The "Mrs Peel years": those odd cases...

[lotsofbrolly]

Hi forum folks...

I've been re-watching the Emma era and come across a few episodes that intrigue me a little.

For example the cases/episodes that started because Mrs Peel was in danger, rather than there being a murder/strange diabolical things happening.

Like "The House that Jack Built"; "The Joker"; "Epic"; "The Girl from Auntie".

Or those cases that involved friends of Mrs Peel, or Steed being in trouble.

Like "The Man-Eater of Surrey Green"; "The Hour that never was"; "Too many Christmas trees"; "The Superlative Seven"; "Murdersville" etc.

I know some of the stories were created because one of the leads were on holiday.

But my point to this discussion is the fact that Steed and Mrs Peel don't only investigate strange cases or murders, they also investigate their friends disappearing or dying etc.

This therefore suggests that they helped their friends solve these mysteries rather than cases that the "Ministry" just thrust upon them.

They weren't just agents they were lone investigators too

Does anyone else have any theories on this or is it just me?

Lots of brolly

Anne xxx

[Frankymole]

Emma was supposedly an "amateur" rather than working for or with the Ministry, though it's possible she came to know (of) Mother and the Department certainly needed a file on her, as Steed's unofficial partner. I guess that everyone was happy to see both Steed and Mrs Peel continue to hone their skills in their "down time" by solving other mysteries that were not Government assignments.

One thing that always gets me, more in "realistic" shows rather than fantasy-oriented ones like The Avengers, is that the detectives rarely have to work on two or three (or more!) cases at the same time. We don't get to see Steed told off for investigating his friends' deaths when he ought to be doing something else; and when there do seem to be a couple of mysteries (usually one for Steed, one for Emma/Cathy/Tara) they always turn out to be linked!

Works for our show, but not for many others.

[Dan]

Hi forum folks...

I've been re-watching the Emma era and come across a few episodes that intrigue me a little.

For example the cases/episodes that started because Mrs Peel was in danger, rather than there being a murder/strange diabolical things happening.

Like "The House that Jack Built"; "The Joker"; "Epic"; "The Girl from Auntie".

Or those cases that involved friends of Mrs Peel, or Steed being in trouble.

Like "The Man-Eater of Surrey Green"; "The Hour that never was"; "Too many Christmas trees"; "The Superlative Seven"; "Murdersville" etc.

I know some of the stories were created because one of the leads were on holiday.

But my point to this discussion is the fact that Steed and Mrs Peel don't only investigate strange cases or murders, they also investigate their friends disappearing or dying etc.

This therefore suggests that they helped their friends solve these mysteries rather than cases that the "Ministry" just thrust upon them.

They weren't just agents they were lone investigators too

Does anyone else have any theories on this or is it just me?

Lots of brolly

Anne xxx

In looking at the Mrs. Peel era, I can only think of four episodes that didn't start out as Ministry related. The Hour that Never Was, The House that Jack Built, Epic, and Murdersville.

In two of them, The Hour that Never Was and Murdersville, Steed and Mrs. Peel started out on non-Ministry business but stumbled on to threats to national security and ended up doing Ministry work.

On the other two, the diabolical masterminds were individual threats but not national security threats, so I consider these two episodes to be completely personal and non-Ministry related. I am not including The Joker in this catagory because Mrs. Peel first encountered Max Prendergrast while working for the Ministry.

Am I missing any?

[lotsofbrolly]

Hi forum,

I've been recently watching, "You have just been murdered", which in a way is one of Steed's friends asking him for help. So that is again, non-Ministry business but personal business.

The same with "A funny thing happened on the way to the station".

"Who's Who" was simply Steed and Mrs Peel being "got at".

"Death's Door" was Steed being asked for to help another friend.

"Return of the Cybernauts", well that's self explanatory, revenge plot.

So there are quite a lot of cases that are not merely Ministry cases.

The New Avengers however it's more old friends of Steed's being killed or got at, Purdey or Gamibt in trouble or Steed himself in trouble, than actual Ministry cases.

Lots of brolly

Anne xxx


http://lotsofbrolly.tumblr.com/ Plea ... Mrs Peel".

[mousemeat]

Emma was supposedly an "amateur" rather than working for or with the Ministry, though it's possible she came to know (of) Mother and the Department certainly needed a file on her, as Steed's unofficial partner. I guess that everyone was happy to see both Steed and Mrs Peel continue to hone their skills in their "down time" by solving other mysteries that were not Government assignments.

One thing that always gets me, more in "realistic" shows rather than fantasy-oriented ones like The Avengers, is that the detectives rarely have to work on two or three (or more!) cases at the same time. We don't get to see Steed told off for investigating his friends' deaths when he ought to be doing something else; and when there do seem to be a couple of mysteries (usually one for Steed, one for Emma/Cathy/Tara) they always turn out to be linked!

Works for our show, but not for many others.

goood points

[Dan]

Hi forum,

I've been recently watching, "You have just been murdered", which in a way is one of Steed's friends asking him for help. So that is again, non-Ministry business but personal business.

