Vaguely fascist students are deployed by a vaguely fascist academic to take on his vaguely progressive opponents. There were some good bits in this but it made me wish I was watching School For Traitors instead.
Patrick Mower is very charismatic as the student leader Duboys. The nasty edge beneath their Rag Week antics brings out a correspondingly nasty edge in Steed, who hasn't been this assertive since series 3. It's clever the way the writing doesn't make his sudden aggression seem uncalled-for.
The scene where Steed is under attack from flaming arrows, at a caravan in the woods where one of the academics is hiding, is quite bizarre, probably one of the strangest things in the BW era. I wasn't so keen on the reheated 'who's who?' fancy dress shenanigans, except for the bit where Mrs Peel and Duboys face off in their respective Robin Hood costumes.
Jacqueline Pearce as Marianne drew my attention, though I didn't recognise her. Also also seen: Kenneth 'It's your head on the block, Chinn' Benda, Robin 'Altos' Phillips. And John 'C.J.' Barron didn't get where he is today by not being in this.
Previously and also seen: Nigel Stock returning from Concerto, John Ringham from The Secrets Broker.
