2.12 - Death of a Great Dane

[darren]

Written by Roger Marshall & Jeremy Scott
Directed by Peter Hammond
Production completed: 18 October 1962

Starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman

[Frankymole]

My review:

http://www.theavengers.tv/forever/gale1-8vr.htm#2

I won't compare this to its remake, The £50,000 Breakfast. How does it stand as part of Season 2?

The Avenged?: Miller, the comatose chap who had the diamonds in his stomach seems to be awake seconds before being strangled. He must have been running the joke shop at the same time he was working for Litoff and Getz, if the scam has been running for only six weeks.

Diabolical Masterminds?: Frederick Jaeger is magnetic as Getz. Looks rather like a young Robert Donat. His accomplices are more than just dupes, abhorring murder. John Laurie as Sir James makes the wine-tasting scene immensely enjoyable. It's unclear who provides Litoff's voice — old tapes, or Gregory the butler?

The Avengers?: Before nipping off to the City wine cellars, Steed and Mrs Gale share a cosy evening listening to a dansette-style gramophone. Cathy swigs away at the wine but never spits it out!

Umbrella, Charm and a Bowler Hat?: Everyone is extremely elegant. Steed's superhuman "palate in a million" first becomes apparent.

Bizarre?: For someone who despises "sybarites and lechers," Sir James certainly seems to be enjoying himself ogling Mrs Gale whilst duelling vintages with Steed. The joke shop gun fails to go off, so it's lucky Steed wasn't trigger-happy this week.

Pretty good. Not quite as quirky as Peter Hammond's usual direction; possibly he was asked to show off the larger-than-usual set.

On Target? (Score): Three bowlers out of four. 7/10.

[Rhonda]

7 from me with some good actors such as John Laurie and obviously one that works well as it was remade.

[johnnybear]

The big disaster for Frederick Jaeger and us was that he was not re-cast as Benson in The New Avengers episode Last of The Cybernauts..??
JB

[dissolute]

The big disaster for Frederick Jaeger and us was that he was not re-cast as Benson in The New Avengers episode Last of The Cybernauts..??
JB

I read that he was cast for Last of the Cybernauts..?? as Benson but, because he was in Spain filming THAT Doctor Who story, they swapped him into a supporting role in "Target!" instead. However, the draft script of LAST has Malov and Goff as the characters so I suspect it's all guff.

[Frankymole]

The big disaster for Frederick Jaeger and us was that he was not re-cast as Benson in The New Avengers episode Last of The Cybernauts..??
JB

I read that he was cast for Last of the Cybernauts..?? as Benson but, because he was in Spain filming THAT Doctor Who story, they swapped him into a supporting role in "Target!" instead. However, the draft script of LAST has Malov and Goff as the characters so I suspect it's all guff.

Spain? The first Dr Who story with filming abroad (in Paris) was three years later, in 1979. And they didn't go to Spain until 1984, unless you count the Canary island of Lanzarote in 1983.

Jaeger's penultimate appearance in Dr Who was in "Planet of Evil" which was an all-studio story made in London in June 1975, long before TNA. His last was the K-9 introduction story made in April 1977, again all studio in London, no location.

[dissolute]

I always thought it was guff, thank you Franky.

[Frankymole]

Freddie Jaeger's character was meant to be the main traitor role in Target! but after initial filming was supposedly rained off partway through (seems unlikely in the middle of a famous drought/heatwave though) or otherwise delayed, he was unavailable for the new dates (not Dr Who) so they brought in Roy Boyd to do the rest (with a new character name and a rapidly-scripted ad-hoc handover).

[Frankymole]

I have just watched this again. Roger Marshall on the commentary rightly praises Peter Hammond's amazing direction. It is very physical - everyone moves like a dancer (no dog name pun intended) - and as well as the usual mirror-shots and "stunning" "strong visual eye" framing, Steed and Mrs Gale are made more physically attractive (if that were possible) and more flirtatious and charming. Mrs Gale is so hot and sexy in her initial scene it could be a fashion shoot from today. The lighting throughout the story is amazing.

This is totally in the zone of where the Avengers spirit truly exists. Freddie Jaeger and Leslie French, and John Laurie (of course) are spot-on as Avengers villains; with complex motivations for themselves and competing ideas among themselves, not simple antagonists united against Steed and Mrs Gale. It looks beautiful and is fascinating if you allow yourself to be drawn into it. Far more subtle and well-made than the remake. Steed's dog-loving remarks make far more sense if you've seen/heard series 1.

We get some nice references back to "The Tunnel of Fear", with the lethal Southend connection, the hokey "ghost train" type masks and scares in the joke shop, and Steed tentatively making light of exploding cigarettes, nicely recalling the final scene of that story.,

I'd revise my score to a 9 out of 10.

[darren]

I'm working my way through the videotape episodes currently.

This is an episode that would really benefit from restoration. The sound quality is really poor. The opening teaser is impossible to hear as the microphones aren't in place to properly catch the dialogue and it's drowned out by the rain. Frustrating as it's an enjoyable episode.

Peter Hammond's camera script is very demanding on the cameramen so they don't always hit their marks but it keeps thing dynamic. It's a bit messier compared to Bullseye where they manage to get it very tight.

A general direction point - the cameras whiz all over the place in this era. I was reading about how Waris Hussein on the first Doctor Who wanted to emulate the directors of ABC television (in one old interview he talks of a memorable shot of characters faces all reflected in a glass table - he doesn't say but I'm fairly sure that's Peter Hammond's "Second Sight" episode) - the trouble was his cameramen had older cameras whereas the ABC cameramen had newer ones which were more mobile.