Customer Reviews

Doctor Who: King's Demons & Five Doctors [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There's a revised version with "All new Special Effects." DON'T BUY IT! The New effects aren't that special, and some of the changes are downright silly. The nice (if campy) black triangle is replaced with this wibbly warbly ripple that shows evidence of Photoshop and Debabblizer. Racilon's voice get's replaced with an idiotic confucius accent. Go for the original!

In The King's Demons, the Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough, interrupt a jousting match between Hugh Fitzwilliam and Sir Giles Estram, King John's champion. The onlookers are astonished but King John seems unfazed, and welcomes them as his demons. But why is he at
Fitzwilliam Castle and not in London to take the Crusader's oath, and what of Sir Geoffrey de Lacey's confusion that he left the king four hours ago in London?

The interior of the castle is superior and I was reminded of Robin Hood movies, and the Doctor shows his usual compassion on Hugh, "Clearly there is a victor and a vanquished. Must blood be shed?" Turlough has a super line, when he, Hugh, and Isabella are chained in the dungeon. Hugh: "Can you not call on Hell [to free us]?" Turlough: "I could, but then so could you, and with a better chance of success, I fancy." Ouch!

While I rate the two-episode King's Demons as good, I must say this. 25-minute two-parters (to distinguish between the 45 minute Colin Baker ones) were limited by their length, which is why I question their necessity. I sometimes wondered what was wrong with deleting a story to make two five parters or make two three-parters. They did that in the Sylvester McCoy years but that's another story.

Speaking of another story, how about that classic, the Five Doctors, and the special edition, to boot? Some scenes have a few seconds added to them, and changing the time scoop to an "Abyss-creature" watery effect instead of a mere black pyramid was a great move. The special effects are a vast improvement over the original.

After a wonderful bit of scenery at the Eye of Orion, where the Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough are resting, the suspense begins with the appearance of a black-gloved figure manipulating controls. Cut to a scene of the First Doctor, played with great William Hartnell-ness by Richard Hurndall, being kidnapped by the Time Scoop. A miniature of the Doctor appears. Hmmm, who around here likes shrinking people? Familiar?

This happens to the Second and Third Doctor, as well as other companions, but a glitch occurs with the Fourth Doctor and Romana II, who are trapped in a time eddy.

The High Council of Time Lords, still led by Borusa, summon the Master to rescue the Doctor from Gallifrey's Death Zone, "the black secret at the heart of your Time Lord paradise" which is "not the most hospitable of environments."

The Cybermen play a major role here, as three squads of them come out. However, they prove no match to the "most perfect killing machine ever devised," the Raston Warrior Robot, who steals the show. It's like killing mosquitoes with Raid.
There's plenty of fabulous dialogue here. The Master tells us why the Doctor is so endeared to fans: "A cosmos without the Doctor scarcely bears thinking about." Something the Beeb should have remembered in 1989.

My favorite Doctor, Jon Pertwee, comes off the best here, "ever so resourceful," as the Master says. He's still the charming, improvising guy with ideas; it's as if he never left the series, and he's a calm counterpart to the strung out Sarah Jane.

An interesting double-entendre is when the First Doctor sees traces of two other Doctors. "Well, well, well, so two of them made it. I wonder what happened to the other." This last sentence spoken in such an acidic tone, might be a reference to Tom Baker's refusal to participate in the story.

And the Second Doctor's solo presence implies that he came here inbetween the verdict and sentencing at his trial--there is a hint of that when he encounters two of his companions.

One goof is the First Doctor's approximation of pi--3.14287. How about 3.14159265, which if I recall, was spoken in the original version of the Five Doctors--I'll have to check on that later. Another is the Cybermen led by the Master--how could they note fail to spot the Doctor and Tegan in the chessboard room upon entering?

A welcome reunion of sorts from some Who alumni, past and present, (they even included some William Hartnell and Tom Baker footage) with old pairings up (Doctor Two and the Brigadier, Doctor Three and Sarah) bringing back fond memories of the past, as well as new pairings (Turlough and Susan). It figures--we see writer Terrance Dicks utilizing his tool of pairing off figures and thus splitting up the story. Is this guy great or what?

King's Demons gets 3, Five Doctors gets 5--overall rating is 4.

