Description

Part lawyer, part detective, Rumpole's brilliant mind and sly sense of humor have solved many a case and delighted families across America for over ten years. Volume 1: "Rumpole And The Genuine Article" and "Rumpole And The Old Boy Network". ... Read more

Amazon.com

A junior clerk working for Britain's defense planning dashes off in the middle of a date with his fiancée, and turns up dead along some railroad tracks--apparently having been pushed from a train while carrying several secret documents related to England's development of a submarine warship. Was he a traitor? If so, who killed him? The case is brought to the attention of Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett) and his ally, Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke), by none other than Mycroft Holmes (Charles Gray), brother of the Great Detective and indispensable repository of government business. Sherlock's conclusions, however, prove there is more to the truth than meets the eye. Brett, as always, is the perfect Holmes while Hardwicke is the ideal Watson for the latter years of their crime-fighting career. A strong story with some of the sleuth's most impressive investigatory work, The Bruce-Partington Plans is a worthy part of the long-running Granada Television series, based on Arthur Conan Doyle's famous character. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Not a favorite
I love this series, but this one is definately not the best! The preformances, once again are superb but the plot and story goes so slow! It bored me! This is one of my least favorites. Most people that I know don't like the actor who plays Mycroft, but he's perfect for the role. The beginning was interresting, but from there it got boring.

A collection of superior performances.
I'd seen some episodes of Granada's Sherlock Holmes series years ago, on Mystery! or A&E, but had almost forgetten all about it when I came across a copy of The Bruce-Partington Plans in a local store. Watching it made me very keenly regret not having taped the series back when it was regularly aired.

Jeremy Brett, though aging and with a not-very-flattering haircut here, carries the show. There's a longstanding dispute over who is the better Holmes, Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett. Personally, my vote is entirely with Brett--his Holmes is brilliant and eccentric, and not always an entirely sympathetic character, just as the Holmes of the original stories was. He's moody, self-superior, and full of dramatic gestures sometimes at the expense of others, not much like Rathbone's much smoother and calmer portrayal, and though it makes him harder to like, it makes him worlds more interesting a character.

Charles Gray as Mycroft very nearly steals a few scenes from Brett. They play off each other with marvelously entertaining results, right from Mycroft's entrance into the episode ("Sherlock!" "MY-croft!").

Kudos go as well to Edward Hardwicke, who plays a solid and dependable Watson, frequently several steps behind Holmes but, for once, not portrayed as a total idiot to further glorify Holmes' intellect, as frequently happens in other portrayals.

The episode stays very close to the original story, with whole blocks of dialogue used nearly verbatim. The careful period detail makes everything that much more believable, and fascinating to look at if you have an interest in the Victorian period. I'm a big fan of Patrick Gowers' musical compositions, which are judiciously used throughout the series, as well.

Jeremy Brett is one of those people who I would cheerfully pay to hear read the phone book; he has a wonderfully dramatic voice, rising and falling from a gentle murmur to a commanding shout and through a whole range of moods and tones between. He really does capture Holmes' genius beautifully, and the Bruce-Partington Plans is a solid story in its own right, intellectually engaging and wholly believable.

Some favorite moments:

Holmes waxing passionate over Mycroft's unusual visit, and pretty much any interaction between the two of them.

Holmes' vaguely superior reaction to being mistaken for a mortician--so much conveyed just by looking aside and leaving Watson to clear up the mistake.

Harassing the longsuffering Mrs. Hudson while trying to spread out the city map--he's really awful, and it gets me giggling every time. In a similar vein, his sudden snort of mirth and abrupt, excessively cheerful departure, leaving Watson bemused in his wake.

Convincing Watson to come house-breaking ("We're BOUND to go.") and Watson reluctantly caving in--AGAIN.

And Watson being the one to pick up on a clue that Holmes nearly dismisses. He even has the grace not to gloat. :)

London Fog
The dreary London fog creates an excellent setting for this tale of espionage. Stolen submarine plans along with a dead body are just what the doctor ordered for this "somber stage". Another successful re-enactment of a Doyle classic. Does anyone know of a bad one? I surely don't.

One word....Mycroft
This is one of the best of the Granada series. It has a fascinating chain of events that will keep you scratching your head, even though it's all very obvious to Holmes. But the best part of the story is meeting Mycroft, or as Watson calls him, "Jupiter himself." While Holmes is rarely impressed with anyone, he is obviously in awe of his older sibling. The dynamic between them and their exchanges of dialogue are the highlight of the video.

It all hinges on a fascinating detail....
A great mystery, involving trains and the agony column of the newspaper. Another fine performance from Brett in his prime. One of my favorites of this series. ... Read more

Amazon.com

One of the most ingenious of the Sherlock Holmes stories, The Man with the Twisted Lip presents the famous detective with one of his strangest cases. A gentleman named Neville St. Clair (Clive Francis) is missing, after having been briefly seen (looking quite agitated) by his wife (Eleanor David) in an upstairs window of a disreputable pub. Upon investigating, Mrs. St. Clair can only find traces of blood in the location; later, her husband's coat, mysteriously stuffed with pennies, turns up on a mud bank. Police have detained a notorious street beggar on suspicion of foul play, but Holmes (Jeremy Brett) and Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke) believe there is more to the case than meets the eye. This highly enjoyable installment from the long-running Granada Television series is satisfying from beginning to end, with a witty conclusion and unexpected moral about class pressures. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Disappointment
Despite being based on one of Conan Doyle's better stories, this is one of the duds of the Granada series: poorly photographed and staged, and lacking the story's crisp drama. The solution of the mystery is particularly limp.

See two handsome actors make themselves thoroughly hideous!
This story always seemed to me to be the most preposterous of tales. A rich man masquerading as a beggar?

Then I read of a medical student doing precisely the same thing in New York City in 1999. Bravo, Dr. Doyle. I might even start believing in fairies now...

Jeremy Brett has a ball in this episode. He gets to hang around an opium den in the character of a crazed loafer, and he and Edward Hardwicke bring some nice comic touches to the Holmes/Watson relationship. It is trying, sometimes, being woken at 2 a.m. by a roommate who is shaking your foot and insisting you have to go somewhere, NOW...

The supporting cast is excellent as usual and there is a great feel for the grubby, nasty alleyways of London's East End. This is Victorian England as it was, not as historical filmmakers would have it.

I can't understand why they changed the script slightly from the story; in the original, Mrs. St. Clair seems to have some rather personal designs on our hero. In this show, she's a tower of moral certitude. I suppose someone in the show had to be.

Listen for some of the fine banter between Holmes and Watson, especially during their carriage ride. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

An excellent introduction to the Inspector Morse series.
An Amazon.com reviewer of July 10th has written a superb review of this episode of the extensive series of Morse mysteries and I won't go over ground that he or she has ably covered. For those viewers who are convinced by his/her review to begin watching the Morse mysteries with The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn, I would like to add that the mystery begins with the opening credits.

We are introduced to the deaf Nicholas Quinn, an examiner at a Board based in Oxford, England. He is standing by himself reading the lips of the various people talking with one another at a wine party. We see the obvious concern on his face that something is desperately wrong, but, like him, we can't hear what many of the guests are saying. He does not need to hear; his facility reading lips is evident. He tells another reviewer that the examinations conducted by the Board are compromised and he walks out of the party in distress.

