Under the Mistletoe with the Avengers

 It's almost Christmas, and we wish all of the visitors to Shades of Gray could join us and the Avengers for a hug and a kiss, because we love you all!

We here at Shades of Gray hope all our visitors are having a happy holiday season... and we thank everyone who's been stopping by during 2021 to share The Year of the Avengers with us.

The Avengers: Honey for the Prince

Honey for the Prince (1966)
Starring: Diana Rigg, Patrick Macnee, Ron Moody, Zia Mohyeddin, George Pastall, Bruno Barnabe, Roland Curry, and Peter Diamond

Director: James Hill

Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

The Avengers (Macnee and Rigg) are called into action to find out who murdered two British and agents and to stop the assassination of the crown prince of an oil rich nation who is visiting England with his 320 wives.

This episode deals with the intersection of modernity, Western culture, and conservative Middle Eastern culture, as well as class struggle and the right and wrong ways to work toward social change. These are all topics that I suspect would be near and dear to many potential viewers of this episode... if they could get past the obvious sexist bits, very-much-intentional racist bits ("intentional" because they are there to shed negative light on those holding the attitudes, despite the comedic presentation), and the cartoonish portrayal of the Saudi Arabian prince. And for those who don't care about social commentary, the episode has Emma Peel dancing around dressed as a harem girl, lots of funny lines, some of the best action/fight scenes of any episode so far in the series, and a great performance by Ron Moody. In fact, I think Ron Moody's presence and character puts this among the best episodes of "The Avengers", and the action scenes pushes it into Very Best territory.

The aspect of this episode I found the most enjoyable was the eccentric owner of a very strange business--and how the episode's villains made use of it. Ron Moody portrays Hopkirk, a writer and organizer of live-action roleplaying game scenarios that lets people live out action and adventure in the safety of his "danger rooms." Since roleplaying games and writing has been a vocation and avocation of mine for the majority of my life, I loved this angle to the show. Given how popular RPGs have become in recent years, I think it's an aspect that might appeal to a whole host of viewers.

"Honey for the Prince" was the final episode of "The Avengers" that was made in black-and-white, so this is where we part ways with the very entertaining team of Mr. John Steed and Mrs. Emma Peel. They remained partnered for one more patch of episodes... and maybe we'll have to revive the Watching the Detectives blog for a second Year of the Avengers in 2022. Time will tell. (Stick around here for the time being... there are a couple more posts to come for the 2021 Year of the Avengers here at Shades of Gray!)

The Avengers: How to Succeed... at Murder

How to Succeed... at Murder (1966)
Starring: Diana Rigg, Patrick Macnee, Christopher Benjamin, and Sarah Lawson

Director: Don Leaver

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A secret society of personal assistants are making themselves indispensable to the company the work for, then murdering top executives they assist and being promoted to their positions. John Steed (Macnee) and Emma Peel (Rigg), the goverment's top trouble-shooters are assigned to find evidence of the society's existence, determine who's behind it, and bring them to justice.

"How to Succeed... at Murder" is the third or fourth time that the Avengers have had to unravel a plot targeting Britain's corporate leaders and captains of industry, but the "women's lib" angel to this one made it feel fresh. There is also a very well executed twist--one that is subtly set up early in the episode--that was ahead of its time and gives the episode a more modern feel that many of the episodes.

This is another episode where the Avengers run their investigation on two tracks that are separate but which intersect and criss-cross as they unfold: While Steed sets himself up as a target for the secret society by hiring someone believed to be connected to it as his personal assistant, Mrs. Peel infiltrates the group to discover their secrets from the inside. Naturally, things don't go as smoothly as they might have hoped for, but we the viewers get to see Emma Peel taking on a mob of female assassins who, like her, are trained in hand-to-hand combat.

Despite the slightly repetitious nature of the threat, this episode is mostly a fun one. It's full of eccentric and interesting characters and the banter and witticisms exchanged between Steed and Peel, and between Steed & Peel and their friends and foes are all cute or clever. 

Unfortunately, the show falls apart a bit toward the end. Despite the clever twist/Big Reveal referred to above, the episode is dragged down a bit by the villains suddenly seeming very, very stupid, despite having been presented as very intelligent up until the finale. I also have a minor quibble with Emma Peel even being able to infiltrate the group, given that she should actually be quite famous in business circles (established canonically in "The House That Jack Built"). That same disconnect also makes Steed's comments to Peel about how women shouldn't be left in charge of important business seem either insulting or inexplicably sarcastic, since she was once in charge, and still the owner of, a multinational corporation.

"How to Succeed... at Murder" has its flaws, but the good outweighs  the bad, making it an above average entry in the series.

On a side note related to another topic of this blog, I found myself wondering whether this episode of "The Avengers" was a primary source of inspiration for one of the quirky villains in Richard Sala's magnum opus "Mad Night"--not to mention partly informing the many leotard-clad female assassins that pop up all throughout his work. (Which reminds me... I really have to get around to making that blog post about the Brigitte Bardot/Richard Sala/"The Chuckling Whatsit" connection. And, for that matter, reviewing both "Mad Night" and "The Chuckling Whatsit"!) 

