Episode 126: Emma Peel Era
Page 127 of 192

 

  Tag

Steed removes the helmet that was stuck on Emma's head, only to wind up with it stuck on his. "Have a sip!"

  Stats ?

  A.K.A.

 Le village de la mort

 Willkommen im Dorf des Todes

 Benvenuti a Little Storping (Welcome to Little Storping)

 El Pueblo de la Muerte

  Other Viewpoints

• Visitor Reviews
• The GLG Report

MURDERSVILLE

Emma Marries Steed
Steed Becomes a Father

Production completed: 25 August 1967
UK Premiere (London, Season 6): 10 November 1967
US Premiere (New York, Season 3): 7 February 1968

Whilst driving a childhood friend to his new home, Emma stumbles upon Little Storping in the Swuff, a village wherein the entire population is in the murder business: if you want someone disposed of, just drop them off in town and the friendly folks of Little Storping will take care of the rest.

 IMHO

One of the high points of the second season. Of note, Emma is given a bit of back story in the form of a childhood friend, and we are treated to an intense, heretofore unexplored emotional side of her. Then there's Emma's gut-wrenching attack on the doctor with a phone, the harrowing pond-dunking sequence, Steed freeing Emma from a chastity belt ("I told them you were a whiz with locks"), and the pie-fight in the library. What a great episode! Oh, and don't forget poor Hilary...

 Trivia

Of course, you recognize Steed and Emma's "children"—Julian, Albert, Gordon and baby Brian? Julian Wintle, Executive Producer; Albert Fennell, Producer; Gordon L.T. Scott (a studio exec who became Executive in Charge of Production for the Tara King episodes); and Brian Clemens, Producer.

Did you notice the iron maiden in the museum? It was formerly part of the "Castle De'Ath" collection. Also, the two-liner is the only one that places Emma before Steed.

According to a BBC biography, the scold's bridle worn by Hilary, the "real" telephone operator (Hilary Dwyer), "...caused Miss Dwyer acute discomfort. She was, in fact, close to tears, until some adjustments were made on the set. Eventually, however, she got quite used to it, and did not even bother to remove it between takes."

For the musically-inclined, you might notice a similarity between the opening notes of the episode's score and those of Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on Greensleeves," a consummately British classical composition based on an English folksong. With thanks to Mark Koldys.

Is it a "rule-breaker" or not? There are two policemen in this episode: a fake in uniform, and his real counterpart out of uniform.

Finally, this is the very definition of trivia: I believe this is the only episode where the subtitle (Emma Marries Steed/Steed Becomes a Father) places Emma first.

 On Location

Aldbury was the principal shooting location (which also appeared as Swingingdale in "Dead Man's Treasure"). Stock's Hotel served as Croft's house. On Location provides present-day images of both, as well as the pub in front of which the teaser takes place.

 Best Scene

Emma's legendary phone call to Steed is to die for. "Johnsy-wonsy's fine!"

 Best Line

So many great lines from which to choose. For example, Steed describes to Emma how the bartender came after him with a twelve-bore when he mentioned her name. "And I hadn't even criticized the beer."

 Essential Reading

MURDERSVILLE

Teleplay by
Directed by

Brian Clemens
Robert Asher

Full production credits

CAST

John Steed
Emma Peel
Mickle
Hubert
Dr. Haymes
Prewitt
Jenny
Croft
Forbes
Banks
Miss Avril
Maggie
Higgins
Jeremy Purser
Chapman
Miller
Morgan
Williams

Patrick Macnee 007
Diana Rigg 007
Colin Blakely
John Ronane #
Ronald Hines
John Sharp #
Shelia Fearn
Eric Flynn
Norman Chappell #
Robert Cawdron #
Marik Mann
Irene Bradshaw #
Joseph Greig
Geoffrey Colville #
Langton Jones
Tony Caunter
John Chandos
Andrew Laurence #

UNBILLED/STUNTS

Hilary
Assassin with Sunglasses
Policeman
First Victim

Hilary Dwyer
Gareth Thomas
Paul Weston# 007
Peter Clay

# DOPPELGANGERS

Irene Bradshaw

The Golden Eggs
One for the Mortuary

Robert Cawdron

A Touch of Brimstone

Norman Chappell

Dead of Winter
The Gilded Cage
Dial a Deadly Number
Dance with Death
Fog

Geoffrey Colville

Concerto

Andrew Laurence

You'll Catch Your Death

John Ronane

Take Me To Your Leader

John Sharp

Traitor in Zebra
Bizarre

Paul Weston

The Forget-Me-Knot
 

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Page last modified: 5 May 2017.

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