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[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  Immortal Clay
The Unbreakable Tile     (5 of 10)

An inventor at a small, failing ceramics firm believes he's created an unbreakable ceramic. However, industrial spies are after it, as it could have applications in the rocket and space industries. When one of the spies turns up dead at the factory, Steed is sent to investigate, and finds a complex web of intrigue and soap-opera going on!

When I first saw Season 2 in the 90s, this was definitely one of the episodes focusing on a specific industry that I found escessively-talky. It's grown on me, but the fact that the 2009 remastered Region 2 DVD version has HARSH sound which makes a lot of the fast-paced dialogue difficult to understand isn't helping. (I really should check my 90s videotape recorded off A&E to compare quality.)

Cathy's already on the scene writing a book about the ceramics industry when the body is discovered. Steed is sent in posing as a member of the Ceramics Board, and is forced to spend 24 hours beforehand studying a book on the subject to pass himself off as an "expert". This reminds me of what Holmes had Watson do in "The Illustrious Client" (one of the 1965 Douglas Wilmer episodes of that series). One-Ten is very snippy and impatient with Steed, blaming him for an invalueable piece of ceramic being stolen under his nose, and also complaining that he "disapproves of amateurs being involved" with regard to Cathy. Although "Death Dispatch" was broadcast 3 episodes before this and filmed even earlier than that, this really makes that episode seem like it should have been "held back" even further than it was, since in there, it's One-Ten who recruited Cathy before even telling Steed about it! The more I see One-Ten (Douglas Muir), the more he reminds me of Alexander Waverly from U. N. C. L. E., except I kinda like One-Ten more.

Another great cast. Paul Eddington is "Richard Marling", the owner of the firm, who's so worried they may go under he's neglecting his wife; I'll always remember him most as the disbelieving husband in THE DEVIL RIDES OUT.

Gary Watson is "Allen Marling", obsessed with making a technological breakthrough while frustrated that his older brother doesn't have any faith in him. Apart from 2 other AVENGERS episodes, I've also seen him in an 80s MISS MARPLE. I confess, I kept confusing him with Anton Rodgers, there was some resemblance.

James Bree is "Miller", the sculptor, a "small" man who's absolutely obsessed and jealous over "Anne" (Rowena Gregory), the flirty secretary with dreams of becoming a film star. She's in love with Allen, but is having trouble convincing Miller she's not really interested in HIM! It drives him to desperation and even grand theft. Bree seems perpetually typecast as obsessive weirdos, as he was in the Douglas Wilmer SHERLOCK HOLMES episode "The Six Napoleons", where he had a positive fixation on "The Great Emperor!" He was also in 2 DOCTOR WHO stories, "The War Games", and "The Ultimate Foe".

Steve Plytas is "De Groot", an industrial spy whose front is that of an international sales rep. He wants the "unbreakable" tile and will go to any means to get it. I've seen him in 2 AVENGERS, 2 DANGER MANs, 2 SAINTs, a PHILLIP MARLOWE, a 1986 SHERLOCK HOLMES ("The Six Napoleons"-- talk about story typecasting!), plus ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER, BATMAN (1989, the so-called plastic surgeon) and GOLDENEYE!

And then there's Frank Olegario as "Blomberg", the pro wrestler-styled brutal henchman (no self-respecting villain should be without one). I've also seen him in 3 SAINTs, a DANGER MAN, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER and INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (of course!).

Writer James Mitchell did 5 AVENGERS-- 2 in season 1 (both lost), 2 in season 2 and 1 in season 3. He also did 5 episodes of THE TROUBLESHOOTERS and was the creator of the much-more sombre spy show CALLAN, for which he wrote 35 episodes!

Richard Harding directed 7 episodes of THE AVENGERS, all in season 2. I'm guessing he had a bit of trouble with the tight confinement of some of this story's sets, given that in one scene the camera clearly (and loudly) slammed into a table, and later, during the climactic fight scene it was very hard to make out what was going on, we didn't really get to see Cathy DO anything, and I'm not even sure how Blomberg was over-powered. Oh well! (They can't all be great.)

Suffice to say, at the end, it looks like Richard & Anne's marriage may be happily back on track.

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  Tunnel Of Fear
Something Wicked at the Amusement Park     (7 of 10)

Harry Black, convicted for a crime he didn't commit, breaks jail and tries to find evidence to clear himself. Joined by Dr. Keel and John Steed, their investigation focuses on Harry's former place of employment-- an amusement park and a "Ghost Train" attraction in particular. It's really a cross between THE AVENGERS, THE FUGITIVE and SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES-- only, without the supernatural bits. Especially when you see Dr. Keel at one point RUNNING from the cops! (He's a lot more fun to watch than Dr. Richard Kimble.)

Steed becomes interested when his Great Dane "Puppy" clearly likes Harry, and, when he finds the situation ties in with government secrets somehow being broadcast from the area. Sure enough, before it's over, he finds the "Ghost Train" has a back room with high-tech electronic equipment. Steed hilariously poses as a carnival barker running a belly-dancing show, and along the way, they run across Harry's mother, his girlfriend, a hypnotist who uses his skills in criminal ways, and a very jealous boyfriend who doesn't like Steed getting too cozy with his girl.

Steed also contacts his boss "One-Ten" on the phone twice, and apparently in between dropped "Puppy" off with him. Every time I see him, One-Ten reminds me of "Mr. Waverly" from THE MAN FROM UNCLE-- except this was 3 years before Waverly debuted.

While Keel still gets most of the screen-time in this story, it's clear the series was slowly evolving into what it would later become, with Steed at the focus of things, and more outragious espionage plots.

At the climax, Steed threatens the baddies with a very dangerous gimmick-- and after, Keel is shocked to learn Steed WASN'T bluffing!

Anthony Bate is "Harry Black". I thought he looked familiar, I'd also seen him in 3 episodes of THE SAINT, along with a later AVENGERS.

I didn't recognize any of the main baddies, but a couple of other familiar faces turned up briefly. Morris Perry was a police sergeant.  I'll always remember him as the incredibly-evil "Captain Dent" in the Jon Pertwee DOCTOR WHO story "Colony In Space". He also played the butler "Barrymore" in the Tom Baker HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES.

Also in the background was Julian Holloway as a member of the crowd. He was in a pile of the later CARRY ON films, and SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN, but I'll always remember him most as the obnoxious ex-army drill sergeant "Paterson" in the final Sylvester McCoy DOCTOR WHO story "Survival".

Missing for 55 YEARS, this episode turned up in a private collection in 2016, and was issued on a Region 2 DVD in 2018.  Picture & sound were mostly clear, though I had a bit of trouble making out some of the dialogue.  Extras include a 1962 interview with Ian Hendry, a 1964 interview with Patrick Macnee, an interview with Big Finish writer John Dorney, who wrote an audio adaptation of the story before the actual episode itself turned up, "reconstructions" of several of the episodes using still photos, the Big Finish audio reconstruction of this episode, and PDFs of the surviving season 1 scripts. They clearly wanted to pack as much as possible into it to make it worth buying on its own. What a thrill to see another episode of the show I had NEVER seen before. Here's hoping it won't be the last one to turn up.

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  Box Of Tricks
Death is a CABARET     (5 of 10)

A magician's assistant is shot dead during a stage performance, and whatta ya know, soon after, Steed, investigating NATO secrets being leaked, has managed to get his singer friend Venus working in the same nightclub. I never quite worked out HOW Steed connected the secrets TO the nightclub, but, once Venus is there (unsuspecting that Steed got her the job), one casual things leads to another, and before we know it, Venus is hearing voices, a 2nd girl is murdered, Steed is posing as a chiropractor for a disabled General, and a "quack" doctor who claims to have a "miracle cure" is really using electronics to steal and transmit military secrets.

