1.20 - Tunnel of Fear

[darren]

Written by John Kruse

Directed by Guy Verney

Production Completed: Thursday 3rd August 1961

[darren]

I'll leave off a score until I'm more familiar with the episode.

I've just finished watching the new dvd release.

It's so wonderful to finally see this episode and it delivers for me.

I always knew this would be a good one as the fairground setting is such an Avengers location and Steed looking getting to be a showman and look after a troupe of female dancers was always going to be fun.

Patrick Macnee obviously had lots of fun doing this episode. I'm not sure what accent he's going for with the announcements but it made me laugh. His early performances are so spirited and full of energy - he seems so much calmer and laid back by the end of the show.

Ian Hendry is so much more contained by comparison but he's still just as enjoyable to watch. I laughed at his response to the fortune teller pocketing his money. He's a very likeable performer.

It's lovely to see more of Carol. Keel tries to send her home at the beginning but she totally ignores him and just helps anyway.

Watching the three performers just makes you long for more series one to make a surprise resurfacing. And of course One-Ten is thrown in for good measure and get to provide some humour by dog sitting Juno (a gorgeous dog - such a shame...).

The more season one episodes I see, the more I prefer them to season two. The level of energy and pace is just so much more consistent. They never seem to hit a lull. The vibrancy is there throughout. It must be a credit to either the actors thrashing out the script or maybe John Bryce as script editor.

Whilst director Peter Hammond will always be one go to for the best - one off director Guy Verney certainly contributes a lot to the episode. It's a shame he didn't do more episodes as he really keeps the energy going. There's a lot of movement to the cameras. Terry Green and James Goddard's set design is wonderful, a lot of visual interest.

Yes, a strong, fun episode that doesn't disappoint.

[Ian Wegg]

Works for me too. I agree with most of the points above, and have to say I also enjoyed this more than most of the series 2 episodes I've seen.

I thought the screaming girls were a bit over the top.

8/10

[MRotten]

The episode really didn't kick in for me until the interrogation scene, roughly 37 minutes into it. I thought Harry's mother had far too much dialogue and screen time. I think "The Frighteners" is an absolutely GREAT episode, with fabulous guest actors and razor-sharp dialogue, but "Tunnel Of Fear" doesn't match up IMHO.

[Steed3003]

We just published our review (four stars) on Tunnel of fear, as well as additional trivia around the episode :
http://lemondedesavengers.fr/chapeau-me ... el-of-fear

[MRotten]

Who was it, Leonard White (?) who thought Season 1 was awful? After viewing the disappointing "Tunnel Of Fear", I'm not surprised. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but Ian Hendry seems to be the least memorable Avenger, even beating out Jon Rollason and Julie Stevens for that distinction. I have a hard time warming up to him.

[QuiteQuiteFantastic]

Personally, I really liked "Tunnel of Fear". I think Hendry was a low-key and subtle performer whose personality and character would have taken a while to unfold. It's sad that we can't see the full season to see how it went. I sincerely doubt that Leonard White would have thought Hendry or the season was bad since they fought so hard to create a vehicle for him after the failure of Police Surgeon.

Since Jon Rollason was essentially the same character, an imitation with barely a change, it also seems improbable that his doctor could be better than Hendry's.

Venus Smith was an idea that just didn't have a place in the show, an unskilled assistant whose involvement was increasingly contrived beyond all reason with each successive adventure.

Michael