Take-Over: most frightening ever?

[Frankymole]

You don't believe everything you read in the press, I hope - certainly not the BRitish mags - they just make stuff up!

Brian Clemens himself in an in-depth interview in Time Screen number 19...

"I would never have cast Linda Thorson: she was too young and fresh out of drama school, but she was John Bryce's girlfriend... need I say more!"

Shall I keep researching?

Better had - apparantly all that bobbins about being Bryce's girlfriend was libellous. Wasn't he married at the time?

It's good that Patrick MAcnee had started sticking up for his leading ladies at that point. Linda wouldn't have been treated as badly as Diana was.

[darren]

We always hear about these horrible people who treated Diana and Linda terribly - But who actually were they?

Was there this huge board of executive who sat smoking cigars and analysing every action of the production team..?

I'm assuming it never really meant Clemens and Fennell.

[MRotten]

It wasn't as simple as Thorson being John Bryce's girlfriend. She was chosen out of a field of 200 actresses. Let's face it; anyone would have had a tough time following the much-loved Diana Rigg. As a number of people have said, Mrs. Peel was a very hard act to follow.

I bought the Thriller box set because of Linda being in one episode. Frankly I didn't care for the series. Clemens' fixation on Hitchcockian stories just didn't appeal to me. I didn't like the film "And Soon The Darkness" either. However, I love "Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter" and "Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde".

[Johnny O]

OK, so I'm finally done watching all 45 epsiodes of "Thriller" and the only other Avengers episode that's cribbed is "Sleepwalker", which is somewhat similar to Pandora.

Other connections to TA are vague, but Ian Hendry and Linda Thorson guest star in 'Killer With Two Faces' and 'Lady Killer', respectively. Linda's appearance surprised me as it's well known what Brian Clemens thinks of Linda and what she thinks of him! Many, many TA and TNA guest stars make appearances in almost every episode; sometimes more than once. Both Nyree Dawn-Porter and Gabrielle Drake - two of the 'nearly' girls - pop up as guests in the series.

There is an absolute gem for Avengers fans in one script, which is really lovely. In 'Good Salary, Prospects, Free Coffin', one of the characters complains about the similarity of a certain name. One of the protagonists then points out how names become popular. He highlights that Elizabeth became popular when Queen Elizabeth came to the throne and then goes on to say that a character in a popular TV show can have the same effect. If a show's character is a big hit... "Suddenly there are hundreds of girls called Emma running around". Nice wink to TA by Clemens.

What's puzzling me now is that I know that TNA episodes 'Angels of Death' and 'Complex' are not original storylines. They've been recycled from somewhere else. But not 'Thriller' as I'd thought. So where?

I just rewatched a couple of the better 'Thriller' episodes and hadn't noticed before that there's one character called Mrs. Gale and another called Mrs. Peel.

[Rodney]

Not sure where this idea of 200 actresses came from. It was my father's friend Gerry O'Hara who filmed the auditions involving half a dozen actresses and it was already decided. Clemens was correct when he says that Bryce had already selected Linda Thorson.

[Mona]

Getting back onto Take-Over, I was surprised to read how creepy some folks found it. I always thought it a rather enjoyable episode, with loads of Steed and even more, some of his past history uncovered.

For me, the all-time creepiest episode is hands down without a doubt, "Return of the Cybernauts". I'm telling you, what Paul Beresford would do to "follow his orders" Emma, while making "follow his order" Steed watch totally makes me shudder. It's the unspoken and unfilmed horror of what was in Beresford's mind which is worse for me that some tomatoes being destroyed.

Although, yeah, a phosphorous throat bomb is significantly disturbing, too, I do agree there!

[Mona]

Getting back onto Take-Over, I was surprised to read how creepy some folks found it. I always thought it a rather enjoyable episode, with loads of Steed and even more, some of his past history uncovered.

For me, the all-time creepiest episode is hands down without a doubt, "Return of the Cybernauts". I'm telling you, what Paul Beresford would do to "follow his orders" Emma, while making "follow his order" Steed watch totally makes me shudder. It's the unspoken and unfilmed horror of what was in Beresford's mind which is worse for me that some tomatoes being destroyed.

Although, yeah, a phosphorous throat bomb is significantly disturbing, too, I do agree there!

[Rodney]

Return was very creepy, I agree. The show could be genuinely disturbing at times, one of its great strengths. It was NOT simply light and frothy.

[darren]

Getting back onto Take-Over, I was surprised to read how creepy some folks found it. I always thought it a rather enjoyable episode, with loads of Steed and even more, some of his past history uncovered.

Yeah, I find it creepy but that doesn't stop me enjoying it.

For all that Steed goes through, you never doubt that he'll win through and it makes him an even stronger hero. It's possibly one of Macnee best performances in the show.

[dissolute]

I've alway thought of it as more of a "The Professionals" episode than a "The Avengers" episode. It's too nasty.