• title card: white all caps text reading ‘NOVEMBER FIVE’ superimposed on a shot across Westminster Bridge towards the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben
  • Cathy and Steed discuss the case on the terrace of the Houses of Parliament
  • Cathy, in her leather fighting suit, takes a gasp of air after defeating her assailant in the gym
  • Steed enters the trendy office of Mark St John
  • Medium shot showing Dyter pointing his revolver off-screen to where St John is standing
  • The case solves, Cathy is able to share a joke with Mrs. Dove

Series 3 — Episode 6
November Five

by Eric Paice
Designed by Douglas James
Directed by Bill Bain

Production No 3611, VTR/ABC/2965
Production completed: September 27 1963. First transmission: November 2 1963.

Production Schedule

Episode 64
Production Number : 3611
VTR/ABC/2965
Teddington Studio 1

Thursday 26th September 1963

Camera rehearsal 10.00–12.30
Lunch 12.30–13.30
Camera rehearsal 13.30–18.00
Supper 18.00–19.00
Line-Up 19.00–19.30
VTR INSERTS (2) 19.30–21.00

Friday 27th September 1963

Camera rehearsal 10.00–12.30
Lunch 12.30–13.30
Camera rehearsal 13.30–15.30
Tea break, Line-Up,
Normal Scan, Make-Up
15.30–16.15
Dress rehearsal 16.15–17.30
Notes 17.30–18.00
Line-Up 18.00–18.30
VTR 18.30–19.30

NOTE: There will be 2 VTR Inserts recorded on the eve. of 26th Sept.

  1. 2:00 — telecine insert of footage - maybe stock - of Westminster Bridge & House of Parliament.
  2. 14:02–16:30 — VTR insert 1 — Steed on the House of Commons House of Commons terrace, scene 8 [shots 52–76] - he interrupts Swinburne and St.John to drop the bombshell of Cathy contesting the by-election and introduces her to them.
  3. 47:30–47:40 — telecine insert - fireworks in the sky then cut to:
  4. 47:40–49:42 — Telecine 2 — House of Commons terrace scene 24 [shots 186–199] - Dyer and the workman meet and plan to set the device, they are interrupted by Steed who kills the workman and apprehends Dyter.
  5. 49:42–50:59 — VTR Insert 2 — House of Commons lobby, scene 25 [shots 200–203] - Steed and Cathy farewell Mrs. Dove and sum up the case.

Running time

Expected: 51′25″ excluding commercial breaks
Actual running time with bumpers: 51′40″

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 credits (normally 0′16″ with a 2″ fade) and closing credits (anywhere from 0′41″ to 1′20″, hard cut or 1″ fade or mix).

Transmission

BroadcasterDateTime
ATV London2/11/196310.05pm
ABC Midlands2/11/19639.50pm
ABC North2/11/19639.50pm
Anglia Television2/11/19639.50pm
Border Television2/11/196310.05pm
Channel Television2/11/196310.05pm
Grampian Television3/11/196310.35pm
Southern Television2/11/196310.05pm
Scottish Television2/11/196310.25pm
Tyne Tees Television2/11/19639.50pm
Ulster Television2/11/19639.50pm
Westward Television2/11/196310.05pm
Television Wales & West2/11/19639.50pm
Teledu Cymru (WWN)2/11/19639.50pm
ABN2 Sydney2/06/19648.00pm
ABV2 Melbourne31/12/19647.30pm

TV Times listing

TV Times listing for November 2 1963, 10.05pm (Midlands edition)
Sydney Morning Herald listing for June 2 1964, 8pm
The Age listing for December 31 1964, 7.30pm

9.50 The Avengers
starring
Patrick Macnee
Honor Blackman

in

November Five
By Eric Paice

Cast in order of appearance

Returning officer John Murray Scott
Michael Dyter Gary Hope
Mart St. John Ric Hutton
Gunman Frank Maher
John Steed Patrick Macnee
First lady Aimee Delamain
Major Swinburne David Langton
Arthur Dove David Davies
Catherine Gale Honor Blackman
Fiona Iris Russell
Joe Joe Robinson
Mrs. Dove Ruth Dunning

The Avengers theme composed and
played by Johnny Dankworth
Honor Blackman’s clothes
designed by Frederick Starke
Story Editor Richard Bates
Designed by Douglas James
Produced by John Bryce
Directed by Bill Bain

In which Steed buys a firework and Cathy stands for Parliament . . .

ABC Weekend Network Production

The TV Times listing incorrectly lists Ric Hutton’s character as being Mart St. John instead of Mark St. John, and Joe Robinson’s character as being Joe instead of Max.

Murders

Victim Killer Method
Dyter Farmer Shotgun (faked)
Swinburne Farmer Strangled?
Mark St. John Dyter Shotgun
Farmer ? Steed Revolver
Click a name to see the face

Continuity and trivia

  1. 1:32 — The votes in the by-election were: William Arthur Frederick Briggs - 13,847 votes; Michael Osborne Dyter - 17,152 votes
  2. 2:00 — The opening credits feature a cut under the titles, from Dyter’s covered-up body to a telecine insert of footage - maybe stock - of Westminster Bridge & House of Parliament.
  3. 2:21 — the scene starts with a pan over a slide of the interior of the House of Commons, much as they’d done for the Old Bailey in Brief for Murder, so as to avoid expensive location filming.
  4. 14:02–16:30 — VTR insert 1 — Steed on the House of Commons terrace - he interrupts Swinburne and St.John to drop the bombshell of Cathy contesting the by-election.
  5. 17:27 — Cathy limps slightly after her fight with the farmer.
  6. 21:39 — You can see St.John on his mark, waiting for the director to tell him to move into the set.
  7. 30:35 — Dove struggles with the script - “The Anglia div.. er .. division”
  8. 34:02 — the exercise wall rocks backwards as Cathy uses it to launch off on the rope.
  9. 37:25 — the negatives Cathy is looking at seem to be of football matches.
  10. 37:33 — One of Steed’s family jokes - he’s checking St.John’s typewriter and says, “broken f, a squint i, h above the line”. Cathy asks what it is and he replies, “A very good description of my Aunt Queenie”.
  11. 39:25 — Cathy has a video intercom on her front door.
  12. 47:30–47:40 — telecine insert - fireworks in the sky then cut to:
  13. 47:40–49:42 — VTR insert 2 — Dyter and the workman on the terrace, Steed arrives and a gun fight breaks out.
  14. 48:23 — Macnee glances at the director for his cue.
  15. 49:42–50:59 — VTR Insert 2 — House of Commons lobby, scene 25 [shots 200–203] - Steed and Cathy farwell Mrs. Dove and sum up the case.
alternate title card: white all caps text reading ‘NOVEMBER FIVE’ superimposed on the fallen Dyson being covered by a blanket

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