Take-Over: most frightening ever?

darren · Post by **darren** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 2:36 pm

The milk float is one of my mum's biggest memories of the Avengers. She'll forever associate Macnee's face with being unnerved by weird or creepy things happening.

Murdersville is nasty in that it's quite sadistic. It may get all silly towards the end like with the fight but earlier on there's a nasty edge to proceedings like the characters of Mickle and Hubert. They're presented as everyday country folk and not diabolical masterminds. They show real relish at destroying Paul Croft's personal things and there's something about it that takes it away from the fantasy of The Avengers at that time.

Rodney · Post by **Rodney** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 4:07 pm

Also, when Emma discovers Paul's body she contemplates killing the fake doctor, nearly smashing his brains out with the telephone. As the Avengers Dossier observes, it's a rare moment of true sentiment. It is without doubt a nasty episode, and that's coming from someone who likes it.

Charlie Parker · Post by **Charlie Parker** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 5:44 pm

I like how unsettlingly quiet Take-Over is, in direction, acting and sound scape. In many ways I think it is very much reminiscent of a Cathy Gale episode and it certainly wouldn't look out of place in season three. Always surprises me that it's a Terry Nation episode it's so underplayed on some many levels (in a good way), but equally its so Terry Nation it hurts.

mousemeat · Post by **mousemeat** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:03 am

Rodney wrote:Also, when Emma discovers Paul's body she contemplates killing the fake doctor, nearly smashing his brains out with the telephone. As the Avengers Dossier observes, it's a rare moment of true sentiment. It is without doubt a nasty episode, and that's coming from someone who likes it.

good point...I pretty much concur..

emotions run high.....it's such a flightly episode..but good as well..

some of Peel's antics, were suspect..

JohnSteedFr · Post by **JohnSteedFr** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:50 am

Rodney wrote:Also, when Emma discovers Paul's body she contemplates killing the fake doctor, nearly smashing his brains out with the telephone. As the Avengers Dossier observes, it's a rare moment of true sentiment. It is without doubt a nasty episode, and that's coming from someone who likes it.

It's one of the best scenes ever made, for the fifth series.

ikbtops · Post by **ikbtops** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 2:04 am

One of my favourite episodes of the Tara years.
Very different from a lot of story lines The way it was filmed with edging in close-ups really added to the tension of the story.

ikbtops · Post by **ikbtops** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 2:20 am

Darren wrote:The milk float is one of my mum's biggest memories of the Avengers. She'll forever associate Macnee's face with being unnerved by weird or creepy things happening.

Murdersville is nasty in that it's quite sadistic. It may get all silly towards the end like with the fight but earlier on there's a nasty edge to proceedings like the characters of Mickle and Hubert. They're presented as everyday country folk and not diabolical masterminds. They show real relish at destroying Paul Croft's personal things and there's something about it that takes it away from the fantasy of The Avengers at that time.

Yes! They're like creepy little neighbor boys, destroying your parents garden,smashing tomatoes as you watch helplessly...
That reminds me. I just recently re-watched Agatha Christie's "Evil Under the Sun"(1982) since i was a child. I realized that both Dame Diana And Colin Blakley (Mickle) were both in it. They never share screen time though...

malte1982 · Post by **malte1982** » Thu Apr 08, 2010 6:25 am

5/5 Points

This one belongs to the best episodes in the Tara King Season. It is a very good Solo-Episode for John Steed. The performance of Patrick Macnee belongs to his greatest for the serial.

Johnny O · Post by **Johnny O** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:27 pm

As I'm plowing my way through the Brian Clemens' later 1970's ITV series "Thriller", it's amazing to discover how many Avengers episodes were recycled in "Thriller" and how many "Thriller" episodes were recycled in The New Avengers. Just watching "The Eyes Have It" from "Thriller" season 1 and it's a rehash of "Take Over". Equally sinister in a different way, with blind students replacing Steed & Tara.

Sort of surprised that Clemens got away with this continual rehashing. Maybe TV executives were less fussy in those days!

Dandy Forsdyke · Post by **Dandy Forsdyke** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:31 pm

You've made me want to dig out my Thriller box set now!