"From Venus with Love" | |
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The Avengers episode | |
Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 1 |
Directed by | Robert Day |
Written by | Philip Levene (teleplay) |
Featured music | Laurie Johnson |
Original air dates |
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Guest appearances | |
"From Venus with Love" is the first episode of the fifth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers , starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and guest starring Barbara Shelley, Derek Newark, Jon Pertwee, Jeremy Lloyd and Philip Locke. [1] It was first broadcast in the Southern region of the ITV network on Monday 9 January 1967. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show for ITV, broadcast it in its own regions five days later on Saturday 14 January. [2] The episode was directed by Robert Day, and written by Philip Levene.
Several astronomers—and members of the British Venusian Society—have been found dead, their hair bleached white. The Society had planned on sending a satellite to the planet Venus. As Steed and Peel investigate, they discover all the astronomers had been looking directly at the planet before they were found dead, which members say heralds an invasion by the Venusians. Steed and Peel soon uncover a scheme featuring lasers, a treacherous eye surgeon Dr. Primble, and a quest to launch a satellite to monitor Venus.
Writer Philip Levene first submitted this script in December 1965 for the show's fourth series under the title "The Light Fantastic." However it was rejected as being "too bizarre." [3]
Abstract painting from the vault also appeared in episodes "Epic" (1967) and "Wish You Were Here" (1969). It can also be noticed in the series The Saint and The Power Artist.
Jeremy Lloyd (Bertram Smith) would later play an MI5 agent Carruthers in the stage play of The Avengers. [4]
This was the first transmission of an Avengers episode that was filmed in colour (for the benefit of US viewers), even though the UK ITV network did not begin transmitting in colour until nearly three years later.
"From Venus with Love" was adapted as a radio play and directed by Dennis Folbigge. Starring Donald Monat as John Steed and Diane Appleby as Emma Peel, it was broadcast as part of The Avengers radio series on Springbok Radio, which transmitted between 6 December 1971 and 28 December 1973.
The adaptation contains a few changes, which include mention of the Mother (and a phone call to Steed, ordering him to investigate Cosgrove's death, but the voice on the phone is not heard). Dr. Henry Primble is much older in this adaptation. The new scene with Steed and Emma in a rooftop garden was added to the script.
There are also some production errors. For example, in episode 4, Hugh refers to Dr. Primble as "Primple". And in episode 2, Brigadier Whitehead is referred to as Major Whitehead. [5]
The Avengers is a British espionage television series, created in 1961, that ran for 161 episodes until 1969. It initially focused on David Keel, aided by John Steed. Ian Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish, and assertive women: Cathy Gale, Emma Peel, and Tara King. Dresses and suits for the series were made by Pierre Cardin.
Emma Peel is a fictional character played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure television series The Avengers, and by Uma Thurman in the 1998 film version. She was born Emma Knight, the daughter of an industrialist, Sir John Knight. She is the crime-fighting partner of John Steed.
"A Touch of Brimstone" is the twenty-first episode of the fourth series of the 1960s British spy television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed and Diana Rigg as Emma Peel. It was filmed c. December 1965, and was first broadcast on British television on 15 February 1966. The episode was directed by James Hill and written by Brian Clemens. The plot involves Steed and Peel infiltrating the Hellfire Club whilst investigating harmful pranks on high profile political and business figures.
Major The Hon. John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed usually known as John Steed, is a fictional character and the central protagonist on the 1960s British spy series The Avengers and its 1970s sequel The New Avengers, played by Patrick Macnee in both; by Donald Monat in the South-African radio series adaptation of The Avengers; by Ralph Fiennes in the 1998 film of the same name and by Julian Wadham in various audio adventures from Big Finish Productions.
"The Hour That Never Was" is the ninth episode of the fourth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. It was first broadcast by Scottish Television on Tuesday 23 October 1965. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show, broadcast it in its own regions four days later on Saturday 27 October. The episode was directed by Gerry O'Hara and written by Roger Marshall.
"The Cybernauts" is the third episode of the fourth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. It was first broadcast by Scottish Television on Tuesday 12 October 1965. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show, broadcast it in its own regions four days later on Saturday 16 October. The episode was directed by Sidney Hayers and written by Philip Levene.
