Tara is sent on a mission to Scotland – but is surprised to learn she will have a new partner… who feels very familiar…

Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky’s tale takes its core ideas from the first of the Tara King comic strips that appeared in TV Comic, between October and November 1968., drawn by Tom Kerr. There’s quite a bit of gender swapping, a considerable amount of motivation rewriting, and one major character change along the way, leaving us with another story that makes it seem like Tara is the only person who is what she seems to be (with Emily Woodward rising to the occasion and giving us a stronger Miss King than sometimes is the case in the character’s various appearances).

Tara may have a new companion but it’s played by a familiar voice, as Julian Wadham adopts a Scots accent for Angus MacSteed – leading to inevitable queries on Tara’s part as to whether it’s her Steed playing games, or it really is someone else. (This isn’t totally new for the audio – as the panel (right) shows Angus MacSteed did make an appearance in the original comic, albeit rather differently.) We also have a borderline obnoxious brat, an unusual ghillie, an even more unusual vicar, and the villain of the piece who brings a note of nastiness to proceedings that slightly jars against the tone elsewhere.

Verdict: A perfect example of how The Avengers changed beyond recognition in its near-decade on air – how would Dr Keel have reacted?! Daft but enjoyable. 7/10

Paul Simpson

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