Zookeeper Martin Friend (back from The Gilded Cage) is upset to find that Snowy the white elephant has gone missing from the private zoo run by Noah Marshall (Godfrey 'film Dortmun' Quigley, returning from Hot Snow). Cathy's safari experience in Kenya is ideal for putting her onto the case as a potential new collector for the zoo.
Judy Parfitt returns from Bullseye as Noah's efficient - and therefore, instantly suspicious - secretary. Edwin 'Captain Hart' Richfield makes his third appearance as a supposedly missing anthropologist.
Rather like Second Sight, this story uses a lot of setup to tell what turns out to be a fairly simple story by about smuggling. John Lucarotti dresses it up with scenes at a gunsmith's (run by Bruno Barnabe, who was the BBC bloke in The Bowmans) and a supplier of human and animal restraints (principal saleslady, Rowena Gregory from Immortal Clay).
At least here the smuggled goods (ivory) have some connection with the rest of the plot. The actual reason for abstracting the elephant isn't very well explained: as far as I can work out, it's because she knew Lawrence and would have reacted to seeing him at the zoo, thus creating a disturbance not conducive to smuggling. But then, if it was so necessary for Lawrence to come to the zoo, why had the smuggling plan been able to operate successfully before now without him coming there?
There's some fairly good cold villainy from Richfield, and Scott Forbes as fellow-smuggler Conniston, and I liked Toke Townley's fussy gun craftsman. And you have to admire Quigley for being able to act with a real live parrot sitting on his shoulder in half the scenes.
The final scene is one of Cathy's rare but periodic disenchantments with her work with Steed: he presents her with an ivory carving, and she comments 'You always manage to win something, don't you?' Steed would probably understand the additional meaning of 'win' as an Army word for 'help oneself to'.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Naive Avengersthon - 45. The Medicine Men
When Malcolm Hulke's at the typewriter, business is never just business, and in this ep we're shown British commercial interests getting tangled up with anti-colonial elements in the country of Karim.
Peter 'Granada's Colonel Ross' Barkworth as Geoffrey Willis, the hard-working boss of Willis Sopwith Pharmaceuticals plagued by Far Eastern rip-off copies of his products. Steed once more assumes his civil servant cover to investigate, having been alerted by the death in a Turkish bath of one Tu Hsiu Yung. Macnee has some comic lines to deliver based on this amusing name, but handles them with a pleasing mixture of deprecation and embarrassment.
Cathy is also on the case as a business efficiency expert. A good scene between her and Willis, where she cunningly both gets his attention and wins his goodwill by using a sales technique from a manual written by his grandad.
Harold 'Gilbert M' Innocent as Leeson, an alcoholic avant-garde painter who's the British end of the fake goods operation. He has a wonderful line about Karim being 'the size of a postage stamp - and not worth much more.'
His artistic technique involves getting young women to bathe in paint, then rub themselves against the canvas. This sets up one of Cathy's best lines so far; Willis' secretary, Miss Dowell (Joy Wood) arrives at Leeson's studio and holds a gun on her. 'Have you come to roll in the oils too, Miss Dowell?' she asks in deliciously sarcastic tones.
John Crocker returns from Propellant 23 - I thought he was Brian Murphy.
Brenda Cowling, who I think is seen for about 10 seconds in the plaque-unveiling scene in Carry On Girls, appears as the chatty masseuse at the Turkish bath.
This is a great episode: there's an intriguing plot, and some wonderful playing by all the principals. I have only two criticisms. The treacherous employee trope has featured in almost all the 'business' episodes so far, it's becoming very predictable. And Willis, discovering Steed ferreting around in his offices, holds him at gunpoint, is shot, and then disappears from the story. I couldn't work out if he was part of the fake goods scam or not - he does have a suspicious-sounding exchange with Miss Dowell about printing in one scene, but it wasn't conclusive.
