The CLOSED Avengers International Fan Forum

darren · Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 8:28 am Post subject: 2.13 - Death on the Rocks

Written by Eric Paice
Directed by Jonathan Alwyn
Production completed: 15 November 1962

Starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman

Frankymole · Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 6:13 pm Post subject:

My review:

http://www.theavengers.tv/forever/gale1-10vr.htm

Oh, look, more diamond smuggling shenanigans (this was recorded next after "Death of a Great Dane," and so follows it in the French DVD releases; on broadcast, "The Sell-Out" intervened them).

The Avenged?: Legitimate dealers forced to go crooked by threats to their families. Steed needs a similar Achilles heel for his cover to work, so tells Cathy, "I need a wife for two weeks." "So long?" she retorts. Heh heh.

Diabolical Masterminds?: Over-ambitious, more like. Fenton, their "godfather" figure, even talks of bringing the Government itself to heel.

The Avengers?: A bad period for Steed/Cathy relations. Even before she finds out that she is a hostage to fortune, Cathy is disgruntled with Steed and doesn't enjoy the prospect of being his missus. We can blame the intrusive decorator for her irritation, can't we? There's an amusing tag scene: "You took quite a chance." Cathy: "You sound as if you cared." Steed: "My dear, 'for better or worse'," and cheesy grins all round.

Umbrella, Charm and a Bowler Hat?: A fair amount of soap-opera from Nicky and Jackie. Steed tries valiantly to get a kiss out of Mrs Gale. Hasn't he learnt his lesson yet? Cathy wears a remarkably modern piebald tee-shirt type top when moving in (Steed remarks that she had a "pantechnicon" or 30-ton truck to transport all her stuffed animals!).

Bizarre?: Steed was very lucky that only one van left the wharf that night, otherwise he would never have found the kidnapped Jackie. Though he really only had one set to choose from. It seems as if someone forgets to stop the Steed-Fenton fight music which goes on and on, overlapping into the scene where Cathy is reading before having her final encounter with the villains. Mrs Gale gets to use her gun, at last! The final shot of the trophy lion head revolving on the wall shows Steed's home improvement skills leave a lot to be desired.

On Target? (Score): Unimpressive. One bowler out of four. 3/10.
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Last watched: "The Medicine Men"

Lhbizness · Guest

Another one that I like without quite being able to defend. Best part is Steed and Cathy, their fake marriage, and the shenanigans that it gets them into. While the large swaths of dialogue that don't involve our heroes are pretty damn boring, I enjoy this episode solely for them. While the early scenes seem to show the same antagonism we come to expect from them in this scene, by the time we get to the party both appear to be enjoying the game.

I particularly like the end scene where Steed expresses admiration for Cathy's bravery and for the first (?) time might actually convince her that he cares what happens to her. It's passed off as a joke, but Cathy seems earnestly surprised and Steed impressed that she's such a badass. It's a nice little moment in their relationship and begins to show the growth of both characters.

Rhonda · Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 10:43 am Post subject:

3 from me as I can't see much enjoyment (other than the humorous asides) in a story about a long sequence of criminal moves.
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Ron
Last Watched : Trap

Frankymole · Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2021 3:56 pm Post subject:

I've just watched this again and my opinion has improved a bit. The direction is good and the cast are giving it their all. The young lovers never quite convince, they lack chemistry, but Nicky is a handsome lad and the actor carries off a difficult part well - you're never sure which way he's going to jump, might be a goodie forced to be a baddie or vice versa.

I'd give it a few more bowlers now, it's not down in the dumps with the worst stories and does point the way to the future, with plenty of sex appeal between Steed and Cathy (no lack of chemistry there, even if their characters' personalities have a lot of complex barriers). Patrick and Honor really seem to be enjoying themselves, and Honor plays the action heroine well in both her martial-arts fight and the gunplay.

The wall-mounted lion head trophy revolving at the end is bloody stupid though, even if it leads to a hilarious ad-lib from Patrick when it starts moving on its own, prematurely. At least it beats the double-taking pigeon in that woeful Bond film tag scene.
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Last watched: "The Medicine Men"

darren · Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2021 8:35 am Post subject:

Pretty uninspiring stuff.

It's not Immortal Clay bad but it doesn't really excite.

The Steed and Cathy scenes are good. There's some nice design work with the art deco house. Cathy has a great fight with Doug Robinson.

I just can't work up any enthusiasm for it.

mousemeat · Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2021 10:57 am Post subject:

' 7 ' I give it that...and it's much better than some of us, give credit to..I guess viewing it, is like a acquired taste....and the interaction between Steed

is interesting

Frankymole · Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2021 12:26 pm Post subject:

Especially when she's riding around on his shoulders.

"Did you enjoy that?"
"Not much."
(This exchange seems to be improvised as it's not in the camera script)

Funny that we never saw the bedroom arrangements.

An important point - Cathy goes to introduce Jackie to her (Cathy's) mother-in-law; ostensibly, Steed's mother! Surely it couldn't be... Mother? "She's quite a character". Maybe it's Father!
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Last watched: "The Medicine Men"