The WORST Episodes..

[Johnny O]

My problem with Pandora is one of continuity. My pet peeve. Surely anybody from Mother's department - or for that matter any idiot off the street! - would be able to tell a fake skeleton from a real dead body in a burned out car? And isn't it amazing how Tara's car was set on fire, pushed off a cliff and yet reappeared, completely unscathed the following week? Mmmmm.....

I had always thought the skeleton was the skeleton of the real Pandora, kept by the uncle in his madness. Even if it's not Pandora's skeleton, human skeletons are a dime a dozen from any medical school..no you probably couldn't buy them, but it wouldn't be too difficult to obtain one.

And when did they say Tara's car had been pushed off a cliff?...I don't remember that particular scene. I may have to re-watch...But regardless, while Tara's car was rare, it's always been my assumption that the agency would have replaced it for her, or since agents (again, in my mind) are paid extremely well, she bought another one.

I suppose it could have been Pandora's own skeleton, but it looked remarkably clean and well preserved if it was! It may also have come from a medical school. But either way, the fact that there was no flesh, no hair, no organs etc., would have raised at least some suspicions within Mother's department surely? The car was last seen being set alight and pushed off somewhere. Maybe a cliff is the wrong description. Perhaps it was just down a gully or hill. But it definitely was set alight and then set free! Tara's car and indeed her apartment are similar to those owned by Purdey. One week, every single ornament and piece of furniture is smashed to smithereens and the next week, all are remarkably restored in perfect condition!

[Vorvon]

I can't hate Homicide and Old Lace. The beginning is pure Avengers, and nothing makes me laugh more than Mother holding off Rhonda from blasting his two aunts who have decided to do the stupidest thing ever by pulling gift pistols on their government employee nephew.

That still makes me laugh. Rhonda, if left to her own devices, was ready to go completely John Woo on two old ladies. Now that's awesome. Too bad the rest of it was a patchwork job designed to salvage what could have been a good episode. La sigh.

[lostntime]

Within the Emma era (which are the only episodes I own), Mission Highly Improbable reminds me of a 1950's science fiction B-movie. The most entertaining moment is "Tell me Steed, is everything to size?" (as best I recall). I assume Mission is a poke at the Mission Impossible series.

I'd probably put Epic at the bottom too but I can't accurately judge because my copy has a couple of defective chapters on the disc.

[Kitty_Golightly]

For me they're definetely Who's Who and Fear Merchants, I've chosen these two, because after watching I didn,t feel any desire to do it again. Seemed rather irritaiting for me

[Dan]

Very interesting to see other folks' choices.

Room Without a View was on quite a few lists. I think that one is by far the worst episode of the Peel era. Something very claustrophobic about it.

The only other one from the Peel era that I don't particularly like is The Girl from Auntie. I was surprised tha no one listed that one. Just a little too slapstick and not enough Mrs. Peel, although you could make the argument that there was a lot of Mrs. Peel showing in that costume.

I was also surprised to see one of my favorites, Silent Dust, on a lot of lists. Love the boat scene at the beginning and the fox hunt.

[Mona]

The Worst Episodes Are

S4
Room Without a View
Two's a Crowd
Man-Eater of Surrey Green
Small Game for Big Hunters
How To Succeed....At Murder

S5
The Fear Merchants
The See-Through Man
Epic
Something Nasty in the Nursery
Who's Who???
The £50,000 Breakfast
You Have Just Been Murdered
Mission... Highly Improbable

S6
The Curious Case of the Countless Clues
The Forget-Me-Knot
Split!
Have Guns - Will Haggle
My Wildest Dream
Legacy of Death
The Rotters
Thingumajig
Homicide and Old Lace

Wow, I cannot possibly disagree more with the above list! It kind of amazes me that fans of a show seem to dislike so many episodes--what draws folks to the show, then? What does one expect from each episode when one finds an apparently endless progression of such hideous flaws and faults one categorizes so many shows as inhabiting a "Worst" list? I have seen all the episodes numerous times and the only one I really do not like is a Steed/Gale episode "Second Sight" which I find painfully slow and boring, especially as so little Steed is in it.

Otherwise, I can see many positive aspects of all the shows above. Let's take one example from the above list. In "Room Without A View", we learn Steed was apparently in Nee San himself at sometime in his past--his haunting knowledge of the time always being 3 o'clock, and his knowledge of the nasty soup, was a quite chilling. For folks with a good imagination, just that one small piece of past history can create an entire storyline of his capture, his time there and either his release or his escape. I have had hours and hours of fun playing out that story in my head and sharing it with other fans. There are numerous good scenes in the episode, as well, and a rather good fight scene at the end. All in all, I find that episode very enjoyable.

