Killer (1968) User Reviews (12)

Tara takes a vacation and Steed gets a new partner

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 8 April 2015]

Somebody is killing off large numbers of agents and because Tara is on holiday Steed must work with a new partner; Lady Diana Forbes-Blakeney. Mother's organisation in investigating a killer named Remak but every time an agent gets close they end up dead from multiple causes; their bodies wrapped in polythene and dumped in a graveyard. It is all very strange; despite suffering multiple fatal injuries their clothes are clean and show no obvious sign of damage. As the episode does on more and more agents die; each being given information about Remak from an apparently dying agent. Eventually Steed comes face to face with Remak; will he solve the case or become the next victim?

This isn't a bad episode but it does suffer from Tara's absence; when she isn't there we realise just how good the chemistry between her and Steed is… a chemistry he doesn't have with Lady Diana Forbes-Blakeney. Jennifer Croxton isn't bad in the role but there isn't time for any relationship to develop. The murders are interesting although the agents can't be all that bright as they are lured to their deaths rather easily even when they know other agents have been killed. Surprisingly Steed too gets lured into Remak's sights… although he is inevitably able to defeat his attacker. The identity of Remak turns out to be a surprise too; he is no human killer but a computer designed to kill agents lured into the building where it is house. Overall not a great episode but fun enough.

Interesting Episode

[IanIndependent · 7/10 · 22 October 2020]

I found this an interesting episode but mainly because of the experiment in using Lady Diana as Steed's partner. It sort of worked. I know this disagrees with the general consensus but for another episode that would otherwise have been quite run-of-the-mill it added some spice.

I like LInda Thorson and the Tara King character she plays. She is different to Emma Peel and that was needed otherwise the comparisons would have been to easy. Tara King is more impulsive, funny but without the cool of Peel and therefore in a series that had now become more and more ludicrous in its plots she fitted perfectly as well as wearing a lot of short skirts.

Lady Diana was more like Peel. She was definitely smarter and more professional than Tara and I enjoyed her being Steed's equal rather than just his foil. Not as attractive as Tara but had a certain something that grew on me as the episode progressed and again unlike others I thought the chemistry between them grew and the scene behind the wagon in the forest worked well.

I'm certainly not sure if Lady Diane was as good as Tara King and I didn't think that as an actress Thorsen is better especially in the range of facial expressions and comic timing but I might have liked to see more episodes with Lady Diana and maybe seen her grow. And, in an episode that would otherwise have been just ordinary Lady Diana gave us something different.

Still, in an epido

Ta-ra Tara...

[canndyman · 6/10 · 11 August 2019]

Linda Thorson was clearly taking a holiday break from production for a couple of weeks, so in comes Lady Diana as Steed's new one-off assistant in the shape of Jennifer Croxton for this single episode.

Sadly, attractive as she is, she comes across as a bit two-dimensional, & there's none of the usual chemistry and fun that Steed usually enjoys with Tara.

The plot about agents being killed and their polythene-wrapped bodies 'dropped off' by a mysterious and malevolent agency sounds promising, but the whole story just feels a bit flat and lifeless, and Tara's absence is felt.

Despite this, we do get some interesting locations - especially an exterior Elstree street set standing in as a disused film studio. A bus full of showroom dummies too provides a bizarre Avengers-type shock.

Diana's fight scene is well done, and we get the usual sarcasm from a concerned Mother! All in all though, a forgettable episode with no real suspense in what was largely an enjoyable season.

Fairly poor stuff

[kmoh-1 · 23 August 2019]

An enormous amount of padding fills this humourless Tara-less episode. She leaves on her holidays, not caring a whit about the undercover agent who has gone missing and may be dead. Several more agents go the way of all flesh, turning up in a graveyard to receive post mortems from Richard Wattis. The repetitious series of agents being elaborately (but identically) lured to their murders quickly becomes tedious. Tara is replaced by super-competent Lady Diana, who fights well, rescues Steed, discovers clues, and has no personality quirks, indeed no personality. Yet no-one appears to notice that she is a far better agent than practically everyone else. Steed patronises Lady Diana a bit at the beginning with weak humour, but then gives up even that. Macnee himself sleepwalks through the story. Michael Ward might have enlivened proceedings, but has very little to do. A general sense that everyone would rather have been elsewhere ultimately kills the episode.

