128 [1] –The King's Demons | |||
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Production | |||
Directed by | Tony Virgo | ||
Written by | Terence Dudley | ||
Script editor | Eric Saward | ||
Produced by | John Nathan-Turner | ||
Executive producer(s) | None | ||
Music by | Jonathan Gibbs | ||
Production code | 6J | ||
Series | Season 20 | ||
Running time | 2 episodes, 25 minutes each | ||
First broadcast | 15–16 March 1983 | ||
Chronology | |||
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The King's Demons is the sixth and final serial of the 20th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who , which was originally broadcast on BBC1 on 15 and 16 March 1983. This serial introduced Kamelion, voiced by Gerald Flood, as a companion.
The serial is set in an English castle in 1215. In the serial, the alien time traveller the Master (Anthony Ainley) uses the robot Kamelion to imitate King John of England as part of the Master's plot to have the real King John overthrown and thus prevent the signing of Magna Carta.
In 1215, the Court of King John of England is at the castle of Sir Ranulf Fitzwilliam to extort more taxes, and when the lord refuses to pay the King insults him. To defend his honour his son Hugh takes on the King's champion, Sir Gilles Estram, in a joust. The latter wins easily, though the joust is disturbed by the arrival of the TARDIS. The Fifth Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough are greeted as demons and welcomed by the King.
Having established the date, the Doctor concludes the King is not himself – in fact, he is not the King at all, as he is actually in London taking the Crusader’s Oath. Sir Geoffrey de Lacy, the cousin of Sir Ranulf, arrives at the castle and confirms he knows the King is in London. Sir Gilles is about to torture him as a liar during a royal banquet when the Doctor intervenes. It seems the King's champion is not who he claims to be, either: Sir Gilles sheds his disguise and reveals himself to be the Doctor's nemesis, the Master. He flees in his own TARDIS, which had been disguised as an iron maiden.
The King knights the Doctor as his new champion, and he is given run of the castle. After a series of mishaps, including the death of Sir Geoffrey at the Master's hands, the Doctor confronts the King and the Master and discovers the truth. The monarch is really Kamelion, a war weapon found by the Master on Xeriphas, which can be mentally controlled and used to adopt disguises and personas. Disguised as King John, the Master intends that Kamelion will behave so appallingly so as to provoke a rebellion and topple the real King from his throne, thus robbing the world of Magna Carta, the foundation of parliamentary democracy. It is a small plan on the Master's usual scale, but nevertheless particularly poisonous to the normal progress of Earth society.
The Doctor resolves the situation by testing the Master in a battle of wills for control over Kamelion. He takes control of the robot and steals it away in the TARDIS, thus foiling the Master's scheme. Kamelion reverts to its robot form and thanks the Doctor for his assistance and rescue. Kamelion asks to stay aboard the TARDIS, though Tegan seems unsure. When the Doctor suggests returning Tegan to Earth, Tegan however says she still wants to stay. The crew then head off for the Eye of Orion.
Episode | Title | Run time | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [5] |
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1 | "Part One" | 24:48 | 15 March 1983 | 5.8 |
2 | "Part Two" | 24:27 | 16 March 1983 | 7.2 |
The story was repeated on BBC1 on consecutive Fridays 6–13 July 1984, achieving viewing figures of 3.3 and 5.0 million respectively. [6] The working titles for this story were The Android, The Demons, A Knight's Tale and Demons Keeper.[ citation needed ] Part One of this story was billed by the BBC as the six hundredth episode of Doctor Who. [7]
This story marked the first appearance of Kamelion as voiced by Gerald Flood. [8] Freelance effects designer Richard Gregory and software designer Mike Power gave a demonstration of the robot prototype for Nathan-Turner and Saward. Nathan-Turner was so impressed he commissioned scriptwriter Terence Dudley to develop a storyline to introduce Kamelion into the series. Shortly after filming, however, Power died in a boating accident [9] and no one was able to continue his work. Subsequently, Kamelion made only two appearances before being written out of the series.
In the story, the Master disguises himself as Sir Gilles Estram, Estram being an anagram of "Master". To hide Ainley's return, Sir Gilles was credited in the Radio Times as having been played by "James Stoker", an anagram of "Master's Joke". [10]
This story marks the last appearance of the TARDIS console room set, which had been in use since The Invisible Enemy . A new console room would debut in the next story, "The Five Doctors", although the console itself would be reused as the Second Doctor's console in The Two Doctors .
