"The Cybernauts" is the third episode of the fourth series of the 1960s cult British
spy-fi television series ''
The Avengers'', starring
Patrick Macnee
Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...
and
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in '' On H ...
. It was first broadcast by
Scottish Television
Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is the ...
on Tuesday 12 October 1965.
ABC Weekend Television
ABC Weekend TV was the popular name of the British broadcaster ABC Television Limited, which provided the weekend service in the Midlands and Northern England regions of the Independent Television (ITV) network from 1956 to 1968. It was one ...
, who commissioned the show, broadcast it in its own regions four days later on Saturday 16 October.
The episode was directed by
Sidney Hayers
Sidney Hayers (24 August 1921 – 8 February 2000) was a British film and television director, writer and producer.
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Hayers began his career as a film editor. Among the films he directed are ''Circus of Horrors'' (196 ...
and written by
Philip Levene
Philip Levene (9 June 1926 – 25 March 1973) was an English television writer, actor, and producer. He trained as an actor at the Webber Douglas School of Dramatic Art and subsequent work included a small role in Brian Rix's long running Whiteh ...
.
Plot
Hammond, a middle-aged man, is attacked at home by an unseen intruder who forces his way through the door with the force of a battering ram and appears to be immune to bullets. Steed and Mrs Peel investigate. The intruder strikes again, this time a businessman named Lambert in his office, smashing his way in the same way. On the scene, Mrs Peel notices the way Lambert's neck has been broken without bruising to the face by the angle of the head and surmises that he was killed by a type of advanced
karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
blow known as ''inku'', of which there are very few expert exponents in Europe. Lambert's company, like Hammond's, is on a list of firms competing for the European rights to Japanese businessman Mr Tusamo's new circuit elements that will replace the transistor.
Mrs Peel visits a karate dojo seeking an ''inku'' specialist and is lectured by the bald ''
sensei
Sensei, Seonsaeng, Tiên sinh or Xiansheng, corresponding to Chinese characters , is an East Asian honorific term shared in Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese; it is literally translated as "person born before another" or "one who comes ...
''. After Mrs Peel proves her skill by defeating the female karate student ''Oyuka'' ("the immovable one"), the ''sensei'' allows her to join the dojo.
Steed, in place of Lambert, visits Tusamo. Mrs Peel visits Jephcott Products, a toy factory that specializes in manufacturing electronic toys. At the karate dojo, ''Oyama'' ("the tall mountain"), a 5th dan at
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
and a 4th dan at karate, demonstrates his skill to a packed room, and fits the description of the tall killer, by his height and explosive strike. Mrs Peel recognizes the man as Jephcott, the head of the toy company.
Steed visits United Automation and meets the ex-ministry scientist Dr. Clement Armstrong, owner of the factory. After Steed explains his interest in computers, Armstrong's sidekick Benson contacts the scientist via two-way videophone and mentions that someone replaced Lambert at Tusamo's office. Armstrong shows his visitor to Benson, who recognizes Steed as the false Lambert. Armstrong gives Steed a parting gift: a gadget pen containing solid ink which liquefies only in the heat of the hand, thus reducing the danger of leaks.
Steed and Mrs Peel visit the toy factory and discover that Jephcott has been killed by something with the force of a ten-ton truck, leaving a hole in the wall in the shape of a tall man.
Steed revisits United Automation, this time covertly, and discovers that Armstrong has been using a robot Cybernaut named Roger to kill off his rivals for the Tusamo concession. The Cybernaut is programmed via computer to home in on a radio transmitter concealed in the gadget pen given to Steed – the same method used to kill Hammond, Lambert and Jephcott. But Steed's pen is in the possession of Mrs Peel, so the Cybernaut will attack her rather than Steed. Dr. Armstrong discovers Steed is an intruder in the building when the thermostat in the factory is altered. Steed attempts to phone Mrs Peel to warn her but, before the Cybernaut arrives, she leaves her flat to look for him at United Automation as Steed has not returned at the pre-arranged time. Steed is then attacked by another Cybernaut in the factory and presented to Armstrong.
