The
series: 'P.R.O.B.E.' is one of the Doctor Who spin-offs
produced by BBV Productions during the long absence
of our favourite show from
television. Four direct-to-video films were produced from 1994 to 1996,
featuring the work of
the Preternatural Research
Bureau. Caroline John reprises her role as Dr Liz Shaw, who heads a team
that looks into
unusual and paranormal
phenomena on behalf of P.R.O.B.E., which bears some similarities to UNIT.
Louise Jameson
features in all four stories
as Liz's friend and colleague, Patricia Haggard, while many other Doctor
Who actors were
also in the series (but
not as Who characters, due to licensing restrictions), including Jon Pertwee,
Colin Baker, Peter
Davison and Sylvester McCoy.
The four stories were written by new-Who writer and actor Mark Gatiss,
who also had
minor roles in all but one
episode.
The
episode: The P.R.O.B.E. team return one more time in 'Ghosts
of Winterborne', a sequel to the earlier 'The
Devil
of
Winterborne'. Most of the cast from the previous story return, with
the exception of Mark Gatiss, who again wrote the
script but did not appear
in the story. Andrew Powell has returned to Winterborne School, apparently
recovered from his
ordeal at the hands of Christian
Purcell. He is surprised to see that the late Mrs Taploe is now the Head
teacher, despite
having been murdered by
Christian, but it turns out to be her twin sister, Margaret Wyndham,
who is at Winterborne to
discover the truth about
her sister's death. Meanwhile, Andrew is being haunted by the ghost of
Christian, who wants him
to sacrifice another boy
in order that both he and Greatorex can be resurrected. At the same time,
Liz Shaw is told that
Christian's body has been
found near the bridge where he disappeared, and a book of spells that belonged
to Greatorex
has been stolen. It turns
out that the book was made from Greatorex's own skin, and it is a vital
part of the ritual that will
be used to resurrect him.
Gavin Purcell has been released from prison due to lack of evidence and
returns to Winterborne,
where he is just in time
to see Andrew kill a fellow student and the return of Christian. Gavin
Purcell of course is blamed
for the murder, and is again
in police custody. Liz eventually convinces the police to release Purcell
to her custody, and
he agrees to go through
the ritual to resurrect Greatorex, using the book (which had been stolen
by Margaret). The ritual
works and Greatorex possesses
Gavin Purcell's body, but Margaret sets fire to the book and Purcell/Greatorex
is at last
destroyed.
The
verdict: Like
its predecessors in the series, 'Ghosts
of Winterborne' is quite entertaining, and features some good
performances and an interesting
script. The production values are quite high given the low-budget nature
of the production,
and the story should please
Doctor Who fans, if only for the chance to see Liz Shaw in action again
(and smoking a pipe).
This story is also much
shorter than the other three, which helps the flow of the plot and keeps
the action moving.
Video clips:
Purcell has a visitor
2.9mb
Resurrection
4.9mb
The Greatorex ritual
4.2mb
The end of Greatorex
6.7mb |
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