Too Many Christmas Trees

"Too Many Christmas Trees," a personal favorite of Patrick Macnee, was of course the 1965 Christmas broadcast for British audiences, while in the US, it ended up being shown the following August! One concession to the Americans is having the bearded one referred to as 'Santa Claus' rather than 'Father Christmas,' and it has to rank as a most unlikely holiday theme, a dark, brooding tale of terror more suited to the 80s than the 60s. Steed is suffering sleepless nights consumed by sinister images of Santa Claus, while the sympathetic Mrs. Peel tries to lighten the holiday festivities by inviting him to a Charles Dickens-themed house party at the estate of publisher Brandon Storey (Mervyn Johns, 1945's "Dead of Night"). Steed instantly realizes something's wrong as he knows exactly which turns to make on the way, and recognizes the house as one he saw in his dreams. Psychic warfare expertly conceived and executed, with such fine actors as Edwin Richfield, weasel-faced series veteran making his fourth appearance (the next would be "Dead Man's Treasure"), Alex Scott ("Square Root of Evil"), who returned for "Game," and Robert James, in the fourth of his five episodes (the next would be "Look (stop me if you've heard this one) But There Were These Two Fellers..."). Barry Warren, Hammer veteran of titles such as 1962's "The Kiss of the Vampire" and 1966's "Frankenstein Created Woman" (and who later appeared in "False Witness"), plays Jeremy Wade, an apparently close friend of Mrs. Peel, as he becomes the first character to call her 'Emma' (Steed only mentioned her first name when making introductions), and his reluctance to push through to the end results in one of the more horrifying images in the show's history. Mrs. Peel almost loses her good humor as she reads some of Steed's Christmas cards from a vast array of female admirers (Amy, Carlotta, Irma, 'Boofums?'), with special mention to one ("best wishes for the future") coming from 'Cathy': "Mrs. Gale, how nice of her to remember me! What can she be doing at Fort Knox?" The final scene presents our duo sharing some special time under the mistletoe, most appropriate. An episode that understandably tops the favorites list of many devoted fans.

This is one among the most unforgettable stories in this terrific TV show. I won't add much to what have already said the other Imdb users. Except that the dream, or may I sy nightmare, sequences remind me an Alfred Hitchcock's feature: SPELLBOUND, when Gregory Peck has also dreams. The way to present them looks like this episode, at least the first scene. But the settings are just not the same.

I've been working my way through all the series 4 episodes of "The Avengers" and purely by coincidence, came across this Christmas -themed episode the week before Christmas and also see that it was first aired around the same time in 1965. And what a great episode it is. Whilst it's loaded with wry, sometimes risque humour between Peel and Steed, there's time for Christmas nostalgia too. I loved in particular the clever reference to absent friend Cathy Gale and its then topical nod to Gale's Honor Blackman's role in "Goldfinger". The story itself is terrific. Steed is suffering recurring nightmares involving a big box of Christmas gifts, a big old house and a demonized version of Santa and after a fellow agent sharing the same state secret with Steed dies in mysterious circumstances, he accepts an invitation from Mrs Peel to attend a Christmas Dickens-themed party to take his mind off things. However, once there he keeps bumping into people he's sure he's met before but who claim never to have ever seen him. Feeling constantly in need of sleep, the dreams keep recurring only now they seem to be leading to a Sydney Carton-type fate for him at the hands of Madame Guillotine. Can Mrs Peel help him snap out of his torpor and foil the fiendish plot in time for Christmas Day? Marvellously atmospheric, particularly the surreal dream sequences, this episode brilliantly balances the show's trademark suspense, thrills and humour to make this a quintessential entry in the Avengers vaunted history.

Steed has a nightmare about a fellow agent dying and it comes true. Mrs Peel decides he needs a break and whisks him away to a Dickensian Christmas Party in the country but they discover they have both been hypnotised by some sort of telepathic control into coming to the party, and someone is after Steed's secrets.

A mysterious psychic tries to break Steed's resolve but Emma's intervention, and some very loud Christmas carols, keep their minds clear.

Steed is a little vulnerable as someone is drugging him. He gets off nightmares. The mystery is quite good - the rapport between Mrs Peel is quite tender here. There's the usual bizarreness but the story is quite strong. A shoot-out in a hall of mirrors is quite exciting. There's a little nod to Cathy Gale ( Honor Blackman) when Steed says "What can she be doing in Fort Knox?" It refers to Honor starring in Goldfinger.

Steed has been having recurring nightmares. When he and Mrs Peel attend a Christmas party at a country estate, Steed finds his dreams echoed in the events of the party.

Too Many Christmas Trees is a huge improvement on Two's a Crowd. The script is great, and Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg are wonderful together. The script is absolute nonsense, but it's a very fun episode. Diana Rigg looks very pretty in her Oliver Twist outfit as well, which is a bonus.

ITC's perennial villain Alex Scott appears as a henchman, while recognizable faces like Edwin Richfield appear. Mervyn Johns is the main guest star; his presence in the episode is a nice touch, as the plot was obviously inspired by Dead of Night, which he starred in.