The Avengers Dossier, Page Twenty-three

Throughout the year, we've been providing mini-bios of actors who have appeared on episodes of "The Avengers" that've been reviewed in this space. Today, we're breaking the pattern, and, instead present mini-bios of the series' stars--Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg.

PATRICK MACNEE

Born in 1922, Patrick Macnee was raised by his mother and her lesbian lover after his father gambled away the family fortune and ran off. He began acting as a teenager, making his film debut at the age of 16 as an extra in "Pygmalion" (1938). His career was interrupted by WW2--during which he served in the Royal Navy--but as the 1940s came to a close, Macnee was unhappy with the acting roles he was landing in Great Britain, so he relocated to the Americas.

During the 1950s, Macnee took a smattering of theatre roles (including a stint on Broadway), but focused mostly on television. He appeared in both American and Canadian television series and made-for-TV movies, and even dabbled in producing. When he returned to England in 1959, he was cast as John Steed in "The Avengers", the character with whom he is most closely associated. Originally, Steed was just a supporting character, but during the show's Second Season, and the original lead dropped out of the show, Steed became the new focal point and he had a rotating set of sidekicks that came and went until Emma Peel (embodied by Diana Rigg) entered the picture at the beginning of the Fourth Season.

Macnee has the additional distinction of being the only actor who was with "The Avengers" through all six seasons of the original series, as well as "The New Avengers" in the mid-1970s. He even voiced the character of Invisible Jones in the Avengers Big Screen outing in 1998 (where Steed was portrayed by Ralph Fiennes and Peel by Uma Thurman).

During the 1970s and into the 1990s, Macnee was a familiar face and voice on American television and the played supporting and guest-starring roles in numerous television series and movies, primary among them being "NightMan" (1997-1998); the "Thunder in Paradise" series and made for television films (1993-1994); and "Super Force" (1990-1992); and "Battlestar Galactica" (1978-1979).

Macnee was also a regular in B-movies, mostly horror and sci-fi films. Whether he was playing a hero, villain, or victim, he was always a bright spot, no matter how wretched the film around him might be. 

Starting in the late 1990s and continuing into the 2010s, Macnee worked primarily as a voice actor, including making recordings of numerous audio books. His final on-screen role was as the mad scientist in the sci-fi spoof "The Low Budget Time Machine" (2003), which made for a total 170 different characters played on-screen. He passed away on June 25, 2015. 

DIANA RIGG
Born in 1938, Diana Rigg began her professional acting career in earnest upon joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1959. While busy with theatre roles, she still sought out television roles. In 1964, she auditioned for the role of Emma Peel on a whim. She had never seen an episode of "The Avengers", and, although her casting was a hurried, last-minute replacement for the actress who had originally been cast in the role, Rigg went on to become the actress most closely associated with the classic television series. She also has the distinction of appearing opposite Patrick Macnee in more episodes than any other regular on the series. 

Rigg played Emma Peel for two seasons of "The Avengers", standing as an equal next to John Steed from the very beginning. Emma Peel was also the only Steed sidekick who got a proper send-off episode instead of just dropping of the story to never be heard from again.

Rigg left "The Avengers" in 1967 to play the female lead in a James Bond film (as, coincidentally, the other most-famous female Avenger, Honor Blackman, had also done), and from that point on, her star kept climbing: Whether Rigg was appearing on stage, on the big screen, or television series or made-for-television movies, she always the lead, or at least a character that was pivotal to the action and plot.

While television remained a cornerstone in Rigg's career, she also remained devoted to appearing in live theatrical performances (sometimes crossing the two), and she was recognized by the British Crown for her contributions to the theatrical arts by being awarded the title of Dame. Meanwhile, film-goers and television viewers got to enjoy her hosting the PBS anthology series "Masterpiece Theatre" (1989-2003); see her as the hilarious human center of "The Great Muppet Caper" (1981), and dozens of other performances in historical dramas, comedies, spy thrillers, and even a few horror movies. The roles she is perhaps be best remembered for, aside from Emma Peel, are Tracy Bond, wife of James Bond ("On Her Majesty's Secret Service", 1968); amateur detective Adela Bradley (in five made-for-television movies, "The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries", 1999-2000); and as noble matriarch Orlenna Tyrell (in the television series "Game of Thrones", 2013-2017).

Rigg had been a smoker since she was 18 years old, and for years she'd regularly smoke a pack of cigarettes in a day. The habit eventually caught up with her, first causing her heart problems which necessitated surgery in 2017, and then lung cancer struck and eventually claimed her life in 2020. She never retired, working straight up until shortly before her death, and the film in which she made her final appearance ("Last Night in Soho" (2021)) was dedicated to her by the director and producers.

--

As a bonus, here are a few pictures from one of the stranger promotional photo-shoots that Macnee and Rigg did to promote "The Avengers."

The Avengers: A Sense of History

A Sense of History (1966)

Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Patrick Mower, Nigel Stock, John Ringham, and Jacqueline Pearce

Director: Peter Graham Scott

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

John Steed (Macnee) and Emma Peel (Rigg) go undercover at an elite university to find who murdered a leading economist by shooting him in the back with an arrow. They discover a plot to shape the economic future of a united Europe by murdering key politicians and researchers. But which scholars are involved, and who is the mastermind?

I am torn when it comes to this episode. There are things I really like and there are things I can't stand.

