The King's Demons (TV story)
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The Master . . . wants to rob the world of Magna Carta. Small-time villainy, by his standards, but nevertheless something I intend to stop if at all possible.
Synopsis
The Doctor and his companions arrive at a medieval joust and are surprised to greeted warmly by King John, who calls them his demons. But when a young nobleman returns, having just left King John in London, the Doctor realizes that this king must be an impostor! Then the Master makes an appearance and the Doctor's worst fears are confirmed...
Plot
Part 1
to be added
Part 2
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Peter Davison
- Tegan - Janet Fielding
- Turlough - Mark Strickson
- The Master - Anthony Ainley
- The King / Voice of Kamelion - Gerald Flood
- Ranulf - Frank Windsor
- Isabella - Isla Blair
- Hugh - Christopher Villiers
- Sir Geoffrey - Michael J. Jackson
- Jester - Peter Burroughs
Crew
- Assistant Floor Manager - Sue Hedden
- Costumes - Colin Lavers
- Designer - Ken Ledsham
- Fight Arranger - John Waller
- Film Cameraman - Remi Adefarasin
- Film Editor - Mike Rowbotham
- Incidental Music - Jonathan Gibbs, Peter Howell
- Lute Player - Jacob Lindberg
- Make-Up - Elizabeth Rowell, Frances Hannon
- Producer - John Nathan-Turner
- Production Assistant - Sue Upton
- Production Associate - June Collins
- Script Editor - Eric Saward
- Special Sounds - Dick Mills
- Studio Lighting - Peter Smee
- Studio Sound - Martin Ridout
- Theme Arrangement - Peter Howell
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
- Visual Effects - Tony Harding
References
- The Master used Kamelion, the tool of an earlier invader of Xeriphas, to escape from the planet and then impersonate King John.
- Kamelion does have a mind of its own, but can be controlled psychokinetically.
- The Master's Tissue Compression Eliminator is referred to as a 'compressor' on several occasions.
Story Notes
- This story had working titles of; The Android, The Demons, A Knight's Tale, Demons Keeper.
- Part One was promoted by the BBC as the 600th Doctor Who episode.
- In order to conceal the fact that the Master featured in this story the Radio Times credited him as Sir Gilles Estram played by James Stoker - 'Estram' being an anagram of 'Master' and 'James Stoker' being an anagram of 'Master's joke'.
- This story marks the debut appearance of short-lived new 'companion' Kamelion - in reality a computer controlled, sound activated, animated robot created by software designer Mike Power and computer hardware expert Chris Padmore of a firm called CP Cybernetics.
Ratings
- Part One - 5.8 million viewers
- Part Two - 7.2 million viewers
Myths
- This story was originally to feature the Meddling Monk. (There is no evidence that this was the original intention. Fan speculation postulates this due to its medieval setting and the fact that The Master's scheme in this story is more similar to the Monk's modus operandi than his own usual more grandiose schemes. Whether it would have been as the Monk or a later regeneration of the same Time Lord, it would have involved recasting the part as Peter Butterworth, who originated the character in The Time Meddler, had died.)
Filming Locations
- Bodiam Castle, Bodiam, East Sussex
- BBC Television Centre (TC1), Shepherd's Bush, London
Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
- Much of the history in this story doesn't make sense or is wrong:
- The Master's iron maiden TARDIS has an anachronistic Elizabethan ruff.
- The Magna Carta's importance was fabricated in the 17th century: it achieved very little in the 13th century.
- French was still the language of the court in the early 13th century, so why does only Sir Gilles speak it?
Continuity
- In the final TARDIS scene of the story, the Doctor introduces Tegan to the android that is Kamelion. He says that Kamelion's story "appears to begin on Xeraphas" and that it will "end with the Master". This neatly ties together both the other televised stories that have anything to do with Kamelion: the introduction of the race that created him in DW: Time-Flight and his eventual demise in Planet of Fire.
- The Doctor re-establishes himself as a fair swordsman, having shown skill with a blade in both his third (DW: The Time Warrior) and fourth selves (DW: The Masque of Mandragora, The Androids of Tara). In fact this is the second sword fight between the Doctor and the Master. As in the first such contest (DW: The Sea Devils), the Doctor shows the greater skill. His abilities in this arena are again displayed by his tenth self. (DW:The Christmas Invasion)
- The story (and, thus, the season) ends in a minor cliffhanger, although it is unlikely initial viewers will have thought of it as such. Much like the link between DW: Invasion of the Dinosaurs and Planet of the Daleks, the Doctor here offers to take his companions to a "wonder" of the universe, later referenced in the following story. Unlike the similar promise the Third Doctor makes to take Sarah Jane to Florana, however, the Fifth Doctor's vow to Tegan and Turlough is actually fulfilled. He proposes to take them to the Eye of Orion, the initial setting for The Five Doctors.
- There probably was a real Sir Gilles, whom the Master killed and impersonated. In MA:Sanctuary, set in 1242, the Doctor meets a relative of the real Sir Gilles, whose true fate was never known.
DVD and Video Releases
- The King's Demons was released on video by BBC Worldwide in 1995 as part of a boxed set with the Special Edition version of The Five Doctors.
Novelisation
- Main article: The King's Demons (novelisation)
- Novelised by Terence Dudley in 1986.
External Links
- BBC Episode Guide to The King's Demons
- Outpost Gallifrey Episode Guide: The King's Demons
- Doctor Who Reference Guide: Detailed Synopsis - The King's Demons
- A Brief History of Time (Travel): The King's Demons
- The Locations Guide to Doctor Who - The King's Demons
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