(A Counter-Measures tale)
A wave of suicides and murders come to the attention of the team – particularly when one of them occurs right in front of Sir Toby…
Probably my favourite of the Big Finish spin-offs so far is represented in this box set by a classic tale set quite early on in their post-Remembrance of the Daleks adventures (there are minor references to incidents in the first box set, and things precede the General Election of 1964). As with Mind Games, Justin Richards adds a few new things to the mythology towards the end of the story to tie this to the rest of the set, but this explains certain anomalies about the Counter-Measures stories – so if you’re a fan of the series, you really do need to listen to this. If you’ve not yet encountered the group, the dynamic between them is made very clear in the early scenes and I suspect will drag you in quickly.
Simon Williams’ Group Captain Chunky Gilmore gets put through the wringer quite a bit in this story – in fact, it would be good if the effect that some of it has on him is addressed down the line – and the others are used well. You realise listening to this just how far the team has come over the four box sets: there are scenes between Sir Toby and Rachel in this which simply couldn’t occur in later stories because of the considerable development in the characters. There are also some slightly surprising twists regarding Mr Rees in this – he’s not what you’re expecting at all – and you’re likely to be getting quite sick of “Ding Dong Bell, Pussy’s in the Well”…
Verdict: A strong outing for the team against a possessive foe. 8/10
Paul Simpson
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