Small but powerful…

OK, it’s clearly the season for deadly dolls to be at the forefront of attention – we’ve got the new Chucky series arriving on the 12th October, and Evil inadvertently (I have to assume) gives a bit of unexpected advertising to the Child’s Play spinoff with the penultimate episode of this season. Although there are ways to explain everything that occurs, it really does seem as if there’s some supernatural elements involved.

The team – which would include Leland if he gets his way – try to help a widowed father who’s concerned about his family, and we end up in a situation where there are spooky pictures on the walls, a teenager who causes damage when he tries to get  rid of itching under an arm cast… and a doll involved. That particular thread is exacerbated by the presence both of Kirsten’s psychiatrist, who’s thinking about writing a book about the team, and then the most wonderfully flamboyant exorcist who feels as if he’s escaped from a very very bad B-movie made in the wake of The Exorcist.

Meanwhile, Lynn is babysitting, and is surprised to find her charge apparently waiting for approval from another doll before being allowed to play with her. Then the parents of the child accuse of her stealing the doll… which somehow has got home with her. And eventually ends up in the garage with the doll that Sheryl has already got.

Which is added to by a special present that Sheryl receives for services rendered – and that’s services in the Cynthia Payne humiliation sense…

All of which is set against the background of David’s impending ordination, and there’s a fantastic scene between Mike Colter and Katja Herbers as both David and Kirsten push beyond their normal reticence about their relationship.

Verdict: A great deal happening, setting us up for a strong finale. 8/10

Paul Simpson