The Avengers
2.19: The
Golden Eggs
Another
episode revolving around the money to be made from science, although this time
the criminal masterminds are after a deadly virus. Science, like all things,
being right up Cathy’s alley, she’s front and centre of The Golden Eggs (they aren’t hers, just to be clear). Peter Arne is
the bad guy again (2.16 Warlock) and
just as much fun as he was there.
Directed by
Peter Hammond and scripted by Martin Woodhouse, The Golden Eggs adopts a curiously untypical short scene structure
when Cathy is finding out about the virus from Dr Ashe (Donald Eccles, Krasis
in The Time Monster), cutting back
and forth to the villains, presumably, along with an accompanying drum beat on
the soundtrack, designed to provoke a sense of increased tension.
It’s more
disorientating at first, although the episode does get a much-needed boost once
Cathy’s is on the same page; Ashe has been very circumspect, refusing to reveal
precisely what was stolen by DeLeon (Gordon Whiting), who soon after succumbs
to a dose of virus Verity Prime (contained in the eggs of the title, and causing
respiratory paralysis and death – lovely!) without letting his employer Redfern
(Arne) know where he’s stashed it. Devious Redfern has been getting his
information from Ashe’s secretary Elizabeth (Pauline Delaney).
Cathy: I
suppose you always knew what you were doing – biological warfare.
Dr Ashe: All
warfare is biological.
It seems
unlikely that the government wouldn’t be keeping a rigorous eye on such work,
although Ashe insists he is independent. For such a potent and potential
chilling premise, a large part of The
Golden Eggs is surprisingly casual. DeLeon’s death by virus, and the
heavies who turn up to cart him away, make for an effective few scenes, but one
can’t help think that an opportunity was missed to really up the tension of a
potential outbreak. Arne’s self-assured clockwork aficionado ensures his scenes
are all highly watchable, but until his and Cathy’s plotlines converge it lacks
a real grip.
Steed’s
barely in this in any kind of proactive capacity (although he is on hand to defuse the situation), letting Cathy stay in his
flat while hers is redecorated, popping in for meals, to brush his teeth,
complain about the state of the place, provide exposition and cause the
destruction of her carefully reassembled vase. While the episode is something
of a disappointment, that’s only really relative to what it might have been.
Certainly, it’s a notch above, and more distinct than, many of its second
season fellows.