An archaeological dig from Devil's End is being screened live on BBC3 (proving that even then, their output was mostly unwatched sensationalist documentary fare). Hearing the name the Doctor realizes the danger and rushes to prevent the fateful break-through scheduled for midnight; unfortunately for mankind, he gets lost on the way and cannot find Devil's Den until it is too late. Posing as a minister, the Master has summoned what appears to be the Devil himself, bringing gargoyles (well, okay, one gargoyle) to life in the process. With UNIT sealed outside by an impenetrable heat shield, the Doctor works with what he has to stop the Master's plot.
I guess the subject matter must have been more sensitive then than now, but Doctor Who takes on the image and presence of the Devil, although is very careful to point out over and over that it is not really the devil but a race of creatures who look a certain way and are responsible for the prevalence of many 'goat-horned' creatures and myths down the years. Backs covered, the serial then does play up the danger of this 'not-the-real-Satan' and there is a good sense of danger and urgency to most of the episodes. Particularly enjoyable are the early ones where all we know is something big is out there, and we do not get to see it ourselves. As the story progresses it becomes more of a traditional thing as the Doctor races to stop the Master and some big beast while UNIT hide behind things and fire their rifles.
This still works reasonably well, and I enjoyed the outdoor locations and some of the pagan rituals that are drawn into the writing. The main 'not-the-real-Satan' is pretty well done; okay so it is dated projection but it still works. The stone gargoyle on the other hand – not so much; I did like the rather impish movement – but Blink's angels it is not. The cast play well with the sense of fear; Pertwee is convincing when he talks of the danger and I liked some of the funnier things he delivers (such as frustration at the soldier for not understanding the complex machine he is working on). Manning is also good here; okay the usual ditzy stuff but she convinces in her fear. Delgado returns as the Master and is good value again (looking very good in the dog-collar) but on this occasion someone has learnt from past mistakes, so when he tries to leg it in a vehicle this time the Doctor is ready for him (fool me once, shame on me etc). Courtney plays nicely, and Levene gets another crack at his on-again-off-again character.
A good close to season 8; a season that has been mostly good serials albeit a little bit samey in their structure. The Dæmons produces a good sense of danger and fear that it mostly keeps up throughout, even though some of the effects limit this, and ultimately the story comes down to the familiar structure again.
