The King's Demons Part Two

The one where the TARDIS gains a new crewmember...

The title of this story unusually refers to the Doctor and his companions, rather than any particular threat or destination. King John refers to the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough as his "demons", which got me wondering how many other story titles are simply alternative ways of describing the regulars. It all begins, of course, with An Unearthly Child (Susan) and The Firemaker (the Doctor), but there's also The Myth Makers (the Doctor, Vicki and Steven), and at a stretch, The Face of Evil (the Doctor). More recently we've had stories such as The Runaway Bride (Donna), The Lodger (the Doctor) and The Magician's Apprentice/ The Witch's Familiar (Clara), among others, but The King's Demons is a particularly potent example.

Anyway, where were we? Ah yes, the Master's revealed himself, and Tegan reveals herself to be a dab hand at knife-throwing, although the renegade Time Lord also has a trick up his sleeve when he manages to catch the knife in flight without even looking. There's a lot wrong with this sequence, particularly for younger viewers, as it shows a companion casually hurling a knife at someone's head, and also suggests it's easy to catch a knife safely. It's the sort of thing that might have been edited out in the Hinchcliffe era (I'm thinking back to a drowning Doctor and a knife-throwing Leela).

The King's Demons Part One

The one where the TARDIS interrupts a jousting match...

We've arrived at Doctor Who's 600th episode, in its 20th year, which seems fitting. It's also the last classic series story title to feature a punctuation mark (there's also Warriors' Gate and Time-Flight, as well as a handful of Hartnell episodes such as World's End and Devil's Planet).

The now traditional Davison two-parter kicks off with money on the screen. The opening scene of Sir Ranulf's dining hall is a splendid mix of set design and glass shot. It's populated with plenty of extras, costumes and set dressing are spot on, and there's even a couple of wolfhounds to add colour. In fact, throughout this episode I feel as if director Tony Virgo is trying his hardest to spend what was probably a modest budget as aesthetically as possible. It just looks gorgeous, thanks to the talents of set designer Ken Ledsham (echoing his work on The Ribos Operation) and costume designer Colin Lavers.

Enlightenment Part Four

The one where the Doctor wins Enlightenment...

According to Wrack, the image of the Doctor in Tegan's mind is "quite intriguing". This poses a number of questions, and even Tegan looks confused by the statement! Is Wrack talking romance here? Or is she merely referring to the knowledge Tegan has of the Doctor, such as that he's a Time Lord, can regenerate and likes long scarves? I've never felt that Tegan harbours even the remotest romantic feeling for the Doctor, so Wrack must be referring to the way Tegan thinks of the Doctor, and the combative relationship they have. Is the Doctor like Tegan's big brother? A father figure? Intriguing indeed...

Back at the party, Marriner is trying some of his legendary chat-up lines on Tegan. "I missed you, I was concerned. I am empty without you," he moons. "You are life itself. Without you I am nothing. Don't you understand? I am empty. You give me being. I look into your mind and see life, energy, excitement. I want them! I want you. Your thoughts should be my thoughts. Your feelings, my feelings."

Enlightenment Part Three

The one where the Doctor and Tegan attend an Eternal party...

The reprise of the cliffhanger shows that the end of part 2 could have been edited much more effectively by finishing with a shot of Turlough drifting off into space, something you don't actually see in the transmitted episode. At the start of part 3 there are plenty of shots of Turlough looking desperately back to the Shadow as he drifts away, his hand reaching out in agonised terror, which would have been a much more thrilling way to end it.

Luckily, Turlough is "rescued" by the Buccaneer, which scoops him up in a net and takes him aboard. This is just as well because the efforts of the Shadow and its crew to retrieve Turlough leave much to be desired. Marriner tries to comfort Tegan by telling her that Turlough will have a quick death as he has so little oxygen, but I'm not sure this is going to placate her! The half-hearted attempt to throw a life ring to Turlough, which isn't even tethered, shows how little the Eternals value ephemeral lives.

Enlightenment Part Two

The one where Marriner rummages through Tegan's mind...

Those sailing (space)ships look gloriously quaint. The way they hang in the vastness of space, their sails quivering in the solar winds, has a certain magic. The fact they are real models, not CGI, adds a beautiful hauntological quality, reminiscent of the work of Ray Harryhausen. The re-edited version released on DVD in 2009 was, to my mind, a comparative abomination, removing the homespun joy of these model ships and replacing them with a studied soullessness.

