NNN1 - The Mutants 1

The Mutants doesn't really get off to the best of starts. The first scene shows the "It's Man" from Monty Python's Flying Circus being chased by a bunch of soldiers (one of whom, Cotton, clearly can't say his lines without imagining that he's reading them at the same time) who are led by Boss Hogg's understudy - the ranting and raving Marshall.

The first scene featuring Jo and The Doctor has Jon Pertwee repeating the line "No, I'm not meant to open it. I could open it even if I wanted to" twice. It's always been pointed out that this is a fluff on the part of Pertwee, but it looks more like a very clumsy line in and even clumsier exchange of dialogue.

Speaking of clumsy dialogue, the first scene between Ky and Varan is an exercise in horribly plodding exposition, with James Mellor playing Varan as if he was negotiating a coma, and Garrick Hagon's Ky flying over the top in an attempt to make sure Mellor stays awake.

Having said all that, for some reason, I didn't find myself loathing the entire episode as much as I thought I would, although most of that can be explained by the fact that a good chunk of this episode takes place in a space station, and I've always had a remarkable soft spot for stories set in space stations.

LLL6 - The Sea Devils 6

Has there ever been a better ending to a Master story than the one seen in The Sea Devils? Forget about why The Master would have a mask of his face on his person (although carrying these things around seems to be a hobby for him. Look at Terror of the Autons). The sudden realization from The Doctor that the man on the stretcher is not The Master, then look up to see the real Master waving and driving away in the hovercraft more than makes up for any supposed plot holes. It's also rarely satisfying to see The Master "win", but also be able to rub it in a bit at the same time.

For a Malcolm Hulke script, there isn't as much of the morality play at work as in other Hulke stories such as Doctor Who and the Silurians and Colony in Space. There is a brief moment in Episode Five where it looks like The Doctor has struck a peaceful alliance with the Sea Devil leader, but those hopes are soon dashed. It's no surprise, really. Despite The Doctor's best intentions, the Sea Devils are thinking of war right from the outset. They are often the first to open fire when they meet humans (as well as a Sea Devil's first meeting with The Doctor, where the Sea Devil fires at an unarmed Doctor). The Doctor is fighting an uphill battle in trying to achieve a peace between the humans and the Sea Devils.

The Sea Devils is a truly fantastic story - easily the gem of Season 9, and certainly the best story thus far in the post-Season 7 Jon Pertwee era.

LLL5 - The Sea Devils 5

Permanent Under Secretary Walker is perhaps the most blatant example, in a long line of blatant examples, of the pompous, ineffectual civil servant called in by the government to put a situation to right, but just ends up getting in the way of those who are actually solving the problem in the first place. Masters, Brownrose, Chinn, and now Walker, and each with diminishing returns. Sometimes, subtlety has been an elusive beast in Doctor Who.

I'm going to stand shoulder to shoulder with Doctor Who composer and Radiophonic Workshop archivist Mark Ayres and be two of the very few defenders, and fans, of Malcolm Clarke's score for The Sea Devils. Comments about Clarke's score have been universally negative, but I have always been won over by its quirkiness. The strangeness of the soundtrack, with its blurps and bubbles, meshes perfectly with the aquatic theme of the story, and I personally enjoy Clarke's theme for The Master more than Dudley Simpson's. Also, to have a story that is so close to a normal Doctor/UNIT story, but missing one vital half of that equation, and have a soundtrack similar to other stories of the era would seem out of place.

Having watched The Sea Devils a few times over the years, I can't imagine any other score being used for it, and I can't imagine any other score that would have made the story better.

LLL4 - The Sea Devils 4

Captain Hart and the Navy play the role of substitute Brigadier and UNIT, respectively, very well in this story. In fact, they almost play it too well. By the beginning of Season 9, the relationship between The Doctor and the Brigadier had become so familiar that The Doctor no longer had to try and convince the Brigadier of the dangers of an approaching alien menace. The Brigadier knew enough to just believe his scientific advisor and suitably adjusted his strategy to accommodate. Of course, by now that strategy often extended to simply staying out of the way while The Doctor sorted it out.

