The Avengers: Series 1, Episode 20 ā€“ Tunnel of Fear

John Steed and David Keel

For a long time it was thought that only a couple of episodes from series one of The Avengers had survived. And then Tunnel of Fear turned up in a ā€œprivate film collectionā€, as the press release guardedly puts it, swelling the number of complete episodes from two to a mighty three out of a possible 26. Thereā€™s about a third of the very first episode, Hot Snow, too ā€“ reviewed here. We might not have the full run of the season but with Tunnel of Fear we now have enough to get a sketchy impression of the direction of the show. Hot Snow in first position establishing David Keel (Ian Hendry) as a … Read more

The Avengers: Series 1, Episode 6 ā€“Ā Girl on the Trapeze

Heavy Zibbo waves a gun in Dr Keel's face

The sixth episode of the series (numbers two to five having vanished) and weā€™re edging into what would later be familiar Avengers territory. There are devious foreigners, a complex plot and a surprising amount of agency for the female sidekick. Dennis Spoonerā€™s screenplay concerns a woman throwing herself off a London bridge into the Thames, an act which Dr Keel (Ian Hendry) just happens to witness as heā€™s on the way to a party. Being a public spirited chap he rushes down the steps to the river, where a passing copper and a swarthy type with a thick accent are already on the scene. The woman is dead, but thereā€™s not much water … Read more