Bayban gathers his enemies together – all the better to rid himself of them…

As co-director Louise Jameson notes in the extras, this is something of a romp – a dark one, and one with roots in very old stories (“Whom gods destroy…”), but a romp all the same. Colin Baker once again has great fun revisiting the petulant man-child – as is clear from his comments – and Bayban takes pleasure in coming up with as many different ways to deal with his foes as possible.

Lizbeth Myles’ script brings Vila back into Bayban’s orbit, and the on-off relationship between the Butcher and Abigail Thaw’s psychostrategist Hinton is once again at the heart of the story: whoever came up with combining these two characters should take a bow, as the pairing plays into the positive (such as they are) and negative sides of each of them. Michael Keating is as solidly reliable as ever as Vila, and it really is hard listening to him and Baker verbally sparring to think that four decades have gone past since they were together on TV!

Louise Jameson and Nigel Fairs (who also does a grand job on the sound design and score) keep things moving so there’s not a chance for the characters – or the audience – to catch their breath, with Myles throwing in new twists constantly. The ending is the one I’d hoped for in terms of future appearances by all concerned (those that live, that is!)…

Verdict: May the odds be ever in Vila’s favour! 8/10

Paul Simpson

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