With a new authority figure in Captain Hart, The Doctor is forced to start from scratch in trying to convince Hart that the Sea Devils are a threat. While Hart sees enough proof, and the thus act more quickly than the Brigadier might have in a similar situation, Hart's Navy does seem at least more competent in this situation than UNIT ever did. (This may have more to do with the fact that not only were the Navy extras playing soldiers were actual Navy personnel, but also because the production were keen to show the Royal Navy in a good light in exchange for their assistance in the production of the serial).

Season 9 is not the Brigadier's or UNIT's finest hour, and The Sea Devils is the ultimate slap in the face because it shows that their roles can not only be replaced in a story quite easily, but greatly improved upon as well.

LLL3 - The Sea Devils 3

Thankfully, we're treated to a splendidly arranged sword fight sequence twice in this story - once at the end of Episode Two, and again in the reprise to Episode Three. Watching it with the benefit of hindsight, it seems a complete insult to have put a sword in the hands of Tom Baker, Peter Davison, and David Tennant and hope that they could possibly come off looking better than Jon Pertwee in this scene. Fair do's to his three swashbuckling successors, but nobody has buckled swash in Doctor Who quite like Dr. Cool himself, Jon Pertwee. Pertwee acquits himself well in one of his last unaided fight sequences of his tenure in Doctor Who.

I spoke of how intriguing the Doctor-Master relationship is, but what is even more interesting as the story goes along is the connection between The Master and Trenchard, as well as that of Trenchard's staff. Some scenes indicate that The Master has a completely hold over everyone in the prison (asking a guard for a second colour television in his cell, for instance). However, it does become clear that The Master can't use his skills of hypnosis on the guards. Even though Trenchard shows The Doctor an example of this in Episode One, judging by how The Master treats Trenchard, it seems quite plausible that the whole scene was staged for The Doctor's benefit.

It's not. In fact, I'm not entirely sure that The Master has been able to hypnotize Trenchard either. After Trenchard and a guard walk into (and break up) the fight between The Doctor and The Master, The Master has to plead for his innocence to Trenchard. Trenchard seems far too unimaginative to have a mind worth hypnotizing, but, as is revealed later, The Master has promised Trenchard the glory of exposing and defeating traitors to the Crown. The Master may have had a mental hold over Trenchard at one time, but he's now depending solely on the web of lies he has created around Trenchard to get what he needs before Trenchard meets his inevitable end.

LLL2 - The Sea Devils 2

Michael Briant made his Doctor Who directing debut in Season 8 with the very flat looking Colony in Space, in which he displayed to all how he had never heard of the phrase "roll-back-and-mix" when conceiving the TARDIS materialization scenes. The Sea Devils is his second effort, and what a dramatic difference a year makes. Some of Briant's camera angles for scenes are stunning, resulting in a veritable bevy of Dutch angles during the Sea Devil-Doctor chase in Episode Two. In episode one, similar angles serve to show how unnerved and on edge the two maintenance workers who are forced to bide on the sea fort are.

A subtler use of direction takes place when Trenchard brings a box into The Master's cell. The Master can be seen to open the box, but both the box and its contents are below the camera frame. The camera then cuts to Trenchard, after which, finally, it is revealed that the box contained an admiral's uniform, and that The Master is now wearing the hat. Without a big revealing shot, or any dialogue explaining what The Master's plan is, Briant has very successfully kept hidden The Master's motives until just the right time.

Not unlike its predecessor, Doctor Who and the Silurians, the eponymous Sea Devils have scarcely been glimpsed outside of the sequence where one threatens The Doctor, as this story is more keen to explore the relationships between The Doctor and The Master, The Master and Trenchard, and The Doctor and Captain Hart. Not only are all three of these pairings worth exploring, but they also add a hint of mystery to the Sea Devils. Already, the Sea Devils appear more aggressive than their Silurian cousins, and they've also developed a rudimentary clothing system consisting of blue string mesh...

LLL1 - The Sea Devils 1

As exciting as watching two people have a casual chit chat for an hour or two is, who out there doesn't wish that the scene in this episode where The Doctor first visits The Master could have gone on for at least the better part of an afternoon? As The Doctor later laments, they were almost "at school together" in a previous time. What tales they could tell of when they once were friends. Seems almost a tragedy that The Master lets the audience know that the game is up at the very end of that scene, laughing maniacally as he does while starting up an exercise regime on the rowing machine.

