avle0703_thedeadlyair_1417Steed and Keel investigate sabotage at a scientific institute carrying out vital research on a much needed vaccine…

There’s an unfortunate similarity between the cold open of this and the first story in this set, as a mysterious someone attacks a scientist, and as a result Steed is called in. This time around, though, it’s a medical mystery, and I can understand why David Richardson and the Big Finish Avengers team elected to make this as their final story. It showcases both Steed and Keel doing what they do best, highlighting what each brings to the partnership, has time for Carol to show up and make a useful contribution, and even gives writer John Dorney the chance to wrap up the season with a very knowing final line that I have to say I gave a small cheer to when I heard it.

This is the episode that was being recorded when I went to the studio, and listening to the scenes in all their final glory emphasises the point that David Richardson makes in his interview and Lucy Briggs-Owen separately makes in the CD extras. What’s recorded on the day is only a small part of the whole, with the entire atmosphere of the lab created in post-production – and even a lovely scene where Steed is charming to a lady, and Keel chides him for never being able to switch off the charm has a whole new dimension when the…er… squeaks of the lady concerned can be heard. The sound design across the entire 26 episodes has been excellent, and it ends on a high.

Perhaps by happenstance, but there’s also some excellent period detail in this story that emphasises just how far things have come in the 56 years since this episode was originally broadcast. No, not Steed’s slightly roué attitude to the ladies, but the use of an iron lung – they were going out of fashion in 1961, and are very much part of a different generation of medical treatments. That and the fact that quite a bit of this story would be extremely different had Steed or Keel access to a mobile phone…

Big Finish’s series of Avengers Lost Episodes has been a terrific recreation of a bygone era, and the core team of (in alphabetical order!) Ken Bentley, Lucy Briggs-Owen, John Dorney, Anthony Howell, David Richardson and Julian Wadham deserve recognition for reviving a piece of television history. But, if I remember my Avengers history correctly, there were meant to be 39 episodes in that first season… Hmmm….

Verdict: Steed and Keel go out on a story that serves as a suitable ending… if it has to be! 9/10

Paul Simpson