Puppets

 

 

Who hates ventriloquists dummies? Everyone? Yes, that's what I thought. With this in mind, I was greatly creeped out by this episode of The Avengers from 1969, i.e. 'the Tara King year'.

I fully intended to cover this period of 'The Avengers' in some detail, but I've never really decided what I really think about it.

R.I.P, E.P

It comes to us all, of course, but this is a bit much. From 'Epic'.

W Is For Wyngarde

 

‘Epic’ is in many ways an atypical ‘Avengers’ episode: Steed isn’t in it much, and it has a small cast, rather than the usual cavalcade of familiar faces in small roles. If pushed to illustrate the freewheeling surrealism and gently experimental feel of the best of the programme, however, I would cite this episode as a perfect example. Full of striking visuals and with its tongue firmly in its cheek, it also gives a plum role for the genius of Peter Wyngarde to take flight.

The story is fairly negligible, but, for what it’s worth, Emma is kidnapped by a film director called Z.Z vom Schnerck who wants her to star in his magnum opus ‘The Destruction Of Emma Peel’. The film also stars two drunken, washed-up actors called Stewart Kirby (Wyngarde) and Damita Syn, who are more than willing to help von Shnerck abduct and murder if it revives their long dormant careers. Emma is not initially informed that she is in the film or, indeed, that the production will climax with her actual death onscreen.

Structurally and visually, the episode sometimes seems a precursor for both ‘The Girl Who Was Death’ and the UFO episode ‘Timelash’, both excellent episodes of sometimes variable shows. The studio setting gives plenty of scope to the production, not least the opportunity to parody a number of genres and stock characters.

Wyngarde is called upon to play, amongst others, a gunslinger, a 'red indian', Alexander the Great, a gangster and a machine gun toting German in a spiked helmet (another image prefiguring ‘The Girl Who Was Death’) , all of which are an absolute hoot (a thick slice of ham is part of the characterisation, of course – this is Peter Wyngarde doing Stewart Kirby doing the parts). We get to see Wyngarde’s superb facility for getting beaten up and pulling amusing faces, as well as hearing him do a variety of accents. He even gets to play the Dane, reciting the ‘To Be Or Not To Be’ soliloquy from the play that must not be named because it’s unlucky or something.

He’s brilliant, and terribly funny. I love him very much. Do you hear me, Peter, I LOVE YOU!

Minikillers

Despite her phenomenal success in the role of Mrs. Emma Peel, Diana Rigg did not particularly enjoy her time in 'The Avengers'. Not only did she dislike the relentless attention of the media, she also found out that, initially, at least, she was earning far less than some members of the crew. Also, of course, she had a desire to stretch herself as an actress - Shakespeare, Chekov, Shaw, Brecht, Wise - and wanted to leave all the karate and cat suits behind her. No wonder she doesn't answer questions about 'Minikillers'.

'Minikillers' is a 1969 German production made in Spain, comprising of four seven minute episodes. There's no dialogue, but the music is exceptionally groovy. The story, such as it is, revolves around a criminal network that uses creepy walking dolls to both smuggle heroin and to knock off members of the Interpol team investigating them. The dolls do this in a very novel way: their tiny tears are deadly poison.

Dame Diana gets involved purely by chance, but soon settles their hash with some unarmed combat and a selection of killer outfits. It's a pleasure to see her in action, even though the majority of her time is just spent looking gorgeous and smiling wryly to herself. But that's okay, that's two of the things she does  very well.

Ms Rigg has never discussed exactly why she made such an obviously cobbled together oddity, especially as she was an established film presence by this time. It may be presumptious, but I think I might be able to work it out: she was offered a shit load of money, a few days work in an exotic locale and they said she could keep the costumes after the production wrapped. Sounds okay, doesn't? No need to be embarrassed, Diana, I'd have done it just for the holiday - if anybody had ever wanted to see me in a bikini, that is.

Campire

Peter Wyngarde never played Dracula (come on, Pete, there's still time) but, amongst a dozen other pen portraits, he managed to come over all vampiric in 'Epic', a wild, weird and very funny 1967 episode of The Avengers.

Happy Halloween!

The Avengers: How To Succeed...At Murder

More 1966 'Avengers'. 'How To Succeed At Murder' has Mrs. Peel infiltrate a gang of female assassins who are knocking off their male bosses in order to establish a matriachal society after thousands of years of subjugation. Their leader, of course, is a ventriloquist's dummy named Henrietta.

The chief assassinatrix (I think I've made that word up) is played by Angela Browne. Angela was an intelligent, cultured and very beautiful presence in any number of British films and TV shows from the 1950s onwards, including 'Danger Man' and 'The Prisoner' (as Number 86 in 'A, B or C'), before giving up showbusiness for charity work in 1990. She died in 2001.  

The Avengers: The House That Jack Built

For my money, the first Diana Rigg Avengers season was the high watermark of the series, although the next season (the first in colour) comes very close. Surreal and psychedelic before most people knew what the term meant, the Brian Clemens scripted 'The House that Jack Built' is a fantastic episode, and also looks to have had a bit of an influence on 'The Legend of Hell House'.

F**** Me, It's Freddie

FMIF as the dastardly foreign agent, Basil, about to undergo a major transformation in 'Who's Who', a 1967 episode of the superlative 'Avengers'.