The Diabolical Masterminds
of Series 3 (1963-4)

British Cultural Committee boss Peterson plots with Burns, the owner of a dingy 'gentleman's club', to scuttle some East-West trade talks by forcing a visiting Pianist to kill the Minter of Trade and besmirch his country.

The girls Burns uses for his blackmail attempts are both killed, and his thugs rough up Steed a bit in the process.

Solicitor brothers, Miles and Jasper Larkin tire of legal obscurity and construct a string of perfect Old Bailey criminal case defences; they've devised a scheme whereby they construct a perfect defence first, and then have murderers carry out their instructions, in return for a sizeable fee, so they can get their clients off.

The girls Burns uses for his blackmail attempts are both killed, and his thugs rough up Steed a bit in the process.

Ministry security officer Mick Venner plotted with his assistant and a man called Alex to steal the uber-secret file "Big Ben" (Bilateral Infiltration, Great Britain (E)and North america) from "The Nutshell" ("therm-Nuclear Underground Targetzone SHEL(L)ter"), a secret installation under the Thames.

Army officers trying to set up an unofficial retirement fund for their Corps run amuck of Chinese gold smugglers and Steed's department. The gangsters prove more vicious than the kind-hearted if easily misled officers.

The manservant of a visiting potentate plots to kill the Emir and take over the country upon their return home from Britian, but he's preempted by the Emir dying of natural causes before he can marshall his troops back home, and Steed saves the fledgling .. ummm... monarchy, from revolution.

An undisclosed Eastern Bloc country tries to subvert Britain's national security by planting doppelgangers in our midst - from the height of Westminster politics to the scientific labs and security services of the island.

Led by Frank Cummings, the first of the planted doppelgangers (real name unknown), they conduct the replacements at a holiday camp but are quickyl rumbled by Steed, who allows the one successful replacement to remain 'undetected' so as to feed misinformation to the enemy.

Martin Goodman, imprisoned years before by Steed and Mrs Gale for fleecing refugees of their funds under the guise of leading them over the wall, and then turning them in to the East German authorities, seeks revenge, aided by his insane actress lover, Ola.
They hire another actor to play a disturbing young man but the hapless thespian is killed for his trouble so as to turn the screw in Mrs Gale's mental torture.

Sir Bruno Luker plans to take over the world! ha, ha ha! and turn it into a recreation of the Roman Empire - using bubonic plague and other pestilences, no less.
He hasn't reckoned on his second in command, Marcus, playing Brutus with Octavia, who here can hardly be considered Caesar's wife...

The Avengers are captured by the Imperialists but twist the toga to defeat the fledgling Caligulas.

Lomax and Madden run a service whereby millionaires' families can avoid death duties by making it seem the deceased is still alive - hiring actors to take their place - for five years post decease.
Lomax, however, wants the concern, and Madden's wife Paula, for himself and orders Green and his pallbearers to kill Madden. Green disobeys and Madden seeks revenge, but Steed and Mrs Gale capture the villains instead.