Doctor Who: The Daemons

In the peaceful village of Devil's End something very strange is happening. A professor is preparing to open a nearby burial mound, and a local white witch foresees death and disaster. Meanwhile, the new vicar looks suspiciously like the Master, and he is using black magic to conjure up an ancient Dæmon. Can the Doctor, Jo and UNIT stop their old enemy before he succeeds?

The Doctor becomes alarmed on seeing television coverage of an archaeological dig by a Professor Horner into an ancient barrow near the village of Devil's End. He hurries to the scene with Jo.
The Master is posing as the local vicar, Mr Magister, and using black magic rituals to summon Azal, the last of a race known as the Dæmons, whose miniaturised spaceship is buried within the barrow. Benton and Yates arrive in a UNIT helicopter but, before the Brigadier and his troops can join them, a heat barrier appears and cuts the village off from the outside world.
Azal will appear three times and on the last of these occasions will decide whether to transfer his awesome powers to another or to destroy the planet as a failed experiment. The Master hopes to be the recipient of the powers, but in the event Azal offers them to the Doctor instead. The Doctor declines, arguing that the human race should be allowed to develop at its own pace.
Azal decides to kill him, but Jo then offers to take his place and, unable to comprehend this act of self-sacrifice, the Dæmon self-destructs. The Master is finally captured by UNIT and taken away to await trial for his crimes against humanity.

Directed by Christopher Barry
Written by Guy Leopold
Produced by Barry Letts
Original Music by Dudley Simpson
Film Editing by Chris Wimble
Costume Design by Barbara Lane

First Transmitted
1 - 22/05/1971 18:15
2 - 29/05/1971 18:10
3 - 05/06/1971 18:10
4 - 12/06/1971 18:10
5 - 19/06/1971 18:10

The area under the church is always referred to as 'the cavern' and never 'the crypt'. This was a BBC requirement to avoid the risk of causing offence to viewers with religious sensibilities. Similarly, much to director Christopher Barry's amazement, no mention of God was permitted to be made in the story's dialogue, although references to the Devil were acceptable.

Azal at one point implies that his race were responsible for the destruction of Atlantis (apparently at odds with events seen in The Underwater Menace).

Matthew Corbett, whose father Harry created and operated the popular children's puppet character Sooty and eventually sold the rights to him, appears as one of the Master's devil-worshipping acolytes in Episode Five. He was a late addition to the cast, replacing Bill Wiesner.