IN THIS ONE... Sapphire and Steel find a boy from today lost in the streets of 1666 London.
REVIEW: My complaints have evidently gone back in time and Allan and Ranson have taken heed. This story breaks the structural mold by not showing the trigger than gets a boy lost in time, which becomes a good excuse for extending the search for that trigger. Things are complicated by the boy, Billy, being half-possessed by a ghostly demon that prevents him from remembering half the solution. The half he DOES remember is an old painting in a junk shop window, and it will become an important component of the trio's escape. Since the agents are from a future time, there's no reason they couldn't go and fight the Evil in other eras, allowing Ranson to pull from historical reference, so it's great to see a whole adventure take place in the past.
It's 1666, so history buffs will realize the Great Fire of London has to start at some point, and the "666" in the date gives it a hellish little note that justified the appearance of Time as a demon. When the heroes and their rescue are caught behind the flames, my thoughts went to just how the agents are really trapped. Can't they time travel on their own? Perhaps, but though it's not really said outloud, it would mean abandoning Billy to the flames, which they absolutely wouldn't do. By that point, he's free of the demon and remembers the tune his whistled, and combined with Sapphire sneaking herself into the painting after a chat with the original artist, they are all saved. A lovely bit of business as well is how Billy is bullied in 1666 by street urchins who think he's dressed funny, but as the agents get him a proper change of clothes, he's again made fun of in the present when he shows up there in his Renaissance togs.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE VORTEX: The Great Fire of London was started by the Fifth Doctor's fight against the Terileptils in "The Visitation".
READABILITY: Medium-High - Let's break that mold more often, it really pays dividends.
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