It seems after a season-and-a-half, original series producer Leonard White departed to do ARMCHAIR THEATRE, and so longtime story editor John Bryce took over for the NEXT season-and-a-half, beginning with "Intercrime". For this 3rd "Venus Smith" episode, he decided to give her a bit of a makeover, having her hair cut very pixie-like short ("Vidal Sassoon", as Julie Stevens put it), she started singing bouncier tunes, and her personality got less "Sarah Jane" tough and more "Sandy Duncan" flighty. For years, I put this down to a natural progression of the character, as she'd already been involved in 2 situations with Steed, and so knew him enough by here to know that, whatever he was up to, he was an alright guy. I hadn't realized a change in producers was involved. While once again, Venus has NO real idea what's going on for most of the story, by the end, she HAS figured it out and can't stop rattling on to Steed, even suggesting how they could have used the spying gimmick to their own advantage to feed the bad guys FALSE information. Whatever the case, I found her adorable, and of all the AVENGERS girls, I'd rate her the one I'd most like to have asked out for dinner. (She's just the most approachable... and, I've always had a thing for singers.)

I've seen the "disappearing girl in the box" trick in at least 2 other TV stories-- the Tom Baker-Louise Jameson DOCTOR WHO story, "The Talons Of Weng-Chiang" (where a girl is casually murdered by the main villain in order to implicate his HENCHMAN, who he's grown tired of), and the Peter Davison CAMPION story, "Mystery Mile" (where Albert saves a man's life just before he's electrocuted).

My favorite scene in the story is when the wheelchair-bound General Sutherland point-blank suggests Steed "drop the pretense", as he suspects he's working undercover-- and Steed INSTANTLY admits it and produces his credentials. Steed then assures the older man his being forcibly retired is only a "coincidence", and I can only assume that by the end of the Steed's investigations, the General is fully cleared and reinstated. (I've worked as a home health aide with so far 3 different clients in wheelchairs, so I could really relate to this part of the episode.)

Of the 2 writers involved, Edward Rhodes spent most of his career as an actor and story editor, with this being 1 of only 2 actual writing credits. Peter Ling, meanwhile, was the creator of the series COMPACT, writing 176 out of 197 of its episodes!

On the 2009 Region 2 DVD, it was a joy to once again see Julie Stevens doing an introduction, where she describes this story featuring a "very different, yet the same" Venus from the 2 previous stories. The sound was excellent on this one, though the entire episode had horizontal bands on the video, and the picture went quite fuzzy during the climax. I guess we always have to be thankful we still have these episodes to see at all!

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:   Warlock
"The Devil's Bride" on a teeny-weeny budget!   (5 of 10)

A scientist with a side-interest in psychic & occult phenomena becomes a victim of that very thing when the leader of the "group" he joined turns out to be using his influence to sell secrets to the highest bidders.

Although the 2nd Cathy Gale episode filmed ("DEATH DISPATCH" was first), "WARLOCK" was clearly designed & intended to introduce her to the series, and to Steed. It's downright criminal it was run 18th that year instead of 1st, as even with an "introductory" scene at the beginning snipped out, the entire remainder of the story screams that this is Steed & Cathy's 1st time working together!

With his slyly sinister looks and manners, Peter Arne is a fine mix of polite authority and ruthless criminal, never letting his more violent "business partner" worry him. Apart from several later AVENGERS episodes, I've also seen him turn up on THE SAINT ("The Revolution Racket"), THE OBLONG BOX (my favorite of the non-Corman Vincent Price POE films) and no less than 3 PINK PANTHER films (RETURN..., TRAIL... and CURSE...).

With his beady eyes and bald scalp, John Hollis presents a more blunt and brutal form of evil, as his politeness in getting info all too quickly gives way to violence and murder. He's turned up prominently in 2 SAINT episodes ("The Saint Plays With Fire", "The Fast Women"), played a kindly scientist on DOCTOR WHO ("The Mutants"), Billy Dee Williams' sidekick in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and, uncredited, Ernst Stavros Blofeld (or a lookalike henchman-- who can say for sure?) in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (voice dubbed by Robert Rietty in any case).

I do wonder why a story so clearly meant as an introduction of a new character was filmed second instead of first, but whatever. Cathy Gale presents a VERY impressive character here, giving Steed info he needs with both authority and open suspicion. Her whole demeanor shows she either doesn't like or doesn't trust this shady guy who's asking about things she knows are more dangerous than most people suspect. So what a surprise (or should it be?) when he finds her sneaking into an apartment he's already broken into, and for the same reason he's there. In the process, he finds it's a mistake to sneak up on her, as she neatly flips him onto the floor before he can even get "What are YOU doing here?" out of his mouth. Definitely not your average 60's TV woman!

As the story progresses, she continues to keep him at arm's length, and you can read so much into Patrick Macnee's body language and facial expressions it's a delight to watch, as clearly Steed doesn't know what to make of his new acquaintance. Dropping him off, she tells him "Why don't you do your OWN work?", a reference to the way Steed enjoys letting other people do his work for him. Later, he sneaks into the baddie's lair and disguises himself in a monk's robe, only to be discovered when the man he took it from recovers and gives the alarm. Considering this was (or should be) the 1st Cathy episode, it's funny this brings to mind the 1st Purdey episode, where once again Steed, disguised in a monk's robe, was found out. ("Sieg-- HEIL! Sieg-- HEIL! Sieg..." "Rule Britannia?")

Steed is once more surprised when Cathy turns out to be even more resourceful than he realized, and saves the day at the end. When he asks why she showed up even though she WASN'T really in a trance, she tells him, referring to her time in Africa, "When I find something worth hunting, I like to be in on the kill." Their mutual smiles show that, at the end, they HAVE become friends! If you watch "DEATH DISPATCH" right after this, her whole attitude toward him in that story makes more sense if you see this one first. What a good start to a great partnership!
     (5-16-2011)

Addendum (11-16-2022): Something that makes NO sense here: while the 2009 Region 2 DVDs are (mostly) in production order, this episode is 16th rather than 5th! (And should be watched 4th.)

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  The Golden Eggs
The Stolen VIRUS     (5 of 10)

A burglar steals a new virus being developed / investigated by a scientist working on his own, who doesn't want anyone (especially the government!) to know what he's up to. After the thief becomes sick, and refuses to tell his employer where he hid the stolen virus, he and 2 other henchmen (the latter posing as ambulance drivers) are all murdered by the main villain! Urged on by Steed (who mostly stays in the background), Cathy investigates and slowly gains the confidence of the scientist, then sets herself up as a target for the villains.

It's not exactly NO TIME TO DIE, but the idea of a deadly virus stolen from a lab is in the same territory. Writer Martin Woodhouse supplies another highly-"technical" story, while director Peter Hammond takes what must be the dreariest-LOOKING episode so far and goes above-and-beyond with interesting camera angles to make it far more artistic than it might seem possible. I was also impressed, especially in the 2nd half, at the tight editing, as the story kept fast-cutting back-and-forth between the heroes and the villains, both groups of which seemed to be trying to out-think the others.

A stand-out here is Donald Eccles as Dr. Ashe, who goes from very cagey, denying anything was stolen, to eventually trusting both Cathy & Steed, even helping her out with a deception that brings down the baddies. I kept thinking he would have been perfect casting as "Doctor Who" (instead of Wiliam Hartnell), and as it turns out, the other thing I've seen him in was the Jon Pertwee WHO story, "The Time Monster", where he played the devious and rather corrupt Atlantean high priest "Krassis", who actually thought Roger Delgado's "Master" was someone to be trusted!

The other high point is Peter Arne, as the too-cool, calm & collected villain, Redfern, who wants to get his hands on the virus to sell to the highest bidder, no matter how many people get killed in the process. A hilarious scene is when Cathy cuts the lights out, and in the dark he winds up falling flat on his face. INSANELY, when ABC in England ran this episode in 1963, it was ONE WEEK after "Warlock", which also featured Arne as a completely-different main villain. In point of fact, in production order, this was 14 EPISODES later; but, for no apparent reason whatsoever, on the 2009 Studio Canal Region 2 DVDs, it's 3 episodes later. WTF? (In future, I'm sticking with my own production order list taken from the Dave Rogers AVENGERS books.)

I'm afraid this particular episode, both the picture & sound were somewhat fuzzy; but, that didn't stop me from enjoying it!