It's the fascinating relationship between The Doctor and The Master that almost completely offsets the rampant overuse of the character in Season 8. The Doctor/Daleks rivalry is completely black and white - we see how it starts, and we've seen (one assumes) every skirmish that the two enemies have had in the history of the show. There's no mystery there. Daleks hate Doctor, and vice versa. On the other hand, The Doctor never wants to see The Master destroyed, and, despite all his boasting and his cliffhanger-friendly antics, neither does The Master want to see his possible one-time friend die. It's a tantalizing prospect to want to know everything that went on between the two before we meet The Master formally in Terror of the Autons, but one that we are never allowed to see.

One thing that we are allowed to see is that utterly delightful scene where The Master whistles along to an episode of the children's show The Clangers before being interrupted by the completely humourless General Trenchard. Only Roger Delgado could allow The Master to have such a "human" scene while still retaining the villainous dignity of the character.

MMM4 - The Curse of Peladon 4

David Troughton, who was only in his early 20s during the making of The Curse of Peladon, does a fine job, I think, of portraying a young king, forced to the throne before he was ready, and surrounded by men twice as old as him who are more keen to uphold tradition than aid their king. You feel Peladon's pain at the end when he mourns the death of Hepesh. Hepesh may have betrayed King Peladon, but he was the closest thing to a friend that the lonely king has ever known. When the King stands with his back to the court to mask his tears, you just wish he could have more than the few seconds he is allotted to compose himself before returning to his regal duties.

In understanding King Peladon's plight, it is no surprise that he latches on to Jo so quickly. Not so much because she's a pretty young "princess", but mostly because, even though they've only just met, she is instantly the person with whom he has the most in common. You almost wish that Jo would accept the King's invitation to stay, if only because you know that once the King is officially crowned during his coronation and his planet joins the Federation, his life will become even more hectic and lonely.

It's fascinating to see how The Doctor reacts to Jo being upset about having to leave the King. The dotty, scatter brained assistant who tripped her way into his laboratory a year ago was becoming a young woman in her own right, and this story is really Jo's big coming out party. She pretends to be a princess rather well, putting on a believable diplomatic front, she deals with a burgeoning relationship with a king, and she even manages to traverse some ledges in heels. Jo's wings are starting to spread. This story lays the groundwork for The Doctor's personal tragedy to come.

MMM3 - The Curse of Peladon 3

Now we get into some standard Third Doctor fare as Jon Pertwee gets to tangle with the king's champion, Grun, in an epic-length fight scene that is sorely crying out to be scored by the fight music from Star Trek. Pertwee also gets to show off his singing voice again as he reprises his Venusian lullaby in an attempt to subdue Aggedor.

Of course, Pertwee himself barely features in the fight scene, leaving most of the work up to his stunt double, Terry Walsh wearing a bad wig. This story marks the end of the "stunt association" in Doctor Who. HAVOC will have their swan song in The Sea Devils (which follows Curse, but was actually made before it), and the stunt team that provided the arranging in this story was the short lived PROFILE. During the heyday of the stunt associations, Jon Pertwee was more adept at jumping in on the proceedings, but by halfway through his run in Doctor Who, his bad back had led him to sit on the sidelines more and more. It's a shame, that, as I immediately think of Pertwee as the eternal man of action, although he appears in a fair more active scenes in this story than he does in Season 11...

My favourite scene in this episode is probably the one where Hepesh offers The Doctor, who is condemned to death, a way out by telling him to simply leave the planet in peace. What I love about it is that Hepesh knows that The Doctor is too smart to believe that Hepesh isn't behind all the nefarious events on Peladon, yet he also knows that The Doctor has no way of proving Hepesh's guilt to the court. The Doctor could get proof, but he would have to convince a court and a populace raised on superstition. He knows that no amount of proof can sway the opinions of those who who don't wish to have them changed. It's a remarkably frank conversation and a joy to watch.

