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» » Jonathan Creek Daemons' Roost (1997–2016)

Short summary

According to legend, a 19th century sorcerer Jacob Surtees would summon the powers of Hell to terrorize and subjugate his victims at his home, Daemons' Roost. A hundred and fifty years after his death the house is occupied by another, equally macabre, figure: veteran horror film director Nathan Clore. With his health now failing he has summoned home his stepdaughter Alison, to share with her the chilling truth of what happened to her family there. However, just days before her arrival Nathan Clore has suffered a debilitating stroke, rendering him terribly paralyzed and unable to communicate the very truth that she has come to learn. After assisting Alison's husband in the past, Jonathan Creek is called upon to help again but as the story unfolds, with ever more sinister twists and turns, the gruesome rituals that were once enacted in the dungeon of Daemons' Roost are frighteningly revived with horrifying consequences.

Two of the characters are named after mid-20th century US politicians- Reverend Wendell Willkie seems to be named after a Republican who ran unsuccessfully against FDR for the presidency in the 1940 election [lived 1892 to 1944] and D.S. Alben Barkley, called for Harry S. Truman's Vice President from 1949 to 1953 [lived 1877 to 1956]. The hotel where one of the characters is staying is the Schuyler Colfax. He was a 19th century US politician who served as speaker of the House of Representatives, and later Ulysses S. Grant's Vice President from 1869 to 1873, when he left office after being associated with the Credit Mobilier scandal [lived 1823 to 1885].

Clore's films are credited to Great Portland Productions. Great Portland Street in London has long been home to many film production offices, including some for Hammer.

The film poster for 'The Yeti Lives' at the start of the episode credits David Wickren for the screenplay. Wickren is an anagram of David Renwick the writer of Jonathan Creek.

Posters for Nathan Clore's faux-Hammer/Amicus films include: 'Brides of the Damned', 'The Yeti Lives!', 'Horrors of the Inquisition', 'Drink The Blood of the Undead', 'Vampire Nuns Rise From the Tomb' and 'Surrender To The Succubus'.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: BlackHaze
    It's fair to say that the last few outings for Creek and co have been very much hit and miss. Good or bad I'm a huge fan of the series, and glad to have it back, this episode I thought was a pretty good one. In some ways it felt like an echo back to Satan's Chimney, a hugely successful episode. Demons' Roost not the quality of Satan's Chimney, but full of good stuff nonetheless.

    On the downside, I found the plot a little muddled at times, it could have been me, or simply the Red wine. The two sub plots seemed to combine in a somewhat odd manner.

    The negatives I felt were rather minor, the production values were top notch, and as a story it kept me guessing right the way through. David Renwick's imagination is a wonderful thing, some of the theories and plots here were very well thought out. Lovely light touches and bits of humour, Renwick has a particular brand of humour which I love. That lighter side was well balanced with the darker side too, the death of Patrick (Ryan Oliva) was very grim.

    I loved the references back to earlier episodes, the show boasts a rich history, it's nice that it's mentioned. I also thought that Creek and Polly felt a much better combo (at last.)

    More please. 7/10
  • comment
    • Author: breakingthesystem
    The new Jonathan Creek special finds a way up for Creek. By no means perfect, this episode does bring back the core of the series that was so painfully betrayed in the previous three episodes. There are a lot of mysteries to be solved, and most of them are quite satisfying. Several mysteries spanning many eras tie together, with Creek being pulled in to help solve them. There may be one or two plots that cross the line of silliness for little reason, but much of this episode works very well, and the creepy bits are quite well crafted. It may not be up there with the first two Creek specials, but it's great to see something that really does rightfully belong in the series.
  • comment
    • Author: Anicasalar
    Recent irregular episodes of Jonathan Creek did not match the earlier vintage series but Daemons' Roost suggested we were going to have the right mixture of the macabre, fiendish puzzles and humour.

    Alison is returning with her husband to her childhood home owned by schlocky horror director Nathan Clore who wants to tell her some family secrets but he becomes incapacitated by a stroke.

    The house was once owned by a 19th century sorcerer Jacob Surtees who terrorised the nearby village and had a torture chamber in the mansion. Some spooky incidents leads Alison to call Jonathan as he once helped her husband, Stephen out in the past when he was accused of killing his first wife.

    There were plenty of red herrings but also some confusion and plenty of daftness in the plot. It turns out that Stephen might have fooled Jonathan in the past and it did occur to me this might had happened when Jonathan revealed how he solved his first wife's murder. There was one thing bothering me, that Stephen never seemingly met his brother in law.

