1.20 - Tunnel of Fear

[QuiteQuiteFantastic]

Look at it this way. I'm not saying that Ian Hendry is great or the best companion for Steed of all time. It's just that I feel we can't judge him that well since so much is missing. Imagine if everything of the series was missing except for three episodes, one of which was primarily a mediocre Steed-based episode, kind of how "Girl on the Trapeze" is for Dr. Keel, one was a Steed-light episode like "The Frighteners", and the last one was one with a balance between the two, and all of them were from the videotaped era.

For example, "The Mauritius Penny" (balance), "Dressed to Kill" (Steed-heavy), and "The Golden Eggs" (Steed-light). We'll throw in the second part of "Hot Snow" for good measure instead of the first part, because that part introduces Steed just like part one introduces Dr. Keel. And that's all that existed. Imagine that.

How great of an impression would we have of the character? I imagine we'd probably be talking a lot more about Cathy Gale than anyone else and think that Steed was a bit boring by comparison. True, he might come across as more interesting than Dr. Keel, but not by much. And scripts don't really provide much of a clue since it's all about the actor's performance, how the words are delivered.

Michael

[Lee]

I wanted until had seen the episode a couple of times before reviewing.

How great to have something nearly 57 years old in the DVD collection. A pity more (any?) restoration wasn't carried out, as that would enhance the viewing pleasure. I think for a lot of people print quality is a barrier to archive television, with its more sedentary storytelling and studio bound sets. If the sound and picture were as good as they could be, it changes things. Certainly made a difference to William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton's DVDs in the Doctor Who range.

Anyway, I digress...

Most of what we have from Seaon one is earlier in the series. I found it an interesting contrast to see something that came later. Our only other reference to Keel and Steed together is The Frighteners. I find this more of a mediocre story, protections rackets and beatings on the street - perhaps nothing that I would class as slightly unusual. Not really what we would recognise as an Avengers scenario in my opinion. In that respect, Tunnel of Fear was different. Set in a funfair, ghost train / tunnel which people go into at the start but do not come out again - quite series 4.

The relationship between Keel and Steed also seems a little more relaxed. In The Frightners, it almost seems that Steed summons Keel to his taxi and is all mysterious about it, whereas here he is walking his dog and casually pops into the surgery for a chat - a little when he and his dog casually visit Mrs Gale.
I suppose it is helped that the setting changes quite dramatically and isn't confined to one area.

Something that did strike me was the smooth and calm way in which Hendry portrays Keel. He seems to underplay each scene and is totally believable. On the contrary, Macnee seems to be relishing in making Steed larger than life and more akin to the character that we are more familiar with. He does, however, turn in few beautiful subtle lines in the middle of everything, the taking of a phone call to One-Ten, for instance. Speaking of whom - is this his first appearance in the series? Both Stted and Keel seem to feed beautifully from each other, but I do miss the male- female rapport of the years to come.

Other little things to enjoy: the circle out from the bumper slate into part two, Steed's dog bringing One-Ten her bowl, filmed inserts setting the foreground / beach setting, intact ABC ident (sorry - one of my archive interests).

It did pad a little in the middle, but the final 'showdown' was quite engaging, and a nice line for Keel to end on.

Overall, I gave this a 7.

[Mona]

Okay, I just was able to watch this episode, having ordered it from the UK, andt then having it turned into an American DVD.

For me, David Keel is very boring. He has one attitude, one personality, and that's it throughout the whole show. I never thought he was a very good actor, and although it may have been the role, as Dr. Keel he is terribly uninteresting to me.

Steed, however, from the moment he walks into Keel's office, he is electric! His charisma is apparent from the first moment, he is alive, energetic, and he can really act. Even just from his eyes, as when we see them nearly growl when he is holding his cigarette and he says "Take it" to Wickham. One can fully understand that the loss of Ian Hendry and the reliance on Macnee as star of the show is what truly allowed it to take off and be the hit it was.

My main problem with the show was I could not understand the plot at all. At the end of the episode I have two major questions:
1. Why did they have to frame Henry?
2. How did they steal state secrets to transmit them to whomever?

If that was explained in the episode, I and my friend watching with me, never got it. I could not understand numerous sentences and I do not know how it all came together.

I liked the mother and the girlfriend, and Henry grew on me, too. One wonders how he escaped from jail, but let's just say he did.

Overall, it's very interesting watching these early episode, but get rid of Hendry, have Macnee the star, and NOW i am one big happy Avengers fan! Thank goodness Hendry thought he could be a movie star and left!

[Rhonda]

1. Why did they have to frame Henry?

We're never really told why Harry Black is framed by his old army pal Jack Wickram (and we learn at the end that The hypnotist Billy Flowers was with Harry when he broke in). Maybe Harry discovered what was going on. There is often ambiguity with the many characters being potential suspects in early Avengers!

[cyberrich]

I gave Tunnel of fear 8 out of 10. My favourite of the 3 surviving episodes. Season 1 is as far removed from the surreal series 6 as it's possible to get. Each season has it's own unique feel, and each one has quite a marked difference to the preceding season. I'm not sure if there is another TV show in history that evolved in such a way. Season 1 is more Harry Palmer than James Bond in terms of style and subject matter. Patrick's performance at the funfair has been commented on by quite a few of you. It's very amusing to see Patrick acting in this erm, shall we say unsophisticated way. Patrick and Ian work very well together as a team. Ian's style is more subtle than Patrick's, but his acting prowess shines through. I just wish more of season 1 can be found. Rich.

[MRotten]

I gave "Tunnel of Fear" another go, only this time I dozed
off for a few minutes while Harry's boring mother was prattling on. I hate to say an episode of The Avengers put me to sleep, but this one did.

[gusro12]

hi im looking for the script of tunnel of fear or the subtitles in any language to translate it to spanish, i appreciate it too much, if you have it send it to [email protected] thanks

[Brugeoise]

Perhaps this is not the place for asking this (so I would understand fully if my comment is removed) but is it possible to download or stream the episode in any form?

[dissolute]

Not that I know of, but it might be in Apple TV or Hulu.