Peter 'Granada's Colonel Ross' Barkworth as Geoffrey Willis, the hard-working boss of Willis Sopwith Pharmaceuticals plagued by Far Eastern rip-off copies of his products. Steed once more assumes his civil servant cover to investigate, having been alerted by the death in a Turkish bath of one Tu Hsiu Yung. Macnee has some comic lines to deliver based on this amusing name, but handles them with a pleasing mixture of deprecation and embarrassment.
Cathy is also on the case as a business efficiency expert. A good scene between her and Willis, where she cunningly both gets his attention and wins his goodwill by using a sales technique from a manual written by his grandad.
Harold 'Gilbert M' Innocent as Leeson, an alcoholic avant-garde painter who's the British end of the fake goods operation. He has a wonderful line about Karim being 'the size of a postage stamp - and not worth much more.'
His artistic technique involves getting young women to bathe in paint, then rub themselves against the canvas. This sets up one of Cathy's best lines so far; Willis' secretary, Miss Dowell (Joy Wood) arrives at Leeson's studio and holds a gun on her. 'Have you come to roll in the oils too, Miss Dowell?' she asks in deliciously sarcastic tones.
John Crocker returns from Propellant 23 - I thought he was Brian Murphy.
Brenda Cowling, who I think is seen for about 10 seconds in the plaque-unveiling scene in Carry On Girls, appears as the chatty masseuse at the Turkish bath.
This is a great episode: there's an intriguing plot, and some wonderful playing by all the principals. I have only two criticisms. The treacherous employee trope has featured in almost all the 'business' episodes so far, it's becoming very predictable. And Willis, discovering Steed ferreting around in his offices, holds him at gunpoint, is shot, and then disappears from the story. I couldn't work out if he was part of the fake goods scam or not - he does have a suspicious-sounding exchange with Miss Dowell about printing in one scene, but it wasn't conclusive.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Naive Avengersthon - 44. The Gilded Cage
Steed plans to entrap retired villain Spagge (Patrick Magee, returning from Killer Whale) into a robbery, by putting Cathy forward with a carefully researched plan to rob a bullion vault.
It's impossible to say any more without spoiling a really good pull-back-and-reveal in the middle of the episode - I haven't been so completely taken in since I read The Magus.
Another Killer Whale actor, Fredric 'Potter' Abbott, returns as a gang member, likewise Alan 'Hector' Haywood from Chorus of Frogs and Geoff L'Cise from Death Dispatch. Martin 'Styggron' Friend is also in the gang.
Neil 'Sam Seeley' Wilson returns from The Frighteners as a guard.
Norman Chappell is great as Spagge's accomplished butler Fleming (Steed must like him too, as he lets him escape.)
It's impossible to say any more without spoiling a really good pull-back-and-reveal in the middle of the episode - I haven't been so completely taken in since I read The Magus.
Another Killer Whale actor, Fredric 'Potter' Abbott, returns as a gang member, likewise Alan 'Hector' Haywood from Chorus of Frogs and Geoff L'Cise from Death Dispatch. Martin 'Styggron' Friend is also in the gang.
Neil 'Sam Seeley' Wilson returns from The Frighteners as a guard.
Norman Chappell is great as Spagge's accomplished butler Fleming (Steed must like him too, as he lets him escape.)
Friday, March 09, 2012
Naive Avengersthon - 43. The Secrets Broker
This felt like rather a messy, tangled episode. There's Mrs Wilson (Avice Landon) and her seance/blackmail combo, there's Waller the wine merchant (Jack 'Théoden/General Hermack' May) and his secret microfilm darkroom and there's Bridlington's electronics research centre where Cliff Howard (John 'Ashe/Tlotoxl' Ringham) is working on advanced weapons. Secrets are moving along this chain of setups, powered by blackmail - Ronald 'Cornish/Rago' as one of the main victims.
