The New Avengers, Series 2 — Episode 9
K is for Kill — Part 2: Tiger by the Tail
by Brian Clemens
Directed by Yvon Marie Coulais
Production details
Produced:June, 1977Regional broadcasts
Broadcaster | Date | Time |
---|---|---|
Thames Television | 3/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
ATV Midlands | 4/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
Granada Television | 3/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
Anglia Television | 3/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
Border Television | 4/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
Channel Television | 3/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
Grampian Television | 4/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
Southern Television | 3/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
Scottish Television | 3/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
Tyne Tees Television | 4/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
Ulster Television | 3/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
Westward Television | 3/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
Harlech Television | 4/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
Yorkshire Television | 4/11/1977 | 8.00pm |
TV Times listing






8.0 The New Avengers
Patrick Macnee
Joanna Lumley
Gareth Hunt in
K is for Kill
Part Two: Tiger by the Tail
By Brian Clemens
The New Avengers find themselves trapped in battle-torn France — 30 years after the end of the war …
Mr. Avenger: the man who liberated Purdey: see page 22
John Steed | Patrick Macnee |
Purdey | Joanna Lumley |
Mike Gambit | Gareth Hunt |
Col. Martin | Pierre Vernier |
Gen. Gaspard | Maurice Marsac |
Stanislav | Charles Millot |
Jeanine Leparge | Christine Delaroche |
Toy | Paul Emile Deiber |
Turkov | Maxence Mailfort |
Kerov | Sach Pitoeff |
Minister | Alberto Simono |
Director Yvon Marie Coulais; Producers Albert Fennell, Brian Clemens
International broadcasts
ABN2 Sydney, Australia | 20/03/1978 | 8.30pm |
---|---|---|
ABQ2 Brisbane, Australia | 20/03/1978 | 8.30pm |
ABV2 Melbourne, Australia | 20/03/1978 | 8.30pm |
ABS2 Adelaide, Australia | 20/03/1978 | 8.30pm |
CBS New York, USA | 24/03/1979 | 12.45am |
TF1 France | 11/08/1979 | 8.45pm |
Suisse Romande, Switzerland | - | - |
French title | Le long sommeil (2e partie : La danse de l’ours) | |
ZDF Germany | - | - |
German title | Der Drache erwacht | |
KRO Netherlands | 21/11/1977 | 8.25pm |
Dutch title | De M van Moord | |
Italy | 29/04/80? | ? |
Italian title | K come killers | |
Spain | - | - |
Spanish title | ||
CXY Winnipeg, Canada | 17/08/1978 | 10.00pm |
Televisyen Malaysia PR1 | 25/05/1978 | 7.26pm |
TV Singupura 5 | - | - |
Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne broadcast date is assumed as all states followed the same schedule but the local listing does not name the episode.
K is for Kill parts 1 and 2 were shown in one night by CBS stations as a long-form special finale for the American market. It appears from the New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times that the two episodes were shown back to back as those newspapers have two entries for the night (11.30pm and 12.45am in New York, 11.30pm and 12.30am in LA, and Baltimore listed part 2 as starting at 12.40am), these areas all finished at 2am, whereas the Chicago Tribune simply listed The New Avengers at 10.30pm and a rock concert starting at 1am. Technically, the USA debut for part 2 is on March 23 1979 as Chicago ran an hour earlier and would have started the second part between 11:40 and 11.45pm, so as to be synchronised with East Coast broadcasts.
Dutch newspapers simply advertised each part of K is for Kill by the same title, “De M van Moord”.
Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Singapore chose not to broadcast this episode.



Continuity and trivia
The café in the Place Dauphine must be the best in Paris because every character in the episode seems to go there, and each one is commented on ascerbilcally by the waiter (Jacques Monnet).
The Transport
Marque | Colour | Number Plate |
---|---|---|
Rover 3500 SD1 | taupe | 4253 RU 95 |
Citroën 2500 DS Taxi | silver | 665 BFX 75 |
Renault 30 TS | white | 9596 FJ92 |
French Gendarmerie 500cc motorcycle | navy | - |
French Gendarmerie 500cc motorcycle | navy | - |
Ford Transit hearse/van | black | 8790 VZ75 |
Cadillac limousine | black | 9508 RU 83 |
Ford? limousine | black | ? |
Who’s Killing Whom?
Victim | Killer | Method |
---|---|---|
Entrepot worker | Minski | bayonet |
Général Gaspard | Minski | silenced pistol |
Minski | Gambit | pistol |
Toy | Guard | silenced pistol |
Turkov | Steed | church bells deafen him and cause him to fall from the steeple |
Stanislav | Purdey | run down by his own car (unconfirmed) |

The Fashions
- Gambit’s fashions
- Purdey’s fashions
- Steed’s fashions
-
- slate grey 3-piece single-breasted suit with pale blue shirt, purple tie
- slate grey 3-piece single-breasted suit with pale bl shirt, mustard tie
- tuxedo, plain shirt, black tie
- grey velvet 3-piece suit, white shirt, blue tie with white spot
- charcoal blazer, beige trousers, white shirt, gold & blue patterned tie