In the end, I enjoy ALL those episodes listed above as I am, after all, a Very Big Fan of The Avengers. I do not watch the episodes to find unforgivable mistakes, but rather, to see the characters, learn more about their past, enjoy their present interactions, see the quirky characters, live for nearly an hour in a wonderfully different reality called Avengerland, and watch the plot unfold, with the red herrings and the final confrontation of good and bad. And, of course, to experience Steed. I always look for the positive and always find something enjoyable in each episode, and certainly in ALL the episodes listed above.

Mona

[kim]

The Worst Episodes Are

S4
Room Without a View
Two's a Crowd
Man-Eater of Surrey Green
Small Game for Big Hunters
How To Succeed....At Murder

S5
The Fear Merchants
The See-Through Man
Epic
Something Nasty in the Nursery
Who's Who???
The £50,000 Breakfast
You Have Just Been Murdered
Mission... Highly Improbable

S6
The Curious Case of the Countless Clues
The Forget-Me-Knot
Split!
Have Guns - Will Haggle
My Wildest Dream
Legacy of Death
The Rotters
Thingumajig
Homicide and Old Lace

Wow, I cannot possibly disagree more with the above list! It kind of amazes me that fans of a show seem to dislike so many episodes--what draws folks to the show, then? What does one expect from each episode when one finds an apparently endless progression of such hideous flaws and faults one categorizes so many shows as inhabiting a "Worst" list? I have seen all the episodes numerous times and the only one I really do not like is a Steed/Gale episode "Second Sight" which I find painfully slow and boring, especially as so little Steed is in it.

Otherwise, I can see many positive aspects of all the shows above. Let's take one example from the above list. In "Room With A View", we learn Steed was apparently in Nee Sang himself at sometime in his past--his haunting knowledge of the time always being 3 o'clock was a quite chilling. For folks with a good imagination, just that one small piece of past history can create an entire storyline of his capture, his time there and either his release or his escape. I have had hours and hours of fun playing out that story in my head and sharing it with other fans. There are numerous good scenes in the episode, as well, and a rather good fight scene at the end. All in all, I find that episode very enjoyable.

In the end, I enjoy ALL those episodes listed above as I am, after all, a Very Big Fan of The Avengers. I do not watch the episodes to find unforgivable mistakes, but rather, to see the characters, learn more about their past, enjoy their present interactions, see the quirky characters, live for nearly an hour in a wonderfully different reality called Avengerland, and watch the plot unfold, with the red herrings and the final confrontation of good and bad. And, of course, to experience Steed. I always look for the positive and always find something enjoyable in each episode, and certainly in ALL the episodes listed above.

Mona

One of the most wonderful things about our little forum is the fact that we have such a diverse group of people with diverse tastes and opinions. Makes for interesting debates. I know that many times I have disagreed with someone's opinion on various episodes, however, they gave me an excuse to re-watch an episode or six so that I could view it from their point of view. It's very, very interesting seeing an episode from a new perspective and extremely enlightening.

[Dandy Forsdyke]

Within the Emma era (which are the only episodes I own), Mission Highly Improbable reminds me of a 1950's science fiction B-movie. The most entertaining moment is "Tell me Steed, is everything to size?" (as best I recall). I assume Mission is a poke at the Mission Impossible series.

The title certainly is. I always think of Land of the Giants when I see this ep.

I'd probably put Epic at the bottom too but I can't accurately judge because my copy has a couple of defective chapters on the disc.

I love/hate the episode. It's lifted by "the star of this picture". But it's not one I'd show to impress friends, unless the were into 60's far-out daftness.

[darren]

Room Without a View was on quite a few lists. I think that one is by far the worst episode of the Peel era. Something very claustrophobic about it.

Room Without A View is one of the episodes that I've watched in the new DVD Boxset.

Previously its just never gripped me. When reading the synopsis it really appealed but the realisation just didn't click but I watched it the other night and got it.

It is a very claustraphobic episode as a few inserts aside it's very interior lead. It feels like a season 3 script (Mrs. Peel could easily be Cathy Gale). But I found myself getting into the story. I knew all the twists and turns but the mystery and the atmosphere was very compelling.

It sometimes does you good to have a long break from some episodes and then came back to them afresh. It's a very happy experience to discover an episode anew.

[Sam]

I've actually always enjoyed this episode. Maybe because I am a fan of the Cathy era!