On the one hand, I love the set-up and the nature of villains, from how they're characterized, to what motivates them, and through to the plot twists and turns of who the mastermind behind the plot truly is. I also loved the way one cliffhanger resolved into another cliffhanger as the episode reached its climax during a masquerade ball.

On the other hand, the mix of the sinister and the goofy stereotypical Sixties Youth Culture that embodies the student group at the heart of the episode gets tiresome quickly. It becomes downright annoying once it's clear how wrong-headed they are in their destructive beliefs--I just wanted Mrs. Peel to punch each of them in the mouth as soon as it they opened them--but maybe it's a combination of the passage of time and my own worldview that's causing that reaction, or maybe those characters were just supremely annoying. (They're in the same mold as the villains in "A Touch of Brimstone", but far more irritating, partly because their evil here is flavored with wholly undeserved self-righteousness.)

I also felt like the writers wasted too much time on the hipster evil of the young set. This is an episode with a really convoluted plot and a story that is slightly over-stuffed with characters, and some of it doesn't reach its full potential because of the writers belaboring certain social points. 

 

The student group was so annoying to me that I almost rated this episode at the low-end of average (which is a Five of Ten Stars here at Shades of Gray), but as I thought about it, the witty banter between Steed and Peel, plus the Robin Hood puns and sly references scattered throughout, turned my attitude toward "A Sense of History" (even if one of them was a bit forced and nonsensical plot-wise). Emma Peel crossdressing as Robin Hood in short-shorts also went a long way to improving my outlook... 

All things considered, this isn't a terrible episode, but it's far from one of the best. (The end-of-episode gag with Steed and Peel driving off on a motorcycle--with Peel driving and Steed in the sidecar--is, however, among the best of those.)

The Avengers: The House That Jack Built

The House That Jack Built (1966)
Starring: Diana Rigg, Michael Goodliffe, Patrick Macnee, Griffith Davies, and Michael Wynne
Director: Don Leaver
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

The past returns to haunt and torment Mrs. Emma Peel (Rigg) when she becomes trapped in the nightmarish hallways and rooms of a mansion left to her by her recently deceased Uncle Jack.

The set-up of this episode seems a bit far-fetched to me. If faced with the same situation that Emma Peel is presented with, I never would have exposed myself to the situation she ends up in... and I find it far-fetched that little old me, who whose life hasn't been steeped in international and industrial intrigue and danger since my teenaged years is more cautious about unexpected news than someone like Mrs. Peel that led Emma Peel. I similarly understand completely why John Steed took the steps he is revealed to have taken as the show unfolds, even if they were completely ineffectual, because he seems to have a more cynical outlook about the unexpected than Emma Peel does.

Aside from the weak set-up, however, this is one of the most intense episodes in the entire fourth season. Other episodes have flirted with trapping characters with horror and/or trapping characters in a surreal, mind-twisting environment (with "Too Many Christmas Trees" being foremost among them), but this one nails it perfectly and it keeps the tension building and mystery deepening throughout the episode. Even after the full extent of the villain's scheme and depraved, revenge-driven creativity has been revealed, there still seems very likely that Peel is going to meet her end, trapped in a nightmare maze.

And speaking of Peel, this episode is focused pretty much entirely on her. Diana Rigg is really the only actor in the episode who has any significant amount of screen time, and we get to see her full range of talent on display. Fans of Rigg should love every minute of this episode.

This episode is even more interesting, because it tells us of Emma Peel's life before she went to work for the British government as Steed's partner. It also bridges the gap between her nomadic childhood as the daughter of a hands-on international captain of industry and her modern life as a multi-discipline subject matter expert who sometimes has to kill people. One question that wasn't answered, however, is whether Peel stepped away from actively running her business because she got married, or if she had already chosen to pursue the more varied life that her wealth allowed.

"The House That Jack Built" is one of the must-see episodes of "The Avengers". I can nitpick the set-up, but what follows is brilliant in every way. It's low on the humor content, but it's more chilling than many straight-up horror movies. 

The Avengers: What the Butler Saw

What the Butler Saw (1966)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Thorley Walters, Denis Quilley, Ewan Hooper, and Kynaston Reeves
Director: Bill Bain
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

In an effort to find and eliminate the person responsible for leaking government secrets, John Steed (Macnee) enrolls in a school for butlers while Emma Peel (Rigg) sets out to get close to (literally and figuratively) one of the prime suspects--a playboy R.A.F. pilot (Quilley).

The central mystery and threat in this episode is so simple that it's hardly worth of the talents of England's greatest spybreakers--some of the particulars are tricky, but the overall effort would have been very easy to trace to its source once detected--but all the stunts John Steed pulls while trying to ferret out the villains, excellent supporting characters, and a grisly murder and body disposal make this episode a lot of fun.

"What the Butler Saw" is also elevated by a fantastic supporting cast. Thorley Walters (as the stern master of an academy geared toward educating gentlemen's gentlemen; Denis Quilley as the dashing pilot ladies can't get enough of; and Kyanston as the old general who may have crossed the line from eccentric to crazy all play their parts brilliantly. Of course, it helps that they were working with a script that was full of banter and humor. It all added up to  mixture that excused the fact the assignment was almost two simple for our two heavy hitters. (Steed's showing off his disguise skills and his butlering antics are contribute in major ways to this.)

