Castle De'ath

This must be the only time in the entire series that Emma and Steed leave London. On this occasion they move to Scotland, Steed calls himself MacSteed and pretends to be a Scotsman who is after finding out his family tree, and Emma for her part arrives as an envoy who is conducting a survey of historic houses and castles. Actually both are investigating the strange disappearance of fish in that area. A very entertaining and very Scottish episode, the castle by the lake, the secret passageways, the large halls with endless tables, stone stairs, etc. A very good action scene at the end, something rare in this season where the stuntmen and combat choreography were not yet fully adjusted.

Steed and Emma are put on the case when the body of an agent -- four inches taller than he was in life -- is discovered. Their investigation leads to Castle De'ath, a formidable (and, reportedly, haunted) Scottish castle. While Emma poses as a woman determined to transform the castle into a tourist attraction, Steed explores the dank and musty cellars of the fortress and stumbles upon a secret submarine base.

The Avengers frequently shows the old land families and tradition in contrast to the modernity as exuded by Mrs Peel - plenty of great castle atmosphere, interesting characters and strange going on. A bit talky but the plot moves briskly and warrants that something is happening. A young Gordon Jackson puts in a fine performance as an uptight clan chief who disapprove of the castle being used as a tourist attraction.

"Castle De'ath" is one of the weaker entries with Mrs. Peel, with an atmospheric setting in a Scottish castle, but uninteresting characters. One cousin is played by Robert Urquhart, later seen in "Wish You Were Here," but best remembered as Peter Cushing's reluctant assistant in Hammer's "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957). The other is played by Gordon Jackson, also a Hammer veteran (1955's "The Quatermass Xperiment"). We do get to catch Jock McSteed displaying the Macnee family crest, and the delectable sight of Diana Rigg walking around in a see-through nightgown, plus a buttoned outfit with all but the top button unbuttoned, revealing her navel and brassiere (how could Steed have missed it?) Were it not for the location shooting, it would have been acceptable as a left over Cathy Gale script, which would have been worse. Balding Russell Waters made one returning appearance, in "Thingumajig."

An officer is found floating in a Scottish moat, with foul play suspected, Steed and Peel investigate.

What can you say about this one, it's Scottish, it's definitely Scottish, kilts and bagpipes galore, I don't think there's a single Scottish thing that isn't added here for your McPleasure. All we needed was a tossing the caber competition, they certainly had enough salted oats for it.

It's still an interesting enough mystery, maybe the ending was a little muddled, but still fun and engaging. I loved the contrasts, there's something almost medieval about the torture scenes in the basement, such a contrast to the sinister, futuristic plot.

Once again, looks like it was shot on film, it looks absolutely beautiful, the camera work was so good, so creative.

I have noticed that the fight scenes have definitely improved, they seem to be a bit more natural, a bit more connected.

My leat favourite so far, but still enjoyable, 6/10.

Steed and Mrs Peel go undercover to investigate some unusual goings on in a Scottish castle. It seems a colleague was found dead nearby, but the dead body was taller than when the man was alive.

It's not that Castle De'ath is a bad episode or anything (I don't remember any truly bad Mrs Peel episodes - we shall see), but it is definitely one of the weaker. The problem is that it's just not very interesting. Steed and Mrs Peel spend too much time apart so there's no time for their usual witty banter. The case's solution is fairly obvious, down to the reason for the mysterious nightly bagpipes. And I thought spotting the chief baddie was way too easy. Overall, Castle De'ath is an average 5/10 episode at best.

A few other notes before I finish this:

1. My favorite bit had to be when Steed went "fishing". It was classic Steed.

2. I always enjoy seeing Gordon Jackson. I probably know him best from Upstairs Downstairs.

3. The doubles used for Mrs Peel were absolutely lousy. Are they always this bad? I haven't noticed. There's one scene where Mrs Peel is running in the dark. Not only does the double have the wrong hair length, it's the wrong color. Too funny.

5/10