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  School For Traitors
The College Blackmail Caper     (5 of 10)

A spy ring is operating at a college, blackmailing students & faculty into doing their bidding, and those who don't play along wind up "committing suicide". Steed must have known something was going on for some time, as he manages to get his singer friend Venus a job there during "rag week" to keep an eye on someone who was doing important research.

Cathy Gale once angrily asked John Steed, "WHY don't you do your OWN work?" Some time before THE MAN FROM UNCLE, Steed was regularly playing a dangerous game by putting innocent people's lives at risk. With Dr. David Keel, he had a willing partner who was on a vendetta after the murder of his fiancee. With Cathy Gale he had a very capable, independant widow who saw the good in his work and appreciated "being in on the kill". With Venus Smith... well, this was getting closer to what Solo & Ilya used to do, recruiting innocent bystanders, only in her case, when he first met her, he never bothered to tell her who he was and what was going on. THE CAD! In this story, she starts out barely having any idea what's going on, but thankfully, by midway, she's up to speed (especially after someone tries to KILL her) and eagerly helps out by lying about a non-existent letter, acting as stake-out when Steed breaks into someone's apartment, and nearly bashing someone on the head when Steed gets into a real brawl (NO stuntmen involved in this "live on tape" show, heh). She also gets to sing a few tunes, including "Yellow Bird" (a lifelong fave of mine) and "Put On A Happy Face". (She's such a sweetie.)

Among the guest cast is Frederick Farley in his only appearance as one of Steed's bosses, "One-Seven". This guys comes on as even more upper-class and snooty than One-Ten or One-Twelve, especially when he says, "You know, Steed, I disapprove of amateurs; however, that's so much water under the bridge." I was greatly amused when Steed explained he was planning to pose as someone doing literary research, and he replied, "You know, Steed, your cover usually has a large portion of wishful thinking."  He reminds of the "Chief of Staff" in the Roger Boore Bond film FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.  The only other thing I've ever seen him in was a DANGER MAN, and his resume was so short, I have to figure he spent most of his acting career on the stage.

Reginald Marsh is "Higby", the bar-owner who does blackmail on the side. I've only seen him in a SAINT and a RANDALL & HOPKIRK (DECEASED). Here, he reminds me a bit of Richard Leech, but a bit more low-key.

I kept staring at Melissa Stribling for the whole episode and wondering where I'd seen her before. As it turns out, she played "Mina" in the 1958 HORROR OF DRACULA (a role that, however good she was in it, I always felt she was totally miscast, but then that film's script didn't follow the book anyway). Here she's "Claire Summers", a woman who lures men with her charms and then tricks them into doing things they can be blackmailed for. She's so ROTTEN and EVIL, for a good chunk of the story I suspected she was the ring-leader! The part of her con-game where she mentioned her "mother being in the hospital" reminded me of the scene in THE DEADLY NECKLACE where Dr. Watson (Thorley Walters) out-witted such an obvious lie by telling the women who tried it on him, that's okay, HE's a doctor, he'll do the operation FOR FREE!

John Standing plays "East", a student who figures out there's a blackmail ring going on, and becomes the 2nd one Steed recruits to help him. He proves to be even smarter than he seems, especially at the climax where he's ordered to KILL Steed and instead teams up with him to nab the ring-leader red-handed. (A good thing, too, as the person Steed recruited a few scenes earlier wound up getting found out and MURDERED-- off-camera!)

Not for the first time, they were apparently running quite late with this one, and taped it only a few hours before it was broadcast! Not quite "LIVE", but, almost! Sheesh.

Writer James Mitchell did 5 AVENGERS over seasons 1, 2 & 3, and later created the series CALLAN for which he also wrote quite a few episodes.

The 2009 Region 2 DVD had EXCELLENT picture quality (except for one bit where it jumped) and only slightly-fuzzy sound.

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  The White Dwarf
Global Catastrophe vs. Wall Street Speculation     6 of 10

A scientist who believes Earth may be destroyed by a "White Dwarf" remnant of a star is murdered before he can confirm or deny his earlier findings. Meanwhile, 2 men are looking to make a killing in the stock market if a panic ensues.

This episode is a perfect example of how a highly-technical and overly-talky script can be absolutely RIVETTING, as each new development and piece of the puzzle is slowly revealed. There's a great moment where Steed, posing as an investor, briefly crosses paths with a government minister he's never met who is apparently his boss's boss! When, trying to get a reaction, Steed mentions the "white dwarf" to the lower-ranking minister (the one who, in a moment of depression, told his stock market investor brother about it), the tension in the moment is extrememly palpable.

For once, someone in Steed's office fully agrees to using Cathy Gale's scientific credentials to help get to the bottom of things. Although, as she's an anthropologist, not an astronomer, I was reminded of when Steed's boss told him that his "covers usually involve a lot of wishful thinking". Sure enough, Cathy learns one of the people at the observatory is FROM the place she was ALLEGEDLY working at earlier, which could easily blow her cover. Except, next thing, the man's found murdered. (Well, we know SHE didn't do it!)

Once again, a GREAT cast helps along a story that could easily have left viewers scratching their heads, wondering what the heck they were watching. Philip Latham is "Professor Cartright", in charge of the observatory. I mostly remember his as the sinister "Klove" in DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS, and the 4th (and final) version of "Borusa" in the DOCTOR WHO story "The Five Doctors".

Peter Copley is "Henry Barker", the Minister who unwittingly passes on info of the problem, which leads to several murders. I've seen him in the 1954 SHERLOCK HOLMES ("Lady Beryl" and "The Winthrop Legend"), DANGER MAN ("Yesterday's Enemies"), THE SAINT ("The Sign of the Claw"), HELP! (the jeweler), QUATERMASS AND THE PIT, 2 other AVENGERS ("All Done With Mirrors", "Cat Amongst The Pidgeons"), FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED, GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT (1973), WITNESS FOR THE PROSECTION (1982), MISS MARPLE ("Nemesis"), POIROT ("The Spanish Chest"), and of course, DOCTOR WHO ("Pyramids Of Mars").

George A. Cooper is "Maxwell Barker", the brother whose greed leads to massive stock trading and murder. He turned up again in "The Curious Case of the Countless Clues" and "The Tale Of The Big Why". I've also seen him in the 1968 SHERLOCK HOLMES episode "A Study In Scarlet" (which, crazy enough, I just re-watched last night!), as well as DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE, 2 SAINT episodes, and a RANDALL AND HOPKIRK (DECEASED).

Bill Nagy is "Johnson", the stock investor, who doesn't mind stooping to murder to support his schemes. Though Hungarian, he often played Americans. I've also seen him in FIRST MAN INTO SPACE (1959), THE MOUSE THAT ROARED, OUR MAN IN HAVANA, a DANGER MAN, THE GIRL HUNTERS, 3 SAINTs, GOLDFINGER, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, and a MADIGAN ("The London Beat").

George Roubicek is "Luke", the young astronomer whose father is murdered at the start of the story, maddened that the government has decided not to investigate until they can confirm or deny his father's observations. I've also seen him in NIGHT OF THE EAGLE, 2 SAINTs, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, THE DIRTY DOZEN, DOCTOR WHO ("Tomb of the Cybermen"), BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN, THE SOLARNAUTS, another AVENGERS ("Invasion of the Earthmen"), a PROTECTORS, STAR WARS and THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. He's one of those "supporting actors", of the kind where I'm genuinley surprised at how many things I've seen him in, without realizing it.

Malcolm Hulke wrote no less than 53 episodes of DOCTOR WHO, including "The War Games", "The Silurians", "The Ambassadors of Death", "Colony In Space", "The Sea Devils", "Frontier In Space", and "Invasion of the Dinosaurs". Between seasons 2-7, he also wrote 9 AVENGERS, though this may be the most "science-fiction" story he did for this series.

