1.19 - Toy Trap

[dissolute]

Well, quite - but that is the ONLY shot that looks like she's wearing a mask so I think it's a blow-out in the lighting as she's alone in her office when she takes the call so why would she wear a mask then?

I don't know who suggested the mask, neither Hayes/McGinlay nor Dave Rogers mention it in their synopses at all.

It's John Dorney's adaptation in the Big Finish audio:

Track 13:

Steed cajoles Keel for "wrestling a lady", which Keel says is justified in the circumstances:
Steed: "What have you done... she's lost her... actually, what is that?"
Keel: "A mask, from the look of things."
Bunty: "Mrs McCabe!"

And later, Steed: "You literally knocked her block off". In the original script Steed says just before that bit: "wasn't that the funniest thing you've ever seen in your life?" which they interpret here as the weird mask, I guess.

Wow, that's weird. So Robertson is no longer responsible for tackling Mrs McCabe? They must have thought Bussell's Toys was smaller than the set looks, that happens when Dr Keel steps out of the lift and he wouldn't have been close enough. I guess it was adapted so they didn't have to introduce a new character that has no lines in an audio adventure.

(By the way, that's another thing - the script refers to Bussell's but there's no indication that it's a department store, and the signage on the set says Bussell's toys, so my synopsis says it's a large toy store rather than a department store. Did I miss a reference?)

[Frankymole]

I'll check, but it's probably that the girls don't work together (and the store even has lots of different floors, requiring a lift) and only catch up with each other in the changing room, implying they work in different departments. I don't think London had any toy stores that big, except maybe Hamleys.

The Avengers Forever says "Andrew Pixley notes that the first two images are from a scene in a department store, and that the girl is Sally Smith playing Bunty Seton." That may be where Big Finish got it from for their notes. But I don't know where Andrew got it from, anyway it could be a store with different departments of toys and games for different age ranges or something!

[dissolute]

The scenes in the breakdown - and the scene indicators in the script - always say TOY STORE or STORE but on page 22 Steed asks Ann where the toy department is so I guess that puts that to rest. The only place I noticed them refer to Bussell's was when Mrs McCabe answered the phone, saying, "Bussell's hostel"

Synopsis updated.

[Frankymole]

Makes sense I guess. They could only build limited sets so it made sense to concentrate on just the toy department in-vision as we wouldn't see, only hear, characters moving about in the other parts of the store. I did also wonder about the hostel, there are girls like Ann in the script discussing grass stains (! more hints of sordidness) when Keel arrives for Bunty, it seems a biggish place, with Mrs McCabe having an office of her own there, if it was just 2 or 3 girls from the toy shop she'd either just have a small bedsit/lodging house or have to supplement the hostel's residents with girls from other shops I imagine but it all seems to be laid on for the one store.

Either a lot of girls disappear rapidly (well, I suppose they do, but not enough to keep a big hostel turning over) or it's a massive shop. In "Rooms", the mid-70s daytime soap about a lodging house in a similar area there are three or four floors of residents but the landlady never needs an office, only her basement sitting room. But perhaps there's more admin required by Mrs McCabe (surely she can't run the call-girl racket from there with her henchman going in and out all the time to report?).

[Frankymole]

Phew, I just finished writing up "Toy Trap" and it's long - but I can't really see a way to trim it. Breaking new ground with this episode, it's pretty raw and unpleasant. Not sure about Keel's anger at the end, I get it but it's a bit overblown.

I've just been watching Ian Hendry in "Vendetta For The Saint". He really gets emotionally involved in his parts, and of course in The Avengers he rewrote a lot of lines and reactions before, and in, rehearsal. There's a huge build-up throughout as Dr David Keel gets more and more anguished about what is being done to the girls, especially with his friend's daughter added to the mix - I think the confrontation with Steed is actually fairly restrained, considering. He really could've knocked Steed's block off for endangering someone (again - yet even younger and more innocent than any previous time, at least Carol had some inkling what their work was). I like to think Steed took some lessons from his colleagues - not only Keel here, but also Cathy later on, she had a few things to say to him about caring, and risk, in her episodes. It's so refreshing to have an action-adventure series where the lead actually evolves. By TNA he's almost mellow, and very much a figure you can trust. Here, he's almost still a WWII saboteur, where any means are justified by the ends. Probably more realistic for the Cold War.