Although, that said, the writers of the episode did make the effort to establish the politically sensitive nature of the investigation, as well as taking a very clever approach to giving Steed a little bit of a personal stake in the case. The writers also did an excellent job with the character of the playboy pilot, making him both a excellent sense of merriment as Emma Peel first pursues him so she can get close to him for the investigation, and then later has to take steps to avoid ending up in bed with him. The ultimate twist to the subplot involving him and Peel catapulted him to the status of my favorite supporting character in all the episodes I've seen of "The Avengers".

The Avengers: A Touch of Brimstone

A Touch of Brimstone (1966)
Starring: Diana Rigg, Patrick Macnee, Peter Wyngarde, Carol Cleveland, Michael Latimer, and Colin Jeavons
Director: James Hill
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

The charismatic leader of a modern-day Hellfire Club (Wyngarde) intends to topple the British government through a mass-assassination plot, and only secret agents John Steed (Macnee) and Emma Peel (Rigg) can infiltrate his group and stop them.

This is an episode of "The Avengers" that people who were reading "X-Men" comics in the early 1980s is familiar with in a round-about way, even if they didn't even know there was such a thing as a television series called "The Avengers. In the early 1980s, Writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne based the look and nature of a group of evil mutants on the Hellfire Club in this episode--in particular a the Black Queen. That character's look and outfit was inspired by one sported by Emma Peel in this episode... even if the Black Queen was even more skimpily clad than Peel was. 

Although Peel was only dressed in the costume for a few minutes--including the climactic battle where she fights for her life against the villainous leader of the Hellfire Club--it caused quite a stir back in 1965. The episode was edited by censors for its original broadcast in Great Britain, broadcasters in continental Europe and in Australia fielded complaints from viewers, and the whole thing was deemed to risque to even air in the United States. One interesting tidbit about the outfit is that actress Diana Rigg had issues with some of costumes she had to wear as Emma Peel, but this is one she designed herself.

As for the bulk of the episode, instead of just the costume that launched a thousand trips to the fainting couch and jump-started a thousand puberites via comics or the airwaves, it also ranks as one of the stronger in the series due to its very well-paced action, well-developed supporting characters (with the leader of group, John Cartney played by Peter Wynngarde, being one of the most palatably evil characters to even appear on the series), and great banter between John Steed, Emma Peel, and just about anyone they encounter during their investigation. This is also another episode where Diana Rigg gets to shine as an actress, due to the variety of situations that her character Emma Peel must navigate as the story unfolds. The final fight scenes between the bad guys and our heroes is also among the best of the series.

Whether you just want to see one of the better episodes in the series; whether you want to watch Diana Rigg parade around in not a lot of clothes (while carrying a snake); or whether you are the modern-day pearl-clutching type who wants to be outraged and feel like your spiritual ancestors in the 1960s felt, this is the episode to check out.

Here are a few more images and publicity stills from "A Touch of Brimstone", just because.

The Avengers: The Danger Makers

The Danger Makers (1966)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Nigel Davenport, Douglas Wilmer, Adrian Ropes, Moray Watson, Fabia Drake, and John Gatrell
Director: Charles Crichton
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

A retired highly respected general is killed while apparently recklessly joyriding on a motorcycle. Two of the British government's top investigators, John Steed and Emma Peel (Macnee and Rigg) are charged with determining if its connected to other strange accidental deaths and mishaps that have been befalling retired British army officers and soldiers.

This is one of the more serious-minded episodes, from the subject matter, how it's treated, and how the story involving it and surrounding it unfolds. What comedy we find here is generated by interactions between John Steed and John Steed involving friendly ribbing or assumptions of danger where there isn't any.

One of the most interesting aspects of the episode is that most of its villains are also victims. I don't want to give away some of the key plot-twists, but this episode and the threats that Steed and Peel face are ultimately borne from a group of soldiers that are unable to adjust to life off the battlefield, because they are suffering from various degrees of PTSD. In this way, society, with its expectations of what a soldier and a warrior is and must be, has failed them, but they are also subject to nefarious manipulation the the story's worst villain. It's something that's treated with a level of somberness and seriousness that's rarely seen in this series, and the final minutes of this episode feel weighty and intense as a result.

Although Patrick Macnee gets more screen-time, this is Diana Rigg's episode in many ways. Steed and Peel conduct parallel investigations, each with their own cover story and each of them uncovering important parts of the mystery as the trails they are following converge, but almost every scene that Rigg appears in during this show is full of great writing and acting, weighty symbolism, and thrilling action. (Although you know as a viewer that there's no way a main character is going to die during just another episode of a series like "The Avengers", I am certain that you will find yourself on the edge of seat as Emma Peel undertakes the potentially lethal initiation to join the ranks of the Danger Makers.

And speaking of Emma Peel... she's once again wearing some of the character's signature outfits that make her seem more real than many television females: That leather catsuit and those weird white boots with the stripe on the middle. You can see her wearing them in the picture used to illustrate this post. (I don't know if these recurring wardrobe items were a sign of budget limitations, intentional on part of the costumers, or because Diana Rigg liked wearing them, but I appreciate the repetition. Of course... it could be that this goes on in many shows and I just noticed it here.. because those boots are just so dumb-looking and yet she keeps wearing them!)

