At Last a Dragon

With Steven Moffat perennially at the "Press Gang" typewriter and journeyman director Bob Spiers at the helm of this episode, "At Last A Dragon" is the consummate example of what this television program came to represent.

Witticisms, double entendres and a meticulously crafted layered study of human flaws combine elegantly to make for a gripping mix of comedy and drama. (...and "Press Gang" was screened in the afternoon 'kid's TV' slot on Australia's ABC??) This episode sees the Spike and Lynda 'will they-wont they' relationship come to a head. In the tradition of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn 'love-hate' romances, the lovable rogue James 'Spike' Thompson (Dexter Fletcher) makes good on a pledge made to Junior Gazette editor Lynda Day (Julia Sawalha) in the show's pilot episode to "slay a dragon" for her ("...if this were the olden days").

Fine direction, brilliant acting, and a script that belongs in the league of John Michael Hayes and Aaron Sorkin makes this episode a favourite that leads delicately, pushes suddenly and leaves a feeling that continues long after the ephemeral light of the television screen has faded.