History Recap / DoctorWhoS20E6TheKingsDemons

'''Production code:''' 6J

This two-episode serial first aired from March 15 -- 16, 1983.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Averted when the Doctor and Tegan get into an argument about King John's legacy; at one point, Tegan points out that she knows her history, only for the Doctor to take some rather quiet pleasure in expanding on just all the ways in which she's wrong and how King John was a much better ruler than the history books make out. Lesson learned for Tegan; never try and claim you know more about history than a time traveller.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Not only does Sir Gilles Estram's accent sound absolutely nothing like a real French person, for some bizarre reason Creator/AnthonyAinley throws in some AccentUponTheWrongSyllable as well. The end result comes across as somewhat akin to [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} GlaDOS]] doing an impression of [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail the French Taunter]].

The one with the cursed prop.

This two-episode serial first aired from March 15--16, 1983.

* LargeHam: Gerald Flood as "King John" makes Ainley's Master look underplayed.

* TheMaster: Comes to annoy the Doctor again.

** ArtisticLicenceHistory: Of course, by ''our'' history's standards, the Doctor is spewing a pack of ridiculous lies. John was slandered by church chroniclers pretty badly, yes, but there's no getting around the fact that the granting of Magna Carta, the central element of the story, was, as Tegan says, basically extorted out of a furious King John at swordpoint. She is only wrong in this case because the introduction of science fiction elements changed things beyond what Tegan, or any human, could possibly be aware of.

Our story opens up in 1215 AD on Earth, where King John is being an incredible dick to everyone around him, including his host Sir Ranulf Fitzwilliam. Such a dick, in fact, that Sir Ranulf's son, Hugh, takes a dueling challenge to defend his father's honour from the King. He must fight the King's French champion: Sir Gilles Estram. As the pair start their jousting match, the TARDIS randomly lands on the field and interrupts everything. Thinking this might be some sort of trick from the Black Guardian (villain of the three previous serials), the Doctor and companions waltz right out into the open, and scare the crap out of the locals.

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Hugh has this—a young knight valiant in his defense of his father. He is something of a {{Jerkass}} though.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Averted when the Doctor and Tegan get into an argument about King John's legacy; at one point, Tegan points out that she knows her history, only for the Doctor to take some rather quiet pleasure in expanding on just all the ways in which she's wrong and how King John was a much better ruler than the history books make out. Lesson learned for Tegan; never try and claim you know more about history than a time traveler.
** ArtisticLicenseHistory: Of course, by ''our'' history's standards, the Doctor is spewing a pack of ridiculous lies. John was slandered by church chroniclers pretty badly, yes, but there's no getting around the fact that the granting of Magna Carta, the central element of the story, was, as Tegan says, basically extorted out of a furious King John at swordpoint. She is only wrong in this case because the introduction of science fiction elements changed things beyond what Tegan, or any human, could possibly be aware of.

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Hugh has this—a young knight valiant in his defense of his father.

* TheMaster