Every adventure of The Scarifyers is good fun, and this one is no exception. It is perhaps not as funny as its immediate predecessor, The Curse of the Black Comet, but given that it contains 100% less BRIAN BLESSED, there was probably no way around that. It still manages to contain the worst jailbreak of all time, the best escape plan ever concocted, poison soup, a man afraid of wasps, a woman throwing potatoes, an authentic Middle-earth funeral, a duck-based explosive device, and Nigel Havers deducing Lionheart's occupation by the size of his waistband.

There's a good laugh at the end, of course, and the whole thing is good fun, thankfully forestalling any bittersweetness that could come from realising that this is one of Nicholas Courtney's last-ever performances. Though I'll miss him and I'll miss Lionheart, I'm thankful the series will be continuing regardless-- I can't stomach the idea of foregoing my annual dose of The Scarifyers.

You can read a longer version of this review at Unreality SF.