I've been working my way through all the series 4 episodes of "The Avengers" and purely by coincidence, came across this Christmas -themed episode the week before Christmas and also see that it was first aired around the same time in 1965.
And what a great episode it is. Whilst it's loaded with wry, sometimes risque humour between Peel and Steed, there's time for Christmas nostalgia too. I loved in particular the clever reference to absent friend Cathy Gale and its then topical nod to Gale's Honor Blackman's role in "Goldfinger".
The story itself is terrific. Steed is suffering recurring nightmares involving a big box of Christmas gifts, a big old house and a demonized version of Santa and after a fellow agent sharing the same state secret with Steed dies in mysterious circumstances, he accepts an invitation from Mrs Peel to attend a Christmas Dickens-themed party to take his mind off things. However, once there he keeps bumping into people he's sure he's met before but who claim never to have ever seen him. Feeling constantly in need of sleep, the dreams keep recurring only now they seem to be leading to a Sydney Carton-type fate for him at the hands of Madame Guillotine. Can Mrs Peel help him snap out of his torpor and foil the fiendish plot in time for Christmas Day?
Marvellously atmospheric, particularly the surreal dream sequences, this episode brilliantly balances the show's trademark suspense, thrills and humour to make this a quintessential entry in the Avengers vaunted history.
Review of Too Many Christmas Trees