MMM2 - The Curse of Peladon 2

Not only is this story unusual for a Jon Pertwee story, it's also a remarkably claustrophobic one. The sets are very introverted, looking perhaps even smaller than they actually are, and the lack of electric lights serve to enhance that image. And it is never apparent that Peladon is a place teeming with life - only a handful of guards and King Peladon's personal confidants inhabit the palace, and the list of visitors that are the Federation delegates is also a small one.

Director Lennie Mayne accentuates this claustrophobia by shooting many scenes in tight closeup, which is great to see the actors' expressions, but variable in its success when it comes to the non-Earth delegates. Arcturus looks even more ludicrous from close up, but the extraordinary makeup job on Alan Bennion as Izlyr is shown in all its glory (as you can see from the pic above). Any shot of Alpha Centauri would make the creature look ludicrous, although not half as much as having to hear its voice for several minutes on end...

And you can almost feel the love in the scene between The Doctor and Jo early in this episode where take stock of the mess that they're in but revel in how much they're enjoying themselves. The standard Doctor/single companion relationship has been the norm for quite some time now in Doctor Who (especially in the new series), but it's important to remember that The Doctor and Jo were essentially the first such pairing in the show's history. The Doctor had either been surrounded by either two or three companions, and even when he managed to pare it down to one (Liz Shaw), she was more than often surrounded by the various members of UNIT during her brief tenure on the show. Apart from Colony in Space, which often saw The Doctor and Jo separated for much of the proceedings, The Curse of Peladon is the first story ever, nine years after it all started, to feature a close knit Doctor/companion relationship.

MMM1 - The Curse of Peladon 1

Jon Pertwee's Doctor finds himself smack dab in the middle of probably the oddest Jon Pertwee story ever made. The Curse of Peladon (like its sequel two years later) features no location filming, is predominantly set in dark, torchlit corridors, and is easily the most dialogue heavy story in the Pertwee era.

In fact, Episode One makes this seem entirely like a William Hartnell story. The Doctor and Jo are forcibly separated from the TARDIS (getting back to "The Ship" was a common motivation in early Hartnell stories), and then the pair adopt fake identities to bluff their way out of a tricky situation (a la The Aztecs). Seeing Jon Pertwee as the noble diplomat, conversing with royalty with all the courtesy and grace that he could muster, is also neat to see, given how The Doctor was busy blasting Ogrons and driving bubble tyred trikes just a week or so ago.

Best of all, though, is the fact that the Ice Warriors don't appear to be the baddies in this, although obviously The Doctor immediately suspects them to be up to no good. Director Lennie Mayne doesn't share this suspicion, though. Aware that their very reputation will cast doubt on them as to their intentions, Mayne introduces the Ice Warriors rather casually as Ssorg walks casually through a shot of The Doctor and Jo hiding behind a stone column. A more dramatic entrance for the Ice Warriors would have led everyone to believe that they were the villains. Mayne's subtlety leaves the viewers questioning their own ideas about the Ice Warriors, leaving only The Doctor convinced that the Ice Warriors are up to no good.

KKK4 - Day of the Daleks 4

There is something blissful about spending 92% of one's free time growing up watching Doctor Who (that percentage has probably been even higher for me during this Chronic Hysteresis journey) in that if Doctor Who was ever ripping anything off, then I wouldn't have known about it unless that which was ripped off happened to be encompassed in the remaining 8% of free time that was allotted to me when not watching Doctor Who. I had never seen Quatermass before watching The Ambassadors of Death or The Claws of Axos, two stories which I'm reliably informed borrowed heavily from the BBC's early sci-fi effort, so I just ended up enjoying both stories for what they were.

Another example: Day of the Daleks. A story featuring people coming back to the past to try and change events to suit their purposes, but then finding out that they were the ones who originally created the mess that they were, in fact, trying to fix, seems so brilliant, yet so obvious, that I can't help but think that this idea has already been thought of and used in some other science fiction novel, film, or TV show. But thanks to my blissful ignorance, all I can think of is the 1984 film The Terminator that is similar to Day of the Daleks. (I'm sure some of the more educated readers of this blog (ie. all of you) will be quick to prove me wrong on this, of course).

