The Avengers “A Surfeit of H2O” #4.8 (1965) (TV)

“Yes, well I’ve put a down payment on a canoe.”  18 July 2021

Steed and Mrs Peel set out to investigate a mysterious death.  The odd thing is that the man drowned in the middle of a field.  Shortly, our intrepid pair find themselves battling wits with a scientist out to control the weather for nefarious purposes.

Controlling the weather - sounds a bit like the disastrous The Avengers (1998) movie.  In contrast to that overblown mess of a film, A Surfeit of H2O proves that very often less is more.  Instead of an overblown, over-produced, almost unwatchable film, this episode (like most of the series) keeps things simple and understated.  Death caused by heavy rain - what could be more simple (regardless of how unlikely).  And the writing here is so much better.  The dialogue in the scene with Diana Rigg and Talfryn Thomas or the one with Patrick Macnee and Sue Lloyd are delightfully witty.  I could watch these scenes all day they’re so enjoyable.  In fact, the whole episode is enjoyable and would have deserved a higher rating had it not been for Noel Purcell’s  overacting.  His performance would have been more at home in the movie.

I admit I looked up the word “surfeit”.  Seems it means “an excessive amount of something”.  I’ll have to remember that.

7/10