"The Danger Makers" is one of the great episodes in a great series. It is definitely worth your time to check out.

The Avengers: Quick-Quick Slow Death

Qiuck-Quick Slow Death (1966)
Starring: Diana Rigg, Patrick Macnee, Eunice Gayson, Maurice Kaufman, James Belchamber, David Kernen, and Larry Cross
Director: James Hill
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

A bizarre accident puts government agents John Steed (Mcnee) and Emma Peel (Rigg) onto a dance school that's serving as a conduit for infiltrating enemy spies into Great Britain. The pair set out to unravel the operation with some infiltrating (and dancing) of their own.

"Quick-Quick, Slow Death" is one of the funniest and overall comedy-oriented episodes of "The Avengers" that I've watched yet. It's crammed full of bizarre characters and even more bizarre situations and it gets goofier and goofier as it unfolds

In fact, it's so goofy that this episode is best enjoyed if one doesn't think too much about the hows and whys of the plot and the complicated scheme being executed by the bad guys, nor the clues that Steed and Peel uncover or how they're delivered (although that tattooed garlic sausage has got to be a highwater mark for comedic absurdity). For all those reasons, I'm keeping this review short, as I think this episode is one that's best experienced cold. 

I will say that Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg are at the top of their comedic game, with their deadpan or droll reactions to the various bizarre characters and situations that Steed and Peel are confronted with as the episode unfolds. Although Macnee gets to be the comedic center in a couple of scenes, it's the way he and Rigg serve as "straight men" to other performers that make this episode that much more fun. I think that's also one of the reasons that the climactic ballroom scene with dancers and partners being switched around works when it really shouldn't have: Macnee and Rigg are pitch-perfect in every scene throughout.

Speaking of dancing, the little comedy tag at the end of this episode is possibly also one of the best so far, with the fictional characters of John Steed and Emma Peel twirling across the dance floor and fading away as the end credits begin.

The Avengers: The Thirteenth Hole

The Thirteenth Hole (1966)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Patrick Allen, Victor Maddern, and Francis Matthews
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

When a government agent is murdered, John Steed (Mcnee) and Emma Peel (Rigg) are charged with bringing the guilty parties to justice. Their investigation leads them to an exclusive golf club where a traitor is passing state secrets to the Soviets.

"The Thirteenth Hole" is one of the weaker episodes in Season Four, if not the weakest. The problems are many and severe, and they all originate with the sloppy script.

First, the scheme of the bad guys is complex to the point of ridiculousness. Although I sit down expecting an over-the-top espionage or criminal conspiracy yarn that sometimes is only believable or sensible in the pulp-fictiony, cartoonish universe in which the Avengers exist, what I got in this episode was so over the top that it didn't even work as a spoof of the 1960s spy movies where bad guys had elaborate secret hideouts in the weirdest places. Maybe I could have been more forgiving if the script had been better.

Second. something needed better editing here, be it the script or the final product. The story just doesn't hold together, even by the sometimes fast-and-loose logical standards of "The Avengers". This is mostly because characters who seem significant are introduced, only to vanish without further development or explanation, but it occurs to me that maybe that wouldn't have bothered me so much if the characters that do stick around were more interesting. No one seems particularly menacing or amusing... even some comedic antics by Steed on the golf course fall flat.

One saving grace of the episode is that director Roy Ward Baker kept things moving as quickly as possible--perhaps a little too quickly, as touch on above--but that still doesn't make up for the lameness of the characters and the writing in general. Second, there's a gun that fires golf balls' I really like this idea, and it was perfect for causing "accidental deaths" on a golf course. (Well, except for when the dimwitted bad guys star shooting people with it after the course is closed and in the middle of the night.)

All in all, a disappointing outing for the Avengers.... but they can't all be good when you're on the grueling schedule of episodic television.

The Avengers: The Girl from Auntie

The Girl from Auntie (1966)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Liz Fraser, Diana Rigg, Mary Merrall, Alfred Burke, Yolande Turner, Ray Martine, and Bernard Cribbens
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Government "trouble-shooter" John Steed (Macnee) returns from vacation to find a strange woman (Fraser) has assumed the identity of his partner, Mrs. Peel (Rigg). When assassins start popping up, intent on getting rid of the imposter, Steed finds himself working just as hard at keeping her from harm, as he is at finding out what has happened to his partner and friend.

"The Girl From Auntie" is a really fun episode that strikes a balance between suspense and silliness with such skill that it's difficult to be sure who is and isn't involved with the villains until late in the episode. Even Steed has a more difficult time than average unraveling what's going on, due in no small part to the fact that an assassin who racks up an impressive body count during the episode appears to be a harmless little old lady.

The main mystery of the episode revolves around Gregorie Auntie, the owner of a brokerage house that promises it can secure any object the client wants--be it antiquities, modern art, rare collectables... or even people (although that last one is only known to a very select clientele). It's established early on that this organization that has abducted Emma Peel, and the action revolves around Steed trying to find and rescue her before she's sold off to a foreign power for the state secrets she knows, so I'm not breaking my "no spoilers" rule by mentioning it. Alfred Burke, as Auntie, and Yolonde Turner as his femme fatale sidekick are perfect as the operators of this mysterious business, being equally adept at playing silly or sinister as the moment of the story calls for--almost like personifications of what makes this episode work so well. (If fact, these characters are so much fun that they are added to the list of ones I wish could have come back for additional appearances.)

