tonycarr

This is an excellent episode. A very good story that takes the form of a puzzle. This has to have the strongest guest cast of the entire series, James Lawrenson, Malcolm Storry in the first entry of a recurring character, Sylvestra Le Touzel and the always excellent Anton Lesser and, of course, John Light as Flambeau. Such is John Light's performance you are never quite sure where you are with Flambeau.

Sid gets to do more in this story, including sharing a bed with Father Brown, There's also a lot less of Mrs McCarthy wittering on about her blasted strawberry scones. I find she is best in small doses.

Highly recommended.

I couldn't work out what this was doing in The Four Just Men. There's no crime, no evil wrongdoers, just a sulky, bad tempered kid who has his first fight as a bullfighter. I get that he is frightened, I would be terrified, but it is not exactly edge of the seat stuff. Tim gets him to perform by lying to him about his father, a famous bullfighter who had died in the ring. Lying didn't seem very "Just" to me.

I don't know if bullfighting is still practised in Spain but showing it makes the episode seem terribly outdated.

The only thing memorable about this episode is Doctor Who meeting Pussy Galore.

What is Beyond Paradise? I thought it was supposed to me a crime show but it seems to be a soap opera with comedy thrown in. I'm getting a bit bored with Martha and the foster parent story line. Not only does the lead character have personal problems but we've dragged in his mother in law. This must be the the only crime show where the detective's sidekick being relegated to third billing.

I also can't get my head around the ooo arrh phoney accents. Why is the young policeman sound as though he is doing an impression of Benny from Crossroads?

On the plus side Kriss Marshall is always good and at least we've got away from DIP's silly idea of getting all thr suspects together and explaining the solution.