Series 5 — Episode 1
From Venus With Love
by Philip Levene
Directed by Robert Day
Steed is shot full of holes
Emma sees stars!
Production No E.66.6.4
Production completed: November 1 1966. First transmission: January 9 1967.
Production
Production dates: 10–11/1966
Most of the production paperwork for Series 5 is missing so there are no confirmed dates for most of production.
Philip Levene’s script for “The Light Fantastic” was originally supposed to be part of Series 4 but when Julian Wintle sent it to the ABC Programme Controller Brian Tesler, who hated science fiction, on December 24th 1965 it was predictably rejected on 31 December as being “too kookie too much of the time”.
Filming was due to start in early August but the Elstree studios were fully booked so the first two episodes were filmed at Pinewood instead. This, the third episode filmed, was the first Elstree episode and the garage for the Ford GT-40 was one of the workshops there. Primble’ s surgery exterior was part of the Elstree backlot town which will be familiar to viewers of British television of the period, and the cemetry set was one of the first outings for the “set within the set” aesthetic that The Avengers established, cementing that the whole show was a farce by having a level of unreality at all times.
Robert Day makes a huge splash for the switch to colour film, with extensive location filming and brightly lit sets, heralding the Swinging era of The Avengers. The countryside driving sequences were mostly done around Deeves Hall Lane, Mimms Lane and Earls Road, near the village of Ridge, and the nearby Packhorse Lane. The manor High Canons on Buckettsland Lane, Well End was pressed into service again as Venus Browne’s house and Radlett Prep School was used for the stately home where Mrs. Peel encountered Bert Smith. Stanmore Hall, on Wood Lane, Stanmore, was used for Brigadier Whitehead’s house.
This was not the first episode produced, but it continues to use the first version of the set for Mrs. Peel’s flat, with the gloss red wall holding white roses behind the piano and the industrial sculptures. A lovely touch of the first sequence with Emma Peel is its echo of the sequence when Steed first visits her in The Town of No Return, as in both she is practicing her fencing.
Regional broadcasts
Broadcaster | Date | Time |
---|---|---|
Rediffusion London | 13/01/1967 | 8.00pm |
ABC Midlands | 14/01/1967 | 9.10pm |
ABC North | 14/01/1967 | 9.10pm |
Anglia Television | 13/01/1967 | 8.00pm |
Border Television | 15/01/1967 | 8.10pm |
Channel Television | 13/01/1967 | 8.00pm |
Grampian Television | 22/11/1967 | 8.00pm |
Southern Television | 9/01/1967 | 8.00pm |
Scottish Television | 14/01/1967 | 9.10pm |
Tyne Tees Television | 14/01/1967 | 9.10pm |
Ulster Television | 30/11/1967 | 7.30pm |
Westward Television | 13/01/1967 | 8.00pm |
Television Wales & West | 11/01/1967 | 8.00pm |
TV Times listing



8.0 The Avengers
return for a new series
starring
[photo]
Patrick Macnee
as John Steed
and
[photo]
Diana Rigg
as Emma Peel
in
From Venus With Love
By Philip Levene
In which Steed is shot full of holes — and Emma sees stars …
Cast also includes
Venus | Barbara Shelley |
Primble | Philip Locke |
Brigadier Whitehead | Jon Pertwee |
Crawford | Derek Newark |
Bertram Smith | Jeremy Lloyd |
Jennings | Adrian Ropes |
Clarke | Arthur Cox |
Cosgrove | Paul Gillard |
Hadley | Michael Lynch |
Mansford | Kenneth Benda |
Designed by Wilfrid Shingleton
Music by Laurie Johnson
Directed by Robert Day
Produced by Albert Fennell
and Brian Clemens
Executive Producer
Julian Wintle
ABC Television Network Production


International broadcasts
Broadcaster | Date | Time |
---|---|---|
ABN2 Sydney, Australia | 18/04/1967 | 8.00pm |
ABQ2 Brisbane, Australia | 22/05/1967 | 7.30pm |
ABV2 Melbourne, Australia | 17/04/1967 | 8.00pm |
ABS2 Adelaide, Australia | 30/05/1967 | 7.30pm |
ABC New York, USA | 20/01/1967 | 10.00pm |
ORTF2 France | 2/07/1968 | 9.15pm? |
Suisse Romande, Switzerland | 11/03/1968 | 9.55pm |
French title | Bon baisers de Vénus | |
ZDF Germany | 24/10/1967 | 9.15pm |
German title | Einmal Venus — hin und zurück | |
KRO Netherlands | 12/07/1969 | 9.10pm |
Dutch title | Met de groeten van Venus | |
Svizzera Italiana | 16/11/1973 | 9.00pm |
Italian title | da venere con amore | |
Spain | 23/10/1967 | 4.10pm |
Spanish title | Desde Venus con amor |
From Venus With Love is also listed in French listings for 4th June 1968 at 10.20pm, and probably 18th June 1968 at 10.25pm, not shown in these original time slots due to the strikes in France which affected ORTF. As the strike was still affecting newspapers and magazines on July 2nd it has proved hard to determine, but Télé 7 JOURS published the confirmation in their listing for 2 juillet 1968. We're not sure of the timeslot at the moment but it was probably 9.15pm or 8.30pm.













