Thanks
Very interestihg.
This is interesting too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jXvlz_Rb8U&NR
On Sat, 7 Oct 2006 14:48:15 -0400, drhermes@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Dr Hermes)
wrote:
>
>SEVERE SPOILERS AHEAD
>
>Seriously, if you haven't seen this episode and want to be surprised by
>it, maybe you should watch it first. I'm going to Spoil the pants off
>it.
>
>I don't recall having ever seen this episode before. One of the
>unexpected benefits of having last watched THE AVENGERS decades ago
>(never you mind how many) is that the show has faded to just a few
>pleasant images in my mind. In effect, it's new to me. (Just what I was
>looking for, a new obsession!)
>
>In "Murdersville," we're toward the end of the color season for Steed
>and Mrs Peel, with just two more installments to follow. There's a bit
>of slapstick (one of the few pie fights* in spy thrillers) and the usual
>dry understated humor, but in general, this seems a suspenseful little
>thriller that could have been played straight. The opening scene in the
>sleepy village of Little-Storping-In-the-Swuff (?!), where a man is
>coldly gunned down in front of a pub, while the rustics play dominoes
>unconcernedly, establishes the oddly paradoxical atmosphere I remember
>about this show.
>
>Mrs Peel shows up at Steed's home with an old school chum of hers, Paul
>Croft. She's traveling with Paul (who frankly seems like a boring dud to
>me) to his new home in some quaint Little-Storping or other. There, as
>might be expected in a program like this, he is promptly murdered and
>she is knocked unconscious. (Maybe I should keep a count of how many
>times Mrs Peel gets a concussion with no noticeable lasting effects.)
>When she revives, she's told she was in a motoring accident. Emma isn't
>fooled that easily. As she investigates, we get much creepiness from
>this seemingly peaceful hamlet where there actually seems to be a good
>deal of killing going on that no one notices. An American equivalent
>would be finding that Andy and Barney have been murdering strangers
>coming to Mayberry and pawning their belongings all these years.
>
>Getting to the bottom of things, Emma discovers that a wealthy gangster
>has effectively bought the townspeoples' silence. In exchange for a
>hefty sum, they keep mum as various thugs lure victims to the village;
>there, the murders can be carried out safely and the killers will have
>dozens of lying witnesses if an alibi is needed.
>
>After being chased by goons in a helicopter (and it beats me why Emma
>didn't just creep through the shrubbery and make a stealthy escape in
>the woods rather than foolishly running right out into an open field,
>while wearing a bright purple jumpsuit) our heroine is captured. Maybe
>she let herself be caught so she could find out the villians' scheme?
>This is a common strategy used by pulp and thriller heroes who have more
>self-confidence than prudence. She is then locked into a bulky chastity
>belt. (Let me keep my snarky remarks to myself. It does look like it
>wouldn't work well at all, though; maybe a section was missing.) A few
>other brave souls who defied the murder racket are also imprisoned in
>the village museum, which is stocked with Iron Maidens, lead boots,
>hip-hop CDS and so forth.
>
>Getting dunked a few times in the local
>pond while strapped to a long plank (a fairly unnerving sequence to
>watch, she seems genuinely distressed and even some of the villagers are
>concerned), Emma is given one chance to misdirect anyone who might come
>looking for her. So she phones John Steed (who has been conspicuously
>absent from the plot so far) and cleverly throws a few clues into her
>innocent chat with her "husband Johnsie-wonsie." Steed to the rescue! A
>bit unusual in a series where she was more apt to haul him out of
>trouble.
>
>I am electrocuted by how sexy and appealing Diana Rigg is. Man! She was
>nothing like the surgically rebuilt cyborg blondes we see too much of
>these days. Diana looks like a real woman, with her chestnut hair, slim
>curves and mischievous laugh. She seems approachable, too, showing good
>humor and appears to be a likeable human being. (Again, a far cry from
>the teeth-clenching insult-spewing woman warriors we've watched in
>recent movies and TV shows.)
>
>Emma seems to be sincerely fond of Paul, with no hints of romance or
>carnal interest. His disappearance and the realization he has been
>killed hits her hard. It's surprising to see her get so worked up that
>she loses her temper, but the guy who tries to hold her at gunpoint does
>get quite a thrashing.
>
>There is one odd, rather surreal detail. Emma wears a purple tracksuit
>with blue trim throughout (and looks great in it), and yet once or
>twice, she abruptly is in a red suit with black trim for a few minutes.
>At first, I thought she had changed outfits but there's no break in the
>action where she could have done so (and anyway, why change back
>again?). So I'm guessing this is some sort of glitch in the film stock
>or color correction process.
>
>As for the famous fighting abilities of Mrs Peel, I'd have to say they
>are much more reasonable and believable than I had expected. She does
>what a woman in good condition and with some training would do in fights
>(assuming she's not going to simply poke out eyes or jab throats). Emma
>does a lot of tripping and shoving her opponents, a few kicks to the
>midsection (no spinning reverse roundhouse to the head) and some throws
>that look like they would actually work. Unfortunately, her hand-edge
>blows are not convincing at all. She obviously is not putting any focus
>or impact into the chops and is not striking at any particular
>vulnerable spots. Still, in 1967, few viewers knew enough about martial
>arts to tell the difference (except those who had watched Bruce Lee in
>THE GREEN HORNET, of course).
>
>She's not a killing machine by any means, but Emma Peel is capable of
>acting decisively when called for. One guy gets tossed unceremoniously
>down a well. My jaw hit my chest when she walks out of the village
>museum, wearing a knight's helmet and carrying a spear. Met by a group
>of armed men, she immediately hurls the spear right into one man's
>chest! I was not expecting that; in fact, it was more shocking than a
>ten-minute full-blast fistfight.
>
>The chemistry between Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg seems natural and
>affectionate. (I'd hate to ever read that they disliked each other and
>were faking it, they're so good in their interplay). We don't get to see
>much of Steed in this episode. He's suave, unruffled and witty (a pub
>owner pulled a shotgun on him "and I hadn't even criticized the beer
>yet!") but he has too little time on stage. I do like the way he pauses
>while trying to unlock Emma's chastity belt and she drums her fingers on
>it impatiently. These two show more humanity than most other screen
>spies put together.
>_______
>*Custard tarts, actually. I'm afraid I'll likely be mixing American and
>British phrases and expressions in a way some might find jarring. Sorry
>about that. I won't pretend I know enough about UK idioms to blend in.
>
>http://community.webtv.net/drhermes/DRHERMESREVIEWSHome/
>
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