Written by Jon Manchip White
Directed by Jonathan Alwyn
Production completed: 21 July 1962
Starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman
2.06 - Propellant 23
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Frankymole
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My review:
http://www.theavengers.tv/forever/gale1-2vr.htm#2
The trick with Cathy's episodes is to watch them from the perspective of a 1960s viewer, used to Z-Cars and black-and-white Coronation Street. As such, this jaunt around a French airport (plus a bakery!) is almost exotic. There are some nicely human characters who have their own stories, notably the alcoholic down-on-his-luck hotel courier Jacques Tissot and the girl who realises she loves him, just as it seems he's drunk some poisonous rocket fuel. However, the gendarmes at the airport are like Keystone Kops.
The Avenged?: Steed warns his contact, in code, that his life is in danger. This is sufficient to panic the man, who takes refuge in Legros' cockpit, claiming heart trouble. However, this doesn't save him from drinking poisoned coffee. Without Steed's warning, the man may have remained where he was and made the killer's job harder.
Diabolical Masterminds?: Geoffrey Palmer is a plausible baddie. John Dearth, always good value as his henchman, is not on screen enough. In the final confrontation, it's hard to see how they can lose.
The Avengers?: Poor Cathy. Even when she's in France en route to advise some humanitarian friends, Steed hijacks her. Give the woman some peace!
Umbrella, Charm and a Bowler Hat?: The lingerie shop scene has a great Cathy/Steed exchange. But never one to miss a chat-up, Steed tells the assistant "they don't have stuff like you — like this, in England."
Bizarre?: Nicholas Courtney is great as Captain Legros. When Meyer's heart is giving him trouble, he grumbles about the man and tries to turf him off his flight deck! The plot bubbles along nicely, the ladies in particular all have very distinct personalities and take no nonsense. Beside Jaques Tissot, the men are either straight-down-the-middle cops and villains, or played for laughs (Curly the cop, and the baker). The locations are well done, as always setting a story at night makes it look more convincing (at least in monochrome), but there seems to be no shortage of sets. Altogether very enjoyable. And its always nice to see Cathy make Steed look like an amateur.
On Target? (Score): Three-and-a-half chapeau melons out of four, for its "joie de vivre." 9/10.
http://www.theavengers.tv/forever/gale1-2vr.htm#2
The trick with Cathy's episodes is to watch them from the perspective of a 1960s viewer, used to Z-Cars and black-and-white Coronation Street. As such, this jaunt around a French airport (plus a bakery!) is almost exotic. There are some nicely human characters who have their own stories, notably the alcoholic down-on-his-luck hotel courier Jacques Tissot and the girl who realises she loves him, just as it seems he's drunk some poisonous rocket fuel. However, the gendarmes at the airport are like Keystone Kops.
The Avenged?: Steed warns his contact, in code, that his life is in danger. This is sufficient to panic the man, who takes refuge in Legros' cockpit, claiming heart trouble. However, this doesn't save him from drinking poisoned coffee. Without Steed's warning, the man may have remained where he was and made the killer's job harder.
Diabolical Masterminds?: Geoffrey Palmer is a plausible baddie. John Dearth, always good value as his henchman, is not on screen enough. In the final confrontation, it's hard to see how they can lose.
The Avengers?: Poor Cathy. Even when she's in France en route to advise some humanitarian friends, Steed hijacks her. Give the woman some peace!
Umbrella, Charm and a Bowler Hat?: The lingerie shop scene has a great Cathy/Steed exchange. But never one to miss a chat-up, Steed tells the assistant "they don't have stuff like you — like this, in England."
Bizarre?: Nicholas Courtney is great as Captain Legros. When Meyer's heart is giving him trouble, he grumbles about the man and tries to turf him off his flight deck! The plot bubbles along nicely, the ladies in particular all have very distinct personalities and take no nonsense. Beside Jaques Tissot, the men are either straight-down-the-middle cops and villains, or played for laughs (Curly the cop, and the baker). The locations are well done, as always setting a story at night makes it look more convincing (at least in monochrome), but there seems to be no shortage of sets. Altogether very enjoyable. And its always nice to see Cathy make Steed look like an amateur.
On Target? (Score): Three-and-a-half chapeau melons out of four, for its "joie de vivre." 9/10.
Last watched: "Mandrake"
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Operation E.N.G.L.A.N.D.
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OK, biggest handwave of the series so far; it seems somewhat unlikely at the end that our heroes have turned the bad guys into the police, given the top-secret nature of the formula. Therefore, the police still suspect Steed of having killed the stewardess, and probably the spy who tried to break into the airport. Nevertheless, Steed goes gaily through the line for the plane, not two feet from a gendarme and ten feet from the main airport security office, and no one blinks an eye, even after he has a very conspicuous conversation with Cathy, who is also probably under suspicion. In general, Gale and Steed both seem to go out of their way to make themselves as obviously interested in what's going on as possible. This is the first of what seems to be several rushed endings this season. It would also be nice if most of the actors playing French characters would at least attempt an accent, much less succeed with it. Manning is an appropriately urbane villain, and the dialogue between Steed and Gale (who is definitely not suffering him gladly this episode) is wonderfully sarcastic, but other than that, middling at best.
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Ian Wegg
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Re: 2.06 - Propellant 23
Episode 2 in transmission (and my viewing) order.
Interesting to read Frankiemole's comment "no shortage of sets", which is what I felt about "Mr Teddy Bear". The airport set here is particularly large, a tribute to the set-builders' art. Lots of characters and plenty of action, although I did feel it started to run out of steam a bit towards the end, they could have wrapped it up about 10 minutes earlier. I thought Steed was developing more into the character I am familiar with; even the awful homburg morphed into a bowler during the episode ... although Patrick doesn't yet seem to have quite got the hang of wearing either. As this was the 6th episode made I guess things may go backwards when I catch up on the episodes made earlier.
One very minor detail that caught my eye was the airport clock - the number VI stood out as being "upside down", or more accurately not upside down as it ought to have been! However, when I went back and freeze-framed I see that only the 12 and 6 are numbered, so I guess the normal rules for Roman Numerals on clock faces don't apply. It still looks wrong to me though.
No score as yet until I've watched more for comparison, but I'd mark this as one less than "Mr Teddy Bear".
Interesting to read Frankiemole's comment "no shortage of sets", which is what I felt about "Mr Teddy Bear". The airport set here is particularly large, a tribute to the set-builders' art. Lots of characters and plenty of action, although I did feel it started to run out of steam a bit towards the end, they could have wrapped it up about 10 minutes earlier. I thought Steed was developing more into the character I am familiar with; even the awful homburg morphed into a bowler during the episode ... although Patrick doesn't yet seem to have quite got the hang of wearing either. As this was the 6th episode made I guess things may go backwards when I catch up on the episodes made earlier.
One very minor detail that caught my eye was the airport clock - the number VI stood out as being "upside down", or more accurately not upside down as it ought to have been! However, when I went back and freeze-framed I see that only the 12 and 6 are numbered, so I guess the normal rules for Roman Numerals on clock faces don't apply. It still looks wrong to me though.
No score as yet until I've watched more for comparison, but I'd mark this as one less than "Mr Teddy Bear".
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Frankymole
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Re: 2.06 - Propellant 23
Yes, it's an odd clock. (Still finding something new after all these years!) Not as jarring as the one with English writing all over it in "Switzerland" (a famous clock/watch/chronometer-producing nation) in Second Sight. Maybe we should start a "Clock-watchers' Club" 
Last watched: "Mandrake"
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Frankymole
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