4.04 - Death at Bargain Prices

[mrs_emma_peel]

Thanks Piers - I absolutely agree

[cyberrich]

It's easy to see why this was Patrick Macnee's favourite Avengers episode. This one has everything. If we start with the script, it has to be one of the wittiest scripts in the Avengers history. There are so many wonderful lines such as "I asked the chief predator where to find you and he said, 'Our Mrs. Peel is in ladies' underwear.' I rattled up the stairs three at a time."
The Avengers always had underlying themes of the old values attempting to adjust to the advancement of the swinging 60s. You only have to look at the two leads. Also episodes such as Look stop me and this one, even sees the past fighting for it's very survival with deadly consequences.
The set is wonderful in this episode, surpassed only by Too many Xmas trees. The department store is an even better set than The House that Jack built. It is so authentic, that I'm not even convinced it is just a set.
This episode is safely inside the best 5 Avengers episodes of all time.
10/10. Rich.

[Ian Wegg]

One of my favourite episodes. 9/10

[mousemeat]

Oh yes, James, the script is absolutely scintillating. Superb one liners and repartee throughout. The chemsistry between Macnee and Rigg is truly something to behold.

I would concur....great script...witty dialogue ...one of the better episodes from series 4..imho

[Allard]

I watched this as my this years Christmas episode. (I'd seen Too Many... last year.) Because I'd seen the film Cash on Demand recently.

A thing I noticed: When Steed and Emma start searching for the bomb there's a large vat or oversized bucket Steed looks in. Pretty sure this is the very same prop as the Christmas container bucket used in Too Many Christmas Trees.

[Frankymole]

So good that America stole its villain's name for an entire series of CSI (Horatio Kane).

[mousemeat]

So good that America stole its villain's name for an entire series of CSI (Horatio Kane).

probably close to the best episode in that season..again, witty, great dialogue ,
superb camera angles, and more..

Horatio Kane ? why not...turnaround, is fair play...good series CSI

[Borgus Weems]

Just watched my fancy-pants bluray of this episode. It seems like this is the first episode that completely captures the best of the Steed/Peel dynamic! It is a fun adventure with so much wit abounding. Each word is perfect, and our cast are cooking with gas. The villain's plot was nefarious, if ill-conceived.

I did think that the shop visually reminded me of Grace Brothers a little bit, and I kept expecting somebody to ask for Mr. Peacock, or to ask Mr. Humphries if he is free. It also made me think of some of the meticulous set dressing in Last Night In Soho that so meticulously tried to evoke this mid-Sixies mad Mod world.

Also, Mrs. Peel's space-esq suit reminded me of the one worn by Doctor Who companion Sara Kingdom (played by Jean Marsh) from the serial The Dalek's Master Plan. Upon research however, it turned out that the Doctor Who episode was first, so Mrs. Peel didn't inspire her outfit. Cathy Gale did though:
https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Sara_Kingdom

The DVD documentary Girls! Girls! Girls! - The 1960s (included on the 2008 release of The Rescue/The Romans) indicates that the character of Sara Kingdom was inspired by the character of Catherine Gale on The Avengers (coincidentally, a series created by one of the originators of Doctor Who, Sydney Newman). Marsh's physical similarity to Diana Rigg has led some to erroneously state that the inspiration was another Avengers character, Emma Peel, but Rigg had not yet made her first appearance on the series when the serial was in production.

[mousemeat]

It's easy to see why this was Patrick Macnee's favourite Avengers episode. This one has everything. If we start with the script, it has to be one of the wittiest scripts in the Avengers history. There are so many wonderful lines such as "I asked the chief predator where to find you and he said, 'Our Mrs. Peel is in ladies' underwear.' I rattled up the stairs three at a time."
The Avengers always had underlying themes of the old values attempting to adjust to the advancement of the swinging 60s. You only have to look at the two leads. Also episodes such as Look stop me and this one, even sees the past fighting for it's very survival with deadly consequences.
The set is wonderful in this episode, surpassed only by Too many Xmas trees. The department store is an even better set than The House that Jack built. It is so authentic, that I'm not even convinced it is just a set.
This episode is safely inside the best 5 Avengers episodes of all time.
10/10. Rich.

yeah, loved the department store set....always get a big kick outta when Emma searching thru some stuff, pulls out that rubber spider of sorts...

[dissolute]

Also, Mrs. Peel's space-esq suit reminded me of the one worn by Doctor Who companion Sara Kingdom (played by Jean Marsh) from the serial The Dalek's Master Plan. Upon research however, it turned out that the Doctor Who episode was first, so Mrs. Peel didn't inspire her outfit. Cathy Gale did though:

That's not right, but there wasn't enough time for the BBC to copy THAT outfit, but they could have copied an earlier outfit!

The Dalek Master Plan was 13 November 1965 to 29 January 1966, whereas Death at Bargain Prices was filmed in February 1965 and broadcast on 21 & 23 October 1965.
The Town of No Return, also featuring a black catsuit, was broadcast on 28 September or 1 or 2 October 1965. Again, admittedly, probably too late for the BBC to capitalise upon but I wouldn't put it past them, they did hire Laura Kuenssberg after all...