Diana Rigg plays a sexy sleuth on the British spy series that returns to ABC on Friday, Jan. 20, at 10.

Episode Rating
Subject | 0–5 |
---|---|
Direction | 4 stars |
Music | 3½ stars |
Humour | 4 stars |
Intro/tag | 2½ stars |
Mastermind | 3½ stars |
Plot | 3 stars |
Emma | 4 stars |
Set Design | 3½ stars |
Overall (0–10) |
7½ stars |
This episode has much promise and mostly delivers, but there’s something missing. Wonderfully silly sci-fi sets the tone for the season — there’s better episodes to come.
Mrs. Peel is called away from her fencing practice by Steed’s
arrival.
They have to investigate when astronomers start turning white while observing Venus. Have the Venusians invaded earth, as
Primble suggests to Steed? Are aliens killing the rich patrons of the British Venusian Society?
Steed is unconvinced and when they discover a tape recording of the aliens is in fact a laser warming up it’s clear that Primble is behind it all. A deadly fight ensues and Emma is strapped in for corrective eye surgery.
The Avengers are invited to “have dinner on Venus”, after dispatching Primble with his own laser, but Steed worries about his Claret not travelling well.
The Cars
Marque/Model | Colour | Number Plate |
---|---|---|
Lotus Elan S3 | glacier blue | SJH 499D |
Bentley Speed Six 1926 | British racing green | RX 6180 |
International Harvester Crawler Tractor | dark orange | - |
Land-Rover SWB soft-top (canvas tarpaulin) | dark green | - |
Ford GT40 Mk II | silver | - |
Who’s Killing Whom?
Victim | Killer | Method |
---|---|---|
Ernest Cosgrove | Primble or Martin V* | Laser beam |
Sir Fredrick Hadley | Primble or Martin V* | Laser beam |
Bertram Fortescue Winthrop Smith | Martin V* | Laser beam |
Lord Mansford | Martin V* | Laser beam |
Brigadier Whitehead | Primble or Martin V* | Laser beam |
Dr. Henry Primble V* | Steed & himself V* | Deflected laser beam |

The Fashions
Continuity and trivia
- 1:46 — Cosgrove is some astronomer! He doesn’t bother to write down the co-ordinates or declination and then casually swings his telescope into position and starts taking pictures.
- 2:43 — The glass of beer is suddenly 3/4 full but at 2:27 it was half full (or is that half empty?), at 2:50 when it starts to bubble, it’s half full again.
- 3:35 — The scene of the remote camera shutter control swinging and Cosgrove lying dead on the floor was slate 67, it took four takes to get it right and was filmed on 2 November, 1966.
- 6:00 — The scene of Frederick Hadley spinning around in the chair to reveal he’s been bleached white was slate 68 and was filmed on 2 November, 1966.
- 10:35 — Recognise those doors? They turn up in Thyssen’s house in Escape in Time.
- 10:40 and throughout — Emma’s Lotus is an S3 1966. The S2 she drove in Series 4 had a chrome label saying Elan S2 where this one just has Elan in chrome on the upper body. The rear lights are the elongated ovoid shape of the S3.
