Dæmos Rising

A semi-sequel to the "Doctor Who" story 'The Daemons', this explores the nature of the Daemons and their connection to humanity. Both Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Capt. Douglas Cavendish (played by husband and wife team Miles Richardson and Beverley Cressman) return from the earlier film 'Downtime', although their characters are expanded upon perfectly as this is very nearly a two-hander. That's not to say there's no plot - there is, a complex one which begs a sequel. On the basis of this such a sequel would be highly welcome - the direction is the most assured of a "Who" spin-off so far, the picture quality surpasses anything we've seen before, Alistair Lock's score is suitably chilling, and the cast (including the late, great Michael Wisher's son Andrew) are uniformly excellent. There are nods to "Doctor Who" (I'd give details, but the joy is in spotting them alone!) but this is strong enough to stand up on its own, easily bettering the story which inspired it (this is far more atmospheric for one thing, and the ending more logical). Credit is due to both David Howe and Keith Barnfather for this, and one hopes it won't be long before they're teaming up again, perhaps for 'Daemos Dawning'?

To provide balance, I feel I should start by saying I enjoy The Daemons, as in the Pertwee story, but it's never been a real favourite, and by that token the Daemons themselves have never been a favourite monster. That said, I adore a ghost story, and love Downtime, Daemos Rising sits as a follow up to both Downtime and The Daemons. I favour the first half, with all the mystery and intrigue, the sinister vibe and eerie music. The second half is good, but as I say as a monster I never truly had an affection for them. This drama is very well made, very well acted, and very much has a place within The Dr Who timeline, I hope Miles and Beverley appear in more productions. The superb intro featuring the unmistakable voice of Ian Richardson, is a great touch, he's much missed.