• title card: white all caps text reading ‘K IS FOR KILL BY BRIAN CLEMENS’ superimposed on one of the Russians rushing out of the woods to attack
  • The Avengers meet at a café in Paris, Gambit has brought along Dsse Leparge, who is in a leopard print dress and is clearly his date, his hands resting on her shoulders
  • The embassy guard puts his arm around Purdey’s throat, using her as a shield and pointing his gun at her, threatening to shoot her unless Gambit lets him escape
  • Turkov is sampling every liquer the Paris café stocks - making up for 30 years of suspended animation - when Stanislav joins him
  • Turkov takes up his sniping position in the church steeple
  • Decorated with Soviet medals, the Avengers toast each other with champagne, Gambit and Steed struggle due to their injuries

The New Avengers, Series 2 — Episode 9
K is for Kill - Part 2: Tiger by the Tail

by Brian Clemens
Directed by Yvon Marie Coulais

Production details

Produced:June, 1977

Regional broadcasts

BroadcasterDateTime
Thames Television3/11/19778:00pm
ATV Midlands4/11/19778:00pm
Granada Television3/11/19778:00pm
Anglia Television3/11/19778:00pm
Border Television4/11/19778:00pm
Channel Television3/11/19778:00pm
Grampian Television4/11/19778:00pm
Southern Television3/11/19778:00pm
Scottish Television3/11/19778:00pm
Tyne Tees Television4/11/19778:00pm
Ulster Television3/11/19778:00pm
Westward Television3/11/19778:00pm
Harlech Television4/11/19778:00pm
Yorkshire Television4/11/19778:00pm

TV Times listing

TV Times listing for November 3 1977, 8pm (London edition)
Sydney Morning Herald listing for March 20 1978, 8.30pm
The Age listing for March 20 1978, 8.30pm

8.0 The New Avengers
Patrick Macnee
Joanna Lumley
Gareth Hunt
in
K is for Kill

Part Two: Tiger by the Tail
By Brian Clemens

The New Avengers find themselves trapped in battle-torn France — 30 years after the end of the war …

Mr. Avenger: the man whol liberated Purdey: see page 22

John Steed Patrick Macnee
Purdey Joanna Lumley
Mike Gambit Gareth Hunt
Col. Martin Pierre Vernier
Gen. Gaspard Maurice Marsac
Stanislav Charles Millot
Jeanine Leparge Christine Delaroche
Toy Paul Emile Deiber
Turkov Maxence Mailfort
Kerov Sach Pitoeff
Minister Alberto Simono

Director Yvon Marie Coulais; Producers Albert Fennell, Brian Clemens

International broadcasts

ABN2 Sydney, Australia20/03/19788:30pm
ABV2 Melbourne, Australia20/03/19788:30pm
ABC New York, USA24/03/197912:45am
TF1 France11/08/19798:45pm
Suisse Romande, Switzerland
French titleLe long sommeil (2e partie : La danse de l’ours)
ZDF Germany
German titleDer Drache erwacht
KRO Netherlands21/11/19778:25pm
Dutch titleDe M van Moord
Italy29/04/80??
Italian titleK come killers
Spain
Spanish title

K is for Kill parts 1 and 2 were shown in one night by CBS stations as a long-form special finale for the American market. It appears from the New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times that the two episodes were shown back to back as those newspapers have two entries for the night (11.30pm and 12.45am in New York, 11.30pm and 12.30am in LA, and Baltimore listed part 2 as starting at 12:40am), these areas all finished at 2am, whereas the Chicago Tribune simply listed The New Avengers at 10.30pm and a rock concert starting at 1am. Technically, the USA debut for part 2 is on March 23 1979 as Chicago ran an hour earlier and would have started the second part between 11:40 and 11:45pm, so as to be synchronised with East Coast broadcasts.

Dutch newspapers simply advertised each part of K is for Kill by the same title, “De M van Moord”.

Spain chose not to broadcast this episode.

Netherlands: Limburgsch Dagblad listing for November 21 1977, 8.25pm
France: L’Impartial listing for August 11 1979, 8.45pm
USA: Los Angeles Times listing for March 23 1979, 11.30pm & 12.30am

Continuity and trivia

The café in the Place Dauphine must be the best in Paris because every character in the episode seems to go there, and each one is commented on ascerbilcally by the waiter (Jacques Monnet).

The Transport

Marque Colour Number Plate
Rover 3500 SD1 taupe 4253 RU 95
Citroën 2500 DS Taxi silver 665 BFX 75
Renault 30 TS white 9596 FJ92
French Gendarmerie 500cc motorcycle navy -
French Gendarmerie 500cc motorcycle navy -
Ford Transit hearse/van black 8790 VZ75
Cadillac limousine black 9508 RU 83
Ford? limousine black ?

Who’s Killing Whom?

Victim Killer Method
Entrepot worker Minski bayonet
Général Gaspard Minski silenced pistol
Minski Gambit pistol
Toy Guard silenced pistol
Turkov Steed church bells deafen him and cause him to fall from the steeple
Stanislav Purdey run down by his own car (unconfirmed)
Click a name to see the face

The Fashions

Gambit’s fashions
  1. mustard leather jacket epaulettes, pleated patch pockets, white shirt, brown trousers
  2. pale grey cardigan, flares and shirt, brown leather holster
  3. tuxedo, frilled shirt, black tie
  4. navy pinstriped suit, navy tie, pale blue shirt
  5. mustard suit, tan shirt, tan tie
Purdey’s fashions
  1. brown cord vest & flared trousers, checked brown & white blouse
  2. red lipstick patterned white dress
  3. blue bodysuit & cape
  4. red shorts & scarf, white blouse
  5. tight blue dress
Steed’s fashions
  1. slate grey 3-piece single-breasted suit with pale blue shirt, purple tie
  2. slate grey 3-piece single-breasted suit with pale bl shirt, mustard tie
  3. tuxedo, plain shirt, black tie
  4. grey velvet 3-piece suit, white shirt, blue tie with white spot
  5. charcoal blazer, beige trousers, white shirt, gold & blue patterned tie

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