Director Richard Harding did some outstanding work on this episode, as there was some very intense camera-movement, like one shot where it suddenly ZOOMS IN on someone for dramatic effect. But, as these stories were all done essentially "live on tape", a few slip-ups snuck in. Like with watching a live stage play, you just have to accept them, laugh and move on. There's one shot where the camera is pointed to empty space while someone's talking, and takes a moment to turn toward the actor. More amusing, is when a microphone boom is clearly hanging between Steed & Cathy-- then calls more attention to itself by being abruptly YANKED upward out of camera range. I also smiled when, at one point, Patrick Macnee clearly COULDN'T remember for a moment the name of the main character he was discussing, and says, "What was his name... OH yes..." when he remembers. You know, this sort of thing happens in REAL life, so, why not in fiction?

The 2009 Region 2 DVD has EXCELLENT picture (apart from a couple of electronic jumps), but very "harsh" sound. Oh well! At least I could make out every word.

[The Australian Panther]

I have speculated in these pages that 'Honey West' was a stateside version of 'The Avengers' Turns out that's exactly what it was intended to be.
Forgotten TV Classics - Honey West (1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXUXnBHtgCM
Points
> Honor Blackman was the first actor approached to play Honey West
> It suffered from Aaron Spelling's cheapness, even though obviously, cast and crew obviously loved it.
> It was, believe it or not, replaced after one season by the Avengers, which the network could get from the UK much cheaper.
Here is the first appearance of Honey West in an episode of Burke's Law.
The whole episode is on YouTube, but a really bad print.
The essential part of this excerpt shows just how crisp and clear a good print can be.
ANNE FRANCIS - HONEY WEST - COLOR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti_NX49O3r8
Early Colorization was pretty crappy, but this I would rather watch than the black and white.

Enjoy!   

[profh0011]

I've found that neither THE AVENGERS of DANGERMAN were the first spy shows on TV, but, THE AVENGERS in particular seems to have been ahead of the curve, when it came to having a WOMAN as an equal partner or even main character.

THE MAN FROM UNCLE, THE WILD WILD WEST, I SPY all had 2 men... but GET SMART (my favorite by a mile!) had a woman, "99" (Barbara Feldon) who in the long run has been my FAVORITE woman character in all of 60s TV.

So much to watch, so little time... to this day, I have still never seen even a single episode of HONEY WEST... but, if I keep going like I am, I'd be interested in getting ahold of it.  After all, I never saw the Darren McGavin MIKE HAMMER until about 2 years ago!  And he quickly became my FAVORITE version of the character (just narrowly beating out Biff Elliot).

Crazy enough... to this day, I have still never seen a single episode of Season 1 of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE.  It's currently very high on my "wanted" list of TV series, and I imagine sometime in the next year or more, when I get done with something I'm currently plowing through, I'll be going after it.  You know, most people don't know Peter Graves was a REPLACEMENT?  He was hired when the original star of the show, Steven Hill, got FIRED!

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  MAN IN THE MIRROR
Not Much Fun at the Funfair     (5 of 10)

Steed catches hell from his latest superior, "One Six", for showing up late for a briefing, and for having a "lone wolf" attitude. A cipher clerk has (ALLEGEDLY!) committed suicide, and Steed's job is to find out if it was really that or murder. Re-doing all the secret codes (or not) hangs in the balance, though Steed wisely suggests they should probably be changed anyway.

Now, because Steed found a ticket for a "funfair" (combination penny arcade & haunted house) in the dead man's effects, he convinces (CONS!) his attractive singer friend Venus Smith into taking his dog Sheba for a walk there, and snapping some pictures while she's at it. And as luck would have it, WHO should turn up in one of the photos, but the man who supposedly COMMITTED SUICIDE a week earlier!

I'll be honest here... while I find myself getting into these early videotaped stories more and more, even I found this one a bit on the dull side. Had this been done on film (and possibly on location), the funfair at the very least could have made it quite visually interesting. But on video in a cramped studio, it's reduced to being a too-serious, somewhat twisted character study.

A few bits of business involve, will the wife of the funfair owner run off with the foreign spy when he gets the traitor out of the country? Is the wife of the traitor being up-front with Steed after she confides that she knows her husband is alive? And why DID Venus go back to the funfair ON HER OWN, anyway?

As usual for these 6 oddball episodes, it's Venus Smith that makes it worth sitting through. By this point, it's clear she knows what Steed does for a living, they just don't discuss it. "I believe you-- I BELIEVE YOU!! --THOUSANDS wouldn't." (Hilarious.) So when she finds the recording studio has been burgled while she was working, or when someone later starts pointing a gun in her face, she's not as surprised as she might have been a few stories ago. WORRIED, yes, but not surprised.

Steed shows a lot of what appears to be very genuine warm affection for her. I have no trouble understanding that. The more I watch her episodes, the more I find myself thinking, of all the "Avengers girls", Venus is the one I'd probably most like to have for a girlfriend.

Among the guest cast are Ray Barrett (the voice of "Commander Shore" on STINGRAY and "John Tracy" on THUNDERBIRDS) as the villain, and David Graham ("Dr. Beaker" on SUPERCAR, "Prof. Matic" on FIREBALL XL5, various voices on STINGRAY, "Gordon", "Brains" and "Parker" on THUNDERBIRDS, and Professor Kerensky in the Tom Baker-Lala Ward DOCTOR WHO story, "City Of Death") as Venus' record Producer.
   (7-27-2011)

Addendum (12-13-2022)
Had I reviewed this today, I might have named it "The Arcade Murder Case" (in tribute to Philo Vance). The 2009 Region 2 DVD has clear picture and decent sound (only slightly muffled). Venus is recording an LP! Presumably, her career as a singer was taking off, and I can imagine her & Steed at some point having a warm goodbye when she becomes too busy to help out with his shady work.

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  Conspiracy Of Silence
"You CAN'T walk away from the MAFIA!"     (5 of 10)

An Italian circus clown-- who as a "kid" joined the Mafia 15 years earlier-- is coerced into murdering someone. His target happens to be John Steed-- who is currently involved in trying to break up a drug-smuggling pipeline to America. When the hit fails, Steed has Cathy pose as a journalist who's doing a piece on small, independant circuses, to try to track down the now-missing Carlo, hoping he can lead Steed to his employers.

The initial premise of this story reminded me of Brian Clemens' "House Of Cards", in that you had Russian agents living their normal lives in England for many years before suddenly being called into service, at a point where they'd hoped they'd long since put such things behind them.

I've seen many TV series do stories set at small circuses, and this was the 2nd time THE AVENGERS did one. Funny enough, both times Steed takes a back-seat to his partner, though not as much here as he did in "Girl On A Trapeze" in season 1. We get an extended scene of Steed walking his Italian grayhound Sheba, his consulting with a talent agent, and finally his coming to the circus at the invitation of the killer.

We get to see the really warm, friendly side of Cathy in this story for the most part. The only really intense moments are when the extreme difference of opinion on Steed's attitude and methods come up. At the climax, there's a moment where she thinks he may have been killed. When she finds out he's alive, he takes too much delight in thinking she really cared, but, still annoyed at him, she refuses to admit it.

A rather large ensembe cast is topped off by Robert Rietty as "Carlo", the clown who's coerced into committing a cold-blooded murder, then goes into hiding when he fails to do so. For most of his career, Rietty specialized in voice-dubbing (including such films as DR. NO, THUNDERBALL, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE and FOR YOUR EYES ONLY), so seeing him onscreen (though in disguise for a huge chunk of it) is akin to seeing Paul Frees in THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD or WAR OF THE WORLDS.

Alec Mango is "Sica", the main villain of the piece, who's not above using physical abuse to get information out of Carlo's concerned wife. I thought that sinister face looked familiar, and sure enough, I've seen him in a DANGER MAN, 3 SAINTs, another AVENGERS, FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN, but most memorably, as the Princess' father who threatens to wage all-out war on his neighboring kingdom when something bad happens to his daughter (that they had nothing to do with!) in THE 7th VOYAGE OF SINBAD.

The picture quality on the 2009 Region 2 DVD was excellent; however, the sound was so harsh, I had trouble making out a LOT of the dialogue. (I'd have to check to see if my old 90s tape recorded off A&E was this bad or not.)

