The Dæmons Episode Two

The one where the Doctor spends most of the episode in a refrigerated coma...

The Doctor and Professor Horner have been engulfed in a strange icy storm released when the first stone in the tomb is moved. While Jo goes to great lengths to make sure her Doctor is cared for properly, the fate of poor Professor Horner is sadly glossed over. Yes, he dies, but nobody seems very bothered. In fact, BBC crewman Harry is very laid back when it comes to health and safety, insisting that the Doctor's "had it" and that's that. No call to the emergency services, nothing.

Luckily, Devil's End has its own medical professional, and once the Doctor's been transferred to the Cloven Hoof pub, Dr Reeves gives him a thorough examination, identifying that he has two hearts along the way. After initially believing the Doctor to be dead ("very nearly a solid block of ice", in fact), Dr Reeves then believes there's life in the old Doc yet and calls for plenty of blankets to warm him up. And still nobody thinks to call an ambulance. Later we learn that Dr Reeves says it's best not to move the Doctor to hospital. But that's what ambulances are for - they have wheels and they can come to you, full of medicines and machinery which may be able to help! In their efforts to keep this story a "village under siege", writers Barry Letts and Robert Sloman are overlooking some pretty obvious plot holes.

It's not long until good old Yates and Benton come to the rescue and make their way to Devil's End by helicopter (the Brigadier's chopper, apparently...). I like the way the BBC Three transmission from Devil's End eerily cuts off ("Temporary Fault"); it make me think of the BBC's own Ghostwatch production from 1992 which duped a nation into thinking a live broadcast had been interrupted by the awakening of an evil poltergeist (the Inside No.9 boys tried a similar ruse last year, but it wasn't nearly as effective in this more cynical and savvy age).

Yates and Benton fly down to Devil's End in civvies, despite commandeering the works chopper. I presume they've had no authorisation to go either, or to use the helicopter to get there. It's all very presumptuous of the boys, but going by helicopter instead of jeep adds a bit of excitement and glamour to proceedings, and also allows them to see some devilish hoof prints striding across the countryside from the air. The prints look much bigger from the air than they do when they land to take a closer look, but either way, Yates says whatever left the prints must be at least 20ft tall, so something remarkably conspicuous...

I must admit to not being 100% clear on what's going on in some scenes, mostly those involving the camera being the POV for something unseen. Something appears to tower over the church and look down on the ill-fated Garvin (who is quickly turned into a flaming bush), so does that mean that whatever it is, is flying, or is it just very tall? We also see a POV shot inside the cavern beneath the church, homing in on the puzzlingly "live" decorated floor tile, but I'm not clear on what it means. How would a 20ft tall creature fit inside an underground cavern? Or is it the red-eyed gargoyle which has gone missing? It disappeared from the cavern sometime after the Master's ceremony, and then turned up inside the barrow. But what is it: the gargoyle or the 20ft tall creature that killed the policeman? Or are they one and the same? Is Azal released or not? The Master talks of "meeting together later" with Azal, as if he is awake, but if that's the case, where is he?

I'm just a bit confused at this point as to what's what.

Jo tells Yates and Benton that "something really bad" and "devilish" is happening at Devil's End, so Benton sets off to investigate, happening across Olive Hawthorne along the way, who's been tied up and bundled into a chest in the church vestry (to be honest, she could easily have got out herself). Olive and Benton make a delightful double act, although I'm not quite sure why they opt to hide from Garvin in the church cavern, seeing as Garvin is the man in the wrong! He abducted and wrongfully imprisoned a member of the public, and Benton is a military sergeant, so what do they have to fear from a rural verger?

Fifteen minutes into the episode (which, by the way, is Doctor's Who's 300th) the Doctor finally wakes from his nippy nap, declaring "Eureka!" The Doctor suspects he knows what's going on, but he refuses to actually tell anybody until he's "absolutely sure". Talk about keeping his cards close to his chest! Surely if he has any idea about what's going on he should share it with his professional colleagues from UNIT, if only to try and prevent any further fatalities.

The Doctor seems a bit grumpy since he came out of his super-cooled coma though, berating Jo for not knowing that the Latin word "magister" translates as "master" in English ("Jo, did you fail Latin as well as science?" he says, and the poor girl looks genuinely humiliated!). It begs the question though, why does the Master choose a name which is easily translatable and gives away his true identity? Why not call himself Mr Bloggs or something innocuous?

Before long the Brigadier is on his way to Devil's End too, although his progress is hampered by the appearance of a heat barrier around the village which prevents him getting too close. The heat barrier turns an innocent milkman's van into a flaming inferno, but the Brig doesn't bother to give the poor man any aid, leaving him by the roadside next to his charred vehicle without so much as a word of encouragement.

The best scene in the entire episode is where the Brigadier sums up what's been happening at Devil's End in a most matter-of-fact way: "So, the Doctor was frozen stiff at the barrow and was then revived by a freak heatwave. Benton was beaten up by invisible forces, and the local white witch claims she's seen the Devil." And Nicholas Courtney delivers it in that wonderfully dry, straight-faced way he always does, making it all the funnier!

The cliffhanger is a corker too, with the animated gargoyle bounding toward the barrow and attacking the Doctor and Jo. It's an ingenious design. I mean, it's obviously a little man in a grey leotard and face mask, but it does the job and provides a suitably arresting final scare.

So far, The Dæmons has been an entertaining mish-mash of ideas and iconography, but I must confess I'm not 100% clear on what's going on just yet. Unfortunately, I get the feeling the writers aren't totally sure either. It feels like they know what they want to do, but are a little wobbly on how to go about it best, so they're just "having a bash".

First broadcast: May 29th, 1971

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The Brigadier's bone dry summation of the nonsense that's been going on in Devil's End!
The Bad: The progression of the narrative seems a bit vague to me at times, and I'm not always clear on what I'm seeing (I find the POV shots confusing).
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

"Now listen to me" tally: 13
Neck-rub tally: 5

NEXT TIME: Episode Three...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Episode One; Episode Three; Episode Four; Episode Five

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-dmons.html

The Dæmons is available on BBC DVD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-D%C3%A6mons-Jon-Pertwee/dp/B006LI50HI