The logo on the lower body (bottom right) is probably either the World Champions or Indianapolis Champions logo. - 11:30 — One of the papers on Venus Browne’s desk is a sketch of Professor Popple’s clue (also the floor pattern from Pinter’s Store) in Death at Bargain Prices.
- 11:40 ? 13:00 etc. — Steed’s arrival at the BVS was slate 69 and was filmed on 2 November, 1966.
- 13:13–13:38 — Another messed-up close-up , Barbara Shelley keeps the pose of clenched hands in prayer position, despite the long shots mostly having them held over her stomach.
- 15:10 — Diana Rigg runs part of the way across the field but then Cyd Child stands-in for the fast bit.
- 15:34 — Outside the barn is the same wagon as was used in Epic.
- 19:45–20:15 — There’s a hair caught at the bottom centre of the screen — it’s probably on the camera lens, it reappears at 21:26 whenever there’s a shot of Primble and Steed, but not when the other camera is used.
- 21:18–21:38 — A muffed close-up — the clock on the safe says 8 seconds before 2:45, but 20 seconds later, when Jennings taps the clock in the long shot we’ve lost 8 seconds, as it’s 4 seconds past 2:45.
- 21:39 and throughout — The painting that Mansford is appreciating just before he leaves this mortal coil turns up again backstage in Epic. Not only that, but both copies of it — with and without the silhouette — turn up in two episodes of The Saint ("A Portrait of Brenda" and “The Power Artist”). The non-silhouette version reappears in an episode of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).
Venus
Epic - 21:21 — Steed’s eye test require him to identify these hats:
trilby
homburg bowler
cap jockey porkpie
topper boater busby fez - 23:43 — Jennings’ watch says 2:54:53 but the clock on the safe says it’s 2:56:35.
- 24:50 — Primble’s spectacles have little holes in them so he can see properly.
- 23:49 — The hair on the camera appears to have migrated to the bottom righthand corner.
- 25:39 — Manford’s corpse breathes in.
- 26:20 — Brigadier Whitehead turns off a gramophone on his left which he hadn’t turned on.
- The Brigadier has a lot of medals: Order of the British Empire, Companion of the Order of the Bath, Italy Star, Distinguished Service Order, Companion of the Order of the Bath, Military Cross, France & Germany Star, 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, India General Service Medal (1936), 1939–45 Star, Africa Star, Croix de Guerre 1914–16. The Italy Star and France and Germany Star are not in the correct order of wear. He is dressed like Field Marshall Montgomery, with a Royal Tank Corp beret and wears many of the same medals.
- 29:34 — Venus departs out a door and walks down the driveway but Steed, who passes her upon arrival, heads up a jumble of stone steps to reach a door.
- 30:51 — Elsewhere, you’ll find claims that Whitehead wasn’t holding a record when shot by the laser, but is holding one when found by Steed. This is wrong, as this picture shows — he picks it up off the table just out off shot, after setting another disk going (it’s lying in from of the gramophone at 30:43). When Steed finds him, the record is no longer in front of the gramophone, and is white in his hands.
- 32:57 — The close-up of the Renkson Transistor 6 reel to reel player is misplaced, with Steed’s left arm not in shot, and the player rotated about 50°.
- 32:57, 33:43 and 34:52 — Every time the recording of the sound of the laser in played, it’s a different reel of tape.
- 35:19 — Cyd Child had to battle her way through the flames onto the balcony, a stunt she hated having to perform.
- 35:35, 41:45 etc. — The props department misspelled ‘ophthalmic’ on Primble’s surgery lamp.
- 36:15 — the phone in Cosgrove’s observatory is rather strangely labelled KAKNA 0510
- 36:00 etc. — The shots of Steed crouched by the filing cabinet were slate 63. It was filmed in one take on 2 November, 1966, including his reading the book, staring incredulously at the foaming beer and reacting to the flash of light.
- 37:45–37:55 — Another messed-up close-up, this time due to edits. The dummy’s head has already collapsed in the long shot of Steed approaching it, but the next close-up shows it in the act of collapsing again.
- Passim but especially 39:00–41:20 — There’s a curved overscan crop in the top left and bottom left corners of the screen, it had appeared earlier in the episode and returns around 43:15. It varies in size.
- 40:00 & 40:07 — the close-ups of Arthur Cox are slightly out of focus.
