One of the problems with Series 5...

[Philippa]

Which is a shame in my opinion, because I think B&W tv is fantastic

[Rodney]

And it suited the Avengers so well, pariticularly for those creepy backdrops such as abandoned airfields, creepy mansions or unfriendly country pubs.

[mousemeat]

'Comic book' villians is a fair enough point. Season 5 saw a reduction in the number of writers used and some of the scripts became more like Batman. Indeed, many of the episodes lack an interesting mastermind. I'm not even sure who the mastermind of Murdersville - one of my favourites - is. There are still some lovely episodes, as there are in Season 6, but the atmosphere of the show had irrevocably changed. From a drama with surreal and humorous elements it had become almost a self-referential pastiche. Epic is the most obvious example of this. I guess it all comes down to personal taste. I prefer Season 4's unsettling undercurrent in episodes like Death at Bargain Prices, Town of No Return, Dial a Deadly Number, The Hour that Never Was and The Murder Market. Others prefer the simplified plots and caracatures of the later seasons.

a valid point...at one time, especially in the States, ' BATMAN ' was the rage, and the ratings winner, plus those zany scripts were the gold standard, witht he writers making good bread, and kudos...a lot of shows, noticed this, and started to ape ' BATMAN'...shows like LOST IN SPACE,
AND Man from U.N.C.L.E. etc

eventually, Batman faded away...along with those scripts, etc

season 4, I still think, was the high watermark in both scripts, and production..in my opinion...

[mousemeat]

'Comic book' villians is a fair enough point. Season 5 saw a reduction in the number of writers used and some of the scripts became more like Batman. Indeed, many of the episodes lack an interesting mastermind. I'm not even sure who the mastermind of Murdersville - one of my favourites - is. There are still some lovely episodes, as there are in Season 6, but the atmosphere of the show had irrevocably changed. From a drama with surreal and humorous elements it had become almost a self-referential pastiche. Epic is the most obvious example of this. I guess it all comes down to personal taste. I prefer Season 4's unsettling undercurrent in episodes like Death at Bargain Prices, Town of No Return, Dial a Deadly Number, The Hour that Never Was and The Murder Market. Others prefer the simplified plots and caracatures of the later seasons.

a valid point...at one time, especially in the States, ' BATMAN ' was the rage, and the ratings winner, plus those zany scripts were the gold standard, witht he writers making good bread, and kudos...a lot of shows, noticed this, and started to ape ' BATMAN'...shows like LOST IN SPACE,
AND Man from U.N.C.L.E. etc

eventually, Batman faded away...along with those scripts, etc

season 4, I still think, was the high watermark in both scripts, and production..in my opinion...

[mousemeat]

'Comic book' villians is a fair enough point. Season 5 saw a reduction in the number of writers used and some of the scripts became more like Batman. Indeed, many of the episodes lack an interesting mastermind. I'm not even sure who the mastermind of Murdersville - one of my favourites - is. There are still some lovely episodes, as there are in Season 6, but the atmosphere of the show had irrevocably changed. From a drama with surreal and humorous elements it had become almost a self-referential pastiche. Epic is the most obvious example of this. I guess it all comes down to personal taste. I prefer Season 4's unsettling undercurrent in episodes like Death at Bargain Prices, Town of No Return, Dial a Deadly Number, The Hour that Never Was and The Murder Market. Others prefer the simplified plots and caracatures of the later seasons.

a valid point...at one time, especially in the States, ' BATMAN ' was the rage, and the ratings winner, plus those zany scripts were the gold standard, witht he writers making good bread, and kudos...a lot of shows, noticed this, and started to ape ' BATMAN'...shows like LOST IN SPACE,
AND Man from U.N.C.L.E. etc

eventually, Batman faded away...along with those scripts, etc

season 4, I still think, was the high watermark in both scripts, and production..in my opinion...

[Rodney]

I don't think TV drama has ever been better than in that season: wonderful chemistry between the two lead actors, quality directors, great guest actors but - unlike subsequent seasons - a genuine variety of writers. Think of the best of season 4 and the list is not dominated by one or two writers.
The Town of No Return, Death at Bargain Prices (Clemens)
The Hour that Never Was, Dial a Deadly Number (Marshall)
The Murder Market, Too Many Christmas Trees (Williamson)
The Cybernauts (Levene)
Castle De'ath (Lucarotti)
A Surfeit of H20 (Finbow)
19 out of the 24 episodes in the following season were written by either Clemens or Levene, which is why the variety isn't there. We either get the science-fiction of Levene or the quintissential Clemens.

[Rodney]

The Tara King era involved far more writers and - while I don't think that Terry Nation was an appropriate Avengers writer - enjoys more variety than Season 5.

[Avengerholic]

The Hour That Never Was, Murder Market & The Joker are the three episodes that contained small elements of the stories I remember watching as a small child. A deserted airbase, a charm bracelet that worked and a revolving door