CM0403_riseandshine_1417The team gain further unusual allies as more of their past exploits come back to haunt them…

This box set is getting a real “end of an era” feel to it, with characters (sometimes not very subtly) realising the arc that they’ve been on across the series – Hugh Ross does a great job with Toby’s lines on this subject, but such self-awareness doesn’t sit comfortably – and plenty of loose ends being tied up. Philip Pope gets a chance to show plenty of different sides to Templeton, even if not all of them are particularly pleasant, and he follows a rather inevitable trajectory.

The threat level seems to have been turned up to 11 as well – Counter-Measures has felt like one of ITC’s spy series in the past, but this set is more of the Anderson side of ITC’s output, with constant huge threats that need to be dealt with. It provides a reason for more action-based sequences, but that, to be honest, isn’t necessarily what you associate with the team. The melodrama is equally high: the end of the episode, I’m afraid, reminded me of one of the Armstrong & Miller show characters seeing the team out of the office, and then leaning into a microphone to say, “Kill them!”

The above may make it seem as if I didn’t enjoy Rise and Shine: I did, even if at least one of the guest actors crossed the line into Professor Zaroff territory at times. It’s very different from the episodic feel of the series to date, and I have a feeling it’s leading to disaster for the team…

Verdict: A high stakes adventure that just occasionally misses the mark. 7/10

Paul Simpson