CM0404_cleansweep_1417The immediate threat may be over, but the team are still targets…

And so ends Counter-Measures – or does it? Personally, I really hope not, as it’s been consistently one of the best spin-offs that Big Finish has produced from the classic series, and while the team are involved with the new series stories that BF are now creating, I hope that we will find out the fates of Sir Toby, Rachel, Allison and Gilmore in the not too distant future.

They go out on a high: the melodramatic nature of some of the preceding stories is acknowledged within the fiction, and the team themselves query whether they really are capable of dealing with such matters. There are plenty more nods to the past of the series and good moments for each individual member – Toby’s last scene with Heaton, the Rachel and Ian dinner, and Allison having to work on her own stand out – but the story emphasises how good they are together. That’s something that is clear about the actors too; having seen them together during the recording of series 2, the bonds are obviously there. The rapport on and off “screen” is clear from the difference between this and some of the earlier stories in the set, where Rachel and Allison are dealing with a fake Sir Toby and Gilmore.

Matt Fitton ties things off nicely – and I’m sure some people may choose to finish listening in future a few minutes before the actual final scenes if the series doesn’t return.

Verdict: A fitting end to the set – and maybe the series? 8/10

Paul Simpson