Nuisance Value

Currently watching this episode. DVD, the nine-disc set. After "Read and Destroy" was found to be a big bungling mess, this one promised to be more up my alley. The spoiled rich girl gets abducted, with Danny in pursuit in his fast Ferrari. Wrong choice in the casting, of that lady- in-waiting nanny or whatever. The actress certainly isn't living the part. Looks like she is just along for the ride.

For once, though, it is the plot that interests me. The idea of the wayward damsel in distress. My interest usually lies with the actresses, having obtained my DVD boxset for Susan George in "The Gold Napoleon" and then cheering on episodes that feature other stunning ladies like Prunella Ransome in "The Ozerov Inheritance" and Juliet Harmer in both "The Old, The New, And The Deadly" and "That's Me Over There" but this one, though showing initial promise, goes into a bit of a lull, as I was hoping for Lisa to be the focal point of this episode. Vivienne Ventura does kick it (literally) into overdrive when she gets her turn, and the script comes around nicely, with the sparks flying as they should between the bungling rescuers and the spoiled heiress who has her own ideas.

It just goes to prove yet again what I always say, all stories need a sparkling heroine. Here my criticism would be that it took to long to establish the feisty lady as the highly- watchable little fire-starter that she is. The episode is far gone by the time I really got a feel for it. The second half is where it happens!

Another pacy and humorous adventure for the amiable duo of Curtis and Moore. Don't ask me how they turn up in Spain but sure enough they get tangled up with a pretty young girl who's the apparent victim of a kidnap plot. Danny gallantly tries to rescue her but ends up a captive himself and worse, is blamed by her wealthy dad, an old business rival, for cooking up the plot.

Brett is soon charged to negotiate with the kidnappers after a ransom note is received and soon enough the dynamic duo seem to have solved the case, but with almost half the running time to go, you figure that there has a few more twists or three before the real mastermind is revealed and our heroes prevail again.

Roger looks particularly suave in his self-designed pin-stripe jacket and matching slacks while Tony in much more casual attire has some difficulty with the feisty young señorita at the centre of the plot.

Nicely directed by old-hand Leslie Norman, Barry's dad, I'm not convinced we were ever in Spain for this one. Even if the plot twists were more obvious than the sun rising in Spain every day, Curtis and Moore still manage to saunter their way entertainingly through another mildly diverting adventure.

This episode is just in the line, the mood, of what you usually see in this TV show. I am surprised it was not shown before. Our two lead characters, womenizers, should have been in charge of such a mission - help a young and beautiful heiress, wealthy girl, who had been adducted, to find freedom again - long before. Nothing exceptional, just fun, and Ralph Bates is certainly not the best choice for a villain, because of his hair cut, so lousy. But Ralph Bates has always had this hair cut; so they should have chosen another villain, for instance Kieron Moore or Jack Hawkins, but certainly not Ralph Bates. Not bad episode, but not the most terrific.