Review: Counter-Measures: Big Finish Audio: 2.2: The Fifth Citadel

The team face problems underground and try to prevent a catastrophe…

James Goss’ tale splits the Counter Measures group up for the vast majority of the story, with Gilmore and Allison sent to investigate strange goings-on in a graveyard, and Rachel accompanying Sir Toby to meet some Underground cleaners who are displaying signs of radiation sickness. The two cases are interlinked, with a third strand featuring Sir Toby’s new assistant, the sometimes oleaginous Templeton, showing that he definitely has what it takes to work for the crafty Kinsella, able to fill in for him when Toby has other commitments.

The pairings work well: Rachel is now, quite rightly, suspicious of Sir Toby’s motives, and is getting to the stage where she’ll check a calendar to confirm if he tells her what the date is. Exactly what he’s playing at isn’t clear for some time in the drama, particularly after we meet Celia Imrie’s somewhat disturbed scientist, who has some equally disturbing ideas about ways to push people to achieve her aims. The side of Toby that we saw in last year’s Artificial Intelligence is ironically closer to the surface in this story.

Verdict: With key plot points based on a less well known side of London life – the fluffers our characters meet genuinely exist to this day – this is a nice counterpoint of major threat with character-based drama. 8/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order the second series of Counter Measures from Big Finish