Whatever the source of inspiration that this story uses (or doesn't use), it's a splendid idea and one that is surprisingly novel for Doctor Who. Why does a series is about time travel so seldom deal with the complications of traveling through time? Day of the Daleks is a great story, if let down by the presence of the Daleks themselves. Inserted into the lineup after the first draft of the script had been written, there's nothing too Dalek-y about the Daleks in this story. They stay within the confines of the control room for the most part, they fire their weapons a grand total of two times throughout the whole story. They don't even sound like Daleks, voiced as they are by Peter Messaline and Oliver Gilbert (the George Lazenbys of Dalek voices), and they move even slower than in some of the creakier 1960s episodes. Not the best way to usher back in the flagship monsters of the series for the first time in five years.

Two quick notes - Katy Manning wears probably my favourite Jo Grant costume in this episode, and it is so refreshing to hear that Dudley Simpson has managed to hire back a small orchestra to perform the score for this story and all those that he did after this. It seems like a breath of fresh air now, mind, but one should remember that Simpson's music would rarely stray from this sound for the rest of the 1970s.

KKK3 - Day of the Daleks 3

Aubrey Woods plays a superb Controller in this story - smooth and smarmy when he has to be (like convincing Jo, successfully, I might add, that the rebels are her enemy and not him), and cold, calculating, and stern when dealing with Ogrons and other subordinates. Woods and Jon Pertwee have a fantastic scene in Episode Three where The Doctor, growing increasingly intolerant, pushes the Controller to admit what The Doctor already knows - that the Daleks are the ones in charge of Earth in the 22nd Century.

Not immediately explained is why the Controller (and especially his female control room staff) seem to have silver faces. Are they androids? The women certainly sound like they are. The Controller's face is less silver-y, but can't Aubrey Woods ever appear in anything without having to put on silver makeup? (Witness his appearance as Kantor in the 1978 Blake's 7 episode Gambit - surely the campest and gayest 50 minutes in British television history.)

Also not explained is if this 22nd century Earth that's been conquered by the Daleks is the same one that we see in 1964's The Dalek Invasion of Earth. I'd like to say yes, which would give the series a rare dual perspective of one event in history. We see the rebellion at its lowest ebb in Dalek Invasion, forced to hide in sewers, trying to invent bombs that never seem to work against Dalek casing. The rebellion in Day of the Daleks is going much better and seems much more organized, and the rebels even have time technology on their side, so it would appear to be much earlier than the 2165-ish era seen in Dalek Invasion. But then, if the Doctor defeats the Daleks at the end of each story (presumably. I haven't watched Part Four yet, but I can kind of guess what the outcome will be), how can the two invasions be related?

Or can I just use the phrases "Time War" and "Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey" to retrofit everything and not have to worry about it?

KKK2 - Day of the Daleks 2

Very rarely in Doctor Who up until now has The Doctor been seen to even hold a gun, let alone fire it. This episode breaks a barrier often thought unbreakable within the show's format when The Doctor vapourizes an Ogron using one of the rebels' disintegrator guns. The fact that he picks it up in the first place is possibly understandable. He's just been in a fight with an Ogron, and doesn't want the Ogron to pick the gun up himself. The fact that The Doctor backs out of the room without firing the gun is testament to that.

Once The Doctor runs outside though and turns the corner, he comes face to face with a further pair of Ogrons, and shoots one of them dead before the just arrived Brigadier takes care of the other. Careful editing may have saved face for The Doctor's character here. As seen on screen, the long shot of two slowly advancing Ogrons doesn't seem as menacing, nor is it immediately apparent that either of them are aiming their guns at The Doctor. Had a brief close-up of an Ogron raising his gun been inserted, perhaps, it may have given The Doctor just visual cause to fire. Yes, it's a little bit "Greedo shoots first", but The Doctor isn't Han Solo, nor should he ever be.

Directing this serial is Paul Bernard, making his first appearance in the director's chair on Doctor Who. That such a character flaw was allowed to slip through the cracks might be placed on Bernard's lap, as a result. He's certainly unfamiliar with other aspects of the production: note how he retained the "sting" of the end credit music at the end of Episodes 1 and 2 in the reprise for Episodes 2 and 3, respectively. Bernard does, though, bring a distinct visual flair to this story. He often uses dissolves to transition from scene to scene (a technique seldom seen up to this point in Doctor Who). There are some scenes with intense close-up shots, as well as some (such as Benton's and Yates's in this episode) that are shot entirely in long shot and off centre. Bernard does his best to make up for the absence of Douglas Camfield in Doctor Who, although the action scenes, Camfield's specialty, seem somewhat lacking in flow.

