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The Avengers
S3.E21
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IMDbPro

Build a Better Mousetrap

  • Episode aired Apr 1, 1991
  • TV-14TV-14
  • 52m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
98
YOUR RATING
The Avengers (1961)
ActionComedyCrime
Angered by a noisy motor bike gang who ride on their land, elderly sisters Cynthia and Ermyntrude Peck, who claim to be witches, cast a spell which causes all the motor-bikes to stall. Not o... Read allAngered by a noisy motor bike gang who ride on their land, elderly sisters Cynthia and Ermyntrude Peck, who claim to be witches, cast a spell which causes all the motor-bikes to stall. Not only that but almost every electronic and mechanical object in the area also tends to malfu... Read allAngered by a noisy motor bike gang who ride on their land, elderly sisters Cynthia and Ermyntrude Peck, who claim to be witches, cast a spell which causes all the motor-bikes to stall. Not only that but almost every electronic and mechanical object in the area also tends to malfunction. Mrs. Gale in her leathers joins the gang to ask permission from the sisters to rid... Read all
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
98
YOUR RATING
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Peter Hammond
    • Writer
      • Brian Clemens
    • Stars
      • Patrick Macnee
      • Honor Blackman
      • Athene Seyler
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Peter Hammond
    • Writer
      • Brian Clemens
    • Stars
      • Patrick Macnee
      • Honor Blackman
      • Athene Seyler
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos

    Patrick Macnee in The Avengers (1961)
    Honor Blackman and Patrick Macnee in The Avengers (1961)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Patrick Macnee
    Patrick Macnee
    • John Steed
    Honor Blackman
    Honor Blackman
    • Catherine Gale
    Athene Seyler
    Athene Seyler
    • Cynthia
    Nora Nicholson
    Nora Nicholson
    • Ermyntrude
    Harold Goodwin
    Harold Goodwin
    • Harris
    John Tate
    John Tate
    • Colonel Wesker
    Alison Seebohm
    • Caroline
    Donald Webster
    • Dave
    Marian Diamond
    • Jessy
    Allan McClelland
    • Stigant
    Dave Anderson
    • Gordon
    • (as David Anderson)
    Glen Stuart
    • Roderick
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Peter Hammond
    • Writer
      • Brian Clemens
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      It may look like a lot of motorcycles in this episode, but there are in fact only five, or maybe six. Mostly BSAs, plus Cathy's famous Triumph.
    • Quotes

      Stigant: Mr. Steed, can you imagine the military applications of a device which could disable any mechanical form of machinery?

      John Steed: A sort of instant peace.

    User reviews2

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    4/10
    Fails to rev up any excitement
    "Build a Better Mousetrap" is generally regarded as one of the better examples from the Cathy Gale era, perhaps for its image of the leather-clad Honor Blackman astride a motorcycle (rockers, not mods), because the plot never gets revved up into any excitement. All mechanical devices conk out within a two mile radius of a windmill owned by two elderly sisters believed to practice witchcraft, with Cathy's faceless dancing bikers proving a noisy nuisance. The villains aren't revealed until the end, so little actually happens, plus the filmed sequences prove to be more shoddy than usual, definitely a script more suited for the shot-on-film Mrs. Peel era. At least we get to see Patrick Macnee do a bit of his own judo in a rare action scene. Hammer veteran Harold Goodwin supplies good work in his only AVENGERS episode, while Athene Seyler returned in "Man-Eater of Surrey Green," and Nora Nicholson returned in "All Done with Mirrors." Series veterans included John Tate, who previously did "Killer Whale," Donald Webster, who did "Intercrime," and Allan McClelland, who did "The Big Thinker."
    helpful•3
    5
    • kevinolzak
    • Feb 1, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 1, 1991 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Production companies
      • ABC Weekend Television
      • Associated British Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      52 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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