According to the extensive production documentation released from the archive as part of the Season 20 - The Collection Box Set in September 2023, Eleanor Bron was offered the part of Queen Isabella. Bron was later cast as Kara in the Season 22 story Revelation of the Daleks . [11]
Author | Terence Dudley |
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Cover artist | David McAllister |
Series | Doctor Who book: Target novelisations |
Release number | 108 |
Publisher | Target Books |
Publication date | February 1986 (Hardback) 10 July 1986 (Paperback) |
ISBN | 0-491-03642-6 |
A novelisation of this serial, written by Terence Dudley, was published by Target Books in February 1986.
The King's Demons was released on VHS in November 1995 in a box set along with a special edition of the subsequent serial "The Five Doctors" and a postcard book. It and Planet of Fire were released in a Kamelion-themed DVD box set [12] on 14 June 2010. In September 2023, the story was released again in an upgraded format for Blu-ray, being included with the other stories from Season 20 in the Doctor Who - The Collection Box Set. [11]
Mawdryn Undead is the third serial of the 20th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was originally broadcast in four twice weekly parts on BBC1 from 1 to 9 February 1983.
"The Five Doctors" is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programme's 20th anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations on 23 November 1983, the anniversary date. It was transmitted on BBC1 in the United Kingdom two days later.
Pyramids of Mars is the third serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Robert Holmes and Lewis Greifer under the pseudonym of "Stephen Harris" and directed by Paddy Russell, the serial was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 25 October to 15 November 1975.
Vislor Turlough is a fictional character played by Mark Strickson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was a companion of the Fifth Doctor, being a regular in the programme from 1983 to 1984. Turlough appeared in 10 stories.
Logopolis is the seventh and final serial of the 18th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 28 February to 21 March 1981. It was Tom Baker's last story as the Fourth Doctor and marks the first appearance of Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor and Janet Fielding as new companion Tegan Jovanka.
Castrovalva is the first serial of the 19th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 4 to 12 January 1982. It was the first full serial to feature Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor. The title is a reference to the lithograph Castrovalva by M. C. Escher, which depicts the town Castrovalva in the Abruzzo region, Italy.
The Mind Robber is the second serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in five weekly parts from 14 September to 12 October 1968.
Resurrection of the Daleks is the fourth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on BBC1 between 8 February and 15 February 1984. The serial was intended to be transmitted as four 23-minute episodes but a late scheduling change by the BBC meant that it was transmitted as two episodes of 46 minutes; reruns restored it to its intended format.
Warriors' Gate is the fifth serial of the 18th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by Stephen Gallagher and was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 3 to 24 January 1981.
The Keeper of Traken is the sixth serial of the 18th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 31 January to 21 February 1981.
Planet of Fire is the fifth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 23 February to 2 March 1984.
Four to Doomsday is the second serial of the 19th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 18 to 26 January 1982.
The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison.
Time-Flight is the seventh and final serial of the 19th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 22 to 30 March 1982.
Frontios is the third serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 January to 3 February 1984.
The Awakening is the second serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast on BBC1 on 19 and 20 January 1984.
The twenty-first season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 5 January 1984 with the Fifth Doctor serial Warriors of the Deep, and ended with Colin Baker's first serial The Twin Dilemma. For the third time, the entire TARDIS crew changed over the course of a single season. John Nathan-Turner produced the series, with Eric Saward script editing.
The twentieth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 3 January 1983 with the story Arc of Infinity, and ended 16 March 1983 with The King's Demons. A 20th Anniversary special, "The Five Doctors", followed in November 1983. John Nathan-Turner produced this series, with Eric Saward script editing.
The nineteenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 4 January 1982 with Castrovalva, and ended with Time-Flight. John Nathan-Turner produced the series, with two script editors: Anthony Root and Eric Saward.
The eighteenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who consisted of seven four-episode serials broadcast from 30 August 1980 with the serial The Leisure Hive, to 21 March 1981 with the serial Logopolis. The season is Tom Baker's final as the Fourth Doctor before his regeneration into the Fifth Doctor, as well as Lalla Ward's as companion Romana II and John Leeson's as the voice of K9. For the second time, the entire main cast changed over the course of a single season. The season also sees the debut of Matthew Waterhouse as Adric, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, and Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka, the three of whom would remain regular companions into the Fifth Doctor's era, as well as the return of the Master, portrayed both by Geoffrey Beevers and Anthony Ainley.