KKK1 - Day of the Daleks 1

In Episode One of Day of the Daleks, Jon Pertwee and/or The Doctor himself have never, ever appeared as cool in the history of Doctor Who or, in fact, that of the universe itself. Pertwee's hair is just the right size of bouffant, his red smoking jacket is a refreshing change from the predominantly black jackets he's worn during his first two seasons on the show, and his blue cape compliments his look perfectly.

When staying the night at Auderly House, The Doctor sits content, nibbling on fine cheeses and critiquing Sir Reginald Styles's wine collection. In the morning, The Doctor's peace of mind is threatened when one of the rebels, Shura, breaks in to the study through the window, intent on attacking him. Shura rushes The Doctor, who has just come through the door holding a glass of wine. The Doctor hits Shura with a shot to the gut ("Hai!"), then chops him to the ground with a blow to the back of the neck ("Ha!") - and all while holding, and not spilling, his wine! The Doctor then casually takes a sip and puts the glass down in time to deflect another attack from the recovering Shura.

Such coolness cannot be taught, developed, or written. You either have it or you don't. And, in Day of the Daleks, Jon Pertwee unquestionably has (sentenced separated for dramatic effect).

It.

Some horrible sounding Daleks sully the first appearance of the pepper pots in five years, but I'll get to them later. Nothing can possibly top His Coolness right now.

JJJ5 - The Daemons 5

When watching The Daemons, it's quite clear that everyone had a wonderful time making it. You can almost feel the good vibrations coming through the TV screen from the cast and crew, and the village where this story was predominantly shot. (The fact that a Myth Makers video was made in 1995 featuring most of the actors and the village of Aldbourne itself is testament to the fond memories that came from the production). Not only do the actors appear to be having fun, but the characters almost seem more jovial here than in other stories.

While not perfect, and certainly not the highlight of the Pertwee era as it is often claimed to be, The Daemons is an enjoyable view. A romp, if you will. The debate between magic/superstition and science is one that surprisingly hadn't been dealt with at this stage in the programme's history. The approach that The Daemons takes with this is the best part of the story. In the first two or three episodes, events occur that have no definable explanation, and if The Doctor knows, he sure isn't telling. The events seem like magic at first glimpse - strange and sudden heat waves, The Master apparently using Satanic incantations to summon the Devil, and so on. They're deliberately shown to put the viewer off kilter. Is it magic? Has The Doctor finally met his match in his pursuit of bringing scientific reason to the world?

By the end, of course, The Doctor manages to explain everything via science, and superstition is defeated for another day. It doesn't seem to affect the villagers, though, as shortly after The Master is finally captured and carted off, the May Day revelry continues unabated, as if none of the terrible events from the past few hours (this story takes place over the course of less than 24 hours, remember) ever happened. The character of Miss Hawthorne, a white witch who should have been rendered useless by the end of this, reflects the mood of the village in noticing that the birds have started singing again, and life and hope have once again returned to the village.

As The Doctor says to Jo, "Perhaps there is magic in the world after all.", shortly after Yates and the Brigadier retire to the pub for a pint of beer. One of the best closing scenes ever in one of the most charming Doctor Who stories ever made.

JJJ4 - The Daemons 4

Kudos to Roger Delgado as The Master. By this point in Season 8, even producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks had accepted the fact that the character of The Master had been overused by having him be the main villain in every story during the 1971 season. That doesn't make Delgado any less watchable, of course.

Have a look at his first scene with Azal early in this episode. It's a long, dialogue filled scene between Delgado and Stephen Thorne, playing Azal, but Thorne is on a different set altogether the shooting of this scene, and his face is purposely kept hidden to preserve his ultimate unveiling at the end of the episode. As a result, it's up to Delgado to carry the scene as he's on camera in every shot, and carry the scene he does. It's a masterful (pun only slightly intended) performance, especially given the fact that The Master feels and displays real fear for one of the few times in the show's history. I'm not sure if Letts and Dicks had anyone else in mind when they cast the role of The Master, but it's appearances like this one that make it insulting to think of anyone else than Delgado in the role.

