Steed spots a phoney; Tara fights the King

Roland Moore’s story for the last of the 1960s Avengers teams draws its inspiration from the TV Comic story that ran from April to June 1972, illustrated by John Canning. From the descriptions of the comic, Moore has added some extra elements that take it more firmly into Avengers-land, although for once the original wasn’t quite as out there as some of its stablemates. Cavalier Sir Cedric – a very nicely judged by Robert Whitelock – has designs on stolen bank notes, although I suspect his original motivation wasn’t quite as well thought out as Moore’s.

We get some nice moments for Christopher Benjamin’s Mother (although quite how he gets in and out of the location we find him in at one point begs a few questions – not least whether Rhonda had a more comfortable night!) and encounter a criminal going straight whom Steed has known for years. It would be quite neat if this tied back to a Steed/Keel story from back in the day…

Julian Wadham and Emily Woodward are as engaging as ever as Steed and Tara, and Samuel Clemens has gathered another strong cast around them. The wishlist for Steve Foxon’s sound design is as diverse as ever (including a different sort of police siren), and Jamie Robertson’s score is particularly good for the fight scenes.

Verdict: Nothing to be cavalier about – this is another enjoyable escapade. 8/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order from Big Finish