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:   A Chorus Of Frogs
Bathysphere of DOOM     (5 of 10)

A diver is accidentally killed during an experiment wherein a scientist is trying to find a chemical mix that will allow men to go deeper and stay longer than normal. His friends, a team of diver-smugglers, contact British Intelligence, who send Steed to look into it. The entire story takes place on board the huge yacht of a man named Mason, who's financing the experiments for possible profit should they be successful. One of his many guests happens to be singer Venus Smith, who gets VERY annoyed when she finds stowaway Steed hiding out in her cabin, while swearing he had nothing to do with her being booked to perform there! (We never learn if he lied about this or not, but, it does seem too much of a coincidence to be one.)

At a mere 49:26, this is one of the shortest episodes of the season, which may explain why there isn't even a single establishing location shot to be found in its entire length! Director Raymond Menmuir also did "The Nutshell" in season 3, another story told in a very claustrophobic environment.

The guest cast makes this one. Eric Pohlmann plays the too-laid-back millionaire, eager to turn a blind eye to any bad things going on around him if they interfere with his making money. Aside from supplying the voice of Blofeld in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, he was also the main villain in the excellent low-budget espionage thriller NIGHT TRAIN TO PARIS (highly reccomended!).

Frank Gatliff is scientist Pitt-Norton, who does care about the loss of human life, and only agrees to work with the wrong side when his own life is threatened. Apart from 4 other AVENGERS episodes, I've also seen him in THE IPCRESS FILE, a DANGER MAN, a Jon Pertwee DOCTOR WHO, a RETURN OF THE SAINT, and a MISS MARPLE.

Yvonne Shima is Chinese Communist agent Anna, who pushes her way into things for purely political reasons, commits murder to prevent interference and has no compuction about putting Venus' life in danger to complete the experiment. She had a brief but memorable role as "Sister Lily", who welcomed James Bond & Honey Rider to the villain's lair in DR. NO.

Collette Wilde is Helena, on of the divers who believes the accident was really a murder, and wants revenge; Steed runs afoul of her early-on, but later, he uses her justifiable anger to his advantage to put things in order.

John Carson is Aristos, another diver who fails to get anywhere with Venus, and winds up liking Steed, believing he will get to the truth for them. I've seen him in many things, but the one that most stands out for me was TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA.

Writer Martin Woodhouse did 7 AVENGERS episodes over seasons 2, 3 & 4. Before that, he did no less than 22 episodes of SUPERCAR!

I suspect that within the fictional world of the series, Steed may have realized that it was wrong to keep putting his friend Venus in so much danger, which may explain why this was the last time we saw her.

The 2009 Region 2 DVD had somewhat grainy picture but CLEAR sound on this one; this episode also has an audio commentary with Julie Stevens! I'm looking forward to listening to that.

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  Six Hands Across A Table
The Sinister Ship-Builders     (6 of 10)

3 partners in a ship-building firm consider murdering a 4th who refuses to go along with their plans. When the 4th man has a fatal car accident, the question isn't so much, was it an accident or not, but more like WHO was responsible? Cathy, a longtime friend of the family, just happens to be in a position to investigate... though we're never quite sure if that was pure luck or Steed suggesting she "invite" herself over for a friendly visit. One of the partners is falling in love with her... which makes her particularly annoyed when Steed climbs in her window at one point to ask if she's gotten anywhere.

As with most stories from this period, this one's extremely talky & technical, though it does get more "personal" for Cathy, who's got the bulk of the screen-time. The opening sequence, where the board members are seen from above, from the back, visually reminds me of the style of some of the later filmed episodes. The show continues to evolve, as in the last act, Cathy is seen wearing an all-leather outfit of the kind she would favor in season 3. There were also around 5 different lines flubbed, but being these were shot "live-on-tape", they just kept plowing through. (People in real life don't talk perfectly, why should fictional people in stories have to? Heh.) What really makes this one is the guest-cast.

Guy Doleman is "Oliver Waldner", very serious, intense, and determined when it comes to business, but somehow doesn't hesitate to lay his cards on the table to Cathy once he finds her looking into what's going on. I first noticed him as the very 1st "Number One" on THE PRISONER, and have also seen him as a member of SPECTRE in THUNDERBALL, and Michael Caine's cold-blooded boss in all 3 "Harry Palmer" films. Watching this episode some years back, it crossed my mind Doleman would have made a good James Bond, if the 007 producers had ever wanted to follow the books (which, frankly, they almost never did).

Campbell Singer is "George Stanley", the 2nd partner, who's much more openly aggressive when it comes to his business ambitions. I've also seen him as Dr. Watson (THE MAN WHO DISAPPEARED, 1951), as the best of the 4 different Inspector Teals on the Roger Moore SAINT series, and as one of Steed's superiors in a later AVENGERS episode ("Who's Who?").

John Wentworth is "Sir Charles Reniston", the 3rd partner, and the only one who seems to have any sense of morality, which runs at odds with his admitted greed for money. He later played Patrick McGoohan's intended father-in-law on THE PRISONER ("Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling"), and I've also seen him as a parson in the film THE OBLONG BOX.

Edward De Souza is "Brian Collier", the son of the 4th partner who was killed, who elects to stick with his late father's plans, and soon after becomes the target of several "accidents". I've seen him in Hammer's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1963), THE KISS OF THE VAMPIRE, and THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. In a recent audio commentary, he was joking about the idea that he might have made a good James Bond back when. I can sort of see that, but more the mid-50s novels than the later ones.

Philip Madoc, one of my favorites, is "Julian Seabrook", the ambitious accountant, who just can't help seeming sinister or suspicious, even when he isn't. Of course, I mainly know him from no less than 5 different roles he played on DOCTOR WHO, including the 2nd feature film.

As the details of this somewhat dense mystery begin to reveal themselves in the last act, it struck me that this story would be very timely in reference to how business is conducted in America right now, with corporate CEOs manipulating workers and stock prices to achieve expansion via company take-overs. It's a good thing the writing and acting on the show tends to be as good as it is, otherwise stories like this might be just putting viewers to sleep.

At the end, we can see Cathy fighting back a lot of emotions, and I was hoping Steed might drop his callous joking attitude for once. But that might not be honest for him, so at least he found a way to make her laugh, which is something.

I'm afraid the 2009 Region 2 DVD had inconsistent picture quality, grainy, streaks, jumps, but at least, mostly-clear sound. It looks to me like it was a combination of broadcast problems plus a somewhat-used film print! I'm still thrilled to be able to watch these, especially now that they're UNCUT.

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:   Killerwhale
The Boxing Game can be dangerous to your health!     (5 of 10)

Steed somehow suspects something dodgy is going on at a local gym training up-and-coming fighters, but has been unable to come up with anything... until he learns his friend Cathy knows an amateur fighter, and decides to use him as an "in". It's a dirty, sneaky playbook often imitated by U. N. C. L. E., but Steed was doing it first! Before long, he discovers the gym is a link in a chain involving valueable ambergris smuggled past the import duty agents, and a fashion designer who also doubles as a chemist creating an expensive brand of perfume. One man gets killed, and 2 more lives are at stake before it's all over. One thing you can bet on-- when Cathy shows up late in the story wearing leather, ACTION is just waiting in the wings!

The look and feel of the show has been slowly improving since John Bryce took over as producer in mid-season, though we're still getting some very talky and "technical" stories. This is far from the only time someone is trying to sneak one past the TAX men is at the bottom of a criminal plot. Cathy's high-tech apartment, which would be a steady feature in season 3, makes its debut here. As usual, the guest cast makes this episode.

Patrick Magee is "Pancho", the gym owner with a shady deal going on the side, who's absolutely ruthless when anyone gets in his way. I've seen him in many things, including DEMENTIA 13, THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, THE SKULL, DIE MONSTER DIE!, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, ASYLUM, AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS, TELEFON, and THE MONSTER CLUB.

Kenneth Farrington is "Joey", an amateur boxer who's unknowingly suckered into doing Steed's work for him (a bad habit later used by Napoleon Solo). I've also seen him in a SAINT and a SPACE PRECINCT.

