege. When Sir Gilles wins the joust, the Doctor pleads for mercy, which is granted. Sir Gilles has Turlough and Ranulf's wife imprisoned. At a feast, Sir Gilles demands a duel with the Doctor. When the latter wins, Sir Gilles reveals himself as the Master. He is put into an iron maiden, but dematerialises down to the dungeon, freeing Ranulf's wife and son. He claims that it is the Doctor who has changed the King, and is up to no good. Turlough remains a prisoner. The Doctor finds that the King is in fact a shape-changing robot, Kamelion, which the Master found on Xeriphas. He intends to destabilise the UK (and hence the world), and then do the same elsewhere. The Doctor wins a battle of wills, stealing Kamelion, and fleeing in the TARDIS with Tegan and Turlough. The Master leaves in his TARDIS, which the Doctor has sabotaged. The Doctor sets course for the Eye of Orion. |
| Review:- So, fresh from defeating the Black Guardian, the TARDIS turns up in the 13th century, in an unremarkable castle with a remarkable guest... basically, it's Doctor Who Meets King John, or near enough. The set designs are really impressive, and the cast all pass themselves convincingly as 1215 natives. There is a cunning reusage of locales, so we see jousting more than once, and the main banqueting hall of the castle seems little larger than an average front room in a modern house. Ranulf and Isabella are sympathetic when wondering what is wrong with the King, but pathetic when duped by the Master. Their son is a bumbling hothead, and a dull one, too. The Master has some degree of dignity when masquerading as Sir Gilles, but from his silly transformation onwards, he lacks the conviction that has seen him to loftier heights than this. It is too daft that having purloined a chameleonic android, he has opted to scupper the Magna Carta, of all things! So many major points in Earth history, and he chooses this - as if he knew he had a 2-episode budget to work with, and this was the least he could do. Perhaps his nadir is being forced into the iron maiden which is his TARDIS - there is visually no way he could do this! He sneaks away at the end, all spirit gone. In fact, it echoes the equally silly end to The Time Meddler, really (and the Monk would have convinced more in this story). Kamelion is an intriguing creation, and I am partial to the song he gets to do as the King, but sadly seems an irrelevance to a story such as this. Given the eventual problems that the robot would cause, it might have been best if he had never been included. Turlough gets little to do, and Tegan is reduced to hapless heroine, bringing the TARDIS in on cue, by accident, of course. As for the Doctor, he shows compassion during the joust, despite the enmity it earns him, and he tries valiantly to win Ranulf over, despite a lack of proof. His swordfight allows him the chance to show he is a man of action as well as words, but he spends most of the 2nd episode playing catch-up. The final battle of wills for Kamelion is sadly as drab as could be imagined, and his blase attitude after stealing the droid is rather unusual. Not a fine hour. On the plus side, it is a classical trick to base a story around the Magna Carta, without showing the actual signing. The character of Geoffrey provides the link between the two, and is thus the most useful of the 1215 cast. It's just a shame that so little is expected to provide so much. I can't recommend this at all. |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and I think I've read the book.. |