In the peaceful village of Devil's End, something is unleashed from a nearby burial mound, and the Doctor and Jo Grant are there to stop it.   The village is cut off by a heat shield as the Doctor is racing to stop the Daemons and the Master from causing disaster.   The Master is posing as a local priest who wants to be granted the power of the Daemons while the Doctor is assisted by a local white witch, Miss Hawthorne.

THE DAEMONS is seen as a favorite classic story among many Doctor Who fans.  It mixes magic, science fiction, UNIT, The Master, and a serial half filmed on location with the help of three cameras.   It was only available in black and white after its first airings until the Doctor Who Restoration Team overlaid an off air color recording over the black and white film prints.   The team has improved the color restoration technique for the DVD release

I wasn't fond of THE DAEMONS when I first saw it in the 1990s on a local PBS station, KSPS.  I was more interested by the season seven stories and FRONTIER IN SPACE (both which I still love).   After not seeing it for years, I like THE DAEMONS better- it has an unconventional format to it compared to other DOCTOR WHO stories in that season.  UNIT is mostly on the sidelines where the Brigadier is trying to get into Devil's End while Yates and Benton are trapped in the town with the Doctor and Jo.   The Master is featured in the story, but The Doctor and Jo don't confront him until very late in the story.  The Master sends people after them.   He is very much a manipulator in this story.   THE DAEMONS has very much in common with the QUATERMASS stories.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Audio commentary by actors Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates), and Damaris Hayman (Miss Hawthorne), and director Christopher Barry

Production Notes subtitles option

THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (28 minutes)- a documentary on the genesis of, the production, and problems that this eighth season serial faced.  The narrator sounds liek Katy Manning (but it isn't her) and the opening is very well designed.  The documentary features interviews with many of the people involved in the serial.

REMEMBERING BARRY LETTS (33 minutes)- a look at the life and mainly career of Producer Barry Letts from acting to directing to producing Doctor Who to life after Who.

six minutes of mute location film done on 8mm

1992 Colorization test for  the full episode 1

TOMORROW'S WORLD- a 1992 segment on the restoration of THE DAEMONS

six minute photo gallery

PDF materials for Radio Times Listings

The only thing missing from this DVD set is RETURN TO DEVIL'S END which gets some of the cast and the director together again.  I wish they had included it on this DVD release.

FINAL ANALYSIS:  THE DAEMONS is an unconventional DOCTOR WHO story during the UNIT era, but it is one of the better classic Third Doctor stories.  The DVD has a good share of extras as usual, but it doesn't feel complete without the inclusion of RETURN TO DEVIL'S END.

this DVD review is (c)4-15-2012 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com