Factory of death!

[ShadeGrenade · 10/10 · 15 March 2009]

Tara goes off on holiday early on in this Tony Williamson-penned story, and does not reappear until the end, when the mission is over. Taking her place is the lovely Jennifer Croxton ( later to co-star with future 'Avengers' babe Joanna Lumley in the sitcom 'Its Awfully Bad For Your Eyes Darling' ) as 'Lady Diana Forbes-Blakeney'. Croxton looks a lot like Diana Rigg. In his book on 'The Avengers', Dave Rogers wonders whether Lady Di might have been a try-out for a new leading lady just in case the show was recommissioned without Linda. As it turned out, it was not. She has her fans, but I am not one of them. She is a graduate of the Karen Gillan school of acting, and has little rapport with Macnee, though admittedly she handles the fights well.

British agents are turning up dead, wrapped in polythene, and - this is the really perplexing part - having been first shot, stabbed, garroted, drowned etc. Yet their clothes are intact! What's going on? Mother thinks there is a connection to a mysterious foreign agent known only as 'Remak'.

There is not really much of a plot here. One agent dies, another investigates, he in turn dies, another goes after him and dies, and so on, a bit like a game of 'Follow My Leader'. Among the victims is 'Calvin' ( Anthony Valentine, on the cusp of stardom in 'Callan' and 'Colditz' ). Harry Towb has a good role as a traitorous British agent called 'Paxton' who keeps turning up on a deserted film set with arrows/knives sticking out his chest and back! His job is to act as a Judas Goat and send the agents to their doom. Comedy actor Richard Wattis plays para-medic 'Clarke', and the equally camp Michael Ward is 'Freddie', proprietor of a ribbon shop!

The centre of the mysterious goings-on is an apparently deserted factory. The only activities on display are the occasional helicopter taking off and a bus leaving the premises. At its heart is R.E.M.A.K. - a computer programmed to kill. Anyone unlucky to find himself inside the place will be forced to pass through a series of garishly coloured rooms ( a fact that would have been lost on British viewers watching in black and white ), each equipped with a death device. R.E.M.A.K.'s human associates are 'Brinstead' ( William Franklyn ) and 'Merridon' ( Grant Taylor ), who talk about the machine as though it were a real person.

This was Cliff Owen's only episode. He directed two of the three Morecambe & Wise movies ( including the best one - 'That Riviera Touch' ) and the cheeky ( in more ways than one ) Dick Emery comedy 'Ooh You Are Awful'. He keeps 'Killer' slick and entertaining, and one wishes he had done more.

The climax in the factory - as Steed alone tackles the computer - is wonderful. Had Tara not gone off with her bucket and spade, this would have been a classic. The 'all-powerful computer' idea would be reused in the 'New Avengers' adventure 'Complex'.

Jennifer Croxton as Steed's one-time partner

[kevinolzak · 6/10 · 4 May 2011]

"Killer" begins with Linda Thorson's Tara King going off on vacation, leaving Steed to work on his latest assignment with Lady Diana Forbes-Blakeney (Jennifer Croxton), who bears a slight resemblance to Emma Peel, but is only a faint echo of the absent Tara. Mother's agent task force (a rather dim lot, actually) is being systematically killed off one by one, with each corpse tidied up, dry cleaned, and left to be found in a graveyard (where else?). Alas, it's all too clear what's going on, and the dubious charms of Croxton's attractive but overrated Forbes do not make for another Tara, or Emma, or Cathy Gale. The climactic showdown also fails to lift this episode above average. Some series veterans appearing for a final time include William Franklyn ("Silent Dust"), John Bailey ("A Change of Bait," "Killer Whale," "Dial a Deadly Number"), James Bree ("Immortal Clay"), Anthony Valentine ("The Bird Who Knew Too Much"), and Jonathan Elsom ("The See-Through Man").