In the next scene, still while the credits are playing, we watch a fire drill at the Examining Board. We don't see Nicholas Quinn leave the building even though we are told that everyone is accounted for. If you watch this scene a second time carefully, many of the clues to unlock the mystery are contained in this first few minutes of the program.

My guess is that most people who view this mystery like solving complicated puzzles and will enjoy watching each clue that Morse uncovers right to the last scene.

John Thaw, unfortunately now dead, was a superb English actor and he found an ideal character to play in the crusty Chief Inspector Morse. Kevin Whately is almost equally as good as his long suffering sidekick, Sergeant Lewis. Viewers who like this early installment will have a chance to watch Morse and Lewis in action many more times in this outstanding and long running series.

exquisite!
This has grown to be my favourite Inspector Morse of the entire Morse series! The more I watch this the more enchanted I become with it uncovering little pieces each time. Exquisite indeed!

The murder is set in the arcane world of examiantion boards which were affiliated to some of England's major universities as arbiters of the academic development of students at ages 16 and 18. This obscure branch of academia is nonetheless an ivory tower existance disguising basic human failings of jealousy, greed etc.

When a relatively new examiner is found dead at home the detectives seem to be looking beyond the workplace but in the course of the investigation the examination board becomes the centre of attention.

Essential Morse has three main interests, his love of opera, his appreciation of real ale (microbrews in American parlance), and his fascination of crosswords. It is in the last of these that we find the core to this story. As always the story is composed like a crossword such that the clues must be solved before completing the case. Here, however, the crossword assumes a much greater role. One of the other examiners, and as such a suspect, turns out to be an intellectual hero of Morse, Daedalus, who sets a particu;arly challenging crossword which gives Morse great pleasure. The two men share similar interests and it becomes apparent that they have a similar view of the world. They become competitors in trying to resolve the case but only until Daedalus (played superbly by Michael Gough) is also murdered although he leaves some difficult clues behind.

Another dimension to this story is the love interest of examiner Monica. Again there is a crossword perspective. Morse is intrigued by the physical and intellectual beauty of this woman, but as usual he cannot solve the clues to understanding her. He is torn between his feelings for her as a person and the growing suspicion that she is somehow involved in the murders. Ultimately this conflict is only resolved when it is too late.

The plot twists and turns and has several blind allies but it is compulsive viweing and by the device of Daedelus we get to see a mirror image of Morse the man. Kevin Whately puts in another superb performance as the long suffering Lewis who we perceive as the apprentice of the master but also the master's concience.

An excellent vintage and quite excellent indeed.

The DVD version is a little disappointing in that it delivers a full-screen format with a cleaner sound. Moreover Barrington Phelong's incidental music does not benefit from the transfer. It would certainly benefit from a remastering. The other additional features are minimal but did make me replay the Jeremy Brett version of Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sign of Four" shortly afterwards to find John Thaw in fine form. I am sure that Inspector Morse fans would appreciate the show even more if it was available in the widescreen format but I am afraid that that is unlikely.

Still, this remains an exceptional introduction to the Morse series and an absolute must have for one's fledling DVD collection.

Vintage Morse...
THE SILENT WORLD OF NICOLAS QUINN is about a man who works for a syndicate in Oxford England. The business of the syndicate is testing students in underdeveloped countries for the purpose of awarding degrees--one presumes from Oxford University as the syndicate members are all affilitated with various colleges of the university. At a reception for a dignitary from a Middle Eastern country, a hearing impaired professor named Nicholas Quinn reads the lips of two speakers and uncovers an awful truth--cheating is abroad. It seems some or all of the syndicate members are involved in a scam to "sell" test results by providing the answers to the questions beforehand. Quinn shares his concerns with a fellow member of the syndicate and is overheard, or his lips are read, or his confidant betrays him --the end result is murder. (Sherry, crossword puzzles, acrosstics, and ticket stubs for Marlon Brando's "Last Tango.." become important clues.)

The film is vintage Morse. The shots of Oxford are fabulous --some of the best. This episode was part of the set of stories used to introduced Morse to the American viewing public. John Thaw, who plays Inspector Morse, was born in 1942 and sadly died this past year. Colin Dextor ended the life of his character Inspector Morse about the same time--perhaps knowing the actor had cancer. The series always resonated with sadness and loss, but now the loss is real. Phelong Barrington's wonderful music beating out the no longer used Morse code adds to the angst.

The series was able to snare the best BBC actors and this episode is no exception. Mystery fans will recogize Kevin Whately as Lewis. Barbara Flynn, who played a private investigator in another Mystery presentation, plays a female don. Frederick Torres, who has been suspected of murder more than once and who fans of the "Jewel in the Crown" will know, also plays a don. Clive Swift, known to those who watch "Keeping up Appearances" as Richard Bucket (Bouquet) plays the head of the syndicate.

The DVD is a recording of the tape and is thus not top notch. This is the A&E version and A&E does not always do the best job. However, if you are a Morse fan, this is one of the best of the series, and unlike some of the later episodes was based on a book by Colin Dexter with the same title--so the plot is ingenious.

Exquisite!
This has grown to be my favourite Inspector Morse of the entire Morse series! The more I watch this the more enchanted I become with it uncovering little pieces each time. Exquisite indeed!

The murder is set in the arcane world of examiantion boards which were affiliated to some of England's major universities as arbiters of the academic development of students at ages 16 and 18. This obscure branch of academia is nonetheless an ivory tower existance disguising basic human failings of jealousy, greed etc.

When a relatively new examiner is found dead at home the detectives seem to be looking beyond the workplace but in the course of the investigation the examination board becomes the centre of attention.

Essential Morse has three main interests, his love of opera, his appreciation of real ale (microbrews in American parlance), and his fascination of crosswords. It is in the last of these that we find the core to this story. As always the story is composed like a crossword such that the clues must be solved before completing the case. Here, however, the crossword assumes a much greater role. One of the other examiners, and as such a suspect, turns out to be an intellectual hero of Morse, Daedalus, who sets a particu;arly challenging crossword which gives Morse great pleasure. The two men share similar interests and it becomes apparent that they have a similar view of the world. They become competitors in trying to resolve the case but only until Daedalus (played superbly by Michael Gough) is also murdered although he leaves some difficult clues behind.

Another dimension to this story is the love interest of examiner Monica. Again there is a crossword perspective. Morse is intrigued by the physical and intellectual beauty of this woman, but as usual he cannot solve the clues to understanding her. He is torn between his feelings for her as a person and the growing suspicion that she is somehow involved in the murders. Ultimately this conflict is only resolved when it is too late.

The plot twists and turns and has several blind allies but it is compulsive viweing and by the device of Daedelus we get to see a mirror image of Morse the man. Kevin Whately puts in another superb performance as the long suffering Lewis who we perceive as the apprentice of the master but also the master's concience.

An excellent vintage and quite excellent indeed. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Unlucky in love??......
Dear Inspector Endeavor Morse of the Thames Valley Police in Oxford England (the late John Thaw) is a good police officer. When he isn't dectecting, he's home listening to Wagner or Turandot on the phonograph and drinking whisky. On duty, he may often be found having a pint of dark bitter at a pub with Sgt. Lewis (Kevin Whately). Morse does have his problems with the opposite sex, however. He meets attractive women left and right, but they always seem to have a dark secret. Sooner or later, he is embroiled in their problems.

