This 1966 episode of The Avengers (the proper Avengers, that is, not Captain America and his friends) is considered a classic of the series for good reason - it is especially memorable for one reason, and that reason is a naughty one at that!
Alongside Patrick Macnee as John Steed and Diana Rigg as Mrs Emma Peel, the baddy-of-the-week is played by Jason King himself, Peter Wyngarde, in the first of his two appearances in The Avengers. Purr.
Steed had better look out, or he might not be the most handsome manny in his own show any more. But then Wyngarde should know, if anyone does, that if you come at the King, you best not miss.
It starts with us watching Peter Wyngarde watching television. He is enjoying some expensive luxury noms as the programme he's watching shows a cigar exploding in the face of a Russian manny, and he seems amused by it. Wyngarde does, I mean, not the Russian manny. This prototype version of Game For A Laugh still needs some fine tuning if you ask me. We don't know who Wyngarde is playing yet, or what he wants, which establishes an air of mystery to draw in and intrigue viewers early on. As if the mere presence of Wyngarde isn't enough to do that already!
Steed tells Mrs Peel there have been other pranks played on diplomats and politicians recently, so now they are on the case. Steed already suspects a manny called "the Honorable John Cleverly Cartney," presumably on the grounds that if he is played by Peter Wyngarde he must be the baddy, so he sends Mrs Peel to investigate him.
"I've come here to appeal to you, Mr Cartney.""You certainly do that."
Smoove. He invites her to come with him to Paris, like he is already playing Jason King. Mrs Peel is just leaving when Lord Darcy enters. With it being another 30 years before Colin Firth would become synonymous with that name, there's a different Colin playing him - Colin "Inspector Lestrade" Jeavons. Once Mrs Peel has left, Carney and Darcy discuss another prank they are planning.
Mrs Peel describes Cartney to Steed as "handsome, and dynamic, very compelling, quite fascinating." That describes Peter Wyngarde alright. Purr. (Although it also describes me. Maybe Mrs Peel has met me?) They dash off to where the next clue has led them but, because Brian Clemens wrote this episode, they are too late and a manny has been killed just before they get there.
"Well it's no joke anymore."
says Steed.
Cartney is busy having kiffs with Sara Bradley, who is played by Carol Cleveland, later to become much more famous from her appearances in Monty Python's Flying Circus. Naughty Cartney! He's too busy to meet with Darcy, but then a little later on he isn't too busy to meet Mrs Peel. Very naughty Cartney!
It is therefore Steed who meets with Darcy, and gets him drunk enough to tell him the plot. Darcy had to help with Cartney's prank because of the rules of their club, called "the Hellfire club," but he didn't mean to kill anybody so now he feels guilty about it.
A soon as Steed finds out about the club we cut to it, where lots of mannys are having noms and kiffs and getting up to who knows what naughtiness just out of shot, doubtless all too naughty to show on TV. Who knows, maybe even some manly handshakes? Scandalous! Cartney, Sara and Mrs Peel come in and Cartney joins in the fun, while Mrs Peel looks on unimpressed.
Darcy bursts in and demands to speak to Cartney, who responds by giving him a patented Wyngarde stare. Then he agrees to have a meeting with Darcy, but only after him and his henchmannys have had time to put on their scary masks and hoods.
This is all just an excuse to get Darcy to stand in a spot where they can drop him down a trapdoor. Frequent Health & Safety violations are another way in which the club behaves naughtily.
Mrs Peel introduces Steed to Cartney and gets him an invitation to the next meeting of the naughty Hellfire club. One of the henchmannys tells Steed
"We believe in the power of evil, Mr Steed. We believe in the ultimate sins. Have you ever committed an ultimate sin, Mr Steed?"
They give Steed a couple of tests before he is allowed to join their club. The first one is to drink a big cup of what we may infer (it is not stated, presumably so as not to be a bad influence on the viewers at home) is incredibly strong alcohol. Steed enjoys this so much he asks for more - this is Steed we're talking about, after all.
The second test is to blow a pea out of the way of a henchmanny with an axe. Steed also manages this one easily, much to the surprise of the baddys. I wouldn't have managed it, but then I'm a cat made from socks. The henchmannys are all impressed by Steed, except for Cartney who is annoyed at Steed stealing the scene.
Steed pretends to leave, but really stays behind to secretly listen to their plotting, and so finds out that their big "coup" is to take place the next night.
The next night, Steed and Mrs Peel get dressed up to go back to the club. The henchmannys get up to their naughtiness again, but Cartney is missing so Mrs Peel goes to look for him and to find out what they need a load of fireworks for. She sees that the fireworks are really "T.N.T. High Explosives." Cartney appears and gets his "ladies-in-waiting" to take Mrs Peel away for a costume change.
Sara tells Steed that Cartney's plan is to "topple the government and then take over" by using tunnels under the house that lead all the way to Chequers "Culverston House" where "there's a cabinet meeting there tonight."
"Not for long. One big bang and they'll all be gone..."
As poorly thought out as this plan appears to be (Step 1: Blow up the government. Step 2: Take over the government), Steed rushes off to try to foil it. He doesn't get far before Cartney returns and announces
"I give you the queen of sin - Mrs Peel."
Mrs Peel is dressed very differently from before, and even has a snake! I think there's some naughty subtext on display here, but I can't quite see it for all the naughty text in the way.
Steed is so surprised that he forgets he's supposed to be saving the government and stays around to enjoy the next scene. He gets in a swordfight with a henchmanny called "Willy" (lol) who is supposed to be the best in the club at fighting, while Cartney goes after Mrs Peel with a whip - for a different sort of fight, I suppose, mew.
The swordfight is a properly dramatic scene, with lots of moves that wouldn't be out of place in a classic historical swashbuckling film. Mrs Peel gets in a fight with a henchmanny that is more in the usual tongue-in-cheek tradition of The Avengers, with her mimicking his moves after she has handled him easily (I mean beaten him. I mean defeated him), but then Cartney arrives for a more serious fight using his whip.
This being the room with the trapdoor in it, he is eventually hoist with his own petard when he whips the lever to open the trapdoor, just as he happens to be standing on it. I guess it just goes to show... if you come at the queen of sin, you'd best not miss then either. Mew.
Well with that, it's all over bar the unfunny pre-end-credits skit - which for this episode is particularly unfunny even by the standards of this show, barely even qualifying as a skit. We don't need to stay to see the rest of the henchmannys defeated - with Wyngarde out of the picture, everyone involved and viewers at home alike have all rapidly lost interest in continuing with proceedings. And who can blame them?
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