(600) The Kings Demons - Part 1

Todays episode is the 600^th episode of Doctor Who. It does Doctor Who returns to the two part adventure and this two parter also sees the series come to an unexpected end due to BBC strikes. This story sees the return of The Master and the introduction of Kamelion which is perhaps the worst companion since Dodo. The story takes place in 1215 where the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough meet the King who has been acting rather strangely. Terrance Dudley has managed to make nothing last 25 minutes which is quite an achievement. There doesn’t seem to be any real reason why the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough would stay in 1215 and yet they seem to willingly walk into trouble.

Anthony Ainley is playing Sir Giles Estram (or Master). It’s clear that its Ainley and so I think that its just fun then to watch him do the things that he does. His best moment comes when he has a sword fight with the Doctor. It’s a brief fight but it does lead to Estram revealing to be the Master and the Master delivers one of the finest lines in Doctor Who when he says that the Doctor has been so naive.

Janet Fielding is wearing a new (and perhaps more practical) costume than the one she has had to wear since Arc of Infinity. Sadly that is about as interesting as she is allowed to be in this story because there isn’t much to do she is just reduced to standing, watching and wrapping a massive blanket around her. Turlough doesn’t fair much better because wanders off and then is chained up. It’s fair to say that the Doctor has the best of times and that is perhaps being quite generous. There was one moment when he and Tegan are sitting at the banquet table and this sight did remind me of the Doctor and Adric sitting observing what was going on in Four to Doomsday. That perhaps should tell you a lot about my opinions of this episode when this is one of the most interesting moments that I could right about. That’s not strictly true because there was something else.  Like in Terrance Dudley’s previous script, this episode features something that isn’t often seen in Doctor Who and on this occasion its jousting which always seems a bit of a pointless sport.

The location filming is good and bearing in mind that this would have been recorded in the winter of 1982 there is a great sense that everyone is freezing cold and yet still manage to deliver the lines in a coherent way.  In a way this is just a stop gap until the 20^th Anniversary story. There was suppose to be a Dalek story that followed this story but obviously that would become Resurrection of the Daleks which forms part of season twenty-one. I haven’t really got much interest in this story and can be at least relieved that this is a two part story. There is no reason really for the Master to be in this story and that is pretty much all I can say about todays episode.