I hope there'll be no controversy this time when I say this is a remake of Don't Look Behind You. I shall enumerate the principal differences and interesting similarities: Mrs Peel is lured to yet another empty house by one Prendergast masquerading as Sir Cavalier Rusicana, rather than one Goodman pretending to be Sir Cavalier Rusagne.
Ola is just as annoying, but differently so, and she sticks around for the big finish. The red wine with fish bit is still there. The other grotesque has actually been hired by Ola, and comes on as a baron rather than a wannabe film director. We actually see how he dies (she shoots him). He still has a lot of the same lines though, and still does the 'dramatic chords' bit.
Steed is disabled by a fall downstairs in the opening sequence (possibly the first time anything has happened in that bit that materially connects to the rest of the plot). He's set up with a sidekick in the shape of Major Fancy (!), but the latter gets poisoned and Steed has to limp through the rest of the story on his own. In this version he doesn't just turn up at the end, we cut back to his thread throughout.
It's hard to say which version I prefer. The house isn't quite so menacing in colour, but on the other hand, the constant playing of the song (Mein Liebling, Mein Rose, pop pickers) in The Joker has a sinister quality all of its own. Mrs Gale's reaction at the denouement is better than Mrs Peel's.
There's no effort to address the fact that Steed should remember a very similar adventure indeed two series ago. They should have had him going 'Oh no, not again,' or something. And Mrs Peel might have been a bit suspicious after her experience in The House That Jack Built.
Previously and also seen: Peter 'Count Grendel' Jeffrey, returning from Room Without A View.
Previously seen: John Stone from The Secrets Broker.
Also seen: Ronald 'Bishop of Bath & Wells' Lacey.
