Steed and Mrs Peel investigate a murder-for-hire organization fronting as a matchmaking bureau. People are being murdered but those with the greatest motive always seem to have a perfect alibi. There aren't many clues but each of the victims had recently been photographed by the same man and he points Steed in the direction of an elite matchmaking agency. He poses as a client with almost the perfect pedigree; he claims his cousin inherited the family millions leaving him with just enough to live onÂ… it isn't long before the agency are suggesting a solution; if he kills somebody for them his cousin will be killed while he is far from the scene. The problem is they want Mrs Peel killed because they have learnt that she is investigating them. If Steed is to find out who is running the show he'll just have to kill Emma!<br/><br/>This early Mrs Peel episode is a nice take on the 'Strangers on a Train' method of murder only this time there is an organisation acting as a go-between so the people swapping murders won't even meet. The question of who is behind the agency is interesting but the real fun is watching the investigation and the interaction between Steed and Mrs Peel. The scene where Mrs Peel plays the tuba while Steed knocks a golf ball round is a lot of fun. Unusually we also see the pair genuinely arguing when Steed's warning comes too late to save one of the groups victims. Not all the good scenes involve both protagonists; there is also an enjoyable scene where Steed interrupts a photographer as he takes pictures of an attractive model and a delightful moment where a slightly tipsy Mrs Peel dances when she is meant to be playing dead! Overall a fine episode. This episode is indeed a jewel! When "The Avengers" got to Germany and Austria not all episodes were dubbed. I do not know why some got withhold. They might have touched a bit too much on the macabre or the absurd for the program director of that time. But in the more recent past these missing episodes finally got dubbed too and are now aired along with the others. Unfortunately the voices of John and Emma are not the same and one needs a bit of time to accept them. Off course such silly problems don't exist for the native speakers. But for us German-speaking people these previously unknown episodes are a treasure.<br/><br/>This one for example makes fun of people seeking partners via matchmaking institutions, but also carries ideas like exchanging murders, well exploited by Hitchcock in "Strangers on a Train", and many jokes around a coffin. A very rich episode so to speak and Steed and Mrs. Peel are in top form.
Ultquily replied
291 weeks ago