The same with "A funny thing happened on the way to the station".

"Who's Who" was simply Steed and Mrs Peel being "got at".

"Death's Door" was Steed being asked for to help another friend.

"Return of the Cybernauts", well that's self explanatory, revenge plot.

So there are quite a lot of cases that are not merely Ministry cases.

The New Avengers however it's more old friends of Steed's being killed or got at, Purdey or Gamibt in trouble or Steed himself in trouble, than actual Ministry cases.

Lots of brolly

Anne xxx


http://lotsofbrolly.tumblr.com/ Plea ... Mrs Peel".

Very good points. I consider Return of the Cybernauts to be similar to The Joker in that the bad guy's wrath was incurred while conducting Ministry business. In the other episodes the bad guys are threats to national security, so I would call Steed & Mrs. Peel's fine work in those episodes Ministry business. I know I'm defining "Ministry business" rather broadly, but I would still say that The House that Jack Built and Epic are the only purely personal episodes.

[Sinus1994]

Hi forum,

I've been recently watching, "You have just been murdered", which in a way is one of Steed's friends asking him for help. So that is again, non-Ministry business but personal business.

The same with "A funny thing happened on the way to the station".

"Who's Who" was simply Steed and Mrs Peel being "got at".

"Death's Door" was Steed being asked for to help another friend.

"Return of the Cybernauts", well that's self explanatory, revenge plot.

So there are quite a lot of cases that are not merely Ministry cases.

The New Avengers however it's more old friends of Steed's being killed or got at, Purdey or Gamibt in trouble or Steed himself in trouble, than actual Ministry cases.

Lots of brolly

Anne xxx


http://lotsofbrolly.tumblr.com/ Plea ... Mrs Peel".

Very good points. I consider Return of the Cybernauts to be similar to The Joker in that the bad guy's wrath was incurred while conducting Ministry business. In the other episodes the bad guys are threats to national security, so I would call Steed & Mrs. Peel's fine work in those episodes Ministry business. I know I'm defining "Ministry business" rather broadly, but I would still say that The House that Jack Built and Epic are the only purely personal episodes.

You're right Dan.
I think a lot of cases Steed and Mrs. Peel solve aren't really Ministry-cases.
I wonder, if they really have some kind of "real" Ministry, like Steed earlier had "One Ten" and later with Tara in form of "Mother".
Sure, that they sometimes have a kind of boss e.g. "Who's Who???" -- Major B.
But In general I would say, they were free to decide, if they take on a case, or not.
So, it might be possible that they have enough time to help friends and investigate cases in their personal environment.

Sincerely yours,
Sinus1994

[Mona]

Hi forum,

I've been recently watching, "You have just been murdered", which in a way is one of Steed's friends asking him for help. So that is again, non-Ministry business but personal business.

The same with "A funny thing happened on the way to the station".

"Who's Who" was simply Steed and Mrs Peel being "got at".

"Death's Door" was Steed being asked for to help another friend.

"Return of the Cybernauts", well that's self explanatory, revenge plot.

So there are quite a lot of cases that are not merely Ministry cases.

The New Avengers however it's more old friends of Steed's being killed or got at, Purdey or Gamibt in trouble or Steed himself in trouble, than actual Ministry cases.

Lots of brolly

Anne xxx


http://lotsofbrolly.tumblr.com/ Plea ... Mrs Peel".

I think it would be pretty clear that Steed might alert the Ministry that an odd thing is happening--which has implications of danger to the nation--and he is going to check it out, even if a friend brought it to his attention. Given his seniority and importance, I imagine the Ministry would readily approve and support Steed in his investigations.

Mona

[dissolute]

I've been recently watching, "You have just been murdered", which in a way is one of Steed's friends asking him for help. So that is again, non-Ministry business but personal business.

The same with "A funny thing happened on the way to the station".
"Death's Door" was Steed being asked for to help another friend.

Hmmm, I respectfully disagree.

"You have just been murdered" has Lord Maxted asking Steed to investigate as several of his banking clients appear to be being blackmailed.
"A funny thing happened on the way to the station" is about an agent going missing while investigating a security matter, and Steed is called in to investigate.
"Death's Door" is about Steed being called in to investigate the strange refusal by delgates to enter a conference room.

Steed just happens to know everyone personally, it's not the main thrust of the plot.

[mousemeat]

I've been recently watching, "You have just been murdered", which in a way is one of Steed's friends asking him for help. So that is again, non-Ministry business but personal business.

The same with "A funny thing happened on the way to the station".
"Death's Door" was Steed being asked for to help another friend.

Hmmm, I respectfully disagree.

"You have just been murdered" has Lord Maxted asking Steed to investigate as several of his banking clients appear to be being blackmailed.
"A funny thing happened on the way to the station" is about an agent going missing while investigating a security matter, and Steed is called in to investigate.
"Death's Door" is about Steed being called in to investigate the strange refusal by delgates to enter a conference room.

Steed just happens to know everyone personally, it's not the main thrust of the plot.

how true....and funny...somewhat