Series 1 — Episode 22
Kill the King

Production details

VTR: Wednesday, 30th August 1961 18.00 — 19.00

Read-through: Monday, 10th July 1961 at 10.30 a.m. at The Tower, Brook Green Road, Hammersmith. RIVerside 8641
Rehearsals: From Monday, 10th July 1961 at The Tower, Hammersmith.
Camera Rehearsal: Tuesday, 29th August 1961, 10.30 — 21.00 and Wednesday 30th August 1961, 10.00 — 18.00.
Studio details: Teddington Two
Production No. 3419
Tape No. VTR/ABC/1390
Transmission: Saturday, 2nd September 1961, 20.51.00–21.47.35 (Networked)

Schedule

Tuesday, 29th August 1961
Camera reh.	10.30 — 12.30
Lunch break	12.30 — 13.30
Camera reh.	13.30 — 18.00
Supper break	18.00 — 19.00
Camera reh.	19.00 — 21.00
Wednesday 30th August 1961
Camera reh.	10.00 — 12.30
Lunch break	12.30 — 13.30
Camera reh.	13.30 — 15.00
Tea break, line up, Normal scan & Make-up	15.00 — 15.45
Dress reh.	15.54 — 17.00
Notes	17.00 — 17.30
Line up	17.30 — 18.00
V.T.R.	18.00–19.00

Equipment

Cameras: 4 Pedestals
Sound: 3 booms, 4 slung mics., grams & tape, phone distort, 6 prac. telephones
Telecine: ABC symbol, AVENGER slides, 35mm silent & combined

Total running time: 56.35 = Play portion: 52.25 + 2 Commercial Breaks of 2.05 each

Regional broadcasts

ITV Broadcaster	Date	Time
ABC Midlands	2/09/1961	8.50pm
ABC North	2/09/1961	8.50pm
Anglia Television	2/09/1961	8.50pm
ATV	2/09/1961	8.50pm
Southern Television	2/09/1961	8.50pm
Tyne Tees Television	2/09/1961	8.50pm
Television Wales & West	2/09/1961	8.50pm
Ulster Television	2/09/1961	8.50pm
Westward Television	2/09/1961	8.50pm
Scottish Television	2/09/1961	8.50pm
Border Television	2/09/1961	8.50pm
Grampian Television	-	-

TV Times listing

The London edition ended with An ABC Weekend Network Production as usual, while the Northern edition omits the quotation marks in the Johnny Dankworth credit.

Episode availability

• Video - no original footage is known to exist; a video reconstruction is available on the Studio Canal series 1&2 DVD set
• Audio - reconstruction in The Lost Episodes vol. 4, by Big Finish
• Script - clean archive copy of the original camera script, missing pages 36 and 78
• Publicity Stills - 307
• Tele-Snaps - 72, 11 of the small Tele-Snaps are repeated at a larger size

Continuity and trivia

1. I wonder if Carlton-Browne of the F.O. was the inspiration for the Crichton-Bull character’s name.
2. Crichton-Bull is the comic relief for the episode and frequently says stupid and naïve things. When Steed rushes off to tackle the major after defeating U Meng, Tuke asks why there’s a shambles and Crichton-Bull replies, “I’m not quite sure. The waiter didn’t seem at all well.”
3. This was the first episode shown by Border Television which started broadcasting the day before, on September 1 1961. Border broadcast from Carlisle in Northern Cumbria and covered Cumbria, Southern Scotland, the Isle of Man, and some of Northumberland.
4. This was also the last episode show for several months. Brian Tesler, the ABC programme controller, had struck a deal with ATV for them to finish their competing drama series Deadline Midnight as a weekly series again, and The Avengers would return to screens after their run finished. This gave the production crews a bit of breathing space and while they continued with production at a similar rate, the episode ends with the caption the AVENGERS .... returns on DECEMBER 9th" instead of the usual date and episode title for the next episode.
5. Right-wing commentators complain about “wokeness” these days - code for their own entrenched racism being under threat - but this episode shows there’s nothing new about a diverse cast. Here, in 1961, we have ten Asian actors in an episode. Indeed, if Unity Bevis’s concubine character had been played by an Asian actor we would have parity between Asian and non-Asian parts. Only Ian Hendry, who only dropped in to pick up a pay check, and the second detective tip the balance in favour of European faces. The Asian cast, in order of appearance: Burt Kwouk, Lisa Peake, James Goei, Ando Ho, Myo Toom, Eric Young, Jerry Lee Yen, Sarmukh Singh, Eugene Che and Jean Woo Sam.
6. Unity Bevis (full name, Unity Bevis-Jones) may be familiar to readers who saw the “Christian the Lion” videos on YouTube or read the book - she was a friend of the Australians who owned the lion and was a frequent visitor to their flat and shop. They described her as Christian’s “best friend” and would call round almost every day to play with the lion.
7. Reed de Rouen is not listed in the surviving paperwork at all (we only have a camera script which would not normally list the script editor) but is clearly seen in some still images that captured the read-through sessions and was presumably the story editor for this episode.
   Reed was one of the story editors for series 1, having replaced Patrick Brawn in May 1961. He left his editor rôle in October 1961, probably due to the Equity Strike but would return in series 2 as a cast member in The Removal Men and the scriptwriter of Six Hands Across a Table (under the name Reed R. de Rouen - his middle name was Randolph).
8. This episode was written by James Mitchell, who went on to be the creator of Callan. Burt Kwouk also appears in an episode of Callan entitled The Running Dog as a visiting Asian official facing assassination who turns out to be duplicitous and self-serving. That episode is also lost. It was credited to William Emms rather than James Mitchell but it may be that Emms heavily revised Mitchell’s treatment from this story.