Season Six: an apology

[Frankymole]

Yes, I should change my sig, as we watched "Stay Tuned" a week or so ago. That bit where Tara lobs the chair through the one-way mirror made me jump, and the sword-fight is quite scary too. In fact the direction and fight-arranging on this are superb and it has a very unsettling atmosphere. The "whistling from nowhere" bit followed by a sock to the jaw is an iconic scene for me. I remember it vivdly from first viewing back in the 80s.

[DiVicenzo]

Have just watched Take Over which was a great shock to me. I don't think Terry Nation was the greatest Avengers writer but there we have a really serious episode with minimal music and humour. It's almost Hitchcock meets Pinter and I thought that the baddy was one of the best ever. Real drama and compulsive viewing. Like Look, you wouldn't want every episode to be like this one but it just shows watch a mixture Season 6 was.

Very scary episode indeed - and, if I remember rightly wasn't The Interrogators another??

[DiVicenzo]

Glad to see you're still enjoying season 6 Rodney. Have you seen Pandora yet. This feels even more like a Hitchcock movie than Take over.
Fog also has a tremendous atmosphere. Wonderful set and costumes together with swirling fog to create an almost authentic Victorian feel. The Rotters is good fun too and underestimated IMHO.

I haven't watched these two eps in ages but I remember them being some of my least favourites.

[DiVicenzo]

They still had to write scripts for those 26 epsiodes and their technical department still had to deal with special effects.

But on that note Mission Impossible, Man from Uncle and Batman also had location shoots and under the same pressure. I simply meant the expectations on the Avengers were the same as those on American genre shows.

As a matter of point Batman during it's second season had 2 episodes of tv each week for over 26 weeks virtually uninterrupted.

I believe the location shots for Batman like leaving and returning to the Batcave were all filmed right at the beginning so were just used over and over.

[DiVicenzo]

I love the show because it is so innovative and original, if I wanted a Bogart film, Western or Victorian fogscape I could watch something from these genres. I quite enjoyed these ones but they seem to me to be the Avengers trying to be something else.
Game - which I still enjoyed - nevertheless seemed to be a vehicle for the wonderful sets and props (e.g. the hourglass).
Have just watched You'll Catch Your Death which I really enjoyed. My favourites up to now: All Done with Mirrors, Killer, Get A Way, The Morning After, Interrogators, The Rotters, Super Secret Cypher Snatch...but top of the tree is Stay Tuned which I think is stunning.

I agree the pastiches are a little tiring but I think 'Gane' is a great Avengers episode. And, I know everyone cites 'All Done With Mirrors' as their favourite and re-visit it to be won over but I just can't. It's not a bad episode but not the best either IMO.

[VA_Avenger]

Anyone who believes Linda Thorson to be too heavy just needs to re-watch "Stay Tuned," and catch the plaid kilty outfit at the end. I'm guessing 80% of the women on the planet would envy that figure.