Mrs Peel arrives at Armstrong's factory, with the Cybernaut still following the pen she carries. Steed escapes and enters the warehouse room in which the Cybernaut has cornered Mrs Peel, and tells Mrs Peel to throw him the pen. Another Cybernaut (the first with a "brain of its own") arrives with Armstrong. Steed plants the pen on the second Cybernaut and they attack each other and accidentally kill Armstrong as he attempts to stop his robots. Roger, the first Cybernaut, then destroys the other by smashing its "brain" out of its head and destroys the pen. Having completed its mission it becomes inert, and Mrs. Peel pushes it over with a finger.
Cast
*
Patrick Macnee
Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...
as
John Steed
Major The Hon. John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed usually known as John Steed, is a fictional character and the central protagonist on the 1960s British spy series '' The Avengers'' and its 1970s sequel '' The New Avengers'', played by Patr ...
*
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in '' On H ...
as
Emma Peel
Emma Peel is a fictional spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure television series '' The Avengers'', and by Uma Thurman in the 1998 film version. She was born Emma Knight, the daughter of an industrialist, Sir John Knight. She ...
*
Michael Gough
Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthu ...
as Dr. Clement Armstrong
*
Frederick Jaeger
Manfred Frederick Jaeger (9 May 1928 – 18 June 2004) was a German-born British film, television, theatre and radio character actor.
Biography
Jaeger was born in Berlin, Germany, but moved to England following Adolf Hitler's rise to power. He ...
as Benson
*
Bernard Horsfall
Bernard Arthur Gordon Horsfall (20 November 1930 – 28 January 2013) was an English actor of stage and screen.
Early life
Horsfall was born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, and educated at Rugby School. He trained as an actor at the Webb ...
as Jephcott
*
Burt Kwouk
Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk, (; ; 18 July 1930 – 24 May 2016) was a British actor, known for his role as Cato in the ''Pink Panther'' films. He made appearances in many television programmes, including a portrayal of Imperial Japanese Army Ma ...
as Tusamo
*
John Hollis
John Hollis (12 November 1927 – 18 October 2005) was a British actor of TV and film. He is known for his uncredited appearance as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the ''James Bond'' film '' For Your Eyes Only'', as well as for his appearances in the ...
as Sensei
*
Ronald Leigh-Hunt
Ronald Leigh-Hunt (5 October 1920 – 12 September 2005) was a British film and television actor.
His father was a stockbroker and he attended the Italia Conti Academy. He began acting whilst serving in the army. Though never a major star, he ...
as Bob Lambert
*
Gordon Whiting as Samuel Hammond
*
John Franklyn-Robbins
John Franklyn-Robbins (14 December 1924 – 21 March 2009) was an English character and voice actor.
A prolific Shakespearean actor, he trained at RADA and proceeded to work at the Manchester Library Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic early i ...
as Gilbert (uncredited)
*
Diane Clare
Diane Clare (born Diane Dirsztay; 8 July 1938 – 21 June 2013) was an English film and television actress.
Career
Clare started acting at a very young age playing uncredited baby parts in films such as ''The Ghosts of Berkeley Square'' and ' ...
as Lambert's Secretary (uncredited)
Production
Production for the episode was completed from 2 March to mid-March 1965.
Reception
The episode is generally considered to be one of the best of the fourth series and eventually resulted in two sequels. ''Return of the Cybernauts'' in September 1967, starred
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...
as Armstrong's revengeful brother, with
Frederick Jaeger
Manfred Frederick Jaeger (9 May 1928 – 18 June 2004) was a German-born British film, television, theatre and radio character actor.
Biography
Jaeger was born in Berlin, Germany, but moved to England following Adolf Hitler's rise to power. He ...
returning as his assistant Benson. ''
The New Avengers'' episode ''The Last of the Cybernauts...?'' followed in 1976.
Jeffrey S. Miller described the episode as "a tale of industrial intrigue, with several business executives being violently dispatched by someone of apparently superhuman strength."
''
The Encyclopedia of Super Villains ''The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains'' is a 1987 reference book written by Jeff Rovin and published by Facts on File that gives biographical details about comic book villains.
Reception
In the April 1988 edition of ''Dragon (magazine), Dragon'' (Is ...
'' describes the Cybernauts as "powerful androids with silvery skin and blank expressions."
The 1998 film ''
The Avengers'' pays homage to the episode with
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress and former model. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 an ...
playing Dr. Peel, a jujitsu expert and specialist in meteorology, "battling a clone duplicate of herself."
References
External links
*
Episode overview on The Avengers Forever! website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cybernauts, The
The Avengers (season 4) episodes
1965 British television episodes