Rodney's Reviews
Page 11 of 42

Dial a Deadly Number
By Rodney Marshall

One of the French websites dedicated to The Avengers considers the writer of this episode, Roger Marshall, to be the finest dialogue writer among the series' scriptwriters. As his son, I am probably biased. However, his episodes certainly tend to revolve around realistic settings—such as the world of banking, hotels and the Armed Forces—rather than the more fantasy or science fiction based episodes such as A Surfeit of H20 or The Cybernauts.

Dial A Deadly Number takes a familiar Avengers plot—a series of linked victims being bumped off—and gives it a new twist. We are left in the dark as to who the 'baddies' are for longer than usual, even sent a few red herrings along the way such as the (innocent) Boardman's phone call killing Yuill. The episode is shot almost entirely on set, even the motorbike attack on Steed in an underground car park was filmed in the studio.

It is, arguably, the scenes in the wine cellar which provide the finest moments, in addition to the witty repartee between Steed and Mrs. Peel. The duel by wine glasses and the use of the champagne cork to finish off the final criminal are perfect examples of the series at its most stylish. My father always preferred creating missions which were 'highly improbable' rather than impossible.

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Page last modified: 5 May 2017.

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