"The King's Demons" looks and sounds very medieval. Although, it does seem very inconsequential, and the conclusion is a little awkward. Ainley and Davison's swordfight looks like they're rehersing. And if the production team were trying to make Kamelion the new K-9, well, I'm glad he was just in two stories. This might be the only 2 parter that should have been a four parter(padding is needed). A tolerable pseudo-historical.

A fine anniversary tale with all the right elements! The story itself is a little thin, but the story is not what we're here for. Even without Tom Baker, and Richard Hurndall portraying a tolerable 1st Doctor, the returning cast of regulars makes it still very special. Best of all is the Raston robot, Gallifrey's perfect killing machine, and the Cyberslaughter. It's a shame that Borusa had to go rogue. Lots of humor, action and some sillieness add up to great fun, and the best anniversary story in the series.

Riding the wave of "Special Edition" releases, this box set includes a somewhat revamped version of The Five Doctors (along with a an intact episode, "The King's Demons). Besides retouching special effects and weaving-in unused footage, this edition fixes a few of the original's problems, such as minor continuity errors surrounding the fourth Doctor's capture. Fortunately, the editors exercised restraint and respect for the original, simply trying to make the original story look its best. (Even before the programme starts, the Death Zone's "Time Scoop" abducts the BBC Video logo.) Still, the result will probably appeal more to old fans than to casual newcomers. If you liked The Five Doctors, you'll probably relish this moody, sylish, but gentle face lift. END

The 5 Doctors is just great! There are a few holes in the plot(i.e. that the second Doctor has still not regenerated even though the only time he was free to come to the Brigadier's retirement was before he knew that Jamie and Zoe were brain washed) but even so, it is the greatest reunion of the known Doctors there will be! True, the special edition doesn't add very much to the episode, but it's nice to see the old campy effects replaced with new modern ones. Chris, if you read this, I can lend it to you for a week if you want it.

For chronology, watch Kings Deamons first then 5 Doctors. Kings Deamons takes place before the 5 Doctors. "Shall we go the the Eye of Orion next, Doctor" Both of these films are some of the Best Dr. Who's you can see. A lot of Peter Davison stories are blighted with wooden acting and weak script, but these are certainly not among those. King's Deamons is very underrated in my opinion and 5 Doctors is the best Dr. Who of the Davison era(even though it didn't have Tom Baker).

This two tape set is one of the best in the series and a must have for fans of the series. First, we are treated to The Five Doctors, the feature length episode featuring appearances by all five Doctors (unfortunately, it is only footage of Doctor #4, Tom Baker; and a recasting of Doctor #1 by William Hurdnell as William Hartnell had passed away). The story also brings together villians and compnaions in a story that while simple, is certainly a lot of fun. The movie also has the added bonus of new special effects and a dolby soundtrack. This is followed up in tape two by the two part story, The King's Demons. Two part stories were a specialty of the Peter Davison era and this was certainly one of the best. The Doctor and his companions wind up in England as King John is about to sign the Magna Carta. But he's acting very oddly and his champion seems to know what's going on. For the casual fan or the die hard collector, this is one to own.

THE FIVE DOCTORS This was made to celebrate 20 years of the Dr Who series and it's certainly a story worthy of being called a celebration. The Doctors are at their best (Hartnell's doctor is played by a different actor but he gives a fairly accurate performance). The Brigadier is also present and is still an intelligent and hard-bitten soldier rather than the Colonel Blimp he turns into in 'Battlefield'. The monsters are also good, especially the Raston Warrior Robot which, moving at literally lightning speed and able to destroy an entire squad of Cybermen in edge-of-seat action-packed scenes, is one of the finest creations of in the Davison era. The music is great, the Master is at his sneering, calculating best and the restored scenes add to he appeal of it all. 5 stars. THE KING'S DEMONS A 2-parter from the Davison era which also features the Master who is this time trying to stop the Magna Carta being signed. Even the Doctor admits as to how that's pretty minor stuff by the Master's standards and the story is nothing but a runaround. Watchable, but hardly a memorable experience. 2 stars.

The only thing I can add to these reviews is by saying that this is the only Doctor Who video with a true Stereo/Surround soundtrack. Remixed into Dolby Surround, it adds a lot more to the adventure. The Kings Demons is a passable story, but the 5 Doctors really shines.