Private Osgood, who appears to be the only other scientist on the UNIT staff other than The Doctor, is such an obvious inspiration for Lee Evans's Malcolm in the 2009 Easter Special Planet of the Dead that it's not even funny (seriously - I thought Malcolm was much more annoying than funny, but I'll deal with that later). His exploits in trying to build The Doctor's machine are mildly diverting here, although they only serve to delay the Brigadier from arriving on the scene for even longer.

JJJ3 - The Daemons 3

The Daemons is often cited by critics and fans alike as the high point of the "UNIT family" era, but it really only serves as the first major example of the devaluing of the Brigadier as a character. The element of the Brigadier being out of the loop in this story (figuratively and, and as seen in this episode, literally) is played up for dramatic and comedic effect.

First, the Brigadier is blissfully unaware of the proceedings at Devil's End while he's enjoying a night out on the town. The next morning, when he discovers what's been happening, he can't get a hold of any of his senior staff. Once he finally arrives on the scene, he's thwarted by the Daemon's heat barrier, preventing him (or anyone else, for that matter) from entering or leaving the village. The problem is that the Brigadier's presence isn't missed inside the village. Him not being there doesn't affect the story either way, apart from when Yates or Benton make occasional calls to the Brig via their two-way radio.

Sadly, this will not be the first time that the Brigadier will be seen as ineffectual as he is here before UNIT is phased out of the programme completely in a few seasons' time.

JJJ2 - The Daemons 2

I've often seen in reviews for this story that there is no reason for Sergeant Benton and Captain Yates to be wearing their street clothes in this story, especially given that they were wearing their UNIT uniforms before they left for Wiltshire, and that the whole exercise was a blatant excuse for Barry Letts to show a more human side to our friends at UNIT.

While I agree with Letts' intention, I will point out that the plot contrivance makes sense. Despite the fact that Yates and Benton use the Brigadier's UNIT helicopter to travel to the village, there is no other UNIT presence at this point in the story. As result, it would be better for Yates and Benton to investigate on their own and not spook the villagers (who are all easily spooked, by the looks of it) by arriving in full military regalia.

Having said that, Yates clearly has the higher UNIT salary as his clothes seem a tad more stylish than Benton's, the latter of who wears some of the longest pants seen on a man in Doctor Who to date. Benton has a rough episode - forced to wear ludicrous burgundy trousers and beaten up first by a Morris Dancer, and then by what appears to be elemental forces in the cavern of the church. John Levene acquits himself rather well, though, and does a superb job in the Morris Dancer fight sequence, which is one of the stronger studio shot (without the luxury of editing) fight sequences the programme has seen.

JJJ1 - The Daemons 1

The best thing about this episode is easily Professor Horner, a complete hoot of a character who doesn't have the time of day of day for anyone, least of all TV reporter Alastair Fergus, who has the unenviable task of having to interview the Professor about the dig up at Devil's End. It's a great shame that Horner appears to die at the end of Episode One without ever meeting The Doctor, as a few scenes of these two would have been a treasure to watch.

This episode deals with magic and superstition like no other story before it. Of course, in a science-based show like Doctor Who, you know that logic and reason will eventually trump the "supernatural and magic bit", as Jo refers to it in this episode. What hooks the viewer in, though, is that The Doctor, for whatever reason, becomes instantly fascinated by the dig scant seconds after dismissing it as a load of dingo's kidneys - and all because of the fact that the dig is located at a place called Devil's End. That we don't know why The Doctor is so insistent on stopping the dig is one of this episode's more intriguing and/or puzzling aspects.

This episode also features one of the more blatant examples of how necessary a companion is when she and The Doctor are meeting new people and requesting information from them. The Third Doctor, possibly the most arrogant of them all, comes across as brash and demanding when he bursts into the pub looking for directions to Devil's Hump. It's only Jo's calm inquiries (and, perhaps, the fact that she appears to be the only female in a pub filled with sexually frustrated, middle aged men) that gets the answers out of Winstanley. The Doctor never appears more out of his element then when in group settings like this. No wonder legions of awkward teenagers latched onto the character in their formative years...