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Title: The Undertakers (06 Mar 1991)
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| Episode complete credited cast: | |||
| Patrick Macnee | ... | John Steed | |
| Honor Blackman | ... | Catherine Gale | |
| Lee Patterson | ... | Lomax | |
| Jan Holden | ... | Paula | |
| Lally Bowers | ... | Mrs. Renter | |
| Patrick Holt | ... | Madden | |
 |
Mandy Miller | ... | Daphne |
|
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Howard Goorney | ... | Green |
|
|
Marcella Markham | ... | Mrs. Lomax |
|
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Ronald Russell | ... | Wilkinson |
|
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Helena McCarthy | ... | Mrs. Baker |
|
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Denis Forsyth | ... | Reeve |
A man whom Steed was to escort to New York disappears, before re-surfacing at the Adelphi Park Retirement Home. Then his neighbour turns up there. All the residents at the home are extremely wealthy and have named their next of kin as beneficiaries to avoid death duties. Mrs. Gale gets a job as assistant matron there to discover what is going on. Written by don @ minifie-1
I've not seen more than perhaps 20 episodes of the Avengers over the years and this one from 1963 was a reminder how the series evolved, the things it gained and the things it lost. The series was a long slow roller coaster, This episode was shot on video with soft smudgy film inserts. It has the look of a live production or was only minimally edited (perhaps for reasons of cost) as cues are not crisp, a camera staggers - running over a cable? - as it tracks in and a profusely sweating Steed concludes the episode.
Steed had not yet reached the assured sophisticated persona which became his and the series' hallmark.Here the beauty and self-assurance of Honour Blackman out-shone him.Her departure for film indeed Goldfinger perhaps was a blessing in disguise for the series.
The arrival of Diana Rigg contributed to The Avengers golden age allowing Steed to be redefined as a 20th Century knight - chivalry but with a brolly a stand-in for a sword and bowler in place of a helmet. It was an amusing idea which served Patrick McKnee and the series very well. It also allowed a new dignified but ambiguous relationship with his new female co-star. Surprising to see in this episode that Steed appears needy in looking for Honour Blackman to return his feelings and attentions. With Diana Rigg the relationship was conducted by verbal fencing between the two - something which allowed the best dialogue and most entertaining scenes. The relationship's ambiguity allowed it to be infinitely extended as it never would be consummated nor end.
This episode has the quirky story line which remained a constant over the entire run but the clunky video production and the undeveloped Steed character marked it as a project in progress rather than a classic.