The Shadow is approaching the next "marker buoy" in its race through space, which is actually the planet Venus. Striker wants to be first to pass the planet, and narrowly succeeds in doing so, before witnessing the unexpected destruction of Critas the Greek. Before the Greek ship blew up, the Doctor noticed an historically inaccurate piece of jewellery on his finger, a Spanish jewel from the 17th century. Curiouser and curiouser...

Enlightenment Part One

The one where the White Guardian gets in touch...

As we near the end of Season 20, and its pocket story arc involving Turlough and the Black Guardian, it's worth reflecting on the welcome increase in female involvement behind the scenes at this time. It might be something to do with the fact Doctor Who's producer was a gay man, or it might be simply because there were more women working behind the scenes than there used to be. Whatever the reason, it can only be A Good Thing that this 20-year-old series was finally getting a woman's touch.

Doctor Who's first ever producer was a woman, of course (the legendary Verity Lambert), but Enlightenment is the first time that a story has been written wholly by a woman (Barbara Clegg). OK, so The Ark was co-credited to Paul Erickson's wife Lesley Scott, but the truth is she didn't actually write a word of it. Clegg was the series' first bona fide female scribe, and it's a shame it took 20 years for that to happen. Even Blake's 7 had a female writer before Who (Tanith Lee, in 1980).

Terminus Part Four

The one where Nyssa leaves so she can put into practice the skills she learnt on Traken...

After another, slightly more convincing tussle, this time between Valgard and Olvir, the Garm makes off with a screaming Nyssa once again, presumably taking her on the next leg of her inexorably depressing journey. "Oh no Nyssa!" says Olvir - Dominic Guard delivering this line particularly poorly - but if he just bothered to glance to his left he'd see the Garm tottering off with her over his shoulder.

There's an exchange between Valgard and Olvir where the Vanir guesses the raider was trained by Colonel Pereira (aka The Chief), and this gives an enticing glimpse into a world beyond Terminus where young men are trained as fighters, endure multiple tours as part of some kind of army, and where troops can be "turned in" by their superiors for the right price. There's an interesting little side-plot here which is not built upon or expanded, but it's nice to have a bit of backstory for each of them. Why was there a bounty on Valgard's head? How did Olvir go from combat-trained soldier to lawless space raider? I guess we'll never know...

Terminus Part Three

The one where the end of the universe is nigh...

I'm supposed to believe that space vixen Kari is a hard-nosed galactic pirate who raids cargo liners, laser gun in hand, and barely thinks twice about engaging in combat or murdering in cold blood. I've had enough trouble believing any of that thanks to the way Dee Robson and Joan Stribling have dressed Liza Goddard, and made her up to look like she's one of Toyah's backing dancers. But now she's being asked to show her mettle and rescue the Doctor, who's being assaulted by Valgard, her credentials as a hardened space raider crumble to dust. Ellen Ripley she is not.

After being half-strangled from behind by Valgard's staff, she quivers on her knees like a terrified schoolgirl, unable to get a clear shot of Valgard with her gun, despite the fact the two men aren't really moving around a lot. Kari honestly looks pathetic at this moment, and her solution to rescuing the Doctor is just silly: she aims her laser at a nearby wall panel, so that the laser bolt will bounce off and hit Valgard squarely on his helmet, causing a massive headache. I'm sorry, but no: that is stupid. If Kari can't get a clear shot at Valgard's entire body from 6ft away, I cannot believe that she's such a sure shot that she can hit him on the back of the head by shooting in the opposite direction. Annie Oakley she is not.

Terminus Part Two

The one where Nyssa takes her skirt off...

At the start of this episode, the Doctor tells Nyssa not to let the Lazars touch her, for fear of contracting the disease that ails them. A bit later, Olvir says the disease is airborne, and they are already breathing it in, so theoretically, they're all infected. This would include Tegan and Turlough too, but nobody except Nyssa seems to show any signs of having the disease. Curious...

Olvir, who is supposed to be trained for combat, ran away when the Lazars broke out, but there's a very human reason for his apparent cowardice: his sister died of the disease. He says that Terminus Inc offers to take sufferers away to cure them, but nobody has ever returned having been healed. So where do they take the Lazars?