In THE DEAD OF JERICHO, Morse encounters the lovely Anne Stavely (Gemma Jones, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY) a fellow member of an Oxford community choir. One evening after choir rehearsal, Anne invites Morse back to her new flat in the recently gentrified Jericho section of Oxford. One thing leads to another, and soon Morse discovers Anne has troubling secrets she won't share with him.

The day of the choir concert, Anne does not show up. Morse drives to her flat only to discover Thames Valley Police SOCO (Scene of crime officers) at hand. Who killed the victim, or was it suicide? Who was the young man staying with Anne who kept a copy of "Oedipus Rex" beside his bed? And what about the nosy neighbor--did he see something he should tell the police? Morse soon steps into sticky ethical waters as he is no longer a disinterested bystander. His difficulties grow more complex by the hour as he discovers death, backmail, and other illicit activities in Jericho--all involving Anne.

This is an excellent DVD and a good recording of the original TV show. My DVD has a little documentary of the "Making of Morse" showing locations around Oxford. A definite plus for Anglophiles.

The best introduction to Morse
Not necessarily the best episode ever, this definitely gives you a good view of Morse's personality, and endears him to you immediately.

The first time I ever was arrested by Inspector Morse
One cold rainy night in England with nothing to do I turned on my television (only four channels available) and found a new show called Inspector Morse. I have always been a fan of the detective story in print and had read extensively in the genre. Similarly I was a great action buff, with one of my favorites being the Streets of San Francisco (I wonder why that is not available on tape or DVD?).

At first, the pace of the drama was slow and a little bit irritating but I recognised John Thaw from that superb action show, the "Sweeney" and Patrick Troughton as the irrepressible second Doctor Who. It did not take long before I was hooked by the simple device of trying to figure out whodunnit. Usually in these things, especially Columbo, it does not take that long to figure out but in this case it was clear that there were red herrings and little cul-de-sacs aplenty to intrigue the viewer.

The main character was often morose and grumpy, with no time for the trivia of life and did not bear fools gladly. Unlike most other shows, this Morse did not pander to popular culture, utilizing it to sell the show. Instead it was clearly aimed at a more highbrow audience yet through a medium that was often the subject of disdain in those circles.

Pretty soon the two hours of leisurely paced drama was over and that was IT. As I lived near Oxford I sought out the locations on my next visit. It took some time to digest the content of the drama over and above the story itself, the insider's view of the contradictions of the city of Oxford, the juxtaposition of town and gown etc.

But getting back to the story itself. This is more of a movie than a TV show. It is a gripping, compelling piece of police drama set against a backdrop of relative opulence and wealth as well as against a working class city background. It is a story of a dreaming city, of intellectuals and academics, a story of the mundane, of passions and secrets. It is the story of a man of Oxford and at once against the rituals and spectacle that the University has to offer.

At the end of this show, I came quietly. I have had the pleasure to have enjoyed every minute of Morse - being entertained and perplexed until the final moment when the killer is revealed.

This is a great introduction to a marvellous run. One last thought - how measured and appropriate the incidental music and theme are.

Full marks all round! ... Read more

Amazon.com

The ailing Jeremy Brett largely stepped aside for this 1996 radical reinvention of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story, which was based on a one-act play also written by Doyle and performed in 1921. Instead of Brett's Sherlock Holmes solving the crime, this time it is his brother, Mycroft (Charles Gray), ably assisted by Dr. John Watson (Edward Hardwicke). (Sherlock does show up from time to time in a dream-like refrain, thinking through some knotty problem in a moonlighted garden.) The plot concerns the theft of a great, yellow diamond from Whitehall, worth a 100,000 or so English pounds. Despite the absence of Brett from the main proceedings, the episode is still fun to watch, if largely out of curiosity to see Mycroft in action. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Problematic, but worth watching
The Granada series is full of top-quality productions, clearly done by people who loved Conan Doyle's stories and were willing to go the extra mile to make Victorian/Edwardian England come alive. As for the title character...as far as I'm concerned, that keen-eyed, black-clad man on the screen isn't Jeremy Brett at all, it's Sherlock Holmes incarnate. His Holmes is by turns brilliant, arrogant, mischievous, sneering, moody, insufferable, and kindhearted, and Brett earns high marks for making him both larger than life and touchingly - at times almost heartbreakingly - human.

If you're new to the series, however, "Mazarin Stone" is a terrible place to start. As other reviewers have noted, Brett's poor health kept him off-camera for about 95% of the film, and he leaves an unfillable hole. Edward Hardwicke (Dr. Watson) and Charles Gray (Holmes' brother Mycroft) are fine actors who do far more than just make Brett look good, but they can't carry an entire episode by themselves.

And yet...the Granada team deserves credit for their creative efforts to circumvent two major problems with this episode. The first was their source material; "Mazarin Stone" is widely regarded as the worst Sherlock Holmes story in the Canon. By filling in the plot with elements from another adventure ("The Three Garridebs"), they created a solid hybrid, making eminently watchable television out of a barely readable story.

The second problem, sadly, was Brett himself. Age and illness dimmed neither his acting ability nor his deft touch for the subtleties of Holmes' character, but after a certain point, they did keep him from looking the part. Holmes led a rough, unhealthy life, and he's not supposed to be good-looking, but he *is* supposed to be thin to the point of emaciation and relatively young - in his 30s and 40s at most. Brett was a slim and youthful 50 when he started in the role (if anything, he was too handsome for it back then), but as time passed, he aged and put on weight. I saw some of the later episodes on PBS in the early '90s and was underwhelmed; brilliant actor or no, he simply didn't look like the gaunt, high-strung sleuth I'd envisioned.

Keeping Brett off-camera, therefore, had its merits, and the manner in which it was done made the best of a bad situation. From his mysterious departure at the beginning of "Mazarin" to his dreamlike and dishevelled reappearance at its conclusion, the absent Holmes broods over the story like an enigmatic spectre. It's an interesting psychological effect, and one almost wishes Granada had taken the bold step of making the episode entirely posthumous - using it to show Holmes' continuing influence over the two men who knew him best and turning his quiet "Brother mine...bravo!" at the end into an eerie benediction. Overall, "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" is compelling not so much what it shows, but for what it doesn't.

A Sherlock Holmes case NOT solved by SHERLOCK HOLMES?
Granada's habbit of replacing the Holmes or Watson actors if they weren't available with Mycroft Holmes is half repeated here. Jeremy Brett (Sherlock Holmes) was ill, and therefore, in the beggining, he explaines to Watson that he must go on a trip, and therefore, he barely makes any appearenences until the end of the film. Watson is is called upon to help ind a man by the name of Garrideb (taken from the original story THE 3 GARRIDEBS), if he exists. Meanwhile, the lazy Mycroft is asked to find the Mazarain stone, recently stolen from a museum. A connection is found bettween the 2 cases and soon, Mycroft and Watson are working together. Not an overal bad film, but Holmes's abscence takes away some of the "quality", shall we say?

A Holmes curiosity
A Holmes episode without Sherlock? Unthinkable, it would seem, but somehow this reworking of two Conan Doyle stories (The Three Garridebs and The Mazarin Stone) comes together reasonably well, thanks largely to the charisma of Charles Gray, and a trio of amusing supporting players in the roles of the three Garrideb siblings. Edward Hardwicke is also on hand to lend solid support as Watson, and provides this episode with much-needed continuity in the absence of the incomparable Jeremy Brett. The latter does appear briefly at the beginning and the end, and his presence curiously permeates the entire episode. Brett's scenes were filmed at a later stage when he was in better health, and the previous reviewer is quite incorrect in stating that this was his final outing as Holmes. The series actually concluded with The Cardboard Box, filmed a month after The Mazarin Stone, and featuring a memorable performance from Jeremy Brett.

