Series 2 — Episode 3
The Decapod

Production details

Episode 34
Production Number : 3507
VTR/ABC/1979
Teddington Studio 1 & Rehearsal Room 2A

Schedule

First Reading

Friday 31st August 1962, 10.30a.m., REHEARSAL ROOM 2A, Teddington Studios.

Rehearsals

31st August-Sept.11th inclusive, REHEARSAL ROOM 2A, Teddington Studios.

Camera Rehearsal & Recording

Wednesday September 12th 1962, 10.00–21.00.
Thursday September 13th 1962, 10.00–18.30 (VTR: 1830–1930) STUDIO I, Teddington.

Equipment

Running time

Actual running time with bumpers: 51′19″

The bumpers between the acts are generally 10 seconds from fade in to the “End of Act” bumper to the end of audio before the commercial, a 10 second still without audio, then cut to the next act bumper. This would play with the theme for around 10 seconds. Accordingly, with the episodes being in 3 acts, the running time of the action is approximately a minute less than listed above, minus the opening and closing credits (normally 0′16″, with a 2" fade, and anywhere from 0′41″ to 1′20″, hard cut or 1" fade or mix, respectively).

Regional broadcasts

* There is uncertainty about the broadcast by ABV2 Melbourne as The Decapod is listed for both 28 May and 30 July, 1964. 28 May would have had it in the same broadcast order as other Australian regions. It’s quite likely that it was replaced by Mission to Montreal on the first date and not broadcast until 30 July.

TV Times listing

Episode availability

• Video - original footage held by Studio Canal, available on the Studio Canal series 1&2 DVD set
• Script - Clean archive copy of the rehearsal script
• Script - Tony Pelly’s copy of the camera script
• Publicity Stills - at least 42

Murders

Click a name to see the face

Transport

Continuity and trivia

1. 0:52 — the girl has just stepped out of the shower, but has full eye makeup on.
2. 5:07 — The microphone takes a moment getting to Julie as the camera shifts, and we almost completely miss the line “No I can’t break away”.
3. 20:33 — The false Decapod gets caught on the ropes when he tries to vault them.
4. At the beginning of Act 2, Ito correctly says the blow was a Karate blow, from the ancient Samurai art of killing - but whoever typed the camera script is unfamiliar with it, and it’s typed as "Karati - the ancient Somali art of killing" (page 31).
5. 21:56–8 — the cameraman is still changing lenses when the director switches to his camera.
6. 27:09–27:41 — there’s a smudge on the camera lens, top centre, for the shots of Venus on the phone in the club. It’s there again when Harry jumps Steed in the cloakroom (28:11), when Steed looks for Borb in the hallway (32:20), when Edna comes looking for Venus (35:41), the reverse shots of Borb at the ringside (42:00–44:00) and Steed’s close-up when he’s talking to Venus after Borb’s death (49:30), so it’s definitely on the lens rather than the transfer plate.
7. 39:15 — the Dave Lee’s trio start playing in the background, even though the action is taking place in the embassy.
8. 46:28 — Just as Harry climbs into the ring, you can see a stage hand running off set behind the seats in the stands.
9. 46:51 — Stepan walks up the steps in the gym at the back of the set (going to his mark for 48:05) as the two ‘decapods’ fight, and Steed and Venus ignore him completely.
10. Borb’s final demands are changed in the film from what was in the script, probably because the lines were a bit cumbersome: Script

    BORB: I demand asylum as a political refugee.
    STEED: Fine. We can now charge you with triple murder.
    BORB: In that case I claim diplomatic privilege and demand to be returned to my own country.

    Recording

    BORB: I demand asylum!
    STEED: That’s fine but we’ll charge you with triple murder!
    BORB: In that case I... I demand to be returned to my own country!

11. 50:17 — was Wolfe Morris a late replacement or did they spell his name wrong? You can see his name has been pasted onto the caption card in the credits.
12. The script refers to Georgi and Sakko but I have used the more likely Balkan spellings, Giorgi and Czarko.

The Songs

Venus Smith sings two songs, accompanied by the Dave Lee Trio.

• “You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me” [4:14, 1:22 long]
  • Listen to “You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me”
  • 
    Watch “You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me”
• “I Got It Bad” [29:02, 2:04 long]
  • Listen to “I Got It Bad”
  • 
    Watch “I Got It Bad”

The Dave Lee Trio comprised Dave Lee, Art Morgan and Spike Heatley in 1962, all highly respected jazz players. Dave Lee also co-wrote the hit Avengers tie-in single “Kinky Boots” b/w “Let’s Keep it Friendly” with Herbert Kretzmer (who wrote the lyrics for “Togetherness” from The Murder Market). Dave also composed the Peter Sellers/Sophia Loren comic song “Goodness Gracious Me” with Kretzmer.