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A DEVIL OF A DAY FOR STRANGE

The hero of BBC1's anti-demon drama Strange (Saturday) may have beautiful eyes and a nice line in theological wit, but as far as self-preservation goes he is definitely a few beads short of a full rosary. There he was, trapped in a lift with an extremely angry, electricity-wielding demon, who couldn't seem to summon up enough volts to finish the job. So what does the de-frocked dumbo do? Of course, he explains to the demon that the enclosed metal box of the lift was restricting the voltage, and earthing was the answer! Thank you very much, said demon Azal, who during the programme had in fact been credited with helping Faraday in his electrical experiments.
Dimwit Strange was only saved when physicist-turned-nurse Jude interrupted the demon's power source with a cable miles away in a dark and gloomy church.

There were so many unanswered questions in this Jonathan Creek Meets The Exorcist drama. Didn't Jude realise her partner Rich was indeed the earthly embodiment of Azal when she found the 'demon eye' contact lenses in the bathroom cabinet? Why did John Strange now go straight to the top and tackle Canon Black, who could not have been more clearly labelled as the daddy of all demons if he had been sporting a tattoo on his forehead saying 'I am the Devil'?

And when one victim was discovered incinerated to a pulp on his hospital bed, why was there no Tory MP on hand blaming the NHS?
So little was revealed about John Strange's mysterious fall from grace that I expect a series to follow this one-off drama. All the elements are there - a handsome hero, the teenage computer whizz kid, a hypersensitive Down's Syndrome boy who can tune in to psychic energy, and the ultimate battle between Good and Evil - with a whole list of named demons to defeat.

And then there is the matter of Jude and Rich's son Joey. Saturday's drama ended with the boy staring Omen-like into the camera. Yes, folks, Damien is amongst us again, and I fear for the future if Strange is the last line of defence!