Very enjoyable episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 10 September 2022]

Mother has to take decisive action, when several agents are found dead, but beautifully wrapped up in polythene. Steed is on the case, without Tara, but instead is joined by a new partner, Forbes.

I rather enjoyed that, a well paced, action packed romp, for me it felt like an episode from an earlier series, with slightly more grounded characters.

If you're a Doctor Who fan, you may understand the reference, when I say I got vibes of The War Machines, a similar feel, resulting in the not too unexpected ending.

I really did like Lady Diana Forbes-Blakeney, for me she was definitely something new, unlike any of his previous partners, certainly no Mrs Peel, but she presented something a little different. I'll admit that there wasn't a huge deal of chemistry there, but come on, the first few with Macnee and Thorson had none either, that sometimes needs a little time.

Croxton looked incredible, and I really enjoyed the scene where she confronted her assailant at the house.

I can't imagine Thorson was too happy about being given a holiday at that point in time, but it wasn't unusual for the the show to dabble with central characters.

Personally, I missed Tara, 8/10.

Lady Diana's strange adventure

[wilvram · 7/10 · 12 September 2021]

Though a huge fan of Linda Thorson's Tara King I thought Jennifer Croxton's Lady Diana Forbes-Blakeney made an excellent replacement and it would have been good to see her again in a subsequent episode. Pity the script from the usually reliable Tony Williamson doesn't add up to much more than a routine run-around and some first-rate actors like Bill Franklyn are somewhat wasted in roles anyone could have played. A still shows a dropped scene in which Mother addresses all the agents en masse re 'Remak' which would have brought a bit more cohesion to later events. Fight and action scenes are slightly above average though and Croxton gives every indication of enjoying herself.

Prefer Jennifer Croton over Linda Thorson

[harrierncd-1 · 9/10 · 22 December 2018]

Would like to know why the producer/director/somebody supplanted Linda Thorson for most of this epidode with Jennifer Croxton. However, they had her do little beyond act as scenery most of the time. Although not as attractive as Thorson, Croxton did remind one of Diana Rigg. For me, that is reason enough to replace Thorson with Croxton. Alas it did not happen. Still, an unusual episode in the post-Rigg era, making it one of my favorites.

Weak co-star

[jameselliot-1 · 5/10 · 22 December 2018]

Killer would have been a good episode if Diana, Linda or Honor had been with Steed. Jennifer Croxton doesn't have the style needed for The Avengers. She has little to do and her interaction with Patrick Macnee has no flair. The writers sending Linda on vacation and assigning him Forbes (Croxton) is a plot device that flopped badly.

LADY DIANA AN EXCELLENT PARTNER

[asalerno10 · 8/10 · 7 June 2022]

An organization has an incredible machine to assassinate its enemies, with Tara King on vacation Steed receives the assistance of a new partner, Lady Diana Forbes Blakeney. The story is quite bizarre although it is well developed, the greatest charm of this episode is Steed's new partner, Lady Diana, who has a presence more similar to Emma Peel, both for her intelligence, her poise and even for defending herself in combat. I think the production should have summoned Jennifer Croxton for more chapters, personally I liked her performance more than that of Linda Thorson.

Killer

[coltras35 · 5/10 · 6 May 2022]

A succession of British agents have been killed in different ways but each one has been carefully wrapped in polythene before being dumped in a graveyard. With Miss King on her holidays Steed is joined by Lady Diana Forbes- Blakeney to investigate a sinister factory which houses the deadly computer REMAK - Remote Electro- Matic Agent Killer, which must be destroyed.

Routine Avenger episode which benefits from Jennifer Croxton as Lady Diana Forbes-blakeney ( cool name!!), who I must say makes a very good avengers gal. She's cool, laconic, professional and a right action lady and she works well with Steed. Matter of fact, unlike some episodes, in this one they work together instead of apart. They are on an equal footing. Apart from that, I didn't think it stood out much, and veered into sci-fi/Dr Who territory at the end.