Speaking of things are the equal parts serious and silly, Diana Rigg's Emma Peel character spends most of this episode in a giant birdcage, dressed in a skin-tight, feather-festooned outfit, awaiting the auction that will decide her future. Watching this episode in 2021, I suspect there's less of a sense of danger surrounding Emma Peel's situation--there are many more episodes featuring her to come--but in 1965, it might have seemed to viewers that Peel was on her way out: Steed had never had the same partner for a sequential stretch of episodes as long the ones so far in Season Four. (I don't know if they were testing the waters with Liz Fraser or not.. her character certainly feels like she could be a replacement for Rigg's Emma Peel, especially with her strangely calm reactions to the dead bodies that keep dropping around her, but ultimately she's just one of the many quirky characters that come and go through the series. The actual reason for Rigg's light involvement in this episode and script is probably tied to scheduling realties; there's an episode coming up where she's at the center of the action for the vast majority of it.)

This is another excellent episode that's swiftly paced, features a strong script, and is a lot of fun. Even minor supporting characters--one of which even have names, like the cab driver who ferries Steed around for a good part of the episode--gets some very funny bits.

The Avengers: Small Game for Big Hunters

Small Game for Big Hunters (1966)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Peter Burton, Liam Redmon, James Villiers, and Bill Fraser
Director: Gerry O'Hara
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Men, dressed for jungle safaris and shot with poisoned darts, are turning up near the manor of retired army officer Colonel Rawlings (Fraser). Government problem-solvers John Steed (Macnee) and Emma Peel (Rigg) are tasked with getting to the bottom of the mystery and stopping the violence before scandal occurs. 

"Small Game for Big Hunters" features both the best and the worst of what "The Avengers" series has to offer. 

First the good. It's got a supremely goofy plot that everyone treats with the utmost seriousness and straight faces of characters who exist in a comic-book universe where, on the outskirts of London, a delusion military officer can be kept within a recreation of a British military outpost in colonial Africa while his staff execute evil schemes--and no one notices for an extended period of time. It's also got comic relief characters who are, likewise, treated with absolute seriousness by those around them, because, again, everyone exists in a comic book universe where Crazy is Normal. This is the sort stuff, along with witty banter between Steed and Peel, that make most episodes of this series such a joy to watch.

On the downside, it's got an incoherent plot that sometimes seems to lose track of its own story-threads, which is made worse and even more obvious due to the way there are two separate narrative tracks for most of this episode, one of which is not all that interesting... and it's made worse by some comedic antics that aren't all that funny. At least we're not subjected to the all-too-common action/fight scenes that are so badly rehearsed and/or badly choreographed that one has to wonder if people actually got paid for working on the show--it would have dragged the rating down from a Seven to a Six. It might have been a rating of 5 if not for a couple twists that I didn't see coming, and for the clever social commentary on the faded British empire and the insanity (and inanity) of those who were still trying to revive it as late the the 1960s.

All that said, Diana Rigg's performance in this episode is also one of the strongest things about it, because it made me realize something that hadn't quite clicked before: She always seems to dial up the intensity of her performance if her Emma Peel character has been parked in the more boring parts of an episode, like she is here. It adds a greater sense of drama or comedy to sequences that are otherwise borderline drab. (Here, Rigg's dialed-up intensity saves a few scenes from coming across as too frivolous or silly.) .

The Avengers: Room Without a View

Room Without a View (1965)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Philip Latham, and Paul Whitson-Jones
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

One scientist who vanished returns home, out of his mind. Seven others remain missing. Top government investigators John Steed (Mcnee) and Emma Peel (Rigg) discover the common link is that they all stayed at the Chessman Hotel. Can Steed and Peel identify the sinister forces that have taken up residence at the Chessman before they themselves fall victim to them?

"Room With a View" has lots of great things about it. The mystery of how top scientists are vanishing from a London hotel is one that grows more compelling as the show unfolds--and the apparent solution seems outright nightmarish when it first begins to come to light. The twists that are introduced here are also nicely done. Steed  gets to be the center of some really funny bits as he goes undercover as a food critic to curry favor with the equal parts flamboyant, publicity-hungry, and shady owner of the Chessman (Wutson-Jones). Even Wokesters will find things to enjoy about this episode, such the fate of a sexist government bureaucrat, and the Chinese wife of an abducted scientist being scarcastic about cultural and racial stereotypes.

The scenes involving an imprisoned Mrs. Peel as the episode heads toward its climax are also extremely well done... and ones I can't comment upon without ruining the plot. Suffice to say, you're going to find them compelling.

What is less compelling is the episode's villain, the corpulent owner of the Chessman Hotel who has dreams of building a hospitality empire. He's as evil and petty as any Avengers villain we've come across so far in the series, but there's a disconnected stiffness about the actor portraying him--particularly in the scenes he shares with Patrick Macnee--that saps some of the life from what is an otherwise fast-moving, well-mounted episode helmed by the great Roy Ward Baker.

