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Post by dem on May 16, 2009 16:33:51 GMT
Capitalising on the underwhelming response to the State of Decay thread .... Barry Letts - Dr. Who And The Daemons (Target, 1974, 1975)  Chris AchilleosPrologue. A country bumpkin returning from the pub on the village green, faithful hound at his side. A something emerges from the shadows and rips up the dog. Old boy dies on the spot, his face frozen in horror. Terrific start! Just for a second there, i thought i was back on the salt marshes of Lincolnshire with the Slime Beast on my trail. Throw in some Black Magic, White Witchcraft, a sinister clergyman trading under the highly dubious title 'Reverend Magister' and some Daemon-raising in the church crypt and i'm actually looking forward to making a proper start on this one. Are there any more Black Magic episodes in the series? Something that caught my eye at back of the book is an advert for Target Books. If you sent off for info on their publications, you received a Free Target Badge! plus entry in the twice yearly Free Target Draw!, the lucky winners receiving a years set of Target Publications. So it's a long shot, but are any of our readers the proud owners of a Target badge? Thanks KC. The Lionel Fanthorpe bonus Badger is lovely too and will go up at a later date. |
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Post by Johnlprobert on May 16, 2009 17:24:35 GMT
Dem - I had a free Target badge! And for all I know it's still kicking around my parents house somewhere - I must ask them. It was about the size of a 2p piece from what I remember. The info I got was a little summary newsletter of their latest Dr Who books - The Daemons, The Doomsday Weapon, Day of the Daleks and The Sea Devils. Amazing / appalling the things that stick in your memory, isn't it?  |
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Post by dem on May 16, 2009 18:44:37 GMT
A plague upon you, my accursed deprived childhood!  "Based on the Target Books symbol - see front cover of this book - this attractive three-coloured badge, pinned to your blazer lapel or jumper, will excite the interest and comment of all your friends!" I'll say! Wonder if there was an Everest equivalent? I suppose you've seen Mr. Samuels' snazzy Aklo button? Be surprised if you haven't, the way he shoves it in your face every time you see him.  |
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Post by killercrab on May 17, 2009 16:57:49 GMT
Dem - the nearest Dr Who linked story that deals with sort of devil worship is of all things the Sarah Jane spin-off from the early 1980's. Sarah with the help of K9 investigates rum goings on - it's got robes and sacrificial knives! The actual series didn't go near the topic again - Stones Of Blood is about blood drinking standing stones that move - that's worth a punt.
Horror wise you have Pyramids of Mars ( Mummies) , Talons of Weng Chiang ( Fu Manchu style victorian romp) , Brain of Morbius ( alien Frankenstein) , Horror of Fang Rock - ( monster on the loose in lighthouse - period drama) , Seeds of Doom ( Quatermass style vegetation monster story) , Image of the Fendhal ( experiments on a primeval skull bring the Fendhal to earth!) , The Hand of Fear ( fossilised hand wants a nuclear reactor).
Not surprisingly these are all Tom Baker stories - the season is seen by some as very influenced by Hammer horror. Hope that helps !
KC
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Post by dem on May 17, 2009 19:31:33 GMT
Stones Of Blood is about blood drinking standing stones that move - that's worth a punt. KC Ill say! Thanks so much for the lowdown, KC. I didn't realise just how many tie-ins there were, and trying to suss out the horrors by title alone is impossible. Must admit, the plots outlines make them all sound appealingly bizarre. Making slow but steady progress with The Daemons. Devils End Village, Wiltshire. The entire country are tuned into BBC3 to witness top archaeologist Professor Horner and his team open the Devil's Hump barrow at midnight on April 30th - Beltane! There's been some opposition to the project as the site has a reputation for ghost activity and evilness, but, as the Doctor condescends to Jo and anyone else who'll listen, the supernatural doesn't exist, it's a load of superstitious twaddle and can all be explained away by science, etc. However, now the excavation's drawing near, even he's feeling a little uneasy, mostly on account of the location ("Devil's End - the Doctor shuddered. It had an evil ring to it"). Olive Hawthorne, the brolly-wielding local White Witch and budding Nostradamus, is still more concerned. Convinced that Horner's opening of the ancient tomb will bring down the legendary 'Curse of Devil's Hunp' upon all their heads, she confronts him and smarmy presenter Alastair Fergus on live TV, but all her hocus pocus mumbo jumbo is in vain. The team get ready to proceed. At least her performance goes down well with the local Squire, Mortomency Vere de Vere Winstanley (he's posh) who has a healthy disregard for the TV crew on account of them being "wretched London chappies taking over the place. You'd think they owned it." Though he's in denial of the fact, in his heart of hearts the squire can't help thinking there's something in Ms. Hawthorne's voodoo juju hoodoo nonsense, what with old Josh's terrible death and Bates the farmer's missus moaning that her hens have been bewitched. Still, that new fellow at the Rectory, Reverend Magister, seems a sensible sort of chap, he'll soon knock all this superstitious tomfoolery out of the locals' thick heads. So he sets off to the local pub, The Cloven Hoof to be entertained by the laugh-a-minute landlord, Bert Walker, whose great jokes soon have him in "fits". Meanwhile, Ms. Hawthorne is paying a moonlight visit to Reverend Magister who she's yet to meet. Such a shame kindly old canon Smallfellow vanishing like that after serving the community for so many years .... |
