"Too Many Targets" Adaptation - released Aug 2018

[Avengerholic]

Just looked it up. Apparently, there were 4 Cathy Gale newspaper comic strip serials. I remember reading the novel. I thought it was very good (much better than Deadline, the popularity of which has always been a bit of a mystery to me). I guess at a push Big Finish might be able to acquire the rights to the original script of the TV episode Warlock. It's not exactly a lost episode, but as originally written and recorded did include Steed and Mrs Gale's first meeting, which would be fun to hear.

I'd love it if they produced Steed/Gale audios in the vein of the Keel/Steed sets. While I really enjoyed 'Too Many Targets' I've never taken to Poulet as Emma Peel, and Woodward is even less acceptable as Tara King (at times she sounds like a child). However Howell was top notch as David Keel and Charmers is astounding as Cathy Gale, she'd be awesome in her own range.

[paulh]

Yes, a series of Steed and Mrs Gale adventures would be great. Cathy has always been my second favourite female Avenger (after Tara). With so few novels and comic strips from that era, the only way an ongoing series could really happen would be for Big Finish to acquire the rights to write new stories. Fingers crossed that happens!

[Avengerholic]

Yes, a series of Steed and Mrs Gale adventures would be great. Cathy has always been my second favourite female Avenger (after Tara). With so few novels and comic strips from that era, the only way an ongoing series could really happen would be for Big Finish to acquire the rights to write new stories. Fingers crossed that happens!

These days when ever I get the urge to watch the Avengers it's always the Tara episodes I reach for.

[Frankymole]

Me too. Though I still adore Cathy.

[Lee]

I recently bought this in the Big Finish deal on The Avengers once I had downloaded and listened to The Norse Code for Free.

Admittedly, I had been intrigued by this release : bringing together Steed and all of his friends in one story. Would any of them know each other? Did Steed know Cathy during his adventures with Keel? Did he know Emma whilst the adventure with Cathy were taking place. I don't think there were any definitive answers to these questions, but reading between the lines ,I don't think so.

However, a couple of reasons initially held me back from purchasing before: I'd heard snippets of other stories and wasn't impressed with the new characterisations, and I wondered if it would be like other fan-fiction where people from different eras of a show get together and it becomes a bit smug with in-jokes and caricatures. Another of my passions has been Doctor Who. Sometimes when different eras of the show 'collide' it can be a little cringy.

Maybe it was because I'd heard The Norse Code that I had warmed to the 'new' Steed and Mrs Peel more and so Julian's voice and delivery seemed not so alien this time. Perhaps Julian has a different delivery and hits a different tone and pacing from Patrick, but I began to visualise 'his' Steed, and even appreciate him. I hadn't really heard much of Anthony playing Keel, but he has such a smooth delivery with a believable characterisation. He is definitely a strength of the casting. Another really pleasant surprise was Beth Chalmers as Cathy Gale. Beth is a bit of a Big Finish stalwart having played a few roles in their Doctor Who range and others so I did wonder if she was a bit of in-casting. However, I did a double take when Cathy came into the play: was that Honor? No it wasn't, but some of the timbre of her voice and some of her delivery style was spot on. Some of the most enjoyable scenes were actually with Keel and Cathy. Per haps the ending of the play leaves it open for a spin-off featuring these two...

However, I'm still not sure about the casting of Emma and Tara. To me, their voices sound very similar, and it seems as if they are trying to play the whole thing younger than they are. Perhaps it was aspects of the dialogue that didn't sound quite Emma and Tara or just may be they didn't seem to quite nail the tone. I know as it says in the extras they weren't trying to impersonate Diana and Linda, but there are character traits of the Emma and Tara which needs to be found. Another role which didn't seem right was Mother. Christopher Benjamin is a renowned actor, but he failed to bring across the irascibleness of Mother, with his short temper and not-accepting-fools persona. But again, that may be a failing in the characterisation of the writing: I couldn't picture Mr Newell delivering the lines either.

