Rodney's Reviews
Page 12 of 42

Man-Eater of Surrey Green
By Rodney Marshall

As a number of British critics have observed, this is as close as The Avengers ever gets to Doctor Who-style science fiction. Unfortunately this in itself dates the episode as the giant plant scenes now look extremely crude and... well, rather silly. At one point the plant "hands" are being waved in front of the camera like a children's television show such as Watch with Mother. In addition, some of the guest actors are fairly wooden, a rarity in a series noted for top quality guest appearances. Alan Carter (the botanist) and the RAF boss are both dire, the only electrifying aspect of Carter's performance being his demise on the wire fence.

The positives? Seeing Mrs. Peel drink a pint in a pub, the eccentric Dr. Sheldon, the decidedly weird mannequins and—best of all—a fight between Steed and Mrs. Peel which proves once and for all—as he head butts her unconscious—that John Steed never fights fair, something he is always cheerfully happy to admit. Any semblance of seriousness about their combat is wonderfully undermined by him stopping to carefully readjust the herbicide canister each time Emma knocks it over. "Man-Eater" is less interesting IMHO than the other "science fiction oddball" Rigg episode "A Surfeit of H2O," where the dialogue is crisper, and there is both more style and Avengeresque eccentricity.

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