Had a Davison double-bill last night, The King's Demons followed by The Awakening. Talk about a game of two halves!
The King's Demons is a 2parter that feels like two different stories entirely in quality. The first episode is really pretty good - well made, good historical ambiance, well-set up guest characters, a good build-up of intrigue... and then part 2 is just a complete load of balls. Poor.
The Awakening, on the other hand, is great fun. One of the better Davison stories, this is an atmospheric little story with an excellent guest cast and a cool premise as well as lots of great dialogue. Always enjoyed this one.
This double also really showed up the "two Peter Davisons". He's as bland and beige as they come in Demons, yet he's really good in The Awakening. Of course, the script probably helps - he gets lots of good dialogue, including some nicely sardonic one-liners, and sparks very well off of Jane and Will. Frankly, they should have kept those two and ditched Tegan and Turlough on the spot.
