• title card: NIGHTMARE superimposed on a scientific laboratory scene (recreated by Richard McGinlay)
  • Publicity still: Steed and Dr. Keel pause in a Soho street, unsure where the fake MI5 agent they have been pursuing has gone (from a promotional shoot but similar to this episode’s chase sequence).
  • Publicity still: Dr. Keel and Steed scale a wall in the back streets of the West End as they continue to pursue Commander Reece (image may be from a promotional shoot).

Series 1 — Episode 4
Nightmare

by Terence Feely

Production No 3368, VTR/ABC/1098
Production completed: January 28 1961. First transmission: January 28 1961.

Production details

Studio details: Teddington Two
Production No. 3368
Tape No. VTR/ABC/1098 (recorded off TX.)
Transmission: 28th January 1961, 10.00–11.00 p.m.

Schedule

Camera rehearsal would have taken place on 27th January and 28th January, 1961 in a schedule similar to the other episodes of this time.

Regional broadcasts

ITV BroadcasterDateTime
ABC Midlands28/01/196110.00pm
ABC North28/01/196110.00pm
Anglia Television--
ATV--
Southern Television--
Tyne Tees Television--
Television Wales & West--
Ulster Television--
Westward Television--
Scottish Television--
Border Television--
Grampian Television--

TV Times listing

TV Times listing for January 28 1961, 10pm (Northern edition)

10.0 THE AVENGERS
starring
IAN HENDRY
in
NIGHTMARE
Teleplay by Terence Feely
Also starring
PATRICK MACNEE

Cast in order of appearance:

Williams Gordon Boyd
David Keel Ian Hendry
Carol Wilson Ingrid Hafner
Faith Braintree Helen Lindsay
Commander Reece Michael Logan
John Steed Patrick Macnee
Dr. Brown Robert Bruce
Dr. Jones Redmond Bailey
Dr. Miller Robert Sansom

“The Avengers” theme composed and
played by Johnny Dankworth
Designed by Robert Fuest
Produced by LEONARD WHITE
Directed by Peter Hammond

An eerie telephone call from a beautiful
woman gives Dr. Keel a dangerous secret
and takes him to a large hospital where,
hidden behind a benevolent staff, is a
group of dangerous men

Episode availability

  • Video - none
  • Audio - reconstruction in The Lost Episodes vol. 5, by Big Finish
  • Script - none
  • Publicity Stills - none, or several*
  • Tele-Snaps - none

Continuity and trivia

  1. This episode is entirely lost - no scripts, no publicity stills*, and no film. The scant information we have is taken from newspaper articles and the TV Times listings of the day, and from Dave Rogers’ researches in the 1980s and 1990s, which seem to have been based on original paperwork from the show which is now missing.

    * Although we may in fact have some photos after all, see below.
  2. In Blind in One Ear (Harrap 1988 reprint hardback, p. 209), Patrick Macnee gives an anecdote which must be about this episode: “Much of our early location work was done around the sleazier parts of London’s West End. In those early days our wardrobe seemed to consist of one dirty mac apiece. As Ian and I jumped over the walls and hid in the alleyways of Soho, we surely resembled a couple of dirty old men on the run from police officers who’d just raided a strip joint. In fact, we were the ones chasing criminals. I remember my barrister friend’s words while tearing through such a back to front, upside down and inside out situation.
    That day we were after some crooks disguised as MI5 men. In other episodes the suspects included seedy Spanish retainers and a Communist madman called Zibbo the Clown.”
    These last two are references to Crescent Moon and Girl on the Trapeze so he is nicely bracketing three consecutive episodes together in this reminiscence. The anecdote suggests that the chase sequence in this episode is similar to that seen in some promotional stills, often attributed to Dance with Death and The Springers, as well as a promotional shoot on December 5 1960 that was partly used to create the opening and closing credits imagery. It’s possible that Macnee was conflating these but I have chosen a couple to illustrate this episode.
  3. As the script is lost it can’t be confirmed whether Professor Braintree was a non-speaking walk-on part or if the character never appeared on screen at all.
  4. A memo dated March 30 1962 proposed a replay season for the nine episodes not broadcast by ATV and Anglia and also the first two episodes, which had been seen on ATV but not Anglia. This proves that all live episodes had been recorded any may yet be out there somewhere.
    This episode was proposed to be run last of these, despite originally being in the top category of viewer ratings, so either the producers must not have liked it very much, or they held it back to be a cracking finale.

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