Story
Action
Pace
Humour
Violence

This episode has a rather odd opening: the lads are keeping watch on a house and break in to discover a dead girl. This plot is then completely abandoned and the main synopsis takes over. Very odd! Anyway, the main strand is actually a lot better than it sounds.

Admittedly there aren't many notable scenes in the story (and I can understand why some folk may not be impressed with it) but it is still enjoyable and reasonably well-paced. The fact that the villains are quite likeable helps.

Am I going to be crass and say how absolutely lovely Jill Baker is? You bet I am!! Jill Baker is absolutely lovely! Definitely a high-point in the ep! <G>

Fave scenes include the assassination attempt on Mandy – excellent combination of stunt work and editing there. And a quick mention for the short scene of the young lad bemused at the squad's arrival at the derelict house - see the Dialogue section below. It's delightfully bonkers throwaway scenes like this that help make the series a joy to watch.

As we often see with Roger Marshall scripts, there are some obscure - or "Did they cut something out there?" - events as the plot unfolds. What's all the malarkey with Doyle deliberately letting Mandy realise he has searched her apartment? Is it to warn her? Is it to test if she is nervous about something? And why does Swetman use a taxi to send his shotgun to the hotel?

The ep reaches its climax in fine gun-blasting form. The ending is odd, however, in its contrast over how Walter and Merhart are dealt with.

Another less than favorite episode, but this one does have some great moments.

Among them:

Doyle in the opening section. He's trying so to be good and not get caught up in the lusty mood of his girl. When his neck and ear are nibbled and kissed he seems to wriggle with pleasure and give in. Ah. Ray has a gee spot. <G> Wonder what went on in the elevator ride to the 6th floor?

Unshaven and cold Doyle very annoyed with clean and cheery Bodie. Bodie happy as a clam in sand having obviously enjoyed the kind of activity Ray had intended the night before. Bodie making a very tacky joke about the Seven Dwarves. Listen carefully. It's quite naughty.

The search of the flat with the dead girl in the bath is well choreographed. The tiny bit of dialogue from Bodie with the kid on the steps. Nice, nice. (note Murphy is visible but not acknowledged in several scenes)

Doyle's interrogation of Mandy during the car washing and flat searching bit is well written and played as is Bodie's exchange with the truck driver. Fine work by all involved.

Doyle in the racing car, saving Mandy.

But best of all and one of my favorite Lads moments is Doyle, absolutely deadpanned and unrepentant, cheating at Mastermind while Bodie whines. It's exquisite.

Note that just before the assassin tries to strike, Bodie (Lewis) pulls the tab on the pop can and it spews all over everyone. It's clear from his expression this was not supposed to happen.

Or, with Lew's mindset, perhaps it was.

I do a lot of FF through this one but the good parts are constant rewinds.

Bodie's contact Ross is from MI6, the intelligence service, but later in the episode we hear that Bodie got his info from 'Five', referring to MI5 (counter-intelligence).

In the hotel room where Mandy is holed up, a knock is heard at the door but when Bodie answers it, the lights in the room have been turned off. The camera angle changes and the lights are obviously on again! (Thanks to Chris Swindells). [POST-SCRIPT: The BBC remastering and restoration work on this episode (primarily for Network's BluRay & DVD releases in 2016) corrects this problem.]

In the hotel room shoot-out, Swetman fires at a roughly forty-five degree angle, yet the shot seems to go straight up into the ceiling! (Well spotted Donald Gresko!)

The strange character name Dusty Rhodes was previously used by Roger Marshall in his 1967 Avengers episode 'The £50,000 Breakfast'.

Although we see Steve Alder (as Murphy) on the motorbike, that's only for stationery shots. On attempting to ride it he hit some mud and the bike fell on top of him, causing a leg injury. One of the stunt team consequently replaced him for moving shots.

Dave King (Harry Walter) was a stand-up comedian who branched out into acting. Perhaps best remembered as the corrupt cop Parker in The Long Good Friday. Passed away in April 2002.

Jill Baker (Mandy) guest starred with David Jason in an early episode of the classic sitcom Only Fools and Horses and worked again with the actor in March in the Windy City, a US-based pilot that was ridiculously touted as a revamp of The Equalizer - in fact it bore more relation to the soporific Inspector Morse than the classy, fast-paced Edward Woodward show. A series was never forthcoming.

Dennis Lill (Merhart) appeared in the New Professionals story 'Hostage'. Perhaps best remembered for his long-term appearances in Survivors and Only Fools and Horses. During the 1970s and 80s he notched up a tremendous amount of guest spots on various TV shows such as Van Der Valk, Rock Follies, Mapp and Lucia, Doctor Who, Red Dwarf.

Rachel Davies (Deborah) played Lewis Collins' ex-wife in The Cuckoo Waltz. Pops up in all sorts of things but rarely has a lead role, strangely.

Stephen Yardley (Roy) came to fame in the eponymous cat-burglar role of drama series The XYY Man (which was the forerunner to Strangers and Bulman, though Yardley did not reprise his role in either of these). Went on to the cult BBC television adaptation of Day of the Triffids and then soapy adventures in the bland Howards Way. Also starred in Virtual Murder, a short-lived series made in 1992 by the BBC, touting it as a their own version of The Avengers. Most recently appearing in the Channel 5 soap Family Affairs.

Mark Eden (Ross, Bodie's MI6 contact) is best remembered as the nice-guy-turned-psychopath Alan Bradley in Coronation Street.