    The ex con stalking Jonathan and who gets burnt to a crisp by also sat uneasily with me.
  • comment
    • Author: Kagrel
    The show began with an appalling 'risque' racially tinged 'joke' that laid the foundations for a dreadful episode of what was once my favorite British television show.

    The entire episode felt like an amateur production. The casting was atrocious throughout - not sure what would have motivated the casting director to choose any of the supporting members, besides desperation.

    The writing was equally poor, failing to captivate in the manner of older episodes with a lazy unsatisfying conclusion to boot. Gone are the days of the clever plot twist and analysis by the main protagonist, instead the viewer is reminded of the creative failings of the writers who refuse to wrap up this end of year Jonathan Creek special in the conclusive manner that fans of this once great show have become accustomed to.
  • comment
    • Author: Kulwes
    I am normally a big fan of the series but this episode was quite frankly terrible. Awful twists, wooden acting, ridiculous plot lines and unbelievable coincidences are mashed together and served Luke warm with a side order of disappointment.

    The episode begins with a gimmicky mock horror trailer that appears to be an amateur parody of an old-timey horror film, which makes me cringe just remembering it. Later on it transpires that this scene becomes essential to the extremely weak plot.

    The biggest problem with this episode is the writing. The episode has multiple side plots which appear farcical and pointless. The scarecrow/Warwick Davies plot is a vague poke at humour, however is not on par with other comedic endeavours. As for the murderous ex- convict-that-gets-burnt-to-death plot line, not much can really be said for this ridiculous waste of pixels as it only serves to remove the viewer from even vaguely being drawn into the episode. This side- plot was clearly a bad attempt at creating 'danger' and may have scared anyone under 5 but nobody else. This toddler-scaring continued with a rather silly scene involving desecrating a grave (with an painfully fake gravestone) to reveal a spooky-spooky ghost which came flying out of the coffin. Ahhh!! no wait, it was another attempt at 'danger' clearly generated by £1.50 worth of CGI (a real let-down throughout the episode).

    The twists were another major problem as they were overly-simple and very poorly developed. The "anti-money" character was barely a red- anchovy let alone a herring and it took me mere seconds to work out the connection with the initials and the constant repetition of a mysterious 'anti- capitalist agenda' against the 'Banker'was infuriatingly poor misdirection.The supposedly baffling 'magic' flying trick (from the terrible film clip earlier) was also solved instantaneously. The whole main-plot seemed bizarrely contrived and illogical throughout. This episode was upsettingly sub-par and Alan and David should be ashamed that this made it to air. 3/10
  • comment
    • Author: Jaberini
    To preface this I have never seen an episode of the series before this one. It's entirely possible that what seems like poor writing to my uncultured eye is in fact expected of the series, and entirely what you're looking for. But ultimately I found this episode wholly disappointing- for the reason that none of the mystery is resolved satisfactorily.

    The first half of the episode is fine. The more lighthearted side of things with Warwick Davis is entertaining enough, and the mysteries are both intriguing and plentiful. This is completely soured by the fact that nothing is resolved satisfactorily later.

    The final conclusion to the plot revolves around coincidences, entirely unbelievable luck on the part a focal character and some entirely unbelievable decisions too. The solution is therefore not only completely improbable but also impossible to work out- for the viewer or for Creek. Some elements involving an unsolved crime 6 years ago work out well, but are undermined by the rest of the plot.

    Sideplots prove not only irrelevant but also incredibly bizarre- one in particular is difficult to mention at all without spoilers, but its conclusion will leave you wondering if the protagonists or even the police have any morals at all.

    It certainly provides an enjoyable first 45 minutes, but the second half lets it down entirely. It could be that I'm somewhat missing the point of the series, but I certainly wouldn't recommend this particular episode.
  • Episode complete credited cast:
    Ken Bones Ken Bones - Nathan Clore
    Georgie Lord Georgie Lord - Alison Belkin
    Emun Elliott Emun Elliott - Stephen Belkin
    John Ritchie John Ritchie - Taxi Driver
    Rosalind March Rosalind March - Phillipa Teller
    Jason Barnett Jason Barnett - Ryman
    Caoimhe Clough Caoimhe Clough - Young Alison
    Susan Coyle Susan Coyle - Priscilla
    Alan Davies Alan Davies - Jonathan Creek
    Sarah Alexander Sarah Alexander - Polly Creek
    Jo Martin Jo Martin - Nina
    Warwick Davis Warwick Davis - Rev. Wendell Wilkie
    Ryan Oliva Ryan Oliva - Patrick Tyree
    Nicole Cooper Nicole Cooper - Imelda Belkin
    Chris Forbes Chris Forbes - Detective Sergeant Alben Barkley
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