There are some great performances though, particularly Avice Landon's polite style of blackmail, and Jack May's thoroughly unpleasant wine merchant - although smartly dressed at all times, he manages to convey the impression that he's actually in Ken Shabby's costume. And it's fascinating to see Ronald Allen as a suave, manipulative lover.
There are some great performances though, particularly Avice Landon's polite style of blackmail, and Jack May's thoroughly unpleasant wine merchant - although smartly dressed at all times, he manages to convey the impression that he's actually in Ken Shabby's costume. And it's fascinating to see Ronald Allen as a suave, manipulative lover.
Naive Avengersthon - 42. Second Sight
Peter Bowles is prominent here, looking extraordinarily like Rik Mayall as Richard Rich in a couple of shots. I couldn't believe the striking Judy Bruce, whose character he's having an affair with, wasn't in anything else after this, but the internet explains that she changed her name to Judith and settled for being a big name in musical theatre.
John 'Ambril' Carson, returning from Chorus of Frogs, is really good as blind millionaire Halvarssen, who we're led to assume is the intended graft recipient. His manner is as tightly controlled as his immaculate buttonhole and precision haircut. There's a good case of Chekhov's Gun here, with his custom audio-feedback firearm being introduced well before it's employed in the denouement.
A very chilling scene with Dr Spender, who Steed's persuaded to oversee the supposed corneal graft, surreptitiously examining the silent, immobile donor before meeting a sudden end.
I quite enjoyed this episode but it was the playing I appreciated, not the plot, which is basically 45 minutes of misdirection about corneal grafting, followed by a gunfight. Cathy assumes yet another cover as a doctor - and complains to Steed that she won't be able to carry it off. Even she's starting to find her multiplicity of roles implausible.
John 'Ambril' Carson, returning from Chorus of Frogs, is really good as blind millionaire Halvarssen, who we're led to assume is the intended graft recipient. His manner is as tightly controlled as his immaculate buttonhole and precision haircut. There's a good case of Chekhov's Gun here, with his custom audio-feedback firearm being introduced well before it's employed in the denouement.
A very chilling scene with Dr Spender, who Steed's persuaded to oversee the supposed corneal graft, surreptitiously examining the silent, immobile donor before meeting a sudden end.
I quite enjoyed this episode but it was the playing I appreciated, not the plot, which is basically 45 minutes of misdirection about corneal grafting, followed by a gunfight. Cathy assumes yet another cover as a doctor - and complains to Steed that she won't be able to carry it off. Even she's starting to find her multiplicity of roles implausible.
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Naive Avengersthon - 41. November Five
Michael Dyter wins the South East Anglia by-election on a platform of exposing corruption, but is gunned down at the count by Frank Maher (the unknown stuntman who made The Prisoner and many other series look so fine).
Then top politicians Swinburne (David 'Granada's Sir James Damery' Langton, returning from The Mauritius Penny) (possibly Con.) and Arthur Dove (probably Lab.) are unwillingly getting together to deal with the very pressing matter of a nuclear warhead that went missing in South East Anglia.
Publicist Mark St John is happy to host their meeting at his 60s image consultancy - because he's conspiring with Fiona (Iris Russell returning from Mission to Montreal) and Max, who operate the high class gym frequented by Mrs Dove, who Cathy befriends.
Fill in the gaps yourself, the suggestion in the title is all you need. I get the impression that regular Avengers writer (and Mac Hulke crony) Eric Paice didn't appreciate the power of a 5-megaton nuclear warhead, which would have instantly vapourised everything in a radius of several miles. Anyone hoping to watch the fireworks would have learnt the hard way that the observer is part of the experiment.
This is the first episode that I failed to properly understand after three viewings - I still can't grasp why Dyter had to get shot, or indeed stand for election at all, the nuclear blackmail plot doesn't seem to need either of those elements.
