Review: Doctor Who Classic: The King's Demons

Five and The Master talk to Kamelion.

Anthony Ainley wasn't a bad Master. Really. But in Five's era he often got the short straw. He was campy, over the top and definitely hammy. He wore disguises, often unnecessarily, and his plans made little sense. The King's Demons was the last of these bad Master stories, and it also features the appearance of one of the most misguided decisions in the entire 48 year history of the program. Kamelion.
      The last story of the Anniversary Season was due to be a story called The Return, which would bring back Davros and the Daleks for a spectacular story before the Anniversary itself. However, 1982 saw several striking problems that wiped the story out, rippling back through the production all the way to Mawdryn Undead. The King's Demons was then left as the final story of the season. To make matters worse, JNT had wanted to bring back the idea of the Robot companion, in the form of the shape-shifting android, Kamelion. The robot had been "found" by JNT whilst looking for a replacement for K9, and it was quite impressive - apart from the constant breakdown problems and the fact that it looked spectacularly creepy. Thus, he was only ever in two stories - this one, and one of my next Classic reviews, Planet Of Fire.

      The two-episode-long story sees The Doctor and crew arrive in medieval England, where King John is behaving rather off-colour - he doesn't mind the fact that a TARDIS has just arrived in the middle of his jousting match. The crew are constantly refered to as "Demons", but are entertained in court. It becomes apparent that the King is an imposter, as a messenger arrives from London with knowledge of the real King. The Master's paper-thin disguise is soon revealed, and he turns the court against The Doctor. The Master and The Doctor discuss Kamelion and banter about their abilities. As The Master controls Kamelion via his will, The Doctor manages to overpower The Master's mind and prevent Kamelion from being used for evil. They escape, and The Master goes off to fight another day.

Kamelion is... creepy. Really creepy.

     The Master's disguise is another topic of contention. Even before the disguise appears, Ainley's voice is instantly recogniseable and the disguise doesn't even bother to change his face. He's also playing to another stereotype again, this time of the French. This is the last of The Master's disguises, though, so we can be grateful for that. Kamelion is downright creepy. Seriously, it's frightening how uncanny valley this thing is. It's not child-friendly.
     At the end of the day, The King's Demons is a bit of a waste of time. The period details and atmosphere are gorgeous, as in the previous two-parter Black Orchid, but it's nowhere near as fun and due to The Master's hijinks it doesn't really go anywhere. The King's Demons lost, for now.

Thanks.

NEXT WEEK: The Five Doctors Revistited! Woo! Also, look out for my Season 20 Overview this Friday.