John Tate is "Willie", the janitor, full of stories of the old days and completely innocent of the dark doings going on around him. I've also seen him in THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS, a DANGER MAN, 3 SAINT episodes, and a 1968 Peter Cushing SHERLOCK HOLMES story, "The Boscombe Valley Mystery", where he played an immigrant from Australia with a very shady past.

John Bailey is "Fernand", a man who splits his time between designing dresses and developing high-priced perfumes in a private lab. A very familiar face for me, I've seen him in a SAINT, 3 AVENGERS, a RETURN OF THE SAINT, and a bit part in "The Horns Of Nimon" on DOCTOR WHO.

Morris Perry is "Harry", the kind of murderous thug every bad guy should have on his payrole. He always stands out in my mind as the viscious "Captain Dent" in the Jon Pertwee DOCTOR WHO story "Colony In Space", as well as the butler Barrymore in the Tom Baker HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES.

At the end, Cathy turns down an invite to a vacation in the islands, in favor of attending a judo exhibition in Tokyo. "We've been over this before..." she tells Steed. Clearly, she prefers keeping her relationship with him on a "business" level. Smart girl. As one of his later colleagues once pointed out, he's "NO gentleman"!

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  Concerto
The Russian Pianist     (6 of 10)

A concert pianist, in England as part of a cultural exchange program, becomes the target of a smear campaign involving attempted blackmail, 2 murders, a strip club, incriminating photos, and the planned murder of a Russian ambassador. Without telling her, Steed manages to use Cathy's credentials to get her involved with setting up the musician's itinerary (he just can't seem to do anything honestly, can he?) while he winds up working with an opposite number, and what fun to see the two agents sharing mutual knolwedge and respect for each other.

Although filmed first this season, "Concerto" was somehow broadcast 24th (out of 26)! The Studio Canal discs are set up in production order, so I'm just going to watch them that way, easier for me. Since first watching these episodes in the 1990s, I've always noticed that Season 3 was a DRASTIC upgrade in both production and writing, despite still being studio-bound and shot on videotape. This is such a contrast to the vast majority of American series in the 1960s, where they tended to put their best foot forward at the beginning, then care less and less and cut the budgets once they became successful.

Sandor Elès is Stefan Veliko, the concert pianist who wants only to focus on his work and avoid politics, who becomes the target of some un-named off-screen ruthless businessmen whose profits will be drastically affected if a Russian-English trade treaty currently under negotiation should go through. The role I probably most remember him for was Peter Cushing's assistant in THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN, though I've also seen him in a DANGER MAN, 3 SAINTs, COUNTESS DRACULA, LOVE AND DEATH, and SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE LEADING LADY.

Nigel Stock outright steals the episode as Zalenko, Russia's "answer" to John Steed (or is that the other way round?). Zalenko & Steed spend a lot of time comparing notes, talking about past encounters, and putting down a lot of hard liquor. He seems like the sort of character that should have made recurring appearances over the years. I probably first took notice of Stock as the other actor who played "Number Six" on THE PRISONER (in the mind-swapping episode "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling"), but I've also seen him in a SAINT, THE GREAT ESCAPE, a DANGER MAN, THE MIRROR CRACK'D, a rather regrettable DOCTOR WHO, YELLOWBEARD, but mostly, as Dr. Watson in the 1965 & 1968 BBC SHERLOCK HOLMES series with both Douglas Wilmer and Peter Cushing.

Steed's suits appear to have gotten more stylish here, and this was the first time I noticed him clobbering someone with his umbrella. Amusingly, one of the baddies comments, "He's a lot more dangerous than he LOOKS!" That kinda sums up John Steed a great deal.

The 2010 Region 2 DVD of this had mostly-sharp picture and only slightly-muffled sound.

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:   Brief For Murder
The Murder of Catherine Gale     (7 of 10)

A pair of crooked solicitors specialize in preparing absolutely air-tight "briefs" for barristers to defend obviously-guilty clients in court. They do this by also preparing "briefs" for their clients to carry out crimes before-the-fact, so the defense is planned out before the crimes are even committed! Steed & Cathy go "undercover" IN PLAIN SIGHT as she accuses him of being a foreign agent and he hires the lawyers to arrange her murder.

One of my favorite writers ever, Brian Clemens, returns to the show with his first of many, many terrific scripts. In addition to the usual "technical and talky" stuff (in this case, all the "legal" details), the plot itself is more complex and twisted than usual, making this episode function on several levels at the same time. It almost starts out in "Twilight Zone" territory, as you wonder, WHAT's going on here? You KNOW Steed can't be a baddie, but it's not until halfway in that you begin to find out where it's going, and even then you're still left hanging on the edge of your seat wondering HOW it's going to get there.

John Laurie steals the episode as one of the 2 brothers who've decided to take their extensive knowledge of legal history and turn it to their advantage in the most crooked way imaginable. He really goes off the deep end when, in the 3rd act, Cathy (posing as someone else) shows up with an idea to commit fraud-- but, she wants her (non-existent) partners charged with the proposed crime. One can see serious monomania exploding in Laurie's eyes as he envisions some of the things he and his brother could do with the legal system. "Why didn't I think of this before?" (He would have made a great "Doctor" on DOCTOR WHO.)

OF COURSE, whenever any character in one of these stories goes undercover, it always gets blown eventually, and in this case Cathy is recognized despite a false name and a brunette wig (which she looked really good in). That's the problem when Steed's "team" is so small in number, and he's forced to have a woman supposedly "dead" putting a con on the baddies.

It struck me that "Brief For Murder" was almost a variation on "Mr. Teddy Bear" in having one of our heroes involved in the murder of the other one. I can really see why this was used as the 3rd season opener. While the show was still VERY talky, studio-bound and shot on video, the writing really brought it up to a whole new level almost never seen before. It's no wonder that Brian Clemens became one of the show's producers the following season.

The 2010 Region 2 Studio Canal DVD had excellent picture, but, unfortunately, REALLY rough sound, making it difficult for me to make out maybe a third of the dialogue. I can't remember if my earlier 90s videotape recorded off A&E had this problem.

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  The Nutshell
The Missing Microfilm Affair     (7 of 10)

A mysterious woman somehow sneaks into an impenetrable underground bunker designed by the government to house top people during a potential nuclear strike, photograph top-secret documents, and escapes. Steed's bosses decide to deliberately recruit Cathy Gale to accompany Steed to find out who did it, and recover the microfilm. But along the way, it becomes apparent that Steed himself was involved in the theft! We KNOW he can't be a traitor-- so, WHAT exactly is he up to, that he can't even tell Cathy about?

This strikes me as the single most intense episode of the series so far. It gets very deep into just what a dark and often ugly business Steed is really involved in, and keeps the suspense maintained right to the very end!

Once again, a fine guest-cast keeps things on a high level. Charles Tingwell is "Venner", who starts out assisting Cathy going through the files, but then is put in charge of interrogating Steed after he's been arrested for espionage! Apart from 2 AVENGERS episodes, he also did a lot of work for Gerry Anderson (THUNDERBIRDS, CAPTAIN SCARLET, UFO). I've seen him in all 4 Margaret Rutherford MISS MARPLE films, as well as TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT and DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS.

John Cater is "Disco", the codename of the man in charge of the underground complex, who never quite finds out exactly what's going on until the very last scene. I've also seen him in 2 other AVENGERS, a DANGER MAN, a DOCTOR WHO ("The War Machines"), both DR. PHIBES movies, and CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER.

Patricia Haines is "Laura", Disco's assistant, and considering I've seen her play enemy agents in other stories, she turned out to NOT be one of the baddies in this one. Apart from 2 other AVENGERS (one in which she played "Emma Peel" in a mind-swapping story), I've also seen her in 2 DANGER MANs, a SAINT, a RANDALL AND HOPKIRK (DECEASED), and a Robert Vaughn PROTECTORS.

Edina Ronay is "Elin", a professional escape artist, the one who actually managed to break in and out of "The Nutshell", having been first hired by an enemy agent but then out-bid by Steed! The Hungarian actress was always a really "hot number", and I've also seen her in another AVENGERS, A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, NIGHT TRAIN TO PARIS, A STUDY IN TERROR, CARRY ON COWBOY, a Peter Cushing SHERLOCK HOLMES, and a RANDALL AND HOPKIRK (DECEASED).