- 41:58 — That’s a stand-in arriving in the Lotus and approaching the surgery, possibly Annabelle Heath.
- 42:15-43:09 — there’s a thread caught at the bottom of the screen in the garage sequence, from the breaking of the window onwards. 43:03 onwards — The ‘alien’ vehicle is a Ford GT-40.
- 43:46 — The door of the car closed but didn’t fully shut at 43:22, but from this point, when we get the wider shot, until Mrs. Peel gets out at 44:03 it’s completely shut.
- 44:24–44:28 — Mrs. Peel leans over the side of the car to examine the laser which has emerged but when Martin grabs her in the reverse shot, she’s directly in front of the car, facing it.
- 44:32 — Cyd Child takes over from Diana Rigg for most of the fight scene (except the close-ups, of course).
- 45:58 — One of Steed’s headlights isn’t working, and it’s probably Rocky Taylor driving, it’s definitely not Patrick Macnee. The second unit would film scenes like these after the stars had moved onto filming the next episode.
- 48:08 — You don’t see his face but that’s Rocky Taylor leaping over the desk to take cover.
- 48:50 — Did they cut a shot of the bowler being shot? One second it’s in Steed’s hand, the next he’s just holding the mirror, so how did the hat become white?
- 49:38 onwards — The bird sculpture from Art Incorporated is one of Mrs. Peel’s decorations.
- 50:12 — Patrick Macnee pretends to play the piano as a piano version of “Emma’s Theme” starts playing on the soundtrack.
- Running time: 51′19″ (The Telemen dialogue sheets record the episode as being 4,663 feet and 8 frames, i.e. 51′49″, which includes the avengers I.D. cards and commercial bummpers).
Cast notes
- Jeremy Lloyd went on to great heights of fame, not that he wasn’t already a household name in Britain in the Sixties. He had a cameo appearance in “The Assassination Bureau”, was one of the company of “Laugh-In” that sealed “The Avengers” fate in the US, and ended up writing comedy — “Are You Being Served?” and “’Allo ’Allo” being his most successful productions.
A note on the timecodes
Timecodes for episodes are problematic as each release has its own quirks so the 2009–11 Optimum Releasing/Studio Canal DVD sets have different run times compared to the A&E and Contender DVD sets from a decade beforehand. The newer Studio Canal & Via Vision blu rays seems to be back in line with the earlier releases, except they often have StudioCanal idents lasting 20 to 22 seconds added to the beginning.
The Optimum Releasing/Studio Canal DVD releases were remastered and their frame rate has been changed, resulting in a shorter running time. However, the picture quality has increased markedly. I assume this is because they used a simple 2:2 pulldown (24 @ 25) when converting from the original film masters (film runs at 24 frames per second, while PAL runs at 25fps, the new DVDs are in PAL format).
This pulldown was also the cause of audio errors on many episodes, especially for Series 5, as the audio sped up to match the new rate (4% faster), rather than being properly pitch-shifted. Checking the dialogue sheets, which list the feet and frames of the reels, it looks like the speed change is around 5.04%, so there may be some cuts as well — probably from around the commercial breaks and ends of reels, as they amount to about 25 seconds. All my assumptions are based on the episodes having been filmed on standard 35mm film, which has 16 frames per foot and runs at 24 frames per second, so a minute of footage uses 90 feet of film (1,440 frames).
The audio errors have been corrected in the currently available DVDs, but the 2:2 pulldown remains. There is also the addition of a Studio Canal lead-in, converted to black and white to match the episode for Series Four, but colour for Series Five, adding an extra 18 or 19 seconds to the running time and making it harder to match timecodes with previous releases. It’s annoying that it has been slapped on every single episode, Series 1–3 didn’t suffer this indignity.
The previous Contender and A&E DVD releases didn’t seem to suffer from these problems, so I assume they either used soft telecine and preserved the original 24fps rate of the film (my preferred option in DVDs) or they used 24 @ 25 pulldown (2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:3 Euro pull-down).
Thankfully, the new blu ray releases for series 4–6 appear to use native 24fps with soft telecine so the running times and pitch all seem to be correct again along with a much greatly improved picture quality, most notably in the Tara King episodes which are finally (mostly) back to their original glory.