Counter-Measures: Manhunt

Writer: Matt Fitton
Director: Ken Bentley
Script Editor: John Dorney
Cover Illustration: Alex Mallinson
Music: Nicholas Briggs
Sound Design: Martin Montague
Producer: David Richardson

Starring Pamela Salem, Simon Williams, Karen Gledhill & Hugh Ross
Released June 2013

The opening episode of Counter-Measures' second series leaves the strong impression that it will basically be more of the same, no reinventing the wheel. But that's OK because wheels are fine as they are, and so too is Counter-Measures. This series of sixties-based adventure that's as much spy-fi as sci-fi fielded a promising first box set and Matt Fitton's Manhunt continues resolutely in that vein.

One of the most refreshing things about Counter-Measures is its lack of reliance on extraterrestrial incursion. This could easily have simply been a precursor to UNIT but science is usually placed at the heart of the story, some secret experiment or project uncovered when it goes wrong. In this respect, Manhunt is no different.

The story begins with Group Captain Ian Gilmore on the run, wanted for murder. He is of course innocent, which makes waiting for everyone else to catch up a little tedious. But there's intrigue at the centre of this conspiracy and although the twist concerning two characters is genuinely unexpected, it's also, to put it politely, complete bobbins. Even for a series based in the orbit of Doctor Who, Fitton's use of science stretches credibility and he gets away with it pretty much by having laboratory boffins Professor Rachel Jensen, also the boss of Counter-Measures, and Dr Alison Williams reason that it must be possible because it's happening in front of them.

With the villain riding off into the sunset, it seems like round two is in the offing, and given the title of the series finale is Sins of the Fathers, there may not be too long to wait.

On the production side, this is nearly immaculate. Ken Bentley's talented cast ably race through the material, even if it sometimes becomes a challenge to distinguish the three RP ladies. Particular praise to Hugh Ross, reliably excellent as the slippery Sir Toby, Big Finish's only original addition to the series' line-up. The sound design is faultless throughout but the music once again throws up a few issues. The theme tune revamp did not fall on grateful ears; it was already a racket and the last thing it needed was even more going on. Likewise, some of the incidental music that errs closer to sounding like Nick Briggs falling asleep at his synthesizer breaks the illusion Bentley creates, interrupting and overwhelming dialogue. On the whole, the pieces containing just a couple of instruments work well but the cacophony of flutes, pianos, drums and goodness knows what else really make it seem like Big Finish are sending up the sixties rather than trying to evoke them.

On balance this is a vanilla episode to ease the listener back into Counter-Measures, exactly on par with Fitton's contribution to the first series. Hopefully the remaining three episodes will push the boat out a bit more, but as a benchmark, the series could do worse.