Steed's new and much-more lavish-looking apartment makes its debut here; one of the most intense moments is when 2 traitors searching it are suddenly cornered by Cathy, who doesn't hesitate to shoot to make a point.

I find it a bit odd that in production order, they did 2 stories back-to-back in which it appeared Steed was suspected of being a traitor; in broadcast order, there were 2 other stories between this and "Brief For Murder".

The 2010 Region 2 Studio Canal disc has some odd problems with the picture, and rather harsh sound, making it hard to hear some of the dialogue. It might be interesting to compare this against my 90s videotape recorded off A&E to compare quality, and also see how much was CUT from that broadcast. It really is a joy to actually see these stories UNCUT after more than 25 years of watching them!

[The Australian Panther]

In the 50's and 6)'s many australian actors and creative people went overseas - primarily to the UK, to further their careers.
When there was a boom in Australian film and TV drama from the 70's, many returned.
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell has had a memorable career both here and overseas. 
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0863968/

[profh0011]

I'm pretty sure among horror fans his most memorable role was the older brother in DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS who got stabbed in the back, then hung upside-down by his ankles, and had his throat cut... so that bastard in the cape could be reconsitituted.

It's funny he did voices on CAPTAIN SCARLET... the guy who played his younger brother, Francis Matthews, WAS the voice of Captain Scarlet!

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  The Golden Fleece
The Golden Bullets Affair     (6 of 10)

A trio of ex-army officers running a military museum are involved in smuggling gold to an associate in Hong Kong. However, when one of their underlings steals 10,000 Pounds for his personal profit, it endangers the entire scheme.

This is slightly unusual for this period of the show, for while it's not one of the better-looking episodes, the writing raises it up to a much-higher level, making it almost feel far more modern than it is.

Cathy seems much friendlier than usual, but comments, "I've learned from experience that whenever you wine and dine me as well as this, it's always been the prelude to some hideous adventure." Before long, she's pissed off at Steed for bringing her into another one of his jobs, but not having the decency to tell her up-front what's going on. After tossing a pillow in his face, we see her laughing. Clearly, she likes and admires Steed, and enjoys helping him-- she just hates the WAY he does it, obviously not trusting her to know how to deal with some situations, despite them already working together for a whole year!

Later, he does it AGAIN, acting like Cathy getting a job cataloging the military museum is a surprise, when we learn HE was the one who set up the position FOR her. For a moment, I almost thought she was ahead of him for once, but I couldn't figure out how she got on to them... turns out, she hadn't.

What really sets this story apart is learning that the 3 officers involved are NOT doing it for their own profit, but to help out soldiers who were kicked out of the army without any warning, men with no savings, no education, no job skills, and many of whom on top of that were victims of investment frauds. This hit me personally to a degree, as my father was in the US Army during WW2, and afterward, was paid to go back to school. Apparently English soldiers did not have this advantage, which is downright criminal.

Barry Linehan is "Sgt. Major Wright", the low man on the ladder. Apart from 2 AVENGERS, I've also seen him in a DANGER MAN and 2 SAINTs.

Tenniel Evans is "Major Ruse", clearly a very moral man who's reasonable enough to stay the course despite difficulties. I've seen him in 3 AVENGERS, plus a SAINT, a RANDALL AND HOPKIRK (DECEASED), and a Jeremy Brett SHERLOCK HOLMES; but what I most remember him for was a Jon Pertwee DOCTOR WHO ("Carnival Of Monsters").

Stealing the episode is Warren Mitchell as "Captain Jason", who clearly cares far more for the men and their families he's determined to help than for the money itself. It's one of those rare times in this series where your sympathies feel like they should be on the criminals, and it almost seems a shame that Steed was after them. I've seen him in so many outragious character roles, it's kind of a shock to see him playing such a "straight", serious role for a change.

Roger Marshall did 15 episodes between seasons 2-6, with most of his being in season 4! Seems a shame that, as far as I can tell, I've never seen any of his other work, because he was definitely one of the better writers on what I consider the BEST season this series ever had.

This was episode 56 in production but for some reason was held back to 63 in broadcast order. Oh well! The 2010 Region 2 Studio Canal DVD has decent picture, but the sound was rather muffled, and there were too many lines of dialogue I had trouble making out. AH well...

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:   Death A La Carte
The Visiting Oil Magnate     (7 of 10)

A middle-eastern Emir with a mountain of health problems, not to mention a long string of unsuccessful assassination attempts against him, visits London for his annual medical check-up. Steed & Cathy are undercover at his hotel trying to prevent him being poisoned, but while it may seem glamorous, it's not an easy job.

Whereas in the previous episode in production order, Steed was talking Cathy into helping, this one has both of them already on the job, with Cathy filling in as a hotel hospitality manager, while Steed poses as a chef. Given that one of his supervisors in season 2 complained most of Steed's "covers" depended on "wishful thinking", what a delight to see that Steed is actually using his own off-duty culinary abilities as part of his job. He doesn't seem to be "winging it" here, he's very convincing, because for once, he actually knows what he's talking about. Cathy, meanwhile, has a new hairdo which makes her look even more attractive to me than she usually is.

But I think what really shines here is Richard Harrison's production design. Between the stunning penthouse and the extensive kitchens, this is arguably the BEST-looking episode of the show so far, bordering on the look of a BOND film!

I didn't really recognize any of the guest-actors while watching, but they all fit perfectly into their roles.

Henry Lincoln is "Emir Abdulla Akaba", a rude, arrogant, short-tempered absolute ruler who refuses to take his doctor's advice or step down so one of his many sons can take over for him. Cathy isn't sure whether to be annoyed at him or sorry for him. As it turns out, I've seen him in 2 SAINT episodes, and DON'T RAISE THE BRIDGE, LOWER THE WATER, where he also played an Arab.

Robert James is "Brigadier Mellor", the Emir's right-hand man, who puts up with almost non-stop verbal abuse because secretly he's planning a coup. I've seen him in 3 AVENGERS, CAPTAIN KRONOS VAMPIRE HUNTER, a BLAKE'S 7, but what I really remember him for was a pair of DOCTOR WHOs: "The Daemons" and "The Masque Of Mandragora" (he was the cult priest who kidnapped & drugged Sarah Jane).

Paul Dawkins is "Dr. Spender", frustrated by the Emir's refusal to ever take his medical advice, but in the long run, possibly the only real friend the man has. Apart from 1 other AVENGERS, I've also seen him in a Robert Vaughn PROTECTORS episode.

Ken Parry is "Arbuthnot", the chief chef who spends half his time trying to stop 2 of the chefs in his kitchen from killing each other. I've also seen him in another AVENGERS ("Honey For The Prince", oddly enough), THE LIQUIDATOR, THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU, LISZTOMANIA, and THE ADVENTURE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES' SMARTER BROTHER.

Gordon Rollings is "Lucien", a chef who's bribed into poisoning the Emir's food. I've also seen him in A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, CARRY ON DOCTOR, THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN, JABBERWOCKY, SUPERMAN II, DANGEROUS DAVIES: THE LAST DETECTIVE, the Ian Richardson version of THE SIGN OF FOUR, a MISS MARPLE ("The Moving Finger"), but the thing I've seen him in the most times was a NEW AVENGERS ("Cat Amongst The Pidgeons").

David Nettheim is "Umberto", the high-agitated Italian chef who isn't what he seems at all. I've also seen him in a PRISONER ("The Schizoid Man"), and a SAINT ("Simon And Delilah", where he also plays an Italian character, "Inspector Umberto Crepi").

Patrick Macnee really got to show off a lot of talents in this episode, between cooking, climbing up the wall of a skyscraper, and fighting in the kitchen (a scene that reminded me a lot of one in the film THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS), doing his own stunt-work the whole time. Cathy also got to tackle one of the baddies, but considering Steed always seemed to prefer letting his partners do most of the hard work, it's surprising when Steed gets more physical than she does for a change.

