Episode 87: Emma Peel Era
Page 87 of 192
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Stats ?
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A.K.A.
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Other Viewpoints
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Dans
sept jours, le déluge
Eine
Überdosis Wasser or H2O - Tödliches Naß (depending on the print)
H2O
Un
Exceso De Agua
De zondvloed
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Produced: 30 April to ca. 11 May 1965
UK Premiere (London, Season 4): 19 November 1965
US Premiere: Not included in original lineup
A very scientific wine merchant with a thick German accent plans
to retire on the millions he will make selling a device that can conquer a country—any country—by drowning it with
man-made rain. But his plot is brought to the attention of the outside world by Jonah Bernard's letters to the
newspapers about what he fears is the coming flood. When Steed and Emma investigate, they discover a stubborn cloud
that is always hanging over the winery, among other meteorological anomalies. As Steed observes, "Wonderful weather
we're not having!"
IMHO |
It's a surfeit of fabulous crackpot characters, most notably Eli Barker (Talfryn Thomas) and Jonah Barnard (Noel Purcel). Plus, there's one of the best fight sequences of the series, as Jonah enthusiastically joins the Avengers in a soggy battle with the baddies. "Hallelujah!"
This episode is also representative of an interesting dichotomy with respect to performance versus genre, reminiscent of M*A*S*H in its later years. While The Avengers is clearly lightweight fantasy with comic overtones (witness Macnee's hysterical soliloquy on drinking wine), there are also occasional undercurrents of serious dramatic tension. Take, for instance, Diana Rigg's performance while trapped in the wine press: Her flinches of pain are mighty convincing—in fact, I wince every time I see them. And then she turns right around and utters the show's best line...
Trivia |
Rob Sinden of Brighton, UK, wonders why no one seems to have noticed that "sturm" is German for "storm," so the diabolical mastermind is called "Dr. Storm."
Sue Lloyd (not be mistaken for Suzanne Lloyd) played Hannah Wild, Steed's partner, in the short-lived stage play of The Avengers.
Geoffrey Palmer appeared in the Police Surgeon episode, "Smash But No Grab."
According to Television's Greatest Hits, this was the top-rated episode for 1965, and ranked fourth of all Avengers episodes according to viewer ratings at the time it aired. It may come as a surprise what the other top-rated episodes were.
Steed's Aunties: Whilst Steed is poking the impression of Sir Arnold Kelly left in the field, he remarks to Jonah, "I had an auntie who used to make biscuits like this." (Could this be Auntie Penelope, who sent Steed "rock cakes" in "Dead Man's Treasure"?)
Best Scene |
Playing the part of a wine merchant, Steed declares the brochures to be useless and carries on at length to the receptionist about the emotional satisfaction of drinking wine (a subject near and dear to Steed's heart, to be sure).
Best Line |
Trapped in the hydraulic press, Emma growls to Dr. Sturm, "You diabolical mastermind, you!"
Essential Reading |
- Mrs. Peel... We're Needed by Piers Johnson