The End
From the short story generally agreed to be Arthur Conan Doyle's worst -- ta-da! -- it's the worst (and last) of the Jeremy Brett series. In fact, you should be warned that Brett, clearly a dying man, only appears at the end of this episode to cry out "Bravo, Brother!" or some such nonsense, after an hour of lame deductions and absurd melodramatics from Charles Grey as Mycroft and Edward Hardwicke as Watson... A travesty and a sad note to end a fine series on.

Something different
Some fans of the great Brett films will be disappointed in that Holmes does not appear in this film, but rather his brother Mycroft fills in. Furthermore, the script is a curious attempt to combine two entirely separate Doyle stories. And yet, somehow it's all enjoyable, as Mycroft is good fun and there's a palpable atmosphere throughout. ... Read more

Description

The sublime chemistry between Diana Rigg (as Mrs. Emma Peel) andPatrick Macnee (as John Steed), along with the juxtaposition of Steed’s old worldgentlemanliness with Mrs. Emma Peel’s wealthy jet-set kinkiness, led many Americanviewers to ask the Big Question: Did they or didn’t they?Our lips are sealed. "Return Of The Cybernauts"First aired 15 June, 1967 The deadly Cybernauts -- self-aware robot assassins -- are back.More formidable thanever, they’re still no match for mere flesh-and-blood Avengers.Dr. Beresford (PeterCushing) exposes Steed’s jealous streak by playing Casanova to the "delectable" Mrs.Peel. Directed by Robert Day, Written by Philip Levene. "Death’s Door"First aired 7 June, 1967 Nightmares come true when an enemy agent uses dream-influencing drugs to disrupt adiplomatic conference.Emma and Steed soon bid their plans goodnight.Always readyto improvise, Steed outdoes himself in "Death’s Door" with a makeshift wood-and-stonefirearm. Directed by Sidney Hayers, Written by Philip Levene. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Emma Becomes A Puppet - Steed Cuts the Strings
"Return of the Cybernauts" is just what a sequel to a great success should be - exactly the same, but completely different. Emma is wooed by urbane sophisticate Paul Beresford, who, unbeknownst to anyone, is actually the brother of cybernaut creator Dr. Armstrong, who perished in an accident Beresford blames on Emma and Steed. Beresford utilizes one of Armstrong's cybernaut robots to abduct a small number of Britain's leading scientists, coercing them to create the most evil torture possible in order that Beresford might savor his revenge. One of them devises a wristwatch that commandeers its wearer's nervous system, in essence turning them into a remote-control robot, and Beresford - seething cad that he is - of course intends to use it on Emma.

This episode benefits tremendously from the casting of Hammer mainstay star Peter Cushing as Beresford, and some of the best wit in the series. Steed has his funniest-ever line, when the sadistic Beresford superiorly sneers about all the qualities of his soul-wresting watch, retorting with a smile, "But does it tell good time?" The story is quite clever, in the sense that the new cybernaut menace isn't the robots at all, but the threat of being able to take over the mind and body of people and make robots out of them - yet it retains the use of the actual mechanical man from the original story, for continuity. Gorgeous color photography, great performances (especially from Rigg and Cushing), and a brisk, witty script make this one of The Avengers' all-time best.

"Death's Door" may be considered merely a bonus, on this tape. It's a not-bad semi-rehash of the previous year's "Too Many Christmas Trees." A peace conference is being ruined by the primary delegates' seeming psychic foreknowledge of disasters to come - all of which are, of course, being stage-managed by nefarious outside parties. It's too contrived to be believable, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun.

Return of cybernauts is a return to terror
(5 stars) Writer Philip Levene surpassed his original cybernauts story in this sequel. Peter Cushing is a charming businessman who has ingratiated himself with Steed and Emma while he secretly plots to destroy them. He is Armstrong's brother. Steed is jealous of Beresford's attentions to Emma. "We know nothing against Paul," Emma says mildly. "I'm sure I can think of something if I try," mutters a jealous Steed. Beresford kidnaps terrorized scientists. One would think that such brilliant men would quickly devise a way to foil a cyberanut or escape but only one tries. Cushing gives a memorable performance as a man who secretly hates Steed and Emma but finds her very attractive. "That," he tells his hostage scientists,"is the very delectable Emma Peel." The suspense builds as Beresford schemes to physically enslave them. Great final fight scene and Beresford succombs to the same fate as his ruthless brother. Death's door is a 3 star episode. British politicans are haunted by premonitions of death. Steed and Emma try to guard one nervous politician who later dies of fright. Far less suspenseful than Cybernauts because British diplomats are being menaced. Some of the 1967 scripts were flatter than the 1965-1966 episodes- they lacked mystery and complexity. One misses the variety of Tony Williamson (Too Many Christmas Trees), Roger Marshall (Dial a Deadly Number/girl from Auntie), Malcolm Hulke (The Gravediggers). This one had no humor. Viewing the Avengers it is understanable why Diana Rigg left in 1967. She wisely left while the series was still at the top. ... Read more

Amazon.com

John Steed and Emma Peel are paired off with their Russian counterparts in "The Correct Way to Kill," a Brian Clemens story in which a finishing school called Snob is churning out English gentlemen outfitted exactly like Steed and providing cover for murder. A good episode but not a great one, although one gets to see Mrs. Peel fencing, and the understated satire on Steed's British conformism is fun. Philip Levene wrote the second show on this tape, "Never, Never Say Die," in which computerized duplicates of brainy scientists and others are causing some havoc. The best part of the show is the setup, in which a corpse walks out of a mortuary and--despite being shot, hit by a car, and electrocuted--keeps on with its rampage. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Correct Way to Kill features charming killers
3 stars for clemmens rewritten Correct Way to Kill. The episode has the usual delightful teaser and tag between Steed and Emma. A 3rd Organization threatens to kill the opposition. They feature polite, impeccably dressed British assassins. But they don't work fo MI5 or any other branch. Ivan looks with disbelief when Steed offers him the temporary services of his beautiful partner. "She is your choice?" he says in disbelief. Steed is partnered with a humorless Russian female agent Olga. The usual pitiless murders- a good natured innocent who tests umbrellas in showers. NOt a witty script and it does start to drag. Patrick MacNee acknowledged in one interview that the series was written out. These scripts reflect that. There is the fun tag of Steed having gone out the night before with Olga- he quotes statistics on female engineers, female doctors. "It was highly informative but-" "It lacked a certain burgeois decadence." smiles his charming partner Emma. Great closer! Never Never Say die ranks as the most dreadful color script of the Rigg/Macnee series. I dislike Who's Who and The See Through Man. I became so bored with Never Never Say Die I began to read about the Avengers and skip it. Rigg has the best line at the beginning. "Where's the body?" she asks in disappointment. "There's always a body." Very little body to this writing. The Living Dead is better than Never Never say die. It is a one star episode. The unjustly bashed Avengers movie was better than The New Avengers, better than the awfully Tara/Steed shows, and far superior to : Never, Never Say die, Epic,See through man, or Murdersville, or Correct Way to Kill. Rigg is always wonderful- witty, brilliant, and MacNee is charming as his suave partner. But they missed Roger Marshall's scripts, Malcolm Hulke's, John Lucarotti. clemmenms repeats from Cybernauts but this one is dull with no charm save the opening scenes of Christopher Lee and wonderful Diana Rigg. I think clemmens borrowed from a 1920s play RUR- when scientists create robots- the robots are more human than their creators and kill them and take over the world. If he had followed that plot more clsely it would have added some excitement to a truly dreadful dull scipt. This is worse than epic! Never NEver say die is a one star snoozer after the first 10 minutes. The film the Avengers despite a dreadful director and botched editing rose far above such dead TV scripts. ... Read more

