"The Avengers" Return of the Cybernauts (1967)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Robert Day

Writer:

Philip Levene (teleplay)

TV Series:

"The Avengers" (1961)

Original Air Date:

30 September 1967 (Season 6, Episode 1)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Sexual Tension | Agent | John Steed | British | Partner

Cast

Patrick Macnee	...	John Steed
Diana Rigg	...	Emma Peel
Peter Cushing	...	Paul Beresford
Frederick Jaeger	...	Benson
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell	...	Dr. Neville (as Charles Tingwell)
Fulton Mackay	...	Professor Chadwick
Roger Hammond	...	Dr. Russell
Anthony Dutton	...	Dr. Garnett
Noel Coleman	...	Conroy
Aimi MacDonald	...	Rosie
Redmond Phillips	...	Hunt
Terry Richards	...	Cybernaut
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Gough	...	Dr. Clement Armstrong (archive footage)

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The New Avengers: The Last of the Cybernauts...? (#1.3)" (1976)

The great Peter Cushing in his only AVENGERS episode

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

While his HAMMER co-star Christopher Lee made 2 appearances on "THE AVENGERS"(perhaps due to his lifelong friendship with Patrick Macnee dating back to 1931 when they were both 9 years old!)this would be the one and only appearance for the great Peter Cushing.A sequel to the previous season's third broadcast "The Cybernauts," this episode casts Cushing as the brother of the wheelchair-bound cybernaut creator originally played by another frequent Cushing co-star,Michael Gough("Horror of Dracula" being the most notable,"Top Secret" being the last.)As Paul Beresford,Peter is constantly entertaining an enthralled Mrs. Peel(Diana Rigg),while the gentlemanly agent John Steed(Macnee)displays subtle hints of jealousy.Of course,Beresford is merely setting a trap for the two Avengers,who he feels are responsible for his brother's death.Returning from the earlier episode is Frederick Jaeger as dedicated assistant Benson,who helps to conduct a few cybernaut kidnappings of noted scientists who are blackmailed into creating a means for Beresford to transform the Avengers into human cybernauts.Filmed in June 1967 before two of Cushing's lesser starring efforts("Corruption" and "The Blood Beast Terror")this standout TV episode shows the actor at the peak of his form,displaying a disarming charm masking the underlying menace and provoking some revealing facets of the relationship between Steed and Mrs. Peel(sadly nearing its end as Diana Rigg would make only 8 more episodes before leaving the series).For anyone unfamiliar with Cushing's TV work during the 1950's which made him Britain's most popular television star of that era(and for which he was most coveted by HAMMER Films)this appearance would probably be the most easily available,along with the 1954 broadcast of "Nineteen Eighty-Four"(as Winston Smith) and his 1976 return in the first episode of "The New Avengers".