• title card: white Old English font reading ‘Requiem’ superimposed on the dead bodyguard, dressed in a ball gown and lying on the garage floor
  • Miranda sits in the back of Steed’s car in her clown disguise; he’s just suggested she remove it.
  • The bomb goes off in ‘Steed’s flat’ and Tara is buried under falling masonry
  • The placard on the wreath for Mother reads ‘In Loving Memory of Our Dear Mother .... The Finest Chap We Ever Knew. Died Suddenly - Explosively. R.I.P.’
  • Tara hugs the astonished Mother and gives him a big kiss on the cheek
  • Tara hugs the astonished Mother and gives him a big kiss on the cheek
  • Close up of ‘The Descent of the Steeds’, which Steed claims to prove his descent from King Noffin of the Fens

Series 6 — Episode 28
Requiem

Teleplay by Brian Clemens
Directed by Don Chaffey

Production No E.67.9.29
Production completed: February 13 1969. First UK transmission: April 11 1969. First transmission (USA): March 31 1969.

Regional broadcasts

BroadcasterDateTime
Thames Television16/04/19698:00pm
ATV Midlands11/04/19698:00pm
Granada Television17/08/19698:25pm
Anglia Television10/09/19698:00pm
Border Television27/04/19697:25pm
Channel Television6/08/19698:00pm
Grampian Television16/04/19698:00pm
Southern Television16/07/19698:00pm
Scottish Television
Tyne Tees Television16/04/19698:00pm
Ulster Television11/04/19698:00pm
Westward Television6/08/19698:00pm
Harlech Television11/04/19698:00pm
Yorkshire Television19/04/19698:00pm

TV Times listing

TV Weekly listing for April 11 1969, 8pm (Midlands edition)
Sydney Morning Herald listing for June 6 1969, 8pm
The Age listing for March 2 1970, 8.30pm

8.0 The Avengers
Patrick Macnee
Linda Thorson
in
Requiem
By Brian Clemens

The inscription on the wreath propped up on the grave reads: “In loving memory of our Dear Mother … the finest chap we ever knew. Died suddenly — explosively — R.I.P.
Among the mourners Tara King sits swaddled in a wheelchair, both legs in plaster, sustained by pain-killing drugs.

John Steed Patrick Macnee
Tara King Linda Thorson
Miranda Angela Douglas
Firth John Cairney
Wells John Paul
Mother Patrick Newell
Murray Denis Shaw
Rista Terence Sewards
Barrett Mike Lewin
Jill Katja Wyeth

Designer Robert Jones; Director Don Chaffey; Producers Albert Fennell, Brian Clemens; Executive Producer Gordon L. T. Scott

International broadcasts

BroadcasterDateTime
ABN2 Sydney, Australia6/06/19698:00pm
ABV2 Melbourne, Australia2/03/19709:00pm
ABC New York, USA31/03/19697:30pm
ORTF2 France24/10/19708:35pm
Suisse Romande, Switzerland
French titleRequiem (TF2:3)
ZDF Germany
German titleRequiem
KRO Netherlands20/11/19709:05pm
Dutch titleRequiem
TTI Italy5/12/1980 C51
Italian titleRequiem
Spain26/01/197011:10pm
Spanish titleRéquiem

This episode was one of five that were left out of the initial run of series 6 in Melbourne, Australia, and was eventually rescreened in 1970 after the “Steed’s Choice” series of repeats of seven selected episode from series 5.

This episode was not broadcast in Switzerland or Germany at the time; Italy didn’t see it until 1982.

USA: Chicago Tribune listing for March 31 1969, 6.30pm
USA: New York Times listing for March 31 1969, 7.30pm
Spain: ABC Madrid listing for January 26 1970, 11.10pm
France: Gazette de Lausanne listing for October 24 1970, 8.35pm
Netherlands: Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant listing for November 20 1970, 9.05pm
Netherlands: Zierkzeesche Nieuwsbode highlights for November 20 1970

