When the head of British Intelligence unmasks herself as a double agent, secret agent Jason Vane knows there is but one course of action open to him – beard his nemesis in his lair on Fever Island…

If ever a script was written that allowed Tom Baker to have fun, it’s Jonathan Barnes’ Fever Island, in which, thanks to a combination of unlikely circumstances, the Doctor is transformed into an evil fiend, the leader, no doubt, of some acronymed organisation, accompanied by his three-headed dog. It’s not just that Baker plays up to every feasible nuance of the deliberately clichéd lines he’s given, but the very honest reaction of Jane Slavin’s Ann Kelso that sells it so well. And that’s before Gethin Anthony’s Jason Vane starts narrating his own melodramatic life…

A story like this needs everyone on top of their game: the first Austin Powers movie works so well because all involved are taking it seriously; the last fails because they’re all in on the joke. Director Nicholas Briggs never lets us forget that there’s genuine peril amidst the Fleming-esque buffoonery, and even when all is revealed, the threat isn’t dismissed lightly. There’s not much about the ongoing plot but that doesn’t matter – this is the sort of story you can imagine being shown on screen on the day it’s set (albeit perhaps with slightly less homage within Jamie Robertson’s clever musical score).

Verdict: Congratulations Agents Barnes, Briggs, Baker and co. Another highly successful mission completed. 9/10

Paul Simpson