"Girl on the Trapeze" | |
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The Avengers episode | |
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Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 6 |
Directed by | Don Leaver |
Written by | Dennis Spooner |
Produced by | Leonard White |
Featured music | John Dankworth (theme) |
Production code | 3370 [1] |
Original air date | 11 February 1961 |
Guest appearances | |
"Girl on the Trapeze" is the sixth episode of the first series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers , starring Ian Hendry and Ingrid Hafner, and guest starring Mia Karam, Howard Goorney, and Kenneth J. Warren. It was performed and aired live on ABC on 11 February 1961, and is one of only three series 1 episodes which are currently[ when? ] known to exist, complete. The episode was directed by Don Leaver, and written by Dennis Spooner. [2] [3]
It is notable as being one of only a handful of Avengers episodes in which the character of John Steed, played by Patrick Macnee (and who, at this point in the series' history, was a supporting character to Hendry's David Keel, not the lead), does not appear.
Dr. Keel rescues a young woman who tries to commit suicide by jumping into the River Thames. The woman is a trapeze artist with a visiting Central European circus. Foreign agents are trying to use her to force her father, a scientist who defected to Britain, to return to his country home.
The episode was broadcast live on ABC on 11 February 1961. [4]
Daniel Patrick Macnee was a British-American actor, best known for his breakthrough role as secret agent John Steed in the television series The Avengers (1961–1969). Starting out as the assistant to David Keel, he became the lead when Hendry left after the first series, and was subsequently partnered with a succession of female assistants. He later reprised the role in The New Avengers (1976–1977).
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. 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.
Dr. Catherine "Cathy" Gale is a fictional character played by Honor Blackman, on the 1960s British series The Avengers. She was the first regular female partner of John Steed, following the departure of Steed's original male co-star, Dr David Keel. She made her first appearance at the start of the series' second season in 1962.
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.
Ian Mackendrick Hendry was an English actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of The Avengers and The Lotus Eaters, and played roles in the films The Hill (1965), Repulsion (1965), Get Carter (1971), and Theatre of Blood (1973).
Police Surgeon is a television series made by ABC Weekend TV and starring Ian Hendry as Dr Geoffrey Brent. Its 13 half-hour episodes were broadcast on ITV at 7 pm on Saturday nights from 10 September to 3 December 1960. It is seen as a precursor to the much more famous series The Avengers, although there is no narrative connection.
Ingrid Hafner was a British actress, born in London. Her father was Raoul Hafner, an Austrian helicopter pioneer, and her mother Eileen Myra McAdam was a descendant of Scottish-born John Loudon McAdam, the road builder.
Nadežda "Nađa" Poderegin, commonly known by her stage name Nadja Regin, was a Serbian actress. Performing in Yugoslav films from 1949, she developed an international career in the 1950s, appearing in the 1960s in such British television series like Danger Man, Maigret, The Benny Hill Show and The Saint.
"Hot Snow" is the debut episode of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry and Patrick Macnee. It originally aired on ABC on 7 January 1961. Only about 15 minutes, the first of three acts, remain. The episode was directed by Don Leaver and generally acknowledged to have been written by Ray Rigby, but Brian Clemens claimed to have written it.
"Dance with Death" is the twelfth episode of the first series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry and Patrick Macnee and guest starring Caroline Blakiston, Angela Douglas and Geoffrey Palmer. It was first broadcast by ABC on 15 April 1961. The episode is considered to be lost. The episode was directed by Don Leaver, designed by James Goddard, and written by Peter Ling and Sheilah Ward.
"The Frighteners" is the fifteenth episode of the first series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry and Patrick Macnee. It was directed by Peter Hammond, designed by Robert Fuest, written by Berkely Mather and first broadcast by ABC on 27 May 1961.
"Crescent Moon" is the fifth episode of the first series of the 1960s British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry, Patrick Macnee and Ingrid Hafner, and guest starring Patience Collier, Roger Delgado, Harold Kasket, and Bandana Das Gupta. It was performed and aired live on ABC on 4 February 1961, and is one of many Season 1 episodes that as of 2012 is considered lost. The episode was directed by John Knight, and written by Geoffrey Bellman and John Whitney.
"Mission to Montreal" is the fifth episode of the second series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee. It was first broadcast by ABC on 27 October 1962. The episode was directed by Don Leaver and written by Lester Powell.
"Mr. Teddy Bear" is the first episode of the second series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. It was first broadcast by ABC on 29 September 1962. The episode was directed by Richmond Harding and written by Martin Woodhouse.
"The Undertakers" is the second episode of the third series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. It was first broadcast by ABC on 5 October 1963. The episode was directed by Bill Bain and written by Malcolm Hulke.
"The Grandeur That Was Rome" is the tenth episode of the third series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. It was first broadcast by ABC on 30 November 1963. The episode was directed by Kim Mills and written by Rex Edwards.
"The Little Wonders" is the sixteenth episode of the third series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. It was first broadcast by ABC on 11 January 1964. The episode was directed by Laurence Bourne and written by Eric Paice.
"Tunnel of Fear" is the 20th episode of the first series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry, Patrick Macnee and Ingrid Hafner, and guest starring John Salew, Anthony Bate and Miranda Connell. It was recorded on 405-line monochrome videotape on 3 August 1961 and was first broadcast by ABC on 5 August 1961. It is one of the three known complete series 1 episodes to have survived being purged from the ABC archives and was rediscovered in 2016 when it was found in a private collection. The episode was directed by Guy Verney and written by John Kruse.