Continuity & Trivia

  1. 3:03 — Breaking the rules - Steed has a revolver.
  2. 3:29 — The close-up of Steed has him facing a different direction form the mid shot.
  3. 4:30 — You can just see the shadow of the boom microphone pass over Rhonda’s head.
  4. 5:05 — Rista already has his gun out and at 5:11, through the rear window, you see him fire it without any sound effects, even though Steed hasn’t yet reached Miranda and the scene hasn’t yet become a car chase and shoot-out.
  5. 7:20 — The suspense-building music from From Venus With Love plays as Miranda removes her clown disguise.
  6. 8:00 — The tattoo on Murray’s hand is different to how it was at 1:25.
  7. 9:10 — Murray’s tattoo is different again.
  8. 9:40 — Tara tries to open the window and the whole wall shakes.
  9. 10:55 — How do the villains know the exacly layout and look of Steed’s apartment anyway?
  10. 11:42 — At the start of the close-up of Dr. Wells and Major Firth, the rescue workers in the background are in focus instead of the main characters.
  11. 11:45 — Firth’s uniform has clearly had pips removed from the epaulettes, why doesn’t Tara notice them? Surely a newly promoted major would get a new jacket. His presumably fake medals are: Korea Medal, United Nations Service Medal for Korea, General Service Medal (1962), Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.
  12. 12:48 — A snippet of music from Something Nasty In The Nursery plays in the background.
  13. Lt. Barrett’s medals are Korea Medal, United Nations Service Medal for Korea, Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.
  14. 14:49 — Tara’s close-up is marred by the boom microphone dipping into view at top left.
  15. 16:04 (16:50) - The nursery theme from Something Nasty In The Nursery plays when Steed leads Miranda into “Fort Steed”, his old nursery.
  16. 16:22 (17:26) - The boom microphone dips into view at top left on Sally Douglas’ cue.
  17. 16:20 (17:40) - Only two people know of Fort Steed - Stinks Wilkins and Fatty the Gorger, sworn to secrecy on the oath, “Last one in’s a ninny”.
  18. 17:32, 19:40 and 23:55 — When the military history is mentioned, and later during the battle scenes, the martial music from Mission... Highly Improbable plays.
  19. 17:35 (18:00) - Steed mentions the battles he’s recreated: Corunna, Waterloo, Balaclava, Wellington’s run after Napoleon, General Déclair’s ignominious retreat. (Miranda remarks, “There was nothing ignominious about that!”)
  20. 18:58 — Another clue for Tara - the lieutenant’s lapel badges are different to his major’s. .
  21. 21:29 — The inscription on Mother’s wreath reads “In Loving Memory of Our Dear Mother... The Finest Chap We Ever Knew. Died Suddenly - Explosively. R.I.P.”
  22. 21:40 — I know she’s heavily sedated, but surely Tara would have realised no-one she knows is at Mother’s funeral.
  23. 22:44 — Bobby Cleaver’s address is 25 Cranbrook Road.
  24. 22:50–23:50 — It makes absolutely no sense that Murray and Rista kill Cleaver, who was the only likely lead to Steed’s whereabouts.
  25. 25:40 — When in Mufti, Firth wears a Guards tie.
  26. 28:16 — John Paul is reading “Quickfit” magazine.
  27. 33:15 — Steed’s uncle was a chess Grand Master (37:40 — Miranda’s aunt was a Grand Mistress).
  28. 35:33 — Murray’s tattoo is slightly different again.
  29. 40:30 onwards - This episode is like Epic - where we are deliberately shown that the sets are sets and we see a glimpse of backstage reality.
  30. 40:56 — The mystery theme from Death’s Door plays as Tara investigates “Steed’s Flat”.
  31. 42:05 — It’s rather obviously a painted backdrop when Tara opens the door.
  32. 43:55 — It doesn’t make any sense that Mother doesn’t answer the phone when Steed makes his hourly “all’s well” of three rings of the phone, to warn him of the impending danger.
  33. 44:33 — Same gatehouse location as was used the Neoteric Research Unit in Never, Never Say Die.
  34. 45:10 — Steed’s cousin Desmond, “Not Demon Desmond the world ludo champion?” “No, Desmond the Demon, dice loader” “Groovy, baby!”
  35. 46:27 — There’s a scratch on the film on the right edge, on Lt Barrett’s hair.
  36. 48:30 — Steed mentions some of his ancestors: Steed the Ready, who dominated three shires in the Dark Ages; Sir Steedalot - who invented the Round Table.
  37. Running time: 49′57″
  38. Just who is so obsessed with clowns? We have:
  39. John Paul must have looked like a doctor to casting agents, he turns up in “The New Avengers” twice as a doctor.

The Transport

MarqueColourNumber
Bentley S1silverYYP 743
Austin A60 Cambridge 1966pale greyLGF 942D
Morris LD-M30 1½-Ton van 1965navyELB 8C
Triumph 2000 Automatic Mk I Overdrive 1965redMBH 545C
Rolls-Royce Phantom I H.J. Mulliner [80KR] 1929pale lemonUU 3864
Vanden Plas Princess 4-Litre Hearse 1964, bodywork by Dottridge BrothersblackBLE 697B
Mercedes-Benz 220 [W115] 1968navyTMP 884F
Ford Transitnavy... .83F
Lotus Europa S2 Pre-production [Type 54] 1968redPPW 999F

Who’s Killing Whom?

VictimKillerMethod
Bodyguard Murray & Rista revolvers
Bobby Cleaver Murray & Rista revolvers ?
Click a name to see the face

The Fashions

Tara Steed

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