The Avengers International Fan Forum

Discuss, review and rate Never, Never Say Die, production completed Tuesday 14th February 1967.

Teleplay by Philip Levene
Directed by Robert Day

My first experience of this one was reading the synopsis in The Complete Avengers by Dave Rogers. It seemed really interesting. From recollection it had Steed and Emma camped out at a local pub (I alway love that as a base of operations).

Imagine my disappointment when all I got was Chris Lee stomping around through a muddy wood to Johnson's irritating bam bam score.

Diana's outfit is hideous. It looks like a coat she's pulled out of the rubbish bin.

The only pluses that I enjoy are the silly international chess game with stereotypical accents. And the banana is a good gag.

It's really repetitive and unstimulating visually. I've always found Lee a very dull performer.

2/10

Darren wrote:My first experience of this one was reading the synopsis in The Complete Avengers by Dave Rogers. It seemed really interesting. From recollection it had Steed and Emma camped out at a local pub (I alway love that as a base of operations).

Imagine my disappointment when all I got was Chris Lee stomping around through a muddy wood to Johnson's irritating bam bam score.

Diana's outfit is hideous. It looks like a coat she's pulled out of the rubbish bin.

The only pluses that I enjoy are the silly international chess game with stereotypical accents. And the banana is a good gag.

It's really repetitive and unstimulating visually. I've always found Lee a very dull performer.

2/10

The pub and two other sequences were in the shooting script... I'll say no more at this point.

MikeR wrote:

Darren wrote:My first experience of this one was reading the synopsis in The Complete Avengers by Dave Rogers. It seemed really interesting. From recollection it had Steed and Emma camped out at a local pub (I alway love that as a base of operations).

Imagine my disappointment when all I got was Chris Lee stomping around through a muddy wood to Johnson's irritating bam bam score.

Diana's outfit is hideous. It looks like a coat she's pulled out of the rubbish bin.

The only pluses that I enjoy are the silly international chess game with stereotypical accents. And the banana is a good gag.

It's really repetitive and unstimulating visually. I've always found Lee a very dull performer.

2/10

The pub and two other sequences were in the shooting script... I'll say no more at this point.

Perhaps I should point out that the synopsis in Dave Rogers' books were taken from scripts, rather than the actual episodes.

I rather fancied this one. For one thing it had more meaning than a monster roaming the country. It was about science going wrong. I thought Lee was a very convincing scientist as well as monster and the name Dr. Frank N. Stone
was quite tongue in cheek. I thought it was humorous and yet had a serious message. And even the name I think was taken by a later James Bond movie. The ending talking about people being replaced by robots and Steed and Emma watching politicians on TV-"Who would ever know the difference?" was a great tag.
Would love to hear about the script change from MIKE'S BOOK. mike do you think the original script was actually better in your opinion?

anti-clockwise wrote:I rather fancied this one. For one thing it had more meaning than a monster roaming the country. It was about science going wrong. I thought Lee was a very convincing scientist as well as monster and the name Dr. Frank N. Stone
was quite tongue in cheek. I thought it was humorous and yet had a serious message. And even the name I think was taken by a later James Bond movie. The ending talking about people being replaced by robots and Steed and Emma watching politicians on TV-"Who would ever know the difference?" was a great tag.
Would love to hear about the script change from MIKE'S BOOK. mike do you think the original script was actually better in your opinion?

It wasn't a draft script it was the shooting script, so presumably shortly before production commensed or perhaps just after principal photography began, director Robert Day, Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell decided to omit some sequences. My proof for this is that another sequence was rewritten and is different from appeared in the episode. Why? All I can come up with is that with the additional sequences the episode would have been too long, suggesting that they were cut for resons of timing.

Enjoy Christopher Lee in this one, although I think he was used to better effect in The Interrogators. But the Frank N. Stone reference, the final fight, the whole concept around robotics (shades of the Cybernauts) - all are very enjoyable and very Avengerish. As, indeed, is the nice light repartee between Steed and Mrs. Peel, which is the best part of any episode.

It always stood out to me as I think Rogers mentioned in his intro about using the scripts. I have a feeling that there was also something different about Thingumijig.

It's quite a location heavy episode initially.

I love these little titbits, Mike. Just like when you shared it was Gordon Flemying being the director removed from Winged Avenger when I'd always assumed it was Peter Duffell.

anti-clockwise wrote:I rather fancied this one. For one thing it had more meaning than a monster roaming the country. It was about science going wrong. I thought Lee was a very convincing scientist as well as monster and the name Dr. Frank N. Stone
was quite tongue in cheek. I thought it was humorous and yet had a serious message. And even the name I think was taken by a later James Bond movie. The ending talking about people being replaced by robots and Steed and Emma watching politicians on TV-"Who would ever know the difference?" was a great tag.
Would love to hear about the script change from MIKE'S BOOK. mike do you think the original script was actually better in your opinion?

I enjoy it, too. It's a fun episode, and Christopher Lee's always good value, even if he's just walking around looking ominous. It's got some great lines ("He was attacked." "By a banana?"), and I get a giggle out of the scene where the oblivious man with the boat narrowly averts death using his remote control.

I gave 5