The Avengers: Man-Eater of Surrey Green

Man-Eater of Surrey Green (1965)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Athene Seyler, Derek Farr, Gillian Lewis, and William Job
Director: Sidney Hayers
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Government agents Steed (Macnee) and Peel (Rigg) investigate strange happenings near a botanical research facility and discover that Earth is about to be overrun by flesh-eating plants from outer space.

From one point of view, I just broke my own rule for not providing spoilers in my teaser summaries, by revealing the bizarre nature of the foe that John Steed and Mrs. Peel must overcome in this episode. However, I think the plant-based alien invader, while absolutely the main plot point in the story, is one of the least interesting things about "Man-Eater of Surrey Green".

There are two major problems with the alien plant story, neither of which are fatal, but both of which prevent this from being a great installment of the series.

First, although it may have looked like a great idea on paper, the special effects crew of "The Avengers" either didn't have the time or the budget to make it look quite right; as a result, some scenes that should be intense instead come across as goofy and the overall presentation of the alien is inconsistent in quality. (And I say this as someone who's sat through hundreds of movies with truly awful effects and who oftentimes doesn't mind them. It's when they feel uneven, like they do here, that their inadequateness to convey the needed results is emphasized.)

Second, a plant from outer space just doesn't feel quite right for "The Avengers". While I recognize that our heroes have battled psychics, killer robots, mad scientists with weather control machines--and more!--space aliens feel wrong to me. It doesn't help that several decades of space exploration has passed between now and when this episode was made, and thus Mrs. Peel's comment that vegetation has been detected on the Moon destroys my ability to suspend my disbelief.

All that said, however, this episode still has some great moments that make it worth watching. The dread builds throughout the episode as characters begin to behave strangely and the sense of danger closing in around Steed and Peel is palatable, even as the alien plant effects get silly. The sense of dread is so strong, and the possibility that our heroes may save the world but not live to tell the tale seems so real, that when Steed takes very necessary, very coldhearted "for the greater good" action, it feels like we're about to say goodbye to one of the show's main characters. For viewers in 1965, this possibility must have seemed even more real; it wasn't until the second season of the series that Steed emerged as the fixed lead character and his partners and sidekicks had always come and gone. For all audiences knew when this show first aired, another major change was coming. Alien invasion silliness aside, this is a very intense and dramatic episode. In fact, aside from some very slight Peel & Steed banter, I don't recall any humorous touches at all--other than Steed declaring, "I'm a herbacidial maniac, which is quite possibly one of the best lines of the entire series.

"The Man-Eater of Surrey Green" is furthered lifted up by the presence of veteran actress Athene Seyler, whose career began in silent movies and whose screen-presence allowed her to turn what seems like it may have been conceived as a Miss Marple-esque comic relief character into a formidable presence that can stand side-by-side with Steed and Peel as they prepare for their final confrontation against the alien menance. Seyler's Doctor Sheldon is another one of those one-shot "The Avengers" characters that I wish could have come back in another episode or two.

In final analysis, this may not be one of the best episodes, but it's still worth the time you'll spend watching it.