[mousemeat]

Phew, I just finished writing up "Toy Trap" and it's long - but I can't really see a way to trim it. Breaking new ground with this episode, it's pretty raw and unpleasant. Not sure about Keel's anger at the end, I get it but it's a bit overblown.

I've just been watching Ian Hendry in "Vendetta For The Saint". He really gets emotionally involved in his parts, and of course in The Avengers he rewrote a lot of lines and reactions before, and in, rehearsal. There's a huge build-up throughout as Dr David Keel gets more and more anguished about what is being done to the girls, especially with his friend's daughter added to the mix - I think the confrontation with Steed is actually fairly restrained, considering. He really could've knocked Steed's block off for endangering someone (again - yet even younger and more innocent than any previous time, at least Carol had some inkling what their work was). I like to think Steed took some lessons from his colleagues - not only Keel here, but also Cathy later on, she had a few things to say to him about caring, and risk, in her episodes. It's so refreshing to have an action-adventure series where the lead actually evolves. By TNA he's almost mellow, and very much a figure you can trust. Here, he's almost still a WWII saboteur, where any means are justified by the ends. Probably more realistic for the Cold War.

very good points...I would pretty much concur with your assessment ..as Keel was 180 degrees from Steed..and Steed did evolve greatly, as the series went on..Mrs. Gale, was a lighting rod for his growth/change

[dissolute]

Phew, I just finished writing up "Toy Trap" and it's long - but I can't really see a way to trim it. Breaking new ground with this episode, it's pretty raw and unpleasant. Not sure about Keel's anger at the end, I get it but it's a bit overblown.

I've just been watching Ian Hendry in "Vendetta For The Saint". He really gets emotionally involved in his parts, and of course in The Avengers he rewrote a lot of lines and reactions before, and in, rehearsal. There's a huge build-up throughout as Dr David Keel gets more and more anguished about what is being done to the girls, especially with his friend's daughter added to the mix - I think the confrontation with Steed is actually fairly restrained, considering. He really could've knocked Steed's block off for endangering someone (again - yet even younger and more innocent than any previous time, at least Carol had some inkling what their work was). I like to think Steed took some lessons from his colleagues - not only Keel here, but also Cathy later on, she had a few things to say to him about caring, and risk, in her episodes. It's so refreshing to have an action-adventure series where the lead actually evolves. By TNA he's almost mellow, and very much a figure you can trust. Here, he's almost still a WWII saboteur, where any means are justified by the ends. Probably more realistic for the Cold War.

very good points...I would pretty much concur with your assessment ..as Keel was 180 degrees from Steed..and Steed did evolve greatly, as the series went on..Mrs. Gale, was a lighting rod for his growth/change

There's a similar interaction in Mr Teddy Bear when Steed says "I wouldn't worry about Henry if I were you." and Cathy tartly replies, "No. You wouldn't!"

[Frankymole]

There's a similar interaction in Mr Teddy Bear when Steed says "I wouldn't worry about Henry if I were you." and Cathy tartly replies, "No. You wouldn't!"

Haha!! Good ol' Cathy. She usually gave as good as she got!

[mousemeat]

There's a similar interaction in Mr Teddy Bear when Steed says "I wouldn't worry about Henry if I were you." and Cathy tartly replies, "No. You wouldn't!"

Haha!! Good ol' Cathy. She usually gave as good as she got!

oh man, i sorta forgot the line..it was brutal....inna fun way...damn, I need to go back and watch all of my VHS Cathy episodes...she was a live wire

[Allard]

There's a similar interaction in Mr Teddy Bear when Steed says "I wouldn't worry about Henry if I were you." and Cathy tartly replies, "No. You wouldn't!"

Haha!! Good ol' Cathy. She usually gave as good as she got!

oh man, i sorta forgot the line..it was brutal....inna fun way...damn, I need to go back and watch all of my VHS Cathy episodes...she was a live wire

what makes the Gale episode so enjoyable.