3.17 - The White Elephant

[darren]

Written by John Lucarotti

Directed by Laurence Bourne

Production completed: 22 November 1963

[Ian Wegg]

Not much to say about this. Started well but ran out of steam well before the end.

5/10

[Rhonda]

8 for me. I like this one and I like going to the zoo.

[Lee]

This was the third in my marathon watching evening, again chosen because I didn't remember a lot about it so decided to give it a spin.

I wonder what the budget was for this episode? To have all those animals present for most of the filming must have dented it. However, all those animals made me wonder about the steps taken in welfare for filming. I seem to recall in one of Dave Rogers books he talks about how one of the animals died in the studio filming this episode, and I must admit, watching the end sequence where loud gun shot bangs are going off and the shock / distress the animals are demonstrating, I began to feel a little uncomfortable.

Our two heroes are on superb form. Honour really is amazing and underrated in the series. She is so believable, and I began to wonder what Town of no Return would have been like with Mrs Gale visiting Little Bazely by the Sea. An interesting speculation thread for else where. All the guest cast put in a good performance, but I wasn't quite sure how the professor suddenly turning up fitted in - but it is possible I nodded off briefly .....

Again, I'm not sure how Steed make the link with the company from which he bought the gun, then suddenly at a place selling chains. Perhaps I didn't pay as much attention as I thought.

A solid 7 from me - with a note to watch it again with my full attention!!

[Rhonda]

Possibly the episode with the most animals to be seen in the background. It was a pity that one of the birds died of shock from a gunshot though. I still liked this one after watching it recently and I liked the character of snowy's keeper who was genuinely upset at him/her being lost.

[darren]

Another one that has previously not sung out at me but it's better than I previously thought. One thing that immediately stood out was how spirited it. There's a lot of energy to the presentation - I suppose director Laurence Bourne (who I don't rate) should take the credit. He assembled a strong cast of solid actors. The plot isn't especially interesting but it held my attention.

There are some vivid scenes for Steed and Cathy (the one with him balancing glasses on his forehead whilst she does a head stand as they discuss elephants is especially memorable).

It's just a shame about all the poor animals in the zoo which you can hear no matter where the scene is set (the aforementioned elephant discussion scene). I'm really uncomfortable during the fight scene where all the animals freak out due to the gunshots. Sad about the bird that died.

7/10

[Frankymole]

Do you think it was ever planned to have an actual elephant in it?

[dissolute]

Do you think it was ever planned to have an actual elephant in it?

Ah, now that is a question!
I suspect give the time it was made there was no real expectation, but we had had circus animals in other early episodes so maybe there was some blue sky thinking involved.

My major problem with this episode is Scott Forbes, he's a dreadful actor.

[Frankymole]

I watched this last night. As I am watching in transmission order, I'd previously watched the sublime Dressed to Kill. This episode is nowhere near the standard of that previous one.

The set design is inventive (at least for "Noah's Ark" - the shops are less interesting, though the weird bondage/slavery workshop had me worried, during Steed's brief fight there, that a rack of heavy metal items was going to fall over and injure the stunt person he was fighting). The scenes of Steed and Cathy discussing the case are prescient of Steed and Emma's later quirky activities when doing the same.

But mostly it is a very distressing episode because the animals are clearly not having a good time - quite the opposite. It leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.

The characters all seem to belong to different stories. Godfrey Quigley is wasted, seemingly spending most of his time trying to wrangle an uncooperative snake, putting it in and out of its box with tedious repetition, and having a chatty parrot trying to eat his pipe. The chaps in the gunsmith's are an odd couple - the only really interesting character is the one who informs to Steed, as he keeps changing sides and seems cheerfully disloyal to everyone. The lady in the shackles shop, or whatever it is, is too bizarre even for The Avengers - what the heck is that business supposed to be? Happily supporting modern slavery and torture by dodgy regimes - doesn't seem like the kind of business to have a High Street shop anyone can stroll into.

Even Edwin Richfield seems out of place, and his fellow hunter is irritating and useless too. Judy Parfitt seems unhappy to be there, too - again a good actor wasted in a dull role. All the villains seem written by numbers.

I almost fell asleep. Only my worry about the animals' welfare kept me up, and that is not entertainment.

One of the worst episodes so far: 2/10.

[Allard]

Interesting observations, but it stands out as a captivating episode in my memory.