Description

John Steed’s impeccable charm and Mrs. Peel’s imperturbable calmwere the essence of "cool" to fans of THE AVENGERS in the 1960s and beyond.Incertain episodes, however, the greatest fun can be found in watching a villain chip awayat their impervious personae.Traps, tricks and mind-control were all in a day’s work forTHE AVENGERS. "The Joker"First aired 11 April, 1967 A vengeful escaped lunatic plays a deadly game with Mrs. Peel, unaware she always hasan ace up her sleeve: Steed!Trapping Emma with an amorous and amoral villain was anoft-used but always effective plot device of THE AVENGERS. Directed by Sidney Hayers, Written by Brian Clemens. "Who’s Who?"First aired 18 April, 1967 When an enemy trades the minds of Steed and Mrs. Peel with those of its own top agents,it takes THE AVENGERS to give the enemy a permanent identity crisis.Must see: theantics of the "evil" hip-swinging, gum-chewing Mrs. Peel and swaggering, cigar-smokingSteed. Directed by John Moxley, Written by Philip Levene. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A great show
Sally Nesbitt makes a great guest appearance as the loony Ona in the nail-biting 'The Joker'.

Emma is terrorized by a past convict she helped to put into prison and now wants her dead. She ends up in a horribly dank old mansion with Ona, a seemingly mentally disturbed young woman who prattles on over nothing.

Emma hears old German jazz tunes and roses keep appearing wherever she ventures in the house. As Steed rushes down to save Emma, he fears he may be too late to get to the leggy Mrs Peel.

Top stuff!

Joker evokes sinister country house atmosphere
Diana Rigg as the poised Mrs. Peel is lured to a country house in an isolated spot. Steed feels he is doing a kindness by not warning her that a sinister German criminal, Prendergast, has escaped. Since Emma was influential in trapping him, leading to his arrest and imprisonment, Steed's friend suggests she be warned... Recurring Joker motifs- Joker playing card on door, multiple copies of one record, a figure that spies on Emma through a peep hole. Rigg conveys Emma's assurance and confidence, then her growing despair when she realizes she is locked in with a faceless murderer who has left her a corpse, cut the telephone wires, taken the door key. It is suitably claustrophobic and suspenseful. Who's who is less interesting, a 2 star episode. One of the stars was ill, the other on vacation so one gets a Steed and Mrs. Peel script with Steed and Mrs. Peel missing through much of the show! There is one teasingly kinky moment. Steed and Emma have been transplanted into different, more common bodies and enemy agents have appropriated theirs.

Emma succeeds in transferring herself back -only to be attacked by Steed who is sure the female enemy agent resides in Emma's body. "If you're not convinced....." She whispers something in his ear. "Oh, Mrs. Peel," The tag of Steed and Mrs. Peel has a great closing line. "One should never take a man for granted (she says of Steed)....but one does!" The producers should never have taken the sublime pairing of Diana Rigg and Patrick MacNee for granted and assumed that ANy female actress would be as good. The show was never as well acted or written after she left. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Morse at his best, part two
The Inspector Morse series is one of the greatest in detective drama. While Colin Dexter's books are marvels of intricate (and occasionally bizarre) plot twists, the movies focus more on the characters involved...and in this movie (and "Who Killed Harry Field") especially so. The mystery is good, but the kinship between Morse and chief suspect Michael Steppings is best thing about this particular episode. It's one of those great films where the bad guys and good guys seem to have reversed roles, and the whole mystery hinges on one small slip...#2 on the list of the five greatest Morses! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

With a provocative swat on her leather-clad bottom, John Steed (Patrick Macnee) first clashes swords with his new partner, Mrs. Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), in "The Town of No Return," the episode that launched the fourth season of The Avengers. "Town" begins on a characteristically surreal note as a figure emerges from the sea in what looks like a giant Hefty bag. Out pops an impeccably dressed gent who notes to a nonplussed fisherman, "Looks like rain," which brings us to Bazeley by the Sea, a quaint but odd village where four agents have disappeared. Will Steed and Mrs. Peel be numbers five and six? Like one of the treats Steed offers Peel on their Bazeley-bound train, this episode is "a marzipan delight." In "The Gravediggers," Steed and Mrs. Peel dig up a sinister plot to sabotage Britain's radar defense system. But this doesn't quite explain how Mrs. Peel finds herself tied to a train track with a miniature locomotive chugging toward her! Both episodes are in glorious black and white. Volumes 1, 2, and 3 are also available together in The Avengers '65 Set 1. --Donald Liebenson ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Steed Takes A Train - Emma Rides the Rail
The first of the Diana Rigg episodes are among the best of the entire series.

"The Gravediggers" is a straightforward espionage story, marked by The Avengers' usual oddball elements and formula. The local cemetery is somehow being used to jam signals, and Steed and Emma have to sort it out. An eccentric old man who builds oversize train sets is in the middle of it, and Steed has to rescue a bound-to-the-tracks Emma in a humorously exciting finale.

"The Town Of No Return" is a great story, in which an isolated seaside town is being used by a foreign power to infiltrate Britain with fifth-column invaders. The setup is good, the payoff better. The Avengers find themselves going literally underground, to break it all up.

Return with the Avengers to the Town of No Return!
Town of No Return is the Avegers at its best. The initial scene of a plastic bag emerging from the sea, a man popping out of it matter of factly directed to the town by a fisherman is priceless.

Emma fencing with Steed is delightful. He proceeds to criticize her fencing technique, she challenges him to a match...

Anyone who objected to Steed kissing Emma Peel once during the film must be extraordinarly innocent. In one scene in this episode Steed comes to Emma's bedroom at night. "Isn't it time you were in bed?" he asks her, separated from touching her only by the bottle he clutches. She nods.

The black and white episode mixes the supposedly normal- the pub, the church, the school with a tense sense of menace. A friendly man returns to look up his brother,the village blacksmith, and is stalked by locals bearing guns who track him with dogs! Delightful opening scene of Steed and Mrs. Peel and a nice contrast of the hiden menace beneath the seemingly peaceful small town where four agent mysteriously vanished.

The second episode is even more delightful -mixing a charming eccentric elderly man devoted to railroads who has his own miniature railroad that he rides, undertakers who rush about in a hearse, clad in black top hats and tails. In addition, they book their funerals four to six weeks in advance! The mock up of the operating scene is very funny. "Scapel!" calls the surgeon. "Blowtorch." Blowtorch? The climactic finale of Emma, tied to a train track, Steed battling two villains to the thumping piano accompaniment (spoofing silent films) is a pure delight. The second one contrasts with the grimmer mood of the first. Well worth returning to again and again! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Best of the Bunch
The very best Morse ever. The riddle: why do you hide a body so carefully that no one can ever find it, and then leave the victim's bookbag carelessly along the side of the road?

