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In one of his outbursts of youthful enthusiasm, Swiftnick (Michael Deeks) wants to hold up a certain coach, and when Dick Turpin (Richard O'Sullivan) doesn't show any desire to support him, he decides to do it on his own. Turpin of course has smelled a trap, but he can't let Swiftnick walk into it on his own, so he tries to stop him, but alas too lake and they both end up as prisoners of Colonel Bingham (William Lucas) - as do their arch nemesises Sir John Glutton (Christopher Benjamin) and Captain Spiker (David Daker), Glutton for treason and Spiker as a mere accessorie to the crime. Bingham has them all taken to London to be executed but stops over for the night at Slough where they're thrown into Abel's (Bryan Pringle) prison - Abel who's always willing to take a bribe but not willing to let a prisoner walk. But when Glutton asks him to take a letter to his brother, the judge of Slough, he's ready to take the letter, but bears no responsibility for the reply. However, Glutton's attempt to get himself set free doesn't sit well with Spiker, for whom Glutton shows little concern despite him having been a loyal accomplice to the last - which creates tension, which doesn't help the men escape their predicament, and it's the last opportunity to escape they'll ever see. All seems lost until Rag (Alfie Bass), a pickpocket known to Turpin and Swiftnick, is thrown into the slammer as well - only Abel is his cousin, so Turpin assumes he has a way to escape - and of course, he has, like a spare key his cousin lets him have ...

Now this is not an episode that's high on action, but it's also a worthy closure to series one of Dick Turpin, as it has the four protagonists of the series spending most of the time together in one room, and their character constellations alone already offer enough tension to keep one watching, and a clever script that blends thriller, drama and even comedy helps to make this one exciting episode - really only the deus-ex-machina in the person of Rag is a bit of a narrative letdown -, and the fact that the four leads are in fine form of course doesn't hurt one bit either to make this some fine vintage TV.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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