Denis Shaw Season: The Avengers - Requiem

Next in our series of shows in which actor Denis Shaw had a role we have this magnificent final-series Avengers episode, which I don't think I've ever blogged about. It happens to be one of my favourites so that was probably to keep it in reserve and not waste it.

The plot is that Miranda Loxton is the chief witness against Murder International, who are obviously rather inclined towards murdering people, so she has to be kept safe from them. The Ministry does this by secluding her with Steed in a secret place known only to Steed and some boyhood chums. Murder International try to discover this hiding place by setting up Tara King to think that Mother has been killed and it is imperative she draws on any mention Steed has made of his childhood den, so that the security services can get to Steed so that he can help with the assassination of Mother.

You have to love this episode, simply for the way Mother, in his run of peripatetic bases in this series, spends the entire episode drinking his way through Steed's drinks cabinet in his flat.

It's also the perfect vehicle for Denis Shaw, who of course plays one of the baddies, much more the sort of role he normally had and far from the amiable shopkeeper in The Prisoner. He actually repeatedly appears throughout the episode, and honestly the role is done in true Avengers style and made as theatrical as possible. His first appearance is when Tara drives off in Steed's car - he appears from under the convertible roof with a gun and tells her drive. Despite her (and us) presumably having already seen his face in the mirror in the next scene, when they arrive at their destination, Shaw has a stocking over his head like any other theatrical bank robber! Otherwise our attention is repeatedly drawn to a tattoo on the character's hand. All I can say is that Murder International can't have that many stooges because he then reappears as a nurse when Tara is also supposedly injured and in 'hospital' - she recognises him by the tattoo. Shaw's character is used to draw Tara's attention away from the rest of the baddies by making her think the other baddies he's working with are pukka.

As a vehicle for Shaw's acting and personality it's perfect. I see that in my introduction to this series of posts I blithely copied the biographical information I found online that he died suddenly at a relatively young age. One of the things which is very apparent in this appearance is how very overweight Shaw looks (he appears much more overweight than in The Prisoner) which would suggest that possibly his health wasn't that good.

I always try to be critical and it's very difficult with this episode, because the plot is essentially a straightforward double cross plot, played quite straight yet Avengerfied. I have seen some internet criticism that the only thing it needs is we need to see the criminal kingpin of Murder International so we have a baddie to focus on. In an attempt to find some possible criticism of my own on this episode I have literally wrung it out and have been reduced to saying that casting John Paul as a doctor is confusing and makes it look like Doomwatch. When you reflect that Doomwatch hadn't even started yet, it's clear how good this episode and what a hopeless criticism this is!

Excellent episode in itself, but Shaw fits right in with the Avengers ethos as a sinister servant of Murder International.

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