The Avengers
4.12: Man-Eater of Surrey Green
Most remarked upon for Robert Banks-Stewart having “ripped
it off” for 1976 Doctor Who story The Seeds of Doom, although, I’ve never
been wholly convinced. Yes, there are significant similarities – an eccentric lady who knows her botany, a wealthy businessman living in a stately home
with an affinity for vegetation, an alien plant that takes possession of
humans, a very violent henchman and a climax involving a now oversized specimen
turning very nasty… Okay, maybe they’re onto something there… – but The Seeds of Doom is really good, while Man-Eater of Surrey Green is just… okay.
Sir Lyle: For all we know, they feel. Perhaps, even
think.
And while you’re at it, you might cast your net wider and
suggest Robert Holmes was an aficionado of the story, since the “meteorite” (actually
a lost astronaut’s ship crashing to Earth) heralding an invasion of the planet
is also a large part of Spearhead from
Space’s premise. Derek “Ensor/Orac” Farr’s Sir Lyle Petersen is closer to
Hibbert than he is Harrison Chase, and he populates his mansion with shop
window mannequins for some curious reason. Or even Holmes’ The Time Warrior (alien intelligence snatches and mind-controls scientists
for its own nefarious ends). Man-Eater
in turn owes a considerable debt to The
Quatermass Experiment (Quatermass II
was, of course, an influence on several Holmes projects).
Steed: Where does that little beggar come from?
Mrs Peel: Mars.
Steed: Mars?
Mrs Peel: Or even the Moon. Recent photographs show
whole areas of vegetation.
The main problem with Man-Eater
is that it’s very “straight” and, the spirited performance of Athene Seyler as
plant expert Doctor Sheldon aside (although she’s even more fun in Build a Better Mousetrap), none of the
characters are very memorable. Which makes its atypicality in The Avengers sphere, more so than the
earlier The Cybernauts (also by
Philip Levene), closer to doing for science fiction in the show what Warlock did for the supernatural, all
the more of a missed opportunity. Man-Eater’s
is an unashamedly ‘50s B-movie riff, and Steed and Mrs Peel are more functional
than invited to embrace the absurdity of the plot. Of particular note in the
poker-faced stakes is that, in The
Avengers universe, the Moon is populated with lush foliage, it seems. I
suppose at least it isn’t actually an egg. That really would be ridiculous.
Wing Commander Davies:
Looks like some sort of mad octopus.
Steed: Well, what was it doing up in the cosmos?
The episode has its roots slightly more under the ground prior
to the discovery of the space capsule (“A
spaceship lost about a year ago”, 5,000 miles up) and an accompanying (plausibly-designed)
expired plant that releases seeds, similar to the common or garden dandelion: “This seed has an embryonic brain. Oh, what a
disaster that it was damaged. Imagine a plant that could think... Think!”. We
later learn the one that has been rescued and is growing on Sir Lyle’s property
(with the help of twenty tonnes of fertiliser) could reach 200 times higher
than the Empire State Building and the cover the Earth in a matter of weeks.
Doctor Sheldon: Just imagine the tendrils…
Steed: I’d rather not.
Doctor Sheldon: … racing up for miles.
The plant also has a taste for human flesh, there being only
one source of hydrochrome oxidase on the planet (“Yes, this was a man-eating plant. If it had germinated, it would have required
us as much as we require green vegetables”. So not at all, if you’re
Scottish).
Fortunately, there’s some herbicide – propionic acid – on
hand (also The Seeds of Doom’s
solution) and the climax is an effective piece of action work from Sidney Havers
(his direction of The Cybernauts was
also the highlight of that story. Well, aside from John Hollis, naturally) as
Steed fails to prevent Doctor Sheldon being dragged off by a tendril while
fending off a possessed Mrs Peel (the means of defence against the plant’s
sonic signal, hearing aids, isn’t so much heavily signposted in the first scene
as beaten around the viewer’s head with a particularly robust root vegetable,
leaving them insensible).
Steed: Morning Sunrise. A fully-fledged bloom of
delicate russet tints and a haunting bouquet. For you, Mrs Peel.
There are a few noteworthy incidents courtesy of the
regulars: Steed looks most uncomfortable at the appetites of Sir Lyle’s Venus
flytraps and narrowly escapes a poisonously phallic cactus up the bum.
Mrs Peel rather finally blows away Scorby-like chauffeur
Mercer (Joby Blanshard) with a shotgun. Admittedly, he blew someone’s head off
earlier, but that’s still a pretty shocking, take-no-prisoners approach. She
also gets slapped on the breast by an excited Dr Sheldon, and in response smiles
indulgently at her eccentricity.
Sir Lyle: Do you, eh, drink brandy, Mr Steed?
Steed: If you mean, “Am I accustomed to drinking
brandy?”, Sir Lyle, the answer is yes. If you mean, “Would I like one now?”, the
answer is also yes.
And there’s the occasional witty remark. Emma ripostes "Why not? The plant's only man-eating" when Steed advises her not to lose her hearing aid. Steed, posing as a
representative of the Tree Preservation Society, announces to a mannequin, nude
but for a garland of leaves, “Come
autumn, I hope to see more of you”, enjoys his proffered brandy (“Delicious”). On the debit side, upon
demolishing the threat, he informs Mrs Peel “I’m a herbicidal maniac, didn’t you know?” Which is appalling, even
for him.
This is the kind of Avengers
you’d think was the best ever, if you were seven, so very like The Cybernauts in that regard. Man-Eater of Surrey Green isn’t bad, but
it’s quite threadbare, lacking the tension or intrigue exhibited by the better
more serious stories or the colourful characterisation of the superior more
flamboyant ones. We end with Steed and Mrs Peel on the back of a hay cart
discussing a visit to a friend for tea who grows things, including giant
creepers that are, fortunately, strictly vegetarian.
Agree? Disagree? Mildly or vehemently? Let me know in the comments below.
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