"A Surfeit of H2O" is the eighth episode of the fourth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. It was first broadcast by Scottish Television on Tuesday 16 November 1965. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show, broadcast it in its own regions four days later on Saturday 20 November 1965. The episode was directed by Sidney Hayers and written by Colin Finbow.
"The Town of No Return" is the first episode of the fourth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg in her Avengers debut, and guest starring Alan MacNaughton, Patrick Newell, Terence Alexander. It was first broadcast on ABC Weekend TV on 28 September 1965. The episode was written by Philip Levene, directed by Sidney Hayers, and produced by Brian Clemens.
"Death's Door" is the eighteenth episode of the fifth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and guest starring Clifford Evans, Allan Cuthbertson, William Lucas, and Marne Maitland. It was first broadcast in the Grampian region of the ITV network on Wednesday 4 October 1967. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show for ITV, broadcast it in its own regions three days later on Saturday 7 October. The episode was directed by Sidney Hayers, and written by Philip Levene.
"What the Butler Saw" is the twenty-second episode of the fourth series of the 1960s British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. It was first broadcast by Scottish Television on Tuesday 22 February 1966. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show, broadcast it in its own regions four days later on Saturday 26 February. The episode was directed by Bill Bain and written by Philip Levene.
"The Gravediggers" is the second episode of the fourth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. It was first broadcast by Scottish Television on Tuesday 5 October 1965. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show, broadcast it in its own regions four days later on Saturday 9 October. The episode was directed by Quentin Lawrence, and written by Malcolm Hulke.
"The Fear Merchants" is the second episode of the fifth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and guest starring Patrick Cargill, Brian Wilde, Annette Carell, and Garfield Morgan. It was first broadcast in the Southern region of the ITV network on Monday 16 January 1967. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show for ITV, broadcast it in its own regions five days later on Saturday 21 January. The episode was directed by Gordon Flemyng, and written by Philip Levene.
"Escape in Time" is the third episode of the fifth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and guest starring Peter Bowles, Geoffrey Bayldon, Judy Parfitt, and Imogen Hassall. It was first broadcast in the Southern region of the ITV network on Monday 23 January 1967. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show for ITV, broadcast it in its own regions five days later on Saturday 28 January. The episode was directed by John Krish, and written by Philip Levene.
"The See-Through Man" is the fourth episode of the fifth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and guest starring Moira Lister, Warren Mitchell, Roy Kinnear, and John Nettleton. It was first broadcast in the Southern region of the ITV network on Monday 30 January 1967. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show for ITV, broadcast it in its own regions five days later on Saturday 4 February. The episode was directed by Robert Asher, and written by Philip Levene.
"The Bird Who Knew Too Much" is the fifth episode of the fifth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and guest starring Ron Moody, Ilona Rodgers, Kenneth Cope, and Michael Coles. It was first broadcast in the Southern and Tyne Tees regions of the ITV network on Wednesday 8 February 1967. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show for ITV, broadcast it in its own regions three days later on Saturday 11 February. The episode was directed by Roy Rossotti, and written by Brian Clemens.
"The Living Dead" is the seventh episode of the fifth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and guest starring Julian Glover, Pamela Ann Davy, Howard Marion-Crawford, and Jack Woolgar. It was first broadcast in the Southern and Tyne Tees regions of the ITV network on Wednesday 22 February 1967. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show for ITV, broadcast it in its own regions three days later on Saturday 25 February. The episode was directed by John Krish, and written by Brian Clemens.
"The Hidden Tiger" is the eighth episode of the fifth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and guest starring Ronnie Barker, Lyndon Brook, Gabrielle Drake, and John Phillips. It was first broadcast in the Southern and Tyne Tees regions of the ITV network on Wednesday 1 March 1967. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show for ITV, broadcast it in its own regions three days later on Saturday 4 March. The episode was directed by Sidney Hayers, and written by Philip Levene.
"The Correct Way to Kill" is the ninth episode of the fifth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and guest starring Anna Quayle, Michael Gough, Philip Madoc, and Terence Alexander. It was first broadcast in the Southern and Tyne Tees regions of the ITV network on Wednesday 8 March 1967. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show for ITV, broadcast it in its own regions three days later on Saturday 11 March. The episode was directed by Charles Crichton, and written by Brian Clemens.
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