Series 2 — Episode 26
Killer Whale

Production details

Episode 52
Production Number : 3525
VTR/ABC/2517 & 2517A-B
Teddington Studio 1

Thursday 21st March 1963

VTR Inserts:

• 2517/A - Tiger and Joey in the ring (intercut with live - shots 48–54) (10:50–12:15)
• 2517/B - Tag scene in Cathy’s flat (shots 163–167) (46:54–47:48)

Thursday 15th November 1962

Equipment

Running time

Expected: 48′25″ + 2 commercial breaks
Actual running time with bumpers: 48′38″

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

The TV Times mis-bills Julie Paulle as Julie Paule.

Episode availability

• Video - original footage held by Studio Canal, available on the Studio Canal series 1&2 DVD set
• Script - Tony Pelly’s copy of the camera script and scene breakdown
• Publicity Stills - at least 26

Murders

Click a name to see the face

Transport

Continuity and trivia

1. 1:25, 3:19, 18:30, 19:00, 34:07 — video distortion
2. 10:50–12:15 — The bout with Tiger was supposed to last a minute but timekeeping in the Sixties apparently wasn’t that good - the bell rings at 10:57 and they strike gloves at 11:00, but at 12:00 Steed announces he still has 10 seconds to go - Joey goes down at 12:08, gets back up, and Steed rings time at 12:13, and tells Harry off for not ringing it earlier.
3. 16:00 — Steed claims he wants to buy a wardrobe consisting of “an evening dress, a couple of cocktail dresses, two day suits, accessories of course, naturally”.
4. 16:33 — Denise smirks when Steed seems far too familiar with his “niece’s” measurements - 34–24-36, 5′ 4″
5. 17:52 — a thread gets stuck on the transfer plate and remains there until 20:50.
6. 20:50 — Charlie Horton is described as having fled the country after ‘making a mistake’ - by which is meant (as Joey explains to Cathy at 37:55) he fixed a fight and was found out.
7. 21:40 — The ‘Models from the Kenneth Sweet Collection’ appear when Steed views the wardrobe Fernand has designed for him. They’re preceded by Angela - played by Julie Paulle - (in a dress of cricket flannel with a matching stole - Steed exclaims, “Cricket flannel for the evening?” and Fernand replies, “Why not? it’s very chic; it flares gently at the hem”).
   Then the models appear in the following order:
   
   1. Elaine Little (black and white gingham dress in an entertaining ‘bush’ style - to which Steed says “Happy Safari!”);
   2. June Hodgson (turquoise evening dress and coat in heavy woven linen);
   3. Diane Keys (not announced by Fernand, who’s interrupted by Brown, but she’s wearing a woollen tunic and spotted tie with matching hat).
8. 27:33 — Shot 104 starts with a close-up of the newspaper in Harry’s hands but the drama is lost when the cameraman loses focus as he zooms out and we have several seconds of blurred film.
9. 45:48 (44:57) - someone coughs backstage just as Steed leads the villains away at gunpoint.
10. 46:19 (45:35) - Brian Mason misses his cue, ending up in some odd direction: Cathy is beating up Harry, but we cut to a shot of two chairs, which we hold for several seconds before Tiger finally crosses in front of them and takes on Joey.
11. 46:51 — Steed once again uses his pseudonym, Carruthers, when calling the police. It was previously used in The Big Thinker
12. 47:48 — the majority of the tag scene was left on the cutting room floor; Steed had planned to take Cathy with him to the Carribbean by deceipt, but scenes 165–167 were junked completely, and the last line of 164 went with them.