Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Cast: Anthony Howell, Julian Wadham, Dan Starkey, Miranda Raison, Peter Barrett, Derek Hutchinson, Emily Joyce, Sarah Lark, Mark Goldthorp, Geoffrey Breton, Philip Pope, Nicholas Briggs, Nick Hendrix, Angus Wright.

The third volume of stories from Big Finish concerning The Avengers team of Dr. David keel and John Stead starts with the premise of a prison break out. It is a premise that has been done before the 1960s series first aired and has been done perhaps more successfully since, notably in one of the best films ever in the Shawshank Redemption and in the highly popular Prison Break television series, and yet there is something nostalgic and homely about revisiting an idea when you take away the modern bells and whistles attached to a story.

The Springers sees Anthony Howell once more take on the role of Dr. Keel and do the bidding of the secretive John Stead, this time perhaps being placed in more danger than the good Doctor has ever allowed himself to be coerced into.

Prison breaks are still thankfully so uncommon that when they happen they are big news. The shock to the public system is such that the agitation is keenly felt in the vicinity that it has happened in or indeed in the area where the absconder is likely to try and flee to. However the news of the break out is never truly fulfilled, for the question of who helps the person who has evaded or escaped justice is never normally released. It can be one person or a whole team and it is a question that is fittingly given some thought in John Dorney’s adapted script of The Springers.

With Dr. Keel posing as notorious criminal Fenton, the timing and organisation behind the escape is slowly revealed and it is that planning that makes The Springers an enjoyable re-introduction to the team in this the first story of Volume 3 of The Avengers.

Anthony Howell brings all his vast experience gained in the previous two volumes to really capture the part originally played by Ian Hendry. In this episode the Doctor loses all sense of built up gravitas he has displayed infront of his work colleagues and indeed of Steed and sinks close to the edge of personal distortion. The listener is aware that lines are blurred in such outings, but Anthony Howell builds up the fierce reputation afforded the man whose identity he has taken on that under the collected manner of propriety, could indeed beat the heart of a dangerous man waiting to escape his own bonds.

With additional characterisation brought to life by the likes of Doctor Who’s Dan Starkey, the assurance of Miranda Raison and the shamefully underused on television of Emily Joyce, The Springers is an enjoyable tale to be re-introduced to a great team. One that never should be allowed to be restricted to just the one set of series.

The Avengers: The Springers is available to purchase as part of The Lost Episodes Volume 3 Box Set from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.

Ian D. Hall