The Dæmons
Starring Jon Pertwee & Katy Manning
2 Disc DVD
See HERE for Extras
UK March 19 (£20.42)
US April 10 ($34.98)
Canada April 10 ($43.98)
STORY
If you haven’t seen The Dæmons (and why the flippin’ hell not??) then you probably already know that it has quite the status in the world of Doctor Who “classics”. Now, as some of you may be aware, I’m not the biggest fan of the Pertwee era* but this five~parter (five???) is a supreme delight from start to finish. Even with the inclusion of UNIT.


On the cast front, Pertwee and Manning are on top form. The grumpier side of The Doctor is seen during some delightful traditional pub scenes where his arrogance reminds us that the Time Lord has some social issues. Roger Delgado’s Master is as suave as ever with the Gallifreyean endulging in some truly evil doings with utter delight. The evil in The Dæmons is portrayed spot on throughout and culminates in the gargantuan appearance of Azal and his little buddy Bok.
Full marks must go to actress Damaris Hayman, local “witch” Miss Hawthorne, who steals each scene she inhabits even in the company of the show’s icons and characters. Who has a history of memorable and eccentric “older” women and Miss Hawthorne comfortable resides near the top of that particular list (note to self: do a Top 10 of Memorable and Eccentric “Older” Women in Doctor Who).
I’m often critical of stories that pass over the four episode mark but this tale treats each part with justice, delivering fully with no filler. Believe the hype, The Dæmons is a true classic.
To match the perfection of the story are an almost perfect set of special features. Almost. But I’ll broach this later. First up is the making-of documentary, The Devil Rides Out, another stylish affair from Chris Chapman that utilises Aldbourne (where The Dæmons was originally filmed) and some wonderfully creepy and specially shot footage in a crypt – greatly adding to the mood of the tale it’s documenting.

Which is a real shame as the iconic duo are completely absent from the extras. There’s no archival footage or interviews with the actors who’ve had much to say about The Dæmons in the past; thus rendering this release a slightly incomplete record of such a classic story. And that’s why, if you cast your eye below (steady), you’ll see that it manages a “9” – it would have been a “10” but for these exclusions.

For tech buffs out there, and those even slightly curious about such things, included is a 1992 Tomorrow’s World piece on the colour restoration on The Dæmons. It’s a simple piece, being a prime time weekday BBC show, but it neatly illustrates the time and effort (and intelligence) that went into bringing Doctor Who to the home video market.

The audio commentary features Christopher Barry, Katy Manning, Damaris Hayman and Richard Franklin. Now, here lies another small negative point. All these people are featured in the main documentary and we’re presented with them again. This is where the voice of Pertwee or Courtney (or even John Levene) could have made the entire output of this release that much fresher and enlightening. It’s the same voices all over again unfortunately.
However, it is highly entertaining it must be said. The gang loved the show and loved working on it and their camaraderie is most apparent and makes for a wonderful listen.

The Dæmons ranks as one of the very best releases in the range; a magnificent story with impeccable extras, despite being somewhat incomplete (hardcore fans may also question why Return to Devil’s End wasn’t included, for example). I can’t recommend it highly enough, and I look forward to the story being revisited once more; enjoyed and appreciated all over again.
The Daemons
(Convention Exclusive Edition)
This is a Doctor Who Convention slip~cased edition of the DVD
Limited to only 1000 copies!
Limited to only 1000 copies!
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