The Superlative Seven (21 Apr. 1967)

Steed is invited to a party on an aeroplane with six other people who include a matador, a cowboy and a circus strong man. As the pilotless , remote-controlled craft takes off, a voice ... See full summary »

Director:

Sidney Hayers

Writer:

Brian Clemens (teleplay)

Stars:

Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Charlotte Rampling

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Patrick Macnee	...	John Steed
Diana Rigg	...	Emma Peel
Charlotte Rampling	...	Hana Wilde
Brian Blessed	...	Major Mark Dayton
James Maxwell	...	Jason Wade
Hugh Manning	...	Max Hardy
Leon Greene	...	Freddy Richards
Gary Hope	...	Joe Smith
Donald Sutherland	...	Jessel
John Hollis	...	Kanwitch
Margaret Neale	...	Stewardess
Terence Plummer	...	Toy Sung (as Terry Plummer)

Storyline

Steed is invited to a party on an aeroplane with six other people who include a matador, a cowboy and a circus strong man. As the pilotless , remote-controlled craft takes off, a voice announces that they are bound for a desert island where one of them will be revealed as a super-killer. Mrs. Peel has to work out how to get to her partner as the bodies start to pile up.

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Plot Keywords:

death of twin | sexual tension

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 April 1967 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associated British Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

All the items on the plane's bar, glasses, ice bucket, bottles etc don't fall off or change position when the plane climbs to become airborne yet they fall off the bar when the plane does a steep dive just before nearing the island.

User Reviews

Donald Sutherland and Charlotte Rampling

One of the all-time greatest AVENGERS features an early appearance by Donald Sutherland as the villainous Jessop, promoting assassins who cannot be defeated, and hoping to earn the financial backing of Kanwitch (the always reliable John Hollis, previously seen in "The Cybernauts"), who requires one final test after his top man (Terry Plummer, "A Surfeit of H2O," "The Danger Makers") goes down in hand-to-hand combat. To that end, they gather together seven people on an airplane to be transported to an isolated island hideaway where, one by one, each will have to survive against Jessop's secret henchman, who happens to be among the SUPERLATIVE SEVEN. All seven happen to be outstanding in their chosen field of expertise- John Steed (who guesses that his expertise is the way he handles his umbrella), a female sharpshooter (Charlotte Rampling), an expert bullfighter (Gary Hope, "A Change of Bait," "November Five"), a swordsman (Hugh Manning, "The Thirteenth Hole," "Thingamujig"), a strongman (Leon Greene), a hunter who "tracks things down" (James Maxwell, "The Outside-In Man"), and an expert on unarmed combat (Brian Blessed, "The Morning After"). A rare solo adventure for Steed, whose very predictability only adds to the fun (if Mrs. Peel gets written out of a show, you can't go wrong with these results). Charlotte Rampling is just a tad too young to be believable, but the biggest disappointment is the limited screen time for the two superb villains. At this stage of his early career, Canadian actor Donald Sutherland was still working in Europe, having debuted in Italy's "The Castle of the Living Dead," then Britain's "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors" (both 1964, and both with Christopher Lee) for Amicus, and "Fanatic" (1965) for Hammer. By 1970's "MASH," he had achieved stardom, and has remained a busy character player for six decades (reuniting with Lee in 1979's "Bear Island").