Series 2 — Episode 9
The Sell-Out

Production details

Episode 29
Production Number : 3502
VTR/ABC/1807
Teddington Studio 2

Schedule

Friday 8th June 1962

Saturday 9th June 1962

Running time

Expected: 51′25″
Actual running time with bumpers: 50′46″

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

TV Times listing

Episode availability

• Video - original footage held by Studio Canal, available on the Studio Canal series 1&2 DVD set
• Script - Sylvia Langdon-Down’s copy of the camera script - the script oddly has a note relating to The Decapod scribbled on the front page. It reads: Edna/Venus sc. Act 3. “Have you reported he’s missing”
• Production paperwork - scene breakdown, artiste contact list, dressing room allocations, location film list
• Publicity Stills - at least 1

Murders

Click a name to see the face

Transport

Continuity and trivia

1. 1:06 — The camera bumps into something and bounces upwards after tightening in on Dr. King.
2. 3:02 — Steed tells One Twelve he didn’t complete his assignment of bringing Roland to a meeting with the minister because he’d “rather not deliver him dead”. His reports is as follows:
   At 1008h I accompanied Roland to the lobby of the Astor Towers hotel. At that time, Mr. Alun Price, oil representative, was shot and killed in our immediate vicinity. I hid Roland in the manager’s office and went through Price’s belongings, then rang Harvey to say ‘we had a washout’.
   One Twelve tells him, “We are contributing to the danger in East Asia by keeping Roland from negotiating”.
3. 07:40 (7:36) - a flare guard appears in top right of screen for a second.
4. 8:39 (8:34) - Lilian opens the door and doesn’t stop when a spoon falls off her tray.
5. 11:16 (11:11) - Macnee says “there’s one point on that paper that -”, realises he’s fluffed the line as Hobbs peers at it intensely and recovers magnificently by continuing, “ that er, isn’t exactly specified”. The line in the script is “There’s one important point which you won’t find on the paper, sir.”
6. 11:55 — Just after that, Macnee fluffs another line, saying “Hello Judy” instead of “Hello doctor” when he’s announced and enters Dr. King’s office; he would of course have already seen Judy in reception.
7. Dr. King’s impassioned speech about quitting is also a bit different to the script:
   Script

   KING: Listen, Steed. From now on I’m going to be a doctor, nothing else. I’m not an agent, a counter-spy, a gunman or a cover for you or anything you can use in your – work. I’m just going to be a doctor – so you can go away and leave me in peace.

   Broadcast

   KING: Now listen, Steed. From now on I’m just going to be a doctor, I’m not going to be anything else. I’m not going to be a- an agent, a counter-spy, a gunman or a cover for you or anything you can use in your business. I’m just going to be a doctor – so you can — leave me in peace.

8. 16:20 — Steed’s movements, as related by Fraser:
   Harvey’s - arrived 2:15 departed 2:50
   Astor hotel - Roland’s suite arrived 3:30 departed 4:10
   Dr. Martin King, 12 Marchbanks Terrace, SW3 arrived 4:30 departed 5:01
   then went to his club and had two large brandy and sodas rather quickly.
   Fraser is surprised to learn that One-Tweve knows about Dr. King. He adds that he thought Steed’s swift drinks at the club were out of character and suggested worry.
9. 18:38 — Roland puts a white carnation in Steed’s lapel - the start of a new facet to the character?
10. 25:06 — Dr. King played wing three-quarter in his youth.
11. 26:00 (25:35) - Macnee says to Harvey “looks after Roland while I look after the minister” when of course it’s the other way round.
12. 31:39 — Dr. King’s phone number: Gerrard 1071.
13. 35:11 — At the end of Act 2, the script asks for a MS of Steed entering Fraser’s shop, discovering him dead and then being hit by One-Twelve. The cameraman, however, tightens on Steed, then pans down to focus on Fraser’s face so we don’t even see Steed being hit - Macnee appears to shout for no reason and slump to the floor, then we have a MCU of One-Twelve. A directorial change that didn’t work? We may never know.
14. Despite dying in the opening scene, Ray Browne is one of the extras at One-Twelve’s party.
15. 38:31 — Mark Harvey saw the eminent oncologist, Dr. G. Walton of Millbank Hospital.
16. 44:48 (43:35) - Gatliff says “I may be gone into mourning - until morning” (the first is probably more appropriate).
17. 49:54 — Dr. King doesn’t initially notice Steed has a gun pointed at the assassin at the press conference and comes over to ask him what he’s going to do now, spots the gun then says, “Oh! In that case I’ll go back on the bus.” and leaves hurriedly. A quiet exit from the Avenging world for the softly-spoken doctor (this was the last Dr. King episode produced, but an earlier episode, Dead on Course, was broadcast later).