• title card: white all caps text reading ‘THE EAGLE’S NEST BY BRIAN CLEMENS’ superimposed on a freeze frame of Stannard leaping off the cliff, arms and legs outstretched
  • Ralph in close-up, pointing his Luger pistol at us
  • Purdey backs against a tree as Main and Barker pass through the trees beyond her
  • Gerda and Gambit get up close and personal
  • Trasker, now in full Gestapo uniform, aims his submachinegun
  • The Neww Avengers whistle the Colonel Bogey March as they leave the monastery

The New Avengers, Series 1 — Episode 1
The Eagle’s Nest

by Brian Clemens
Directed by Desmond Davis

Production details

Produced:April, 1976

Regional broadcasts

BroadcasterDateTime
Thames Television19/10/19768:00pm
ATV Midlands22/10/19768:00pm
Granada Television22/10/19768:00pm
Anglia Television19/10/19768:00pm
Border Television22/10/19768:00pm
Channel Television22/10/19768:00pm
Grampian Television22/10/19768:00pm
Southern Television22/10/19768:00pm
Scottish Television22/10/19768:00pm
Tyne Tees Television22/10/19768:00pm
Ulster Television22/10/19768:00pm
Westward Television22/10/19768:00pm
Harlech Television17/10/19767:50pm
Yorkshire Television22/10/19768:00pm

TV Times listing

TV Times listing for October 19 1976 8pm (London edition)
Sydney Morning Herald listing for February 9 1977, 8.30pm
The Age listing for February 9 1977, 8.30pm

8.0 New Series
The New Avengers
By Brian Clemens
Patrick Macnee
Gareth Hunt
Joanna Lumley
Peter Cushing
Derek Farr in
The Eagle’s Nest

The return of John Steed in another series of swashbuckling adventures, with new assistants Gambit and the gorgeous Purdey. The trail of a kidnapped scientist takes the trio to a sinister island where men deal out death with hook and line. The music is composed by Laurie Johnson.

Sex and John Steed — the truth revealed: see page 21

John Steed Patrick Macnee
Mike Gambit Gareth Hunt
Purdey Joanna Lumley
Von Claus Peter Cushing
Father Trasker Derek Farr
Karl Frank Gatliff
Hara Sydney Bromley
Brown-Fitch Trevor Barker
Lady with dog Joyce Carey
Main Neil Phillips
Stannard Brian Anthony
Jud Ronald Forfar
Barker Jerold Wells
Gerda Trude Van Doorne
Nazi corporal Peter Porteous
Ralph Charles Bolton

Director Desmond Davis

The Age announces the new series: “Mon Dieu! Les Avengeurs!”

International broadcasts

ABN2 Sydney, Australia9/02/19778:30pm
ABV2 Melbourne, Australia9/02/19778:30pm
ABC New York, USA15/09/197811:30pm
TF1 France22/01/19779:35pm
Suisse Romande, Switzerland7/12/19768:25pm
French titleLe Repaire de l’Aigle
ZDF Germany
German titleDer Adlerhorst
KRO Netherlands28/10/19768:25pm
Dutch titleHet Adelaarsnest
Italy19/05/19788:40pm
Italian titleIl nido dell’aquila
Spain
Spanish title

Germany and Spain did not broadcast this episode.

Netherlands: Leidse Courant summary for October 28 1976, 8.25pm
France: L’Impartial episode summary for January 22 1977, 9.35pm
France: Gazette de Lausanne listing for January 22 1977, 9.35pm
Italy: La Stampa listing for May 19 1978, 8.40pm
USA: Chicago Tribune listing for September 15 1978, 10.30pm
Netherlands: Leidse Courant episode summary with a photo from To Catch a Rat
Italy: Radiocorriere listing and summary for May 19 1978, 8.40pm
Switzerland: L’Impartial listing, summary and photo for December 7 1976, 8.25pm

Continuity and trivia

Brown-Fitch is misspelt in the credits as Brown-Fitcth

The captured nazis marched across the bridge in the closing scene never appeared in any other part of the episode.

This episode has a video Q&A and commentary with Renée Glynne and Philip Hawkins on the Lives in the Pictures YouTube channel.

The Transport

Marque Colour Number Plate
Rowing boat with a Johnson 25 outboard motor oak -
Fiat 130 Coupé 1971? grey CCP 755L
Steed’s Rover 3500 SD1 Automatic 1976 lemon MOC 229P
Mercedes Benz 230 Lang (W114) 1969 black JYF 438I?
Gambit’s Jaguar XJ-S [XJ27] 1976 red NRW 875P
Volkswagen Golf N 1 (Typ 17) 1975 silver MYK 663P
Ford Corsair 2000E 1967 silver TMC 288F
Ford Cortina white VBH 129N
Bedford J1 Hawson 1966 navy MLC 174D
Citroen DS21 Pallas white MCO 731P
Volvo 164 E Automatic 1974 pale blue AJH 417N
Bedford TK truck 1968 yellow ?
open wooden motorboat white ?
open wooden motorboat wood with teal coaming ?
Crashed Nazi aeroplane (tail only) camouflage green Der Adler K.7

Who’s Killing Whom?

Victim Killer Method
George Stannard Main poisoned fish hook
Ralph (self) suicide pill
Click a name to see the face

The Fashions

Gambit’s fashions
  1. dark brown single-breasted 3-piece suit with flared trousers, light brown shirt, brown tie with diamond motif
  2. light brown checked single-breasted 3-piece suit with flared trousers, slit breast pocket, tailored with darts, light brown shirt, dark brown tie
  3. wetsuit, purple & black, later with grey running shoes and a cream rollneck shirt
Purdey’s fashions
  1. beige Chinese-style embroidered raw silk jacket & matching trousers, later with fur coat
  2. purple & black wetsuit over..
  3. green/rainbow striped ‘skeleton’ matching blouse and skirt over…
  4. green bodystocking, sometimes with the skirt above
Steed’s fashions
  1. dark grey single-breasted 3-piece suit, covered waist pockets, single button at waist, with matching bowler hat, mauve shirt and metallic dark gold tie, black umbrella
  2. brown overcoat, pale green shirt, dark brown tie, brown bowler hat, brown gloves
  3. grey single-breasted 3-piece suit, covered waist pockets, felt collar, single button at waist, white shirt, yellow tie - briefly with a large blue handkerchief with white polkadots on the shoulder (while playing a violin)
  4. grey tweed single-breasted 3-piece suit with brown felt collar, grey bowler (containing a radio), cream shirt, brick red & blue paisley tie, occasionally With gloves or grey umbrella
  5. monk’s habit (disguise)

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