The Avengers International Fan Forum

peabody · Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 10:00 pm Post subject: 5.06 - The Winged Avenger

Discuss, review and rate The Winged Avenger, production completed December 1966.

Teleplay by Gordon Flemyng & Peter Duffell
Directed by Richard Harris

anti-clockwise · Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 11:27 am Post subject:

Just saw this one yesterday again. I love any episode that has a cartoon theme that comes alive. I loved the quirky professor who invented the boots. Would love a pair myself for those days I feel like climbing a wall. Although i suppose this episode might be considered campy I loved the way the villain was killed, quite humorous and Emma being part of the cartoon. I would give this episode an 8.
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MikeR · Epic Joined: 19 Jul 2009 Posts: 1129 Location: UK

Yes, one of my favourate episodes too. An atmospheric and tight mystery.

Author Richard Harris admitted at The Avengers at 50 event a couple of years ago that the characters found in America comic books were his major influence in writing this.

Frankymole · Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 3:01 pm Post subject:

It takes off near the end (sorry), but I find the business/board type stuff near the beginning dreadfully dull. Colin Jeavons is wonderfully frenetic as usual (and used much better here than in Brimstone) and the Frank Bellamy artwork mirroring - or, rather, predicting - the action is inspired.

At some points the direction plods a little (it doesn't help that it looks so wintry and gloomy) but little touches like Steed's model to calculate the angles of aerial approach to the building, and the final dash to the rescue, are well done and lift it. The metal talons producing no blood is very Avengerish but the attacks are so vicious and noisy that it's hard to suspend one's disbelief that the results are merely a few tears in clothing and death from shock.

Nigel Green and John Garrie are good eccentrics, but both better will be served two years later in "Fog".

7/10 - three bowlers out of four, on a good day. Good, but not the height of Avenging.
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darren · Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 3:35 pm Post subject:

It's an episode that has such an impact. The silly things like "Eeeee-urp!" and the stylised use of the comic captions to illustrate the action leave a massive lasting impression.

But something just doesn't really take off. Maybe it is due to having two directors (Peter Duffell seemingly removed and replaced by Gordon Flemying). It feels really laboured for waaay too long. It's only really the scenes at Steed's appartment that add any sense of pace or fun or flair. The first victims.. well you just can't wait for them to die. It's nothing to do with the characters being nasty. They're just so boring. Seeing Donald Pickering (an actor I'm always found really boring in everything) be cold hearted in his office isn't exciting TV.

Nigel Green's fake mountain is amusing but that's the only good thing about the scenes in his house. He has his not so oriental oriental butler. John Garrie must have been told to speak as slowly and laboured as possible. That scene with him on the phone is painful. All these people deserved to die for being so unutterable boring.

Thankfully things pick up with Jack MacGowan as Prof. Poole. A man who is always utterly adorable. Diana Rigg's green outfit to visit his house is one of my favourites.

Colin Jeavon's is always brilliant as crazed people on the verge of insanity. He makes up for the tedium in the first half of the episode.

7/10

anti-clockwise · Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 6:10 pm Post subject:

yes well described Darren. Shooting the boring actors probably a good idea. Although I was not as bored with this one as some other episodes. Really had it's ups and downs. No pun intended. I thought Mrs. Peel's outfits were classic. The blue and pink catsuit with the pink matching hat on the ceiling was pretty nifty with the silver walking boots.
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"He likes his tea stirred anti-clockwise."

MikeR · Epic Joined: 19 Jul 2009 Posts: 1129 Location: UK

(Peter Duffell seemingly removed and replaced by Gordon Flemying).

Darren, it was the other way round and Peter Duffell can get quite upset over this, when I spoke with him some years ago.

Frankymole · Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2013 3:49 am Post subject:

Is it known why Flemyng was removed?
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Last watched: "The Gilded Cage"

darren · Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2013 10:55 am Post subject:

MikeR · Epic Joined: 19 Jul 2009 Posts: 1129 Location: UK

Rhonda · Posted: Sat May 09, 2015 2:35 am Post subject:

I gave 3
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peabody · Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 10:13 am Post subject:

Rhonda · Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 4:07 am Post subject:

JohnSteedFr · Posted: Thu May 14, 2015 10:53 am Post subject:

I like that one but I tend to see some deja-vu. Birds were also a key factor in 'The Bird Who Knew Too Much' and mostly, the same clues left on the scene of the crime, the victims look exactly like the ones from 'The Hidden Tiger'.
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Lee · Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2021 6:38 am Post subject:

Again, as no one had commented on this for many years, I decided to watch it again.

I remember this as a middling average script from series 5, but I id quite enjoy it and I had forgotten the slightly more series first part. For a season which is often described as comic-book, this episode is quite literally straight out of a comic book, with the comic providing some of the plot lines.

It was very clever how the artwork was used to predict the events of the story, but how the villain would know what Mrs Peel would be wearing, I'm not so sure.

The whole upside-down scenes were quite well managed for the mid 60s, even making a chair seemingly 'fall down' from the ceiling was quite good.

Still quite a middling episode - I give this a 6 overall.
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mousemeat · Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2021 9:11 am Post subject: