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Last night, I entered the Color Age.

Regrettably, the Color Age didn't start off well with "The Fear Merchants." It's amazing how good something can look without it actually being good. You can compare this episode to a sleek-looking train pulled by an underpowered engine (that would be the plot). And it has to do with ceramics! Patrick Cargill (who was so wonderful in "The Murder Market") is underwhelming too. His right-hand woman Dr. Voss (Anette Carell) interested me a lot more than he did (especially when she had Emma tied to a chair and was about to do a little medical BDSM on her, oh-ho baby!). And then there's Foggy Dewhurst (oops, I mean Brian Wilde) as a young executive. He was no doubt the least appealing character (I wish he was killed off instead of Jeremy Burnham's character). And then there's that "Fright" music. Did Laurie Johnson intend for that to sound comical? I know the Brits love mixing their comedy and horror, but come on! I could go on how much I disliked (not hated) this episode, but I won't.

And now we come to the second episode, "Escape in Time." Of these two lesser episodes, this one was the superior (though "The Fear Merchants" didn't provide much competition). Peter Bowles is great as Waldo Thyssen (not Tyson strangely enough) and his various "ancestors." I liked the psychedelic trips back and forward through time. And then we have those strolls through the labyrinthine back streets, aided greatly by Laurie's jazzy music. And did I see Mr. Rumbold (Nicholas Smith) dressed in a boater's hat and striped jacket? The answer is yes, by the way. And what about Imogen Hassall in her Indian finery? Now that's some tasty-looking curry! Superficially speaking, it's a good episode. There's nothing deeply satisfying about it, but it's still an enjoyable piece of TV kitsch.

Next, "From Venus with Love" followed by "The See-Through Man." I'm skipping "The Bird Who Knew Too Much" because I'm not subjecting myself to that one ever again (I really hate birds, by the way). Don't worry, it'll be the last one I skip (at least as far the Emma Peel Years are concerned).

Oh, I liked "The Winged Avenger", as you will all find out in greater detail later on. We all have that one animal we just don't like. With some, it's snakes. With others, it's spiders. With me, it's birds. That wet, meaty flapping sound their wings make as they fly. And those tiny eyes. And those inhuman beaks. Foul creatures fowls be.

While we're on the subject of birds in The Avengers, the episode "They Keep Killing Steed" has a rather unnerving (for me) scene. There is a conference room full of fake doves. And THEY'RE EVERYWHERE! On the tables and suspended on wires from the ceiling. I mean the episode itself isn't bad at all. I just can't get past that conference room set.

Oh I hope the folks at the Business Efficiency Bureau don't catch wind of this....



"Another ornithophobe, I see. Deal with him, Gilbert."

WG brings up a good point about Cargill in "The Fear Merchants." One had planned on pointing out, his own phobia. If Pemberton (Cargill) was nyctophobic, then why the sunglasses? Wouldn't he be photophobic? And if that was the case, why were the lights on? Shouldn't he be sitting in the dark, or at least low-light? Maybe the producers just liked seeing Cargill in those sunglasses (I admit he does look sharp in them) and tried to work in some "logical" explaination for them. A shame it didn't work.

Leon Askin played a photophobic villain in The Man from UNCLE episode "The Project Deephole Affair." Now his character made a little more sense. He hated sunlight (I guess that would make him heliophobic too) and wanted to live deep underground. He always kept his office dark. At least there was some consistency there.

Ugh, why am I still talking about "The Fear Merchants"? I'm moving on.


"The Winged Avenger" was an episode I didn't like at first (still reeling from the stylistic transition from monochrome to color). But it, like "From Venus with Love", grew on me. It's a nice British take on American comic book heroes (and the TV show "Batman"). I loved Laurie's take on Nelson Riddle's infamous fight music at the end along with those onomatopoetic posters Steed used to hit the Winged Avenger with. I got a good healthy laugh out of that. There's also those storyboard-to-action transitions which were pretty clever. And as for resident eccentrics, Jack MacGowran (whose avian face fits the episode's bird motif to the proverbial T) and Nigel Green were alright, but bear in mind they are against very strong competition. And let's not forget that battle cry, "Eee-urp!"

"The Living Dead" started out pretty good. You had some wonderfully atmospheric scenes reminiscent of "The Town of No Return", same English Country Gothic feel (only in color). Spencer's body impaled with a sword and hanging off the bell-rope was a particularly memorable shot. A pale Edward Underdown coming out of the tomb was also memorable. And there's red-haired, gray-eyed, scrumptious-looking Pamela Ann Davy. Yes, the first half of this episode was great. A shame the second half wasn't. The sight of Emma in the underground prison signaled a total shift in the episode. It went from English Country Gothic to Dystopic Bauhaus, which is too radical of a shift for me. But I will say in the second half's defense that I liked seeing Emma doing the rescuing for a change, even though it involved her machine-gunning every one down (thankfully Clemens's 'no women killed' rule was enforced, poor Mandy would've gotten it too otherwise). Sure, it was effective but it lacked Emma's finesse (I guess both the characters and producers were pressed for time). Like "The See-Through Man", "The Living Dead" ends up in the "Could've-Have-Been-Good-If-Not-For..." pile.


Up next: "The Hidden Tiger" followed by "The Correct Way to Kill."