As this episode opens Steed is having a strange dream; he is walking through a forest of Christmas trees and meets a distinctly creepy Father Christmas who takes him to the body of a colleague. When he wakes up Mrs Peel informs him that the colleague had died in his sleep. It seems like a very odd coincidence; especially given the fact that the two of them were the only people to know certain secrets that had recently leaked
of course we soon learn that it wasn't; they were part of a sinister experiment into telepathy. He continues to be tired and have strange dreams and these too start to come true when he attends a Dickensian themed party in the country with Mrs Peel. While here his dreams become worse; he imagines himself to be Sydney Carton, from Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities' as he goes to the guillotine. That evening the guests are to attend a fancy dress party
the costume provided for Steed is none other than Sydney Carton. As the evening progresses Steed's behaviour becomes somewhat strange; is he suffering the way his colleague did or is he fighting back against telepathic assault?!
Long before 'Doctor Who' had its regular Christmas episodes 'The Avengers' gives us an enjoyably sinister Christmas tale. The dream sequences were clearly done on the cheap but they were effective and the Father Christmas featured was particularly creepy. The Dickens' themed house and party were enjoyable in the strange way one expects in this series. The bad guys were a little disappointing as we knew little of their motivation or how their telepathic powers were meant to work; it would have been better if we'd been given a sci-fi explanation rather than just believing they had an innate ability. There were some amusing moments; most notably a Christmas card from Cathy Gale from Fort Knox; a nice nod to Honor Blackman's role on 'Goldfinger'. Overall an enjoyable episode despite its weaker than usual bad guys.
Long before 'Doctor Who' had its regular Christmas episodes 'The Avengers' gives us an enjoyably sinister Christmas tale. The dream sequences were clearly done on the cheap but they were effective and the Father Christmas featured was particularly creepy. The Dickens' themed house and party were enjoyable in the strange way one expects in this series. The bad guys were a little disappointing as we knew little of their motivation or how their telepathic powers were meant to work; it would have been better if we'd been given a sci-fi explanation rather than just believing they had an innate ability. There were some amusing moments; most notably a Christmas card from Cathy Gale from Fort Knox; a nice nod to Honor Blackman's role on 'Goldfinger'. Overall an enjoyable episode despite its weaker than usual bad guys.