Series 6 — Episode 32
Bizarre

Regional broadcasts

TV Times listing

International broadcasts

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 shown in the initial Swiss run of series 6 in 1969, but was the one of six previously unbroadcast episodes shown there in a new run of the series in 1974.

Continuity & Trivia

1. 1:15–1:30 — Shadows pass across Helen’s face, especially at 1:25, but the long shot reveals her to be in the middle of an open field devoid of tree that could have caused the shadows.
2. 1:50 — There’s dust on the caption scanner again - you can see all these specks appear momentsbefore the firt title slide is displayed.
3. 3:00 — Captain Cordell is wearing a Guards tie.
4. 4:05–4:30 — Happychap’s office and front gate are festooned with gauche slogans: “Special terms for parties of more than twenty”, “Hurry hurry hurry get in while the going’s good”, “We give trading stamps / save for that funeral now”.
5. 6:40 — There’s an echo in the audio, due to it being filmed in the studio but at odds with the supposed exterior location of the graveyard. (And I have to say it’s a great studio set, although the artificial grass is a bit odd.
6. 7:14 onwards - Steed shows Helen some photos, trying to jog her memory. The first is Robert Russell (Lubin in Get-A-Way!, then two other actors, and then John Sharp (playing Jonathan Jupp).
7. 16:35 — Mother reports in to his superior, Grandma.
8. 27:12 — I wonder if it’s too late to hands this case over to another department.
9. 30:05 — Terrible Sixties casual racism - the Master’s fake Indian act is cringeworthy.
10. 30:22 — The close-up of the Master is out of focus.
11. 33:30 — Paul Weston standing in for Macnee in the street scene except for the close-up.
12. 34:05 — Mother’s phone is labelled M6 — is that a “Danger Man” reference?
13. 34:47 — When Happychap says, “Dead, so we buried him” the audio is muffled and echoey - and doesn’t even sound like Roy Kinnear! Was it redubbed in post-production?
14. 43:00 onwards - Lovely intercutting of Paul Weston’s stunt work with Macnee’s midshots.
15. 44:15–44:55 — Cyd does Linda’s more difficult stunts.
16. 46:01 — The rounded-up financiers and dollybirds are handcuffed together in a different order as the emerge from the grave, compared to when Steed first marched them through the tunnel below. 46:22 — augmented by Shaw, Charley and Jupp. Although it may be explained by Steed having kept one of the dollybirds down below with him - he’s uncuffed the dolly between the first two financiers.
17. 48:30 — Hilarious use of stock Apollo program footage when Steed’s rocket takes off.
18. 49:34 — Mother breaks the fourth wall to tell the audience, somewhat optimisitically as it turned out, “They’ll be back, you can depend on it”. He then blusters, “They’re unchaperoned up there!”
19. The other financiers are John Ash, George & Anthony (Tony) Barter, and Patrick Vernon - and one other; it’s never made clear which is which.
20. Running time: 50′01″

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