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Post by dem on May 28, 2009 9:27:36 GMT
Seem to have been reading this forever, still only reached p.81, but it's far from a dull slog due to the industrious Reverend Magister who, in the space of four chapters, has now taken a stranglehold on Devil's End. Luckily for the BBC3 hierarchy, after all the hype, the opening of the barrow is no damp squib as the viewing audience get to see plenty of onscreen death, Prof. Horner being among the casualties though the Doctor miraculously survives. This, needless to say, is the Magister's handiwork - unbeknown to the outsiders, he's inveigled the villagers into his Satanic sect, summoned the demon Azal in the church crypt and isolated Devils End inside a dome-shaped, impenetrable, invisible heat barrier.
Plenty of pulp room 101 action. Double-dealing self-styled funny comedian Bert Walker of The Cloven Hoof is showing early potential as a 'Worst pub landlord' contender but perhaps the best performance to date has been from P. C. Groom as the much-loved honest village bobby who gets squashed flat by a giant animated gargoyle masquerading as Satan!
According to Peter Haining's Dr. Who: 25 Glorious Years (W.H. Allen, 1988), the Daemon episodes were shot on location at Aldbourne and Membury in the heart of Wiltshire during early 1971 and you can only wonder if the production team enjoyed their stay as seldom can a community have been depicted quite so unfavourably as this unfortunate bunch. At least Roger Delgado (Reverend Magister/ The Master) seems to have had a fun time of it. "I remember the final scenes for the sheer spontaneity of the crowd of villagers who were watching. They suddenly started to boo and hiss when I was driven away."
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Post by carolinec on May 28, 2009 18:43:33 GMT
According to Peter Haining's Dr. Who: 25 Glorious Years (W.H. Allen, 1988), the Daemon episodes were shot on location at Aldbourne and Membury in the heart of Wiltshire during early 1971 and you can only wonder if the production team enjoyed their stay as seldom can a community have been depicted quite so unfavourably as this unfortunate bunch. At least Roger Delgado (Reverend Magister/ The Master) seems to have had a fun time of it. "I remember the final scenes for the sheer spontaneity of the crowd of villagers who were watching. They suddenly started to boo and hiss when I was driven away."  You know I was born and raised in Wiltshire, don't you Dem! From my recollection, the village they used was actually somewhere else in the south other than Wiltshire - Surrey or somewhere like that? But I may be wrong. Can't check now as I've just had a barium enema today so I'm not feeling too good ...  |
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Post by dem on May 28, 2009 19:40:06 GMT
Euw! that could not have been pleasant! You have my sympathy, every wish for a speedy return to good health and nomination for our keenly-fought annual Totally Too Much Information award so your post was not in vain.
I wouldn't be too surprised if you are perfectly right about the Surrey location. You'll note i stressed "According to Peter Haining ..." A superb entertainer and a true pulp great, but no-one ever accused him of being deadly accurate with his facts.
Coincidentally, just started The Fog and this time it's a tiny village in the shadow of Salisbury Plain on the receiving end.
Get well soon, Caz X
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Post by marksamuels on May 28, 2009 19:47:50 GMT
Euw! that could not have been pleasant! You have my sympathy, every wish for a speedy return to good health and nomination for our keenly-fought annual Totally Too Much Information award so your post was not in vain. I wouldn't be too surprised if you are perfectly right about the Surrey location. You'll note i stressed "According to Peter Haining ..." A superb entertainer and a true pulp great, but no-one ever accused him of being deadly accurate with his facts. Coincidentally, just started The Fog and this time it's a tiny village in the shadow of Salisbury Plain on the receiving end. Get well soon, Caz X Best wishes for a speedy recovery from me too, Caroline. And I'm a fellow Tull fan, so that should be a comfort. There aren't that many of us about... Mark S. |
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Post by killercrab on May 28, 2009 22:52:06 GMT
the Daemon episodes were shot on location at Aldbourne and Membury in the heart of Wiltshire during early 1971 >>
Haining was bang on the money in respect of location - a heavy snowfall hampered the shooting of the heat barrier scenes - trivia fans. You're nearly there Dem - if the book ends like the tv story - it should make you smile.