The Avengers: Silent Dust

Silent Dust (1965)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, William Franklyn, Jack Watson, Isobel Black, Joanna Wake, Charles Lloyd Pack
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

An investigation into the use of a banned pesticide puts a pair of government agents (Macnee and Rigg) in the crosshairs of a group of land owners intending to blackmail the British government.

The best things I can say about "Silent Dust" is that it never gets boring--one can almost always rely on Roy Ward Baker to keep things moving--and Steed has some funny exchanges with a scientist he consults during the investigation (played by Charles Lloyd Pack, who perhaps Great Britain's hardest working bit-player during the 1950s and 1960s.). Diana Rigg also has some amusing lines when Peel is expressing opinions about the episode's villains to Steed... but they are nowhere near as witty as what can found found in other episodes.

What is also better in many other episodes is the villains. Not only are the ones in "Silent Dust" mostly bland, but their scheme is absolute nonsense and one that had no chance of success (or even resulting in long-term benefit to the villains if anyone had bothered to think things through). And yeah... that's how bad it is--I am complaining about something in an episode of "The Avengers" that doesn't make sense.... 

One interesting aspect of the show is how fox hunting figures in the show, even if it becomes a bit lame toward the end. It's one of the many times when the societal changes that were shaking the long-standing British class system and gender roles in the mid-1960s. It's also one of the reasons that this episode is still worth watching today--it's something of a historical artifact.

The Avengers: Two's a Crowd

Two's a Crowd (1965)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Warren Mitchell, Julian Glover, Wolf Morris, Maria Machado, and Alec Mango
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Super-spies John Steed (Macnee) and Emma Peel (Rigg) are on the verge of unmasking a mysterious Russian agent, but his crafty assistants (Glover, Mango, Machado, and Morris) stymie their efforts by replacing Steed with a lookalike (Macnee) in their employ.

"Two's a Crowd" got off to a really fun start for me. I watch so many old films with cheap and pathetic effects that I thought I was in for another "treat" in that department--but then the model turned out to be a model. (The foe of the Avengers loves model airplanes and he uses remote controlled model planes to committ assassinations.)

This bit of trickery/playing on perception sets the theme for the entire episode where many things aren't what they seem and models take the place of the real thing... but can be just as lethal. John Steed's double is literally a model: The man is a male fashion model, and while he may not be a trained combatant, like Steed, his completely lack of morals and regard for other human beings makes him every deadly to those who think he's Steed.

Storywise, this is a fast-paced episode that's as full of twists and turns as one would expect a tale involving a "faceless" assassin whose identity is kept secret by a cadre of ruthless assistants, traitorous dopplegangers, and elaborate assassination schemes. The balance between humor and suspense is expertly maintained throughout, with lots of witty banter, quirky characters, and lots of fun situations. The best scenes involved Steed's evil double--with the fashion show where he is first introduced being absolutely hilarious, and the scene where Emma Peel has to decide if Steed is himself or the double and whether she should kill or not is quite suspenseful.

The best thing about the episode is the performances by Patrick Macnee--and yes, I did say "performances". Not only does he play two characters in the episode, but the fake Steed goes in and out of the character of Steed... so Macnee is playing a character who is playing John Steed. It's lots of fun to watch a talented actor getting show off!

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.

The Avengers: Dial a Deadly Number

Dial a Deadly Number (1965)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Peter Bowles, Clifford Evans, Jan Holden, John Carson, and Anthony Newland
Director: Don Leaver
Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

Sudden heart attacks have claimed several heads of industry who share the same banker (Evans), who has, seemed to have been taking advantage of the stock market turmoil their deaths have brought on. Top government investigators John Steed (Macnee) and Emma Peel (Rigg) are dispatched to unravel the mystery and bring any culprits to justice.

"Dial a Deadly Number" is one of the best episodes of the series--the creators of the series were on a roll! It's got a sharp script that features a multi-layered mystery that gets more involved as the show unfolds instead of unraveling and plenty of witty, sharp exchanges between Steed and Peel, as well as the supporting characters. It's especially inpressive that even after the heroes have proven that the executives are being murdered and how it's being done, they don't know the "who" and have to resort to a risky gambit to expose the true villains.

And speaking of risk, this episode does a great job at keeping the tension high, even in scenes where there is minimal action. There's a sequence where Steed and Peel attend a wine tasting where they and their suspect pool are trying to take each others measures (while engaging in a little bit of snobbish one-upsmanship) and the clash is more exciting than the shoot-out/battle that serves as the episode's climax. (That said--even the fight scenes in this episode are better executed and more dramatic than are the norm for this series. More often than not, they haven't weathered the passage of time well--and I suspect even audiences in the 1960s thought some of them were weak--but whether it's the motorcyclists that ambush Steed in a parking lot, or an unarmed Peel trying to stealthily take out a gun-toting bad guy in a wine cellar, this episode give us some of the best action that "The Avengers" series has to offer.