Wonderful !!!
I am lucky in that I used to live in Oxford, so when I watch Morse I know exactly where He is but the filming of this took place mostly in Whytham Woods, a place very near to where I lived but only visited once. I also am aquainted with the real people the main roles were based on. I got so sucked into the plot that I half belived it was the real people I know that were the villians!! For me this film is a " must see" but then all morse films in my view are "to die for"! ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you are a new Avengers fan, these two classic black-and-white episodes are the perfect introduction to the beloved British series that combined espionage with science fiction. "The Cybernauts" was the first episode to air in the United States. Steed and Mrs. Peel are up against automated assassins made by an inventor who plots to create an electronic dictatorship. A highlight is an elegantly dressed Mrs. Peel's karate fight. In "Death at Bargain Prices," Steed and Mrs. Peel once again find extraordinary goings-on in the most ordinary places, in this case a department store that serves as a front for madman tycoon Horatio Kane's biggest takeover bid yet--of London (he has rigged the store with a nuclear device). Mrs. Peel works undercover as a clerk, prompting Steed's priceless line, "I asked where to find you and was told, 'Our Mrs. Peel is in ladies' underwear.' I rattled up the stairs three at a time." This episode was directed by Charles Crichton, who directed A Fish Called Wanda. Volumes 1, 2, and 3 are also available in The Avengers '65 Set 1. --Donald Liebenson ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Steed Plays With Toys - Emma Tests Her Metal
"The Cybernauts" is the quintessential Avengers episode, the most famous of the series and deservedly so. If you're new to the series, this is the best story to start out on. It has all the elements the show became so famous for - science-fictional story, a flamboyantly bizarre evil mastermind, good suspense, and playful banter between the two principals. Michael Gough is an electronics whiz, who kills off his competition by means of one of his lesser inventions - a simple steel robot named "Roger," who he releases as a guided missile. How the robot homes in on its target is more the mystery than the fact that a robot is responsible for the killings. This episode works in every way, except that the early red-herring of trying to blame a karate expert isn't much of a red-herring, today - but even that gives Mrs. Peele an excuse to strut her stuff in the dojo. Gough is famous for playing evil English cads, and is at his best, here. The robots (yes, there is more than one) are brilliantly designed in minimalist fashion, making them all the creepier.

"Death At Bargain Prices" is also one of the better Avengers entries, with Steed and Mrs. Peele investigating a curious murder at a department store, which they suspect may have something to do with a missing atomic scientist - of course, they're right. Why is a missing atomic scientist connected to a department store murder? Well, that's the fun of finding out, then, isn't it? With special guest cameo appearances by Yogi Bear and Doctor Who's arch-enemies, the Daleks. A good time is to be had by all.

Rush to your local murdered agent missing atomic scientist department store, and buy this double-great tape, double-quick.

Death at Bargain Prices is a bargain at any price!
Death at Bargain Prices is superbly directed by Charles Crichton. MacNee and Rigg deliver top notch performances. After Steed teases her "I was told 'Our Mrs. Peel is in lady's underwear' I rattled up the steps three at a time."

"Merry quips Department, 3rd floor," says an unruffled Emma. She retaliates by telling Steed that a retired industrialist lives on the top floor. "Department of discontinued lines, you should fit right in," she retorts, fingering the lapel of his less than stylish suit. The script is witty and Crichton builds the suspense of a department store with sinister goings on. The music helps build a sense of menace. One pricless scene involves Emma and Steed tracking a Sunday store receipt, a clue from a murdered agent (the store was closed Sunday) to the unnamed department. The saleslady in infant's assumes they are a married couple and that Emma is pregnant. "I can tell you're a proud father to be" she ringingly tells a nonplused Steed. Cybernauts is a 3 star script, overrated and not interesting. Emma has a great fight scene with a young female karate expert, and she and Steed tangle with killer Cybernauts and deranged, power mad scientists. This script has no red herrings or surprise villains. Far inferior to Town of No Return, Dial a Deadly Number, Brimstone, and HOney for the Prince.

Death at Bargain Prices is well worth the price of purchase. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Time Capsule Morse
If there was any program that got the closest to reflecting correctly life in Britain during the 80s and 90s, it was Inspector Morse.

While "Masonic Mysteries" and "Last Seen Wearing" are probably the best of the mysteries, "Cherubim and Seraphim" is the one that captures the British 80s/90s Zeitgeist best. The direction of this program is as good as any well-done British thriller.

It was end of an era. Now you'll understand Peter Hitchens.

A Mystery Which Hits [Morse] Close to Home
"Cherubim & Seraphim", the second Inspector Morse episode to be directed by Danny Boyle (the other was "Masonic Mysteries"; an episode which literally hits Morse close to home!), who's the well-renowned director behind such feature-films as Trainspotting and The Beach, and features his trademark directorial style, deviates from the norm in terms of the way in which the plot unfolds: unlike other Morse episodes, instead of being a conventional - or not-so, in some cases - whodunit, all along the audience knows who the guilty party is, à la Columbo. The culprit in this case is the procurer of ecstasy-like drugs, played by Jason Isaacs [The Patriot], in yet another evil role. The script centers around the fact three youths have died by suicidal means and, as we find out, had all been partaking, days anterior to their deaths, in the aforementioned drug. The youths' walls were adorned posters in their rooms containing computer-generated patterns which represent the "Chaos Theory" (e.g. if a butterfly is beating its wings somewhere, there will be a hurricane somewhere else, and these two seemingly unrelated events are in fact interrelate), which Sgt. Lewis is more that happy to explain to Morse; and they were all in the same type of eclectic dance music. It's one of the more personal Inspector Morse episodes, as one of the deceased youths happens to be Morse's step-niece; it also shows how out of touch Morse is with contemporary youth culture (drugs/sex/music) and children in general. For instance, when Morse stops by the school to interview his step-niece's best friend who was the last person to see her alive, he unwittingly stumbles in to her euphemistically-titled "Personal & Social Development" class just when the teacher is asking a student if he knows what the contraceptive device she's holding in her hand is. He's taken aback by the mere fact that they're having a teacher-student discussion, no less a class, about sex in school. In this episode, Morse reveals some of his past secrets to Lewis, whom he addresses, in a rarely captured televised moment, by his first name ("Robbie"). Three of the revelations include how his parents frequently fought and their subsequent brake-up, one of his low points as a morose 15-year-old, and the roots of the acrimonious relationship he continues to have with his step-mother. Definitely one of the best Morse films for catching a glimpse into his upbringing. Even the dance-oriented music in this episode, which incorporates classical music into its medley, is really well done. Overall it's another superlative self-contained film featuring Chief Inspector Morse. ... Read more

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"Now that you've seen me, what do you think?" a gentleman inquires of his blind date. She pulls out a gun and fires. This typically provocative prologue sets the stage for a killer episode from the fourth season of The Avengers. John Steed and Emma Peel become clients of Togetherness, an exclusive marriage bureau that also traffics in assassinations. This episode is of note for reportedly being the first in which Diana Rigg portrayed Mrs. Peel. Her character engages in some un-Emmalike behavior, such as when she argues angrily with Steed and later gets tipsy on a bottle of champagne. But all is forgiven with the scene in which she lists her criteria for a husband, among them "stamina." One intriguing question: Did the character of the fashion photographer ("Fabulous, baby, yeah") inspire Mike Myers's Austin Powers?

