The Avengers
4.8: The Gravediggers
Do you dig The Gravediggers? Yeah, it’s all right.
Actually, it’s more than all right. While the series has been up to its
eyeballs in eccentricity prior to this, this episode furnishes us with the particularly eccentric eccentric living
in his own private fantasy world, and as part and parcel of this, stylistic
conceits entirely take precedence over any notions pertaining to logic or
naturalism. It’s an episode that revels in its absurdity.
It’s also Mac Hulke’s
penultimate contribution to the show (his last came four years later), and one
wonders how much of the wackiness was added by Brian Clemens, since its fairly
atypical of Hulke. The Gravediggers
begins in fairly traditional manner too, albeit an antenna rising from a grave
announcing its leanings. The plot, and the masterminds, are revealed tout
suite; a jamming signal will leave the country open to missile attacks without
warning. Dr Palmer (Aubrey Richards) helpfully tells Steed and Mrs Peel that no
one could achieve this. Why, it was the life’s work of Dr Marlow (Lloyd
Lamble), who died four weeks prior. What’s more, any potential device would
have to have emanated from the village of Pringby…. Where Marlow was laid to
rest.
So there’s no real
mystery. It’s the unfolding that’s the thing. It’s even established that Marlow
is misguided rather than bad (he just wants to continue his research, and has
been misled by the rotters).
Steed: Whilst you’re waggling your
thermometer, I’ll tackle Sir Horace Winslip.
Emma goes undercover
as a nurse (she’s making good use of that uniform this season) at the Sir
Horace Winslip Hospital (for Ailing Railwaymen) while Steed decides to speak to
the generous donor himself, played in full fettle by Ronald Fraser (The Happiness Patrol) on enormously
endearing form. On arriving, Steed (representing The Footplateman’s Friendly
Society) is welcomed aboard Sir Horace’ carriage, a stationary affair rapidly assuming
the illusion of locomotion thanks to dedicated butler Fred (Charles Lamb), who
rushes about shaking the carriage, presenting (literally) rolling countryside
and an approaching tunnel as the affable Horace offers the Avenger sustenance,
explaining “If I attempt to eat a meal
without the gentle rocking and the scenery flashing by, I get the most dreadful
indigestion”.
Like many an Avengers’
oddball, Sir Horace yearns for halcyon days. His particular penchant, as a rich
railway man, is to see trains returned to their rightfully eminent place, since
they “made civilization possible, you
know…” And for the motor car, his desire is to have “the evil vehicle banished from the Queen’s highway”.
Sir Horace: What is that young woman doing tied
to the railway line? She’ll break my engine!
Sir Horace’s
particular quirk also leads to Steed rescuing Mrs Peel from certain doom in one
of the series’ most inspired action climaxes, as she is tied to the tracks of a
miniature railway with a fast approaching train. Silent movie music pipes up as
Steed first casually waits at the (miniature) station before engaging in
fisticuffs across not-so-fast-moving train carriages.
One-time director
Quentin Lawrence handles the action with aplomb. True, Steed’s stunt double is
never less than undisguised, but that’s a given in the series. The rescue of Emma,
Steed changing the points in the nick of time, is especially well-executed, and
earlier sequences includes a fine single shot of undertakers racing aboard a
hearse as it speeds off into the distance, and a tidy fight scene on Steed’s
initial visit to the hospital (“What a
remarkable recovery” he notes as a man in a plaster cast reveals a gun and
full mobility).
Steed: Mrs Peel, have you ever heard of
an undertaker booking funerals months in advance?
Another inspired piece
of lunacy finds a fully prepped operation going ahead… on a (unseen) jamming
device, with Dr Johnson requesting “Forceps,
scalpel, blowtorch”. Mrs Peel later taking the place of Miss Thirwell (Caroline
Blakiston, Mon Mothma in Return of the
Jedi) in the operating theatre is a bit daft, since it’s immediately
evident to all present that she’s an impostor, but I guess that’s at least a
credit to recognising what a daft idea it is.
Also featuring are
Wanda Ventham (Image of the Fendahl, The Faceless Ones, and Sherlock’s mum) and Steven Berkoff (the
man in the plaster cast). The coda scene is a fun one, with Steed driving the
train backwards as he tells Emma he always felt he was cut out to be an engine
driver, but the family objected (“No
sense of security, always on the move”).
Agree? Disagree? Mildly or vehemently? Let me know in the comments below.