The Avengers International Fan Forum

I used to not be too fond of this episode because it focused primarily on Emma and didn't really feature the Steed/Emma dynamic that I loved so much about the show.

However, with more time and distance, I've grown to like this episode more. I think it's due to the suspense and the fact that I just think Ola is such a great kook!

I made a composite mp3 of her weirdness and use it as a notification on my cellphone.

This was one of the few Avengers episodes that actually kept me in suspense over the main character's fate, despite knowing full well nothing terrible was going to happen to Emma in the end. It's incredibly creepy--that eyeball through the wall gets me every time. I like that Emma handles herself well, getting more annoyed than frightened (the bit where she threatens to break the Strange Young Man's arm and then hauls him out the door is just wonderful, and turns the whole "helpless young woman all alone" situation on its head in a typically Avengerish way). Plus we get a memorable, custom-made song (Mein Leibe, Mein Rose), and a little history about Emma's time with Steed. And Peter Jeffrey making his annual appearance (popping up as he did in every season from Emma's season 4 to the first season of TNA). You can never have enough Peter Jeffrey! My only problem, as has been stated above, is that there's hardly any Steed in it. I know these were the "vacation" episodes, but the Avengers is essentially a double act, and as soon as you cut one of the leads out, then you lose some of the magic (although I find this doesn't hold for the Tara episodes. Tara seems to get better the more she's left on her own, for me anyway). For that reason, I'd never peg it as a favourite, just because the solo ventures always feel like they're not quite part of the series the same way.

As with 'Epic' and 'Death At Bargain Prices' I didn't like it much when I first saw it, but it seems to improve with each viewing. Quite the reverse of the other Emma-in-a-house-alone-and-in-peril episode 'The House That Jack Built', which I used to rate highly but now is less satisfying each time I see it.

Miska_cz wrote:

Dandy Forsdyke wrote:

Miska_cz wrote:I must agree. JS and EP are so succesful because you can watch the dynamic of this relationship in every way.
I think after all it is a good ep. for watching the EP try to escape and we can watch her streght.

Or watch her crack.
Was it in the radio version (or am I thinking of their The Joker version) where she does indeed crack up under the pressure?

I think that in "The Joker" where she crack up under? But Steed is there ) to rescue

In the radio version of The Joker she screams if I remember correctly. She's disturbed in the TV version, but she doesn't quite break down like the radio version.

The essentially Steedless episodes are all much lower in interest to me. This one is okay, but by no means a favorite of mine. A focus on Emma alone just doesn't keep me involved.

Mona

Does anyone know why a few of the episodes featured one of the characters far more than usual and the other was marginalized such as All Done With Mirrors with Tara?

Gracie wrote:Does anyone know why a few of the episodes featured one of the characters far more than usual and the other was marginalized such as All Done With Mirrors with Tara?

The other actor was on holidays.

If that is true dissolute, it seems like an odd practice. The only other times I can remember it happening on other shows was if the 'star' was holding out for more money and wasn't around and they had to shoot without them

It's certainly true of other British shows of the period - you could always tell when a member of the regular cast of Dr Who was on holidays (or ill, in William Hartnell's case), because they would go off exploring on their own or get locked up by the villains for an episode or two, then get reunited with everyone else at the end of the serial.

Remember the incredibly tight deadlines these shows were recorded under - sometimes only three days of filming, a week at most, and them onto the next episode with barely a break - in fact the second unit would often already be working on a different episode and the actors would be doing read-throughs of the next couple of scripts while filming the 'current' one.