"A Surfeit of H20" has been ranked by one Avengers-appreciation Web site as among the top five of the Mrs. Peel era. This intoxicating episode really pours it on, with vintage witty dialogue, assorted crackpot characters, and, of course, a diabolical madman--a vintner who is flooding the countryside with his own manmade rain.--Donald Liebenson ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Murder Market proves that marriage is murder!
Murder Market was the first Avengers episode Diana Rigg filmed. Emma is younger, more vulnerable, but displays confidence in her physical skills and knowledge which would become hallmarks of the character.

Emma's description of Steed's perfect mate: "Lucrezia Borgia with a bit of Joan of Arc!" The villain had a personal motive for dispatching one of the seven murdered men. Neat surprise on who is the director and the motive for Stone's murder.

Steed asks Emma:Isn't time you thought of marrying again?" She chokes on her drink. Humor wise this one gets two stars. Not as witty as Honey for the Prince or A touch of Brimstone.

A surfeit of water gets two stars. A white haired eccentric predicts the end of the world. "Build your arc!" This one has no plot twists or subtlty. Steed and Emma investigate Granny Gregson's glorious grogs. Best line, Emma, strapped to a wine press, has listened to the ravings of the demented scientist, "You diabolical mastermind you." Frankly, the movie, The Avengers, was better than the episode A surfeit of H2O or Murder Market. Some people remember the series through some kind of misty, romantic haze. Some episodes were great, others merely fair. ... Read more

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This volume contains two must-own episodes from the fourth, and arguably best, season of The Avengers. The unsettling first half of "The Hour That Never Was" plays like something out of The Twilight Zone. Royal Air Forces Camp 472 in Hamelin is splitting up, and John Steed may be cracking up. He and Mrs. Peel emerge from an auto wreck to find the air base deserted, all the clocks stopped at 11, an unconscious rabbit, and a dead milkman. When Steed returns to the air base, a reunion party with all the previously missing men is in full swing. Nitrous oxide gives the climactic fight with a diabolical dentist a goofy spin.

In "Dial a Deadly Number," six "dynamic, indispensable" company chairmen have suddenly keeled over. Who ya gonna call? Steed and Mrs. Peel, who make a connection between the untimely deaths, a "bleeper" (pager) pocket pen, and Fitch, a sinister "backroom boy" and mechanical genius. The umbrella-toting Steed actually fires a gun in this episode. The most taut suspense is reserved for the scene in which Steed engages in a duel of palates at a wine tasting. To paraphrase one character, do not deprive yourself of this video's company. --Donald Liebenson ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Emma Visits the Dentist - Steed Drills Him
"Dial A Deadly Number" is usually considered one of the better Avengers stories - I would agree, if it were one of the preceding Honor Blackman series entries, but it's extremely atypical (and, to my thinking, static and unsatisfying) for the Diana Rigg years. Steed uses a gun, which was more common in the Blackman cycle and all but unheard of in the Rigg stories. This one is a simple melodrama, not memorable in most regards. It isn't so much that it's a bad story, rather that it just doesn't gel all that well with the rest of the Mrs. Peele series.

"The Hour That Never Was" is one of the more typical semi-science-fictional stories the Rigg years were more famous for, and a fairly satisfying one at that. Steed and Emma find themselves missing an hour of time, after he swerves to avoid a dog in the road while on his way to an RAF reunion. The base hosting the reunion is abandoned, though there are signs of recent habitation. When Steed manages to find the other guests, they seem to be suffering mental fugues - especially when an eerie, high-pitched whine occasionally sounds in the vicinity. It all has something to do with the dentist's office... "Hour" is rather like a Twilight Zone episode, with an espionage story payoff.

An uneven pair, but worth the price of admission.

Dial a deadly number and order the video!
Roger Marshall, like Philip Levene, wrote the best Avengers scripts. Deadly Number has complex, intelligent characters, a red herring, a sinister, kinky killer who confronts Emma at gunpoint. Admiring her beauty, he tells her as his hand caresses her, that it "would be a sin to mar that skin (with a lethal injection, his current method of assassination)." He promises to kill her with "scientic tenderness" confessing that he has never killed a woman before. The script has a suspenseful wine-tasting party, an exciting attempt to kill Steed, and splendid final battle in the same wine cellar. Unlike Clemeons, Marshall saw women as intelligent, complex,independent and strong. He has a female villain, her counterpoint, the always resourceful Emma, and a nifty closer as Emma teases Steed by immitating his performance at the wine tasting party. Worth every penny, and well worth viewing again and again because of Marshall's research and witty dialogue!

Hour that Never Was has a great opening scene of Steed crashing his car to avoid a dog. He and Emma enter the airbase, about to close today, on foot. All the people are missing. They find a car with gasoline being put in, gasoline flooding the car and pavement, a deserted milk float, a room decorated for the party to commemorate the closing of the base. But all of Steed's frieds are missing. Where have the people gone? A terrified milkman runs away from the lookout box and is mercilessly gunned down. When Steed and Mrs. Peel separate, she too disappears. All Steed finds is her watch. Suspenseful, great final fight as Steed and Emma take on the baddies. The best Avengers episodes are from the 1965-1966 years. Although 1967 boasted some great scripts: Escape in Time, the Joker, Superlative Seven, winged Avenger later the best writers left the show: Roger Marshall and Philip Levene.Consequently, 1967 shows have flat characters, little plot and none of the complexity, humor or intelligence of Malcolm Hulke (the Gravediggers), Tony Willliamson (Too Many Christmas trees)Warshall or Levene's scripts. This cassette was a delight and well worth viewing again and again. Top notch acting, direction and writing. Well worth the price of purchase!

One of the Best Avengers i have seen!
these two particular episodes are great, because the humor is wonderful and there is still the mystery in them. I enjoyed them very much and watch them often. If your an Avenger fan these two are a must buy. ... Read more

Amazon.com

One of the most interesting stories from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes canon makes for a particularly taut and exciting episode in the Granada Television series about the famous detective. Holmes (the outstanding Jeremy Brett) and Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke) are summoned by the desperate founder of an exclusive prep school for boys to locate the missing son of a duke. The investigation uncovers a nefarious plot, and the major clue (a controversial one at the time Doyle wrote the story) involves nothing more than the direction of bicycle tracks. The suspense never lets up in this excellent program, and Brett and Hardwicke are at their best.--Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (4)

We love it
When Sherlock Holmes finds a distraught school-master barging into his room, it's the start of his involvement in the disappearance of the son of the famed Duke of Holdernesse's son. But, the Duke's aversion to any publicity necessitates that Holmes keep a low profile. What are the Duke's real concerns, and what has happened to the German master who disappeared the same night? There's a deep mystery here, and only Sherlock Holmes can get to the bottom of it!

Every once in a while, an actor comes along who not only plays the role of Sherlock Holmes, but actually redefines the role. In 1984, veteran actor Jeremy Brett (1933-95) actually did it yet again! This fifty-minute episode, the Priory School, was episode six of the third season, and originally aired on August 13, 1986. (By the way, if you like Jeremy Brett, you can see him in an entirely different role in My Fair Lady (1964) as Freddie Eynsford-Hill!)

I loved this tape and think that any fan of Sherlock Holmes, or just plain fan of mysteries, will love it, too. My family and I highly recommend it to you!

Favorite
Excellent plot, acting and setting. The characters are well defined and acted - even the uncouth innkeeper is memorable. The school's setting, the lonely moors, the Duke's splendid home - all combine to create great atmosphere. It is well photographed and the plot is convoluted enough to hold the attention and keep the mind busy to the end. Jeremy Brett and Edwarde Hardwicke at their best.