Caroline - I've endured what you've just had done plus other invasive procedures. I hope you're feeling less poorly soon .
KC
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Post by carolinec on May 29, 2009 13:23:10 GMT
Yep, Haining's right. Sorry - that guy was the tops so I shouldn't have doubted him. My Pocket Essentials (signed last year in person by Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts - I just had to sneak that one in) says: "Filming took place in the Wiltshire village of Aldbourne" I must have been thinking of something else which was supposed to have a Wiltshire setting, but wasn't actually filmed there. My book also goes on to say: "This is the only story to feature malevolent Morris Dancers"  I don't know how that will come across in the book, but it sure is funny when you see the TV story! And thanks for the good wishes re the you-know-what. You notice how I just casually slipped the comment into my earlier post - must be worth a prize for the Totally Too Much Info Award there, Dem.  In fact, I feel quite good today. It must be something to do with flushing out all the toxins (or perhaps the fact that I'm now allowed to eat properly again). It makes you wonder whether regular colonic irrigation would be a good thing to have ... And now I'm trying for the Going Completely Off Topic Award too. Mark, you're a Tull fan too. Lovely - I didn't realise that. In fact, I'm feeling rather chirpy at present. I had a ticket for what I thought was going to be their only UK concert this year - well, solo Ian Anderson concert in fact. But I couldn't go as I couldn't travel (it was in London) due to ill health. However, I now find that he's doing more concerts around the UK in September - and I have a ticket! Even more reason for getting myself well and fit to travel again. Anyway, back to Doctor Who and the Daemons. Glad you're enjoying it Dem - it's one of my favourite Pertwee stories ... |
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Post by dem on May 29, 2009 20:18:25 GMT
Glad you're feeling better, Caz. Yeah, Daemons it's a jolly enough read, much better than i remember State Of Decay. My one worry was the Doctor character would hog the story but he's been peripheral to date. Am i right that his assistant Jo was played by Katy Manning, who later went on to greater things including a five star performance in the superlative Brit smut romp Don't Just Lie There, Say Something?
I'm assuming that's "the only Dr. Who story to feature malevolent Morris Dancers"? Ramsey Campbell's written one, as has David Campton. And so has Franklin 'master of the macabre' Marsh!
Rev. Magister and his cowled cronies: everyone exposed to The Fog .... seems to me there was an inordinate amount of trouble going down in Wiltshire while you were in the vicinity. And who can forget the fanged little madams of Peribury, finally exposed in Etienne Aubin's brave documentary Dracula And The Virgins Of The Undead? Seems to me you were trying to create a smokescreen with these "it was Surrey!" protestations ...
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Post by carolinec on May 29, 2009 20:48:20 GMT
Am i right that his assistant Jo was played by Katy Manning, who later went on to greater things including a five star performance in the superlative Brit smut romp Don't Just Lie There, Say Something? Yes, the very same! I'm assuming that's "the only Dr. Who story to feature malevolent Morris Dancers"? Ramsey Campbell's written one, as has David Campton. And so has Franklin 'master of the macabre' Marsh! Yes, sorry, you had me in Doc Who mode then, so that was the only thing I was thinking of. But which is Ramsey's story with malevolent Morris Dancers? You've got me intrigued now. Rev. Magister and his cowled cronies: everyone exposed to The Fog .... seems to me there was an inordinate amount of trouble going down in Wiltshire while you were in the vicinity. And who can forget the fanged little madams of Peribury, finally exposed in Etienne Aubin's brave documentary Dracula And The Virgins Of The Undead? Seems to me you were trying to create a smokescreen with these "it was Surrey!" protestations ... It's a strange place, is Wiltshire. |
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Post by dem on May 29, 2009 21:01:30 GMT
The Ramsey story is Merry May from Scared Stiff where, depending on which edition you have, there's a suitably disturbing J. K. Potter graphic to accompany it. Karl Wagner selected it for Years Best Horror XVI.
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Post by stuyoung on May 15, 2010 15:02:43 GMT
I read somewhere that there's an in-joke in the scene where Yates and Benton watch the rugby match on TV. Apparently the music playing over the match had some connection to demons. Can't remember what the music was now.
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I don't know how that will come across in the book, but it sure is funny when you see the TV story! 
In fact, I feel quite good today. It must be something to do with flushing out all the toxins (or perhaps the fact that I'm now allowed to eat properly again). It makes you wonder whether regular colonic irrigation would be a good thing to have ... 