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 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).