Which brings us to the plot. It was definitely a split story of two halves. To my ears, there was a more serious plot and a more fantastical one - both running concurrently. Interestingly, the more serious gangster plot with the fisticuffs action was handled by Keel and Cathy - more in tone with the early era of the show. In a completely different vain, Emma and Tara find themselves embroiled (along with Steed) with the more fantastical elements, reflecting their era of the show more. They are brought together well by the end of the play with an all-roads-lead-to-Rome plot. Interesting how the plot shows us Emma after leaving Steed's side, but fails to mention Peter - is he even still on the scene, I wonder? I was quite pleased I didn't really know the spoilers as to who was behind what was going on and it did come as a bit of a surprise (and no I'm not going to give it away!) - but again, when you know characters quite well you expect a certain delivery and style. I know others on this forum have talked about reimagining, like a different production of a play, but I don't quite see if this way. These characters were given tone, voice and character traits. Some of that was a little disappointing in its absence.

However, I did enjoy this. I might dip into some of the other ranges for Emma and Tara. I have the excerpts which Big Finish have given away for free, but it has been very hard to judge a story or characters in the 15mins they have given. I have missed this opportunity for the Big Finish offers, but as I have lots of other BF releases, I know they have regular offers come round and I'm sure there will be another at a different time.

Give it a try - I was pleasantly surprised.

[mousemeat]

Yes, a series of Steed and Mrs Gale adventures would be great. Cathy has always been my second favourite female Avenger (after Tara). With so few novels and comic strips from that era, the only way an ongoing series could really happen would be for Big Finish to acquire the rights to write new stories. Fingers crossed that happens!

These days when ever I get the urge to watch the Avengers it's always the Tara episodes I reach for.

interesting....myself, it's the monochrome peel episodes, that keeps drawing me back...but I do like the tara era....it's sorta a acquired taste, mind you.

[paulh]

Yes, a series of Steed and Mrs Gale adventures would be great. Cathy has always been my second favourite female Avenger (after Tara). With so few novels and comic strips from that era, the only way an ongoing series could really happen would be for Big Finish to acquire the rights to write new stories. Fingers crossed that happens!

These days when ever I get the urge to watch the Avengers it's always the Tara episodes I reach for.

interesting....myself, it's the monochrome peel episodes, that keeps drawing me back...but I do like the tara era....it's sorta a acquired taste, mind you.

To be honest, the whole of The Avengers is an acquired taste! Most of my friends find Steed, Mrs Peel, Tara, et al completely ridiculous and give up watching after 10 minutes, but that's their loss!

[mousemeat]

These days when ever I get the urge to watch the Avengers it's always the Tara episodes I reach for.

interesting....myself, it's the monochrome peel episodes, that keeps drawing me back...but I do like the tara era....it's sorta a acquired taste, mind you.

To be honest, the whole of The Avengers is an acquired taste! Most of my friends find Steed, Mrs Peel, Tara, et al completely ridiculous and give up watching after 10 minutes, but that's their loss!

I certainly understand where you are coming from...many of my friends, my age, certainly know of the show, and are familiar with the characters, but not really big fans..back then, and certainly not now...and a lot of young people I know, tend to dismiss it, due to that misfire of a film, from the late 90's...or they confuse it with Marvel's ' avengers'...on the flip, my wife is a huge fan of the show...especially the Peel era...and loves Emma...What the heck...ooh la lah....

[Frankymole]

I recently bought this in the Big Finish deal on The Avengers once I had downloaded and listened to The Norse Code for Free.

Admittedly, I had been intrigued by this release : bringing together Steed and all of his friends in one story. Would any of them know each other? Did Steed know Cathy during his adventures with Keel? Did he know Emma whilst the adventure with Cathy were taking place. I don't think there were any definitive answers to these questions, but reading between the lines ,I don't think so.

We know that steed and Cathy worked together ten years earlier in Germany, revealed in "Don't Look Behind You". As to whether Steed knew Emma when he was working with Cathy later, it depends who he was talking to about their Salukis at the end of "Lobster Quadrille"... and also when they first met, with Steed's car bumping into hers (can't remember the episode that was revealed in) - though she was presumably Mrs Peel at the time, and Peter Peel had not long been missing presumed dead. It's likely that if Steed met Emma at all before Cathy left, it was near the end of his time with Cathy.

[Frankymole]

I always thought Mariella Frostrup could do quite a convincing Honor Blackman/Cathy Gale impersonation... very similar "smoky" voice...