The epilogue is hilarious, when we learn Steed wasn't the ONLY chef in the kitchen who was putting on an act.

The 2010 Studio Canal Region 2 DVD had clear picture, but muffled sound. I wish they could have done more about that! Too many episodes I'm having trouble hearing a lot of the dialogue.

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  Man With Two Shadows
The DOPPLEGANGERS     (8 of 10)

A spy ring operating out of a luxury holiday camp are involved in killing and replacing highly-placed people with exact duplicates, who have spent years training to impersonate people. An agent who learned of their plans was brainwashed with multiple personalities so that most of what he says is gibberish... but, he says just enough to ensure that Steed goes to the camp to investigate. And, sure enough, a FAKE Steed is waiting there for him!

James Mitchell (CALLAN) supplies his 5th, final and finest script for the series, a story that would prove to be very inspirational, as multiple later stories involved doubles, including the one most like this, "Faces", which in the late 70s became my favorite episode of THE NEW AVENGERS.

Paul Whitsun-Jones turns up as "Charles", the first of Steed's bosses with a name rather than a number. He brings Steed up to speed during a particularly harrowing interrogation scene where the two try to make sense of what their rescued agent "Borowski" has to say. Later, he visits Cathy at her apartment to inform her they suspect there may be a duplicate Steed on the loose, but, they have NO idea if the "switch" has occured yet-- or if it ever will. So she has to watch him-- carefully-- and if he's an imposter-- KILL him. Whitsun-Jones would return in 3 more episode, one of them again as "Charles". I've also seen him in 4 SAINT episodes, a Jon Pertwee DOCTOR WHO I never cared for ("The Mutants"), and a brief but very memorable scene in THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH. It's funny, but he kinda resembles a client I had whose name was also "Charles".

At one point, Steed enlists the aid of an agency doctor and dentist to determine if nuclear scientist "Gordon" is the real one or not; the doctor is sure he is, but the dentist is certain he ISN'T! "Dr. Terrence" is played by Geoffrey Palmer, who no doubt I'll always remember most for AS TIME GOES BY.

The third act is very tense. We don't see what happened between Steed and his would-be murderer, and while viewers watching the show can probably be certain Steed came out on top, Cathy-- AND the bad guys-- aren't so sure. At one point, SHE believes he's the imposter, but at that same moment, THEY think he's the REAL one! Things get really tense when Cathy enlists the aid of a government minister; Steed already learned HE was an imposter, but Cathy HADN'T. By the end, it becomes obvious Cathy found out the truth, but, just like the intended murder of Steed, we don't SEE when that happens, either! It's the kind of storytelling that forces one to really pay attention in order to not get lost.

Some FABULOUS camera work from Don Leaver in this one! Also, one shot where a microphone boom dipped into view, but we'll just try and ignore that one (heh).

The 2010 Region 2 Studio Canal DVD has mostly-clear picture and sound; however, act 2 is much louder than acts 1 & 3, and the sound is muffled in the epilogue. Still, that's better than a lot of these, and I'm certain this was a major upgrade from my 90s videotape recorded off of A&E; that channel was really BUTCHERING every episode, cutting them down to fit more commercials in. What a joy to finally see them all UNCUT!

[profh0011]

THE AVENGERS:  Don’t Look Behind You
Cathy and the Big, Dark, Spooky House     (no rating)  /  2011
The House At The End Of The World     (8 of 10)  /  2023 re-title

A man, whose face we cannot see, tears a photo of Cathy Gale out of a magazine, and proceeds to slowly, carefully, slice it to ribbons. Obviously we're dealing with a sick mind here...

Steed drops by to invite Cathy for a drive, as he's just bought a new car. New for him; it's the first of Steed's soon-to-be-trademarked "antique roadsters", firmly cementing his image as a man of the past, to contrast Cathy as a woman of the future (leather outfits, automatic sliding door in her apartment). In connection with some magazine articles she's written, Cathy's received an invitation to spend the weekend at a country estate of a well-known recluse. Steed drops her off, but not before encountering a very bizarre young woman named "Ola" who claims to be an actress (in training). It seems her host was called away, and soon, Cathy's all alone in a big, dark, spooky mansion "at the end of the world". Except-- the house isn't as empty as it seems.

If this all sounds familiar to US viewers, it's because it was remade 2 years later on film in color with Diana Rigg (& the amazing Peter Jeffrey), as "The Joker". That's long been one of my all-time favorite AVENGERS episodes, and it was a bit of a surprise, albeit a pleasant and interesting one, to learn it was a remake of an earlier story. Several stories in Season 5 (6 of them, I believe) were remakes of 2nd or 3rd-season stories (none of which had ever been seen in the US until the early 1990's), but most do tend to be not as good as the originals, despite being done on film, in color, and with much bigger budgets. "The Joker" is an exception. I do like "Don’t Look Behind You", but it does seem to be lacking in a few areas compared to the remake. Both were written by Brian Clemens, who became one of the producers (as well as head writer) with the 4th season.

Among the tiny guest cast are Janine Gray, who soon after went to America to guest on several TV shows, including the pilot episode of GET SMART!, a show very much influenced by THE AVENGERS. Of all the US spy shows which featured 2 main heroes, GET SMART was the only one where the "sidekick" was a woman, who usually proved smarter and more capable than the main, male, hero.

Also in bizarre form as the rambling, annoying stranger who Cathy physically ejects from the house (eventually), is Kenneth Colley, who more than 15 years later turned up in both THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI as one of the only Imperial Commanding Officers who Darth Vader DIDN'T get around to killing.

As with the remake, Steed shows up again at the end (I suppose Patrick Macnee got a short vacation out of this story), but in a quite different fashion. And Cathy is all too quick to jump to conclusions and believe the absolute worst about Steed. I suppose he deserves it, but in this case, she was wrong. Oh well, I've never seen Mrs. Gale get so stressed out as in this story, I suppose her snapping at Steed was excusable.

A stylistic "sequel" to this story was done the following year (once more in B&W), when Mrs. PEEL found herself trapped in another big, dark, spooky mansion "at the end of the world". Only, in that case, it was with a decidedly science-fiction bent, and the story was "The House That Jack Built". (Of course, for US audiences, "Jack" would be the "original", and "The Joker" the sort-of sequel. If you see what I mean.)
   (9-1-2011)

Addendum (2-28-2023)
I see this was filmed 59th but held back to 64th. Strange as the previous one in production order, "Man With Two Shadows", was 58th but pushed forward to 55th. This is noticably where Steed gets his 1st antique car, going in the opposite direction of James Bond, who between his 2nd & 3rd movies went from a classic Bentley to the latest Aston Martin. Watching the DVDs now in production order, it'll be interesting to take note of whether this "new" car actually appeared on British screens before it was introduced. (My memory suggests the entire filmed insert of Steed & Cathy driving in the car was CUT by A&E in the 90s. I've seen this multiple times, and I don't remember that sequence at all!)

The 2010 Studio Canal Region 2 DVD has clear picture AND sound (yay!), and comes with a brief introduction by both Honor Blackman and Patrick Macnee. I have to agree with the assessment that Peter Hammond may have been the series' finest director, especially impressive given that this studio-bound videotaped production was virtually "recorded live". Production designer Terry Green also worked an absolute MIRACLE on this story's set, a huge mansion interior that stretched across multiple rooms and two floors, all clearly connected as is obvious from the camera-work panning from one room to another. This may be the single most-impressive episode of the first 3 seasons.

Funny bit of insane trivia: in June 1963, Marvel Comics debuted their "JLA"-style team book, "The Avengers", oblivious (?) that they were swiping the name of an already-existing TV series. On July 5 of that year (perhaps only a week or so later), this episode was recorded, featuring a main villain, "Martin Goodman", who shared the name of Marvel's 3rd-rate publisher, whose career consisted mainly of ripping off existing trends and flooding the market with imitations. (What a thing to take notice of!)

[ComicMike]

Fun Fact

It's obvious that John Steed is a huge fan of Tintin. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puUf7ndsT0w&ab_channel=TheAvengers 

[The Australian Panther]

In French too!