What are those episodes where you found your opinions do a complete U-turn.
You either found that after initially loving something, you started to dislike it? Or you started out really put off by an episode and slowly came to love it?
My selections - Came to Love
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Station - This was just one of a load of videos that I bought on my birthday back in summer of 1995. I'd had an English exam earlier in the day and couldn't wait to go into town buy some videos and spend the rest of the day plonked in front of the TV.
I'd see a few by the time I came to see this one but I've always loved train so expected to enjoy it. But it just fell flat. I couldn't engage with it at all. It just seemed to dirge on and on.
Then came the late summer of 1999, I'd just come out from seeing The Avengers Movie feeling totally dispirited and wondering if the series that it sought to mimic was any good. Of course it was and the first episode I came to put on was A Funny Thing... I can't remember why I chose it but I'm so glad I did as I suddenly became aware of all the things that I'd previously missed that are a delight. In comparison to the film it suddenly seemed so much fun, so witty, so colourful, so interesting, so-Avengerish. It's consequently become one of the few episodes of season 5 that I truly love.
Trap - Yes, I'm serious. I original saw this on a repeat run of The New Avengers in 1996 on BBC2. By that time, I was getting rather tired of the series as it seemed to have been dragging on (and I was running out of tapes to record it on
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Well it still does have a ropey villain but when I watched it after getting the New Avengers boxset, I set up a viewing that was far more conducive to enjoying the episode. It was raining at the time which really put me in the mood for the weather in the episode. I just got into the relationship between the leads, they're so comfortable with each other by this time and they just carried the episode. Though geographically the episode is still rather obscure and unbelievable, Steed, Gambit and Purdey was such a joy to watch that I didn't care. Oh and I love Johnson's groovy score.
My Selection - came to dislike
Bizarre - Here was an episode that reintroduced me to the series. Repeated whilst on holiday in Florida in 1993, here was an episode of a series that I remembered from the 80's on Channel 4. It was so exciting to see. A underground base at a cemetary, this seemed so exciting.
Then on a UK repeat run in the late 90's, an episode I was so looking forward to seeing, suddenly took on a new shape when seen in context after viewing loads of episodes. It suddenly felt so tired. Tara barely in the episode and badly used. It showed a series that had run out of puff and ideas.
The Gravediggers - Another one viewed in Florida. I was really gripped by this one. It felt exactly as I felt the show should always feel. It seemed so exciting with some great action scenes.
But then I got it on video and showed it to a friend, who was very unimpressed. Aside from the fun scene with the train lunch, it suddenly felt really flat and just dull. So slow with a mostly bland group of guest characters. Even Steed and Emma felt lacking.