An excellent version
I'm 25 and have enjoyed this series and the stories since I was about 10. While this dramatization isn't totally faithful to the original by Conan Doyle, I'm still not sure if I enjoy the episode or the story better! Nevertheless it is one of my favorite in the TV series and I recommend it to any Holmes fan or even those who like a good mystery. An excellent hour to spend.

A fine show, but they changed the story.
This beautifully photographed and acted episode has atmosphere to spare, but I wish they had left in the original ending where Holmes grossly overcharges his client after the man insults him! Holmes, and Lord Holdernesse, are much more sympathetic characters in this adaptation.

At least they cut the nonsense about the bicycle tires that marred the original tale....

Edward Hardwicke is excellent as Watson and this is one episode where the contrast between the practical (and frequently hungry) Doctor and the cerebral and imperious Detective is particularly well established. ... Read more

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Worth the price of purchase alone is this volume's bonus episode, "Too Many Christmas Trees," which one Avengers-appreciation Web site ranks as the best Emma Peel episode of all time. This "fascinating exercise" (to quote one devilish character) concerns a psychic experiment that gives John Steed deadly nightmares that are coming true. Among the many highlights is the girl of our dreams, Mrs. Peel, helping Steed open his Christmas cards ("Who is Boofums?"). Listen for the in-joke reference to Rigg's predecessor, Honor Blackman, who left the series to star in Goldfinger. Regarding the card from Mrs. Gale, Blackman's character, Steed ponders, "What can she be doing in Fort Knox?" And the sight of Mrs. Peel costumed as Oliver Twist may also cause some sleepless nights!

This volume also contains "The Man-Eater of Surrey Green," a bit of straight-faced silliness about, yes, a man-eating plant from outer space.More down-to-earth is "Two's a Crowd," in which "king of the spies" Colonel Pesev (pronounced "Zev") comes to town. Patrick Macnee does extra duty as Steed and his double, a fashion model ("wearing slacks built for action") named Webster, who is recruited by the Russians to infiltrate a vital meeting of the defense chiefs. Will the unwitting Mrs. Peel be able to tell the difference between the two? --Donald Liebenson ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Steed Vs. Santa Claus - Emma Gets the Dickens
Two of the best Avengers.

"Too Many Christmas Trees" is both an Avengers favorite and one of its classics. Steed is plagued by recurring nightmares of a colleague's death, which later happens exactly as he dreamed it. Emma invites him to lighten his grief at a friend's Charles Dickens-themed Christmas party, and Steed begins having more prescient dreams - this time, foretelling his own demise. A very nasty Santa Claus is in the middle of it all, and Steed ultimately squares off against the evil St. Nick in a hall of mirrors. This episode benefits from gorgeous photography and costumes, and even more impressive nightmarish surreal sets.

For some reason I've never been able to fathom, "The Man-Eater of Surrey Green" always gets short shrift from reviewers, when it's really a very well-done episode all round. The answer may simply be in the fact that some people don't like sci-fi in the series - though sci-fi is largely what made it popular. (Go figure.) "Man-Eater" is a dark and atmospheric story about a mind-controlling space plant that germinates on Earth after finding its way here via a crashed returning manned space vehicle. Steed battles the villainous vegetable - and Emma becomes one, as the plant gets its tendrils into her finely-muscled fighter's body, to combat Steed.

Both these episodes are fine examples of The Avengers at its black-and-white atmospheric best.

Too Many Christmas Trees Can't Be Seen too often!
5 stars for Brian Clemons "Too Many Christmas Trees". Steed is having surreal nightmares- paper cutout forests, a bizarre present a picture of himself, a nasty Father Christmas- not only does he dream a fellow agent is found dead- the agent is found dead under mysterious circumstances that morning. The usual wit pervades. Emma and Steed attend a Christmas houseparty in the country. She admires Steed's four poster bed. "I've always fancied myself in one of these." "So have I," Steed says fervently! Clemons balances associations of Christmas: Christmas cards, Christmas trees and presents with a sense of menace. The Dickensian host immitates a reformed Ebenezer Scrooge, and costumed Dickens characters represent some nasty villains. Emma suspects Steed is about to be drugged. When she appeals to a psychiatrist for help he pulls a gun on her. Naturally Emma knocks him unconscious and proudly tells Steed that she knocked him out. "He's on our side!" "You might have told me!" Delightfully sinister battle in an eerie room of distorting mirrors: Emma saves Steed's life and he returns the favor. This episode is sublime. The other two are dreadful and mediocre. "ManEater of Surrey Green " concerns a man eating plant. It's wacky and strange but not funny. "Two's a crowd" is a weak script with Steed and a sleazy imposter. The only Avengers twist is that 4 sinister Russian agents, a secret agent whom no one knows what he looks like, use children's toy weapons to kill others- a toy submarine fires real bullets and a large model airplane drops mini bombs. "Trees" is first rate - mixing the charming and sinister- one of Clemons best scripts. "Maneater" and "Two's a Crowd" are dreadfully boring. The Avengers film with Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman, despite botched editing and a director obsessed with special effects instead of character and story, was far better than those bombs. Diana Rigg and Patrick MacNee always do their best. But why Crowd and ManEater were ever accepted for Avengers scripts is puzzling. The producers should have had writers Malcolm Hulke (toy train AVengers 1965) and Roger Marshall (Silent Dust, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station) write more scripts. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

More than just a who-done-it
The highlight of this episode is Phyllis Logan. She does a good job of being an ordinary person. You never "see" Lady Felsham in her character. One amusing part of the story is the ceaseless lampooning of academia using the theme of fund raising at Oxford. The basic detective story involves multiple murders and the ways the murderers use to escape justice or receive it themselves by what could be judged as divine guidance of the affairs of mortals.

Morse vs The Women
"The Daughters of Cain" is one of the most clever of all Inspector Morse's adventures. Not only is he up against three women with a deadly purpose, he is somewhat sidetracked by the seductive one of the trio, Ms. Kay Brooks. The mature Morse pitted against a gorgeous girl "on the game" who is half his age? We have lots of sidelines (all of which fit nicely with the plot) like the political correctness of university fundraising, a teenage hoodlum in love, drug dealing, a terminal illness, spousal abuse, and the Ashmolean in danger of being burglarized! This one is sexy and cool, expertly delivered. And no one can express disillusionment (and touch our hearts) like the forthright Sergeant Lewis.

Women Outsmart Morse
The beauty of this story is that Morse acknowledges he is being outwitted by three interesting women. The plot starts in such a simple way with an unlikely friendship between a cleaning lady and a teacher. When it progresses to include a high priced girl "on the game", Morse becomes entranced as well as baffled. Everything works here - the writing, the directing, the acting. Morse is intrigued and so are we. Our wonderfully honorable Sergeant Lewis struggles with the politics of police work, disillusioned and hurting. Thaw and Watley have excellence to work with in this episode and they pull it off with exceptional skill.

Daughters of Cain
A thoroughly well-crafted and intriguing mystery. Though the focus is on "payback" by women, the wonders of figuring out how and when the deadly deed was committed, make for a great film-watching journey for any Morse or mystery lover. Performances are especially well-given and the cast is a little larger than usual. I especially liked the Shakespearean themes interwoven. The Lady MacBeth touches are irresistible. If you like good plotting this is for you. There's always a side story going on about the lives of Morse and Lewis. In this one, Lewis faces some career challenges. ... Read more