This episode, later remade in the Diana Rigg era, opens with somebody finding a picture of Cathy Gale and proceeding to cut it up. We then cut to Cathy's flat where Steed arrives and tells her that he has just bought a new car. When she says she has been invited to interview the reclusive Sir Cavalier Rasagne at his remote West Country home, Steed offers to drive her down. Once there they are met by Ola, a young woman who claims to be Sir Cavalier's ward; she is a bit flaky to say the least. She states that Sir Cavalier has been called away but should return that evening. After a quick cup of tea Steed departs. Sometime later the phone rings and Ola says she must go to the village to see a friend who is ill. This leaves Cathy alone until a man rings the doorbell claiming to have car problems and asking to use the phone
which turns out to have been cut. Cathy eventually gets rid of him before things get really creepy; it appears that she isn't alone in the house; a voice torments her
but is it the man she just threw out or somebody else entirely?
When I started watching this I didn't know that it had later been remade but anybody who if familiar with the later episodes will soon find the story very familiar as little was changed. This makes reviewing this a little strange as it is of course the original but I'd seen the remake several times before watching this.
The story gets off to a fine start, the way the unidentified person cuts up the picture of Cathy is distinctly creepy; this sets the tone for the rest of the episode. Once Cathy and Steed get to Sir Cavalier's things continue to feel slightly wrong; this is largely because of Janine Gray's portrayal of Ola, a character who appears to be friendly but is also just slightly off and Kenneth Colley who is menacing, without actually issuing any threats, as the man claiming to have car problems. The house itself also manages to add to the atmosphere. With Steed away for most of the episode Cathy takes centre stage and Honor Blackman does a fine job in the role; we believe that she is a strong, no-nonsense character but also that what is going on is genuinely getting under her skin and frightening her. Overall I really enjoyed this and found it to be a superior episode.
When I started watching this I didn't know that it had later been remade but anybody who if familiar with the later episodes will soon find the story very familiar as little was changed. This makes reviewing this a little strange as it is of course the original but I'd seen the remake several times before watching this.
The story gets off to a fine start, the way the unidentified person cuts up the picture of Cathy is distinctly creepy; this sets the tone for the rest of the episode. Once Cathy and Steed get to Sir Cavalier's things continue to feel slightly wrong; this is largely because of Janine Gray's portrayal of Ola, a character who appears to be friendly but is also just slightly off and Kenneth Colley who is menacing, without actually issuing any threats, as the man claiming to have car problems. The house itself also manages to add to the atmosphere. With Steed away for most of the episode Cathy takes centre stage and Honor Blackman does a fine job in the role; we believe that she is a strong, no-nonsense character but also that what is going on is genuinely getting under her skin and frightening her. Overall I really enjoyed this and found it to be a superior episode.
