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CHRISTMAS SPECIALS
The Avengers: "Too Many Christmas Trees"
Saturday 25/12/65, ITV
by David Agnew
December 2000
 

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There is something about Christmas that lends itself well to telling tales of the paranormal, to rouse us from our complacency as we sit feeling stodgy and laden with too many mince pies and wine. This episode of The Avengers works on this principle, neatly inverting familiar icons of Christmas, and in spades - transforming them into nightmarish, sometimes surrealist plot devices in a tale of telepathy and mind control.

If you are not familiar with The Avengers, one of the most iconic and influential programmes of the '60s (and if you're not, then I do urge you to become so), this Christmas-themed episode forms part of what many consider to be the definitive period of the show, where the dream team of John Steed and Emma Peel got together for the first time. This was indeed perhaps The Avengers at its very best. The transition to film had moved the series away from the rather mundane Danger Man spy thriller territory inhabited by Steed and Cathy Gale and given the programme its own distinctive quality, an intoxicating fusion of Ealing comedy and James Bond, aligned with a unique, fresh and sophisticated playfulness. It was also before the move to colour inevitably removed most of the subtlety and before the self-conscious oddity and strained "Swinging London" overtones of the largely lacklustre Tara King era finally killed off the series for good. Wreathed in dreamy black and white photography, Steed and Mrs Peel faced off against diabolical masterminds foiling grandiose, outrageously improbable and individualistic (in contrast to the all too prevalent Cold War grief spoiling the fun of the mid-'60s Chelsea jetset) schemes, armed with umbrella, bowler, leather catsuits, karate chops and insouciant wit.

A summary of the plot is in order here. The episode begins as Steed is plagued by nightmares, in which he predicts the death of a fellow agent whom he suspects to be giving away secrets to the other side. The camera moves from the mundane reality of Steed's world (lying in bed asleep) into the realms of his imagination. Surreal imagery is employed to enhance a profound sense of dislocation as Steed wanders through a forest of fake Christmas trees towards a box of presents and a Santa with horrifically deformed features. The agent of Steed's dream indeed turns up dead and, concerned for her partner's welfare, Emma invites him to be her guest at a Christmas fancy dress party given by Charles Dickens enthusiast Brandon Storey at his country mansion. Steed has in fact been drawn to the mansion by a gathering of psychics seated, séance-like, at a table, culminating in the agent, dressed as the ill-fated Sydney Carton, being mentally tortured by a female villain with psychic tricks while the uneasy party guests look on. It becomes apparent that the cabal of telepaths are out to drain Steed's mind to access confidential government secrets.

"Too Many Christmas Trees" is the name of the script and indeed there are times when a little judicious pruning would not come amiss. The exact motivations of the telepathic miscreants in attacking Steed are not clearly defined while the minimalist (cheap) set of the artificial Christmas tree forest of Steed's nightmares contrasts rather too markedly with the opulence of Storey's Dickensian mansion. Nevertheless, with a memorable climax set in a hall of mirrors, involving the use of a fountain pen full of tear gas and with a good-natured reference to the show's departed star Honor Blackman ("A card from Mrs. Gale. What on earth can she be doing at Fort Knox?"), it would be churlish to dwell on the episode's imperfections. After all, Christmas is a time for self-indulgence.

At a point where The Avengers began to take flight and experiment with increasingly fantastical motifs, "Too Many Christmas Trees" is a nightmare before Christmas indeed, and Steed even gets to shoot Santa (the ringleader of the plot in disguise) at the end. A splendid stab at exploring issues of paranoia and psychological horror, complemented by atmospheric direction and the warmth and charm of Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg's mercurial banter, this is perfect Christmas viewing. The vision of Mrs. Peel in her Oliver Twist costume is worth the price of admission alone.