User Reviews

An agent, who was looking into a research facility that was working on a new underwater detection system is murdered and the only lead is a wine shop. Speed pays it a visit manages to purloin a copy of their customer list. At first it looks entirely innocent but closer inspection indicates that it contains a microdot featuring classified plans. Those who acquired them want further plans from the research facility; to this end they set about blackmailing the wife of the chief researcher.

This was a pretty good story; it may have had the usual slightly odd characters but at its core it featured a very believable blackmailing scheme where those caught up in in soon realise they are getting dangerously involved but only after it is too late. I rather liked the villainous wine merchants, Jack May impressed as the one who appeared to lead the operation. The scenes of Steed buying wine led to some amusingly snide comments about the sort of people who drink apricot brandy. The dodgy mediums were not quite as interesting but the way Avice Landone portrayed Medium Mrs Wilson was a delight; issuing unpleasant threats while always sounding almost gentle. Patricia English was also impressive as the blackmailed Marion Howard. As expected there are a few fights of the sort one has come to expect from the series. Overall this was a decent episode.

An espionage ring uses a spiritualist medium to learn secret information about people which they can use to blackmail them into doing things for which they can REALLY blackmail them into doing even more. Passing on government secrets, sabotage, MURDER... it goes on.

It all starts when a colleague of Steed's os killed at an expensive wine shop. For once, Cathy is sent in to investigate a scientific research facilty with NO cover story-- but simply being a representative of "the ministry" that funds their research. Things go slowly, but eventually, she and Steed connect the dead man with the wine shop (whose "customer list", it turns out, contains a microdot with TOP SECRET information being leaked) and a spiritualist "circle", run by a seemingly-kindly old lady whose polite conversation barely hides viscious threats. Along the way, Steed gets to indulge his love of fine wines, and Cathy gets to show off both her intelligence AND her judo skills, as she spends more time than usual in this episode dressed in her LEATHER outfits.

Among the guest cast is John Ringham as "Cliff Howard", one half of the wine shop owners, whose incompetence leads to his own murder. I mainly remember him for a pair of DOCTOR WHO stories, "The Aztecs" and "Colony In Space".

Ronald Allen is "Allan Paignton", who's having an affair with a married woman, but is honest enough to help Steed out when things are approaching a climax. As it happens, I also know him from a pair of DOCTOR WHO stories, "The Dominators" and "The Ambasadors Of Death".

And then there's Brian Hankins as scientist "Jim Carey", who's extremely annoyed at repeated government presence in his labs. He's somewhat relieved when Cathy says she'll probably only be around for a week, and is quite surprised at the end when Steed shows up and actually PROVES how important his job is, when it comes to PREVENTING theft of their big project, as well as bringing the criminals to justice.

I found it very interesting that the project they were working on was an underwater submarine tracking system-- which was the "McGuffin" of the "007" movie THE SPY WHO LOVED ME a full 13 YEARS later! Once again, this series proves to be many years ahead of its time.

This was the 2nd time a wine-tasting was a part of a story (following "Death Of A Great Dane" in season 2), and this was also the 2nd time I can recall Steed getting clobbered by Cathy when both of them independantly decided to break into a place at the same time (following "Warlock" from season 2). Watching the two of them talking and joking about wines at the end, one can see that their friendship has certainly grown since her debut in that episode.

The 2010 Region 2 Studio Canal DVD of this episode had mostly-clear picture and VERY clear sound! I had no trouble understanding any of the dialogue this time around.

This ep had slightly below average sets. The wine cellar set and the thuggish man running it are not that appealing.

When Miss. English first appears she has on uccky glasses. Fortunately ( and do I mean that!)she takes them off quickly and starts becoming the great God-given sex godess she was in "Mission to Montreal" when she played a film star. Her romance scenes and all scenes of her till the end are absolutely the best part of the ep. The plot goal about an important device to be used in a week takes a big back seat to the actions of the characters fortunately so much of the ep is about her character. A winner solely thanks to her!