Just re-watched THE KING'S DEMONS last night. This starts out looking like a "historical", and for several scenes, isn't bad. Then the TARDIS materializes right in full view of a jousting match in progress, The Doctor has no idea why or how they were diverted (they were headed for Turlough's home planet, supposedly), and the trio are mistaken for "demons"-- or are they?
Anthony Ainley FINALLY gets to "tone it down" in this one, and for the first time since he played Tremas we get to see that he does have some decent acting talent. Poor Mark Strickson & Janet Fielding, on the other hand... OY. I swear, Tegan didn't get to smile ONCE in the entire story, and was much grouchier than even her usual self. Turlough, meanwhile, goes from one overly-tense scene to another, and after 3 whole adventures with The Doctor, has the stupidity to say "I DON'T KNOW!!!" when asked what The Doctor's purpose is. (I'd have thought it would have been obvious by that point. He travels from place to place, helping people in trouble, and fighting evil. In medieval terms, he ALREADY WAS a "knight"!!!)
I'm frustrated by the way the 3 family members running the castle continually mistrusted The Doctor and misinterpreted his every word and deed. It's even more frustrating that they took the word of The Master, who they should have realized was not who or what he seemed (didn't they SEE the "King's Champion" change his appearance right in front of their eyes?). And it's perhaps the most frustrating that at the very end of the story, The Doctor & co. have to "escape" for their lives, with that STUPID family still believing HE was the evil one, and not The Master.
And then there's Chamelion. I ran across a comment online about how for much of the JNT era, there was a severe lack of back-stories, clearly-told stories, and proper explanations-- not to mention character development (or even likable characters). The intro of this STUPID robot, merely by saying he was a remnant of an "earlier" invasion force on Xeraphas, and how he "helped" the Master escape from there, was BAD storytelling in the extreme!!! Then having him / it join The TARDIS crew was absurdity beyond belief. Tegan actually correctly predicted how things would go, when she questioned if the robot might still be under The Master's control. Instead of any stories where the robot might have been utilized in interesting ways, he disappeared completely with no explanation for almost an entire season-- and when he finally did turn up, sure enough, he was under The Master's control AGAIN. (yawn)
The scene at the very end where The Doctor argued with Tegan about sending her home when she said she didn't want to go home screamed "padding" to me. Tegan didn't even seem irritated or any of her usual annoying moods, just bored, like shooting the scene was just a bother to do. I suspect it may be because the serial was originally intended to end on a cliffhanger leading into Eric Saward's DALEKS story, but when that got canceled, they had to stick something else in there instead. Said cliffhanger eventually found its way onto the end of FRONTIOS midway thru the following season. (I wonder if Tegan would have left the show at the end of the 20th season if the Daleks story had been filmed when they intended to? I also understand Michael Wisher was scheduled to come back as Davros, but when it got shoved back to the following year, he was no longer available. A shame, he's the only one of the 3 Davros actors I think of as being the "real" article.)
Anthony Ainley FINALLY gets to "tone it down" in this one, and for the first time since he played Tremas we get to see that he does have some decent acting talent. Poor Mark Strickson & Janet Fielding, on the other hand... OY. I swear, Tegan didn't get to smile ONCE in the entire story, and was much grouchier than even her usual self. Turlough, meanwhile, goes from one overly-tense scene to another, and after 3 whole adventures with The Doctor, has the stupidity to say "I DON'T KNOW!!!" when asked what The Doctor's purpose is. (I'd have thought it would have been obvious by that point. He travels from place to place, helping people in trouble, and fighting evil. In medieval terms, he ALREADY WAS a "knight"!!!)
I'm frustrated by the way the 3 family members running the castle continually mistrusted The Doctor and misinterpreted his every word and deed. It's even more frustrating that they took the word of The Master, who they should have realized was not who or what he seemed (didn't they SEE the "King's Champion" change his appearance right in front of their eyes?). And it's perhaps the most frustrating that at the very end of the story, The Doctor & co. have to "escape" for their lives, with that STUPID family still believing HE was the evil one, and not The Master.
And then there's Chamelion. I ran across a comment online about how for much of the JNT era, there was a severe lack of back-stories, clearly-told stories, and proper explanations-- not to mention character development (or even likable characters). The intro of this STUPID robot, merely by saying he was a remnant of an "earlier" invasion force on Xeraphas, and how he "helped" the Master escape from there, was BAD storytelling in the extreme!!! Then having him / it join The TARDIS crew was absurdity beyond belief. Tegan actually correctly predicted how things would go, when she questioned if the robot might still be under The Master's control. Instead of any stories where the robot might have been utilized in interesting ways, he disappeared completely with no explanation for almost an entire season-- and when he finally did turn up, sure enough, he was under The Master's control AGAIN. (yawn)
The scene at the very end where The Doctor argued with Tegan about sending her home when she said she didn't want to go home screamed "padding" to me. Tegan didn't even seem irritated or any of her usual annoying moods, just bored, like shooting the scene was just a bother to do. I suspect it may be because the serial was originally intended to end on a cliffhanger leading into Eric Saward's DALEKS story, but when that got canceled, they had to stick something else in there instead. Said cliffhanger eventually found its way onto the end of FRONTIOS midway thru the following season. (I wonder if Tegan would have left the show at the end of the 20th season if the Daleks story had been filmed when they intended to? I also understand Michael Wisher was scheduled to come back as Davros, but when it got shoved back to the following year, he was no longer available. A shame, he's the only one of the 3 Davros actors I think of as being the "real" article.)