Another great part of this episode is that it makes oblique use of Emma Peel's "deep background" as an independently wealthy daughter of a business tycoon/industrialist while adding also adding some additional details to Steed's background (however small). A good portion of the episode's plot revolves around high finance and investments, and Steed and Peel interact with bankers and brokers and other personalities in that world. Initially, Peel stays at arm's length and out of sight of the financiers, but when she ends up having to interact with them, she immediately fits right in. She even has a ready-made and airtight response to a suspect who is testing her with probing small talk. (It, and a couple upcoming episodes, provided the jumping-off point for "The Growing-Up of Emma Peel" comics series, which you can read by clicking here.)

One final stroke of brilliance in this episode is that the humorous tag at the end ties firmly into the story and action of the episode instead of just being a little bit of nonsense. I wish more of these had been done like this.

The Avengers: The Hour that Never Was

The Hour that Never Was (1965)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Roy Kinnear, and Dudley Foster

Director: Gerry O'Hara

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

A car accident causes Steed and Mrs. Peel (Macnee and Rigg) to arrive late to a reception and party behind held at an air force base that is being decommissioned. They find the facility completely deserted and all clocks stopped at the exact moment of their car crash.

"The Hour That Never Was" is one of the best episodes of the ones from the 1965/66 season. Between the expansion of John Steed's background with details about his WW2 activities (including the fact that he played fast-and-loose with the rules even then); some great interplay between Steed and Peel that both underscores their easy-going friendship, their skills as agents, and their ability to be ruthless when called for; and a mystery that will keep you guessing as to what has happened to the staff of the airbase--because just as you think you may have figured it out, the mid-episode twist will put you right back to Square One. 

"The Hour That Never Was" also benefits from some creative camera-work that emphasizes the creepiness of the deserted airbase during the first half of the episode, and the disorientation felt by Steed when he suddenly finds the base populated again... except now Peel has gone missing.

This is one of the spookiest episodes of the series, because the mystery keeps turning inside out and then turning again. It's clear that there are clearly some mundane threat at play (a sniper with a rifle kills the only other living human being that Steed and Peel lay eyes on after arriving at the base) the supernatural or weird science threat that appears to have first made everyone on the base vanish and then appears to have distorted time is the far greater danger... and it's one that remains mysterious until the episode reaches its conclusion.

The only weak part of "The House Than Never Was" is the fight between our heroes and the villains at the end. It's a little too goofy, even by "The Avengers" standards. But this is more than made up for the excellent execution of the story and the many little touches that make Steed and Peel seem more three-dimensional and human than they have in any previous episodes. (Steed's joy at the prospect of reuniting with old friends is something every adult ca relate to; and the fact that Peel has a favorite pair of boots she keeps in the car just in case she ends up having to walk are among my favorites. In fact, I think this episode may be the first time I ever had the sense that a female character in a show had what felt like a realistic wardrobe... because it dawned on me that Emma Peel often wore the same hat or shoes or jacket with different pants or blouses instead of either the exact same outfit or a completely different outfit every week. I may think those striped boots or that beanie that looks like a target that she is so fond of are goofy-looking, but I also felt they brought a bit of realism to the glamorous, comic-book universe that Peel and Steed live in.)

The Avengers: A Surfeit of H2O

A Surfeit of H2O (1965)

Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Noel Purcell, Albert Lieven, Geoffrey Palmer, Talfryn Thomas, John Kidd, and Sue Lloyd

Director: Sidney Hayers

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A doomsday prophet (Purcell) and a winery with secret, highly scientific production methods are at the center of the mystery when agents John Steed (Macnee) and Emma Peel (Rigg) are tasked with uncovering how a man drowned in the middle of an empty field.

This is another excellent episode that features a tight script; a brilliant mix of sci-fi and investigative secret agent action; and an assortment of interesting and quirky characters that make it tricky to pinpoint who the bad guys are and what they are actually up to until the Big Reveal. It also features another nice "damsel in distress" riff along the same lines as what we had in "The Gravediggers", but with a stronger sense of danger than comedy. There's also a great bit with Steed's steel-plated trick bowler as an adjunct to that business.

Character-wise, the wisecracking between Steed and Mrs. Peel is topnotch, and some of the incidental characters here are so interesting and well-acted that I sorry to see them meet a violent end, or I wished there could have been a reason for them to make reappearance in a future episode--Noel Purcell's doomsday prophet Jonah Barnard being prime among these. The different approaches that Steed and Peel take to investigating the mysterious deaths also lend a great deal of entertainment value to this episode--Peel remains methodical and cautious in her approach, while Steed starts out that way but quickly starts resorting to antics to see what he can stir up. At the end, though, it's a combination of the two approaches that leads to the good guys ultimately winning the day. Peel's dignified unflappability also leads to one of the most amusing (and possibly one of the most British) witness interviews ever committed to film. Another nice bit in this episode is the way Steed and Peel turn firmly to science to help them figure out what's happening with the weather around the winery--which also gives the writers an opportunity to show that Mrs. Peel is also knowledgeable in the field of meteorology.

As great as this episode is, it's another instance of where the creators don't quite pull off the ending. It's got a dramatic set-up and the location in which it unfolds should make it one of the deadliest fights our heroes have ever been in--since they are exchanges punches with the bad guys at the very heart of a mad science experiment that has claimed three lives that we know of--but it's almost like the actors, director, and writers have forgotten what's happened earlier in the episode.

All in all, though... some 55 years after it first aired, "A Surfeit of H2O" is still highly entertaining and well worth the time you'll spend watching it.