Having said that, this episode rather grew on me; there was some decent pathos with the loveless Doves, and I always enjoy 60s political dramas where they can never be explicit about which party MPs belong to. Also there was what I took to be a bit of self-mockery: I've noticed that in series 3 the fight scenes have become increasingly formalised and stylised: Cathy is confronted by an opponent, the shot changes to show a convenient wide open space, the exciting fight music starts and she does a series of judo throws on her attacker. (Joss Whedon must have been watching). In this episode, there's a scene at the gym where all these cues are deployed - and then the action is interrupted by the return of Mrs Dove. The music stops and Cathy, Fiona and Max stand around looking sheepish. 'I just came back for me handbag,' says Mrs D.
Then top politicians Swinburne (David 'Granada's Sir James Damery' Langton, returning from The Mauritius Penny) (possibly Con.) and Arthur Dove (probably Lab.) are unwillingly getting together to deal with the very pressing matter of a nuclear warhead that went missing in South East Anglia.
Publicist Mark St John is happy to host their meeting at his 60s image consultancy - because he's conspiring with Fiona (Iris Russell returning from Mission to Montreal) and Max, who operate the high class gym frequented by Mrs Dove, who Cathy befriends.
Fill in the gaps yourself, the suggestion in the title is all you need. I get the impression that regular Avengers writer (and Mac Hulke crony) Eric Paice didn't appreciate the power of a 5-megaton nuclear warhead, which would have instantly vapourised everything in a radius of several miles. Anyone hoping to watch the fireworks would have learnt the hard way that the observer is part of the experiment.
This is the first episode that I failed to properly understand after three viewings - I still can't grasp why Dyter had to get shot, or indeed stand for election at all, the nuclear blackmail plot doesn't seem to need either of those elements.
Having said that, this episode rather grew on me; there was some decent pathos with the loveless Doves, and I always enjoy 60s political dramas where they can never be explicit about which party MPs belong to. Also there was what I took to be a bit of self-mockery: I've noticed that in series 3 the fight scenes have become increasingly formalised and stylised: Cathy is confronted by an opponent, the shot changes to show a convenient wide open space, the exciting fight music starts and she does a series of judo throws on her attacker. (Joss Whedon must have been watching). In this episode, there's a scene at the gym where all these cues are deployed - and then the action is interrupted by the return of Mrs Dove. The music stops and Cathy, Fiona and Max stand around looking sheepish. 'I just came back for me handbag,' says Mrs D.
Friday, March 02, 2012
Naive Avengersthon - 40. Build A Better Mousetrap
A village is faced with the twin problems of rowdy but harmless motorcyclists, and mysterious stoppages of mechanical equipment. The locals believe the latter is being caused either by witchcraft, or the local nuclear plant. Steed and Cathy are both on the scene, she as one of the motorcycle enthusiasts.
Not really keen on this one, it doesn't seem to want us to take it seriously. Steed's cover story about the 'National Distrust' is just silly. Some good points though: I like what's basically the double-bluff with the familiar not-so-harmless old ladies trope, Alison Seebohm caught my attention as Caroline and there's a good scene where Harold Goodwin as Harris, the pub landlord, tries to chat up young Jessy (Marian Diamond, who was Galadriel in the BBC radio production of LotR). It's just misdirection but I enjoyed the way we were led to expect some real unpleasantness, but actually just get pathos.
Three actors return to the show: Donald Webster from Intercrime, Allan McClelland from The Big Thinker and John Tate from Killer Whale.
Not really keen on this one, it doesn't seem to want us to take it seriously. Steed's cover story about the 'National Distrust' is just silly. Some good points though: I like what's basically the double-bluff with the familiar not-so-harmless old ladies trope, Alison Seebohm caught my attention as Caroline and there's a good scene where Harold Goodwin as Harris, the pub landlord, tries to chat up young Jessy (Marian Diamond, who was Galadriel in the BBC radio production of LotR). It's just misdirection but I enjoyed the way we were led to expect some real unpleasantness, but actually just get pathos.
Three actors return to the show: Donald Webster from Intercrime, Allan McClelland from The Big Thinker and John Tate from Killer Whale.
