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RICHARD McGINLAY and ALAN HAYES
Illustrated by Shaqui Le Vesconte
HIDDEN TIGER
DR BRENT’S CASEBOOK AN UNAUTHORISED GUIDE TO POLICE SURGEON
by Richard McGinlay and Alan Hayes
(Free Preview)
© 2017 Richard McGinlay and Alan Hayes
All rights reserved
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this work have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
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Other Hidden Tiger Titles:
Two Against the Underworld –
The Collected Unauthorised Guide to The Avengers Series 1
by Richard McGinlay, Alan Hayes and Alys Hayes
Avengerworld – The Avengers in Our Lives
A Charity Anthology edited by Alan Hayes
Requiem for Sherlock Holmes by Paul Stuart Hayes
The Theatrical Sherlock Holmes
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with William Gillette
Fury From The Deep – A Relic of the Old Time by Alan Hayes
BOOK CONTENTS
(Items in red are featured in this Free Preview)
Preface – Police Surgeon
“A low-key show about social misfits!” –
The Rise of Police Surgeon
Police Surgeon Episode Guide
Dr Brent’s Quick Prescription
Episode 1 – Under the Influence…?
Episode 2 – Lag on the Run
Episode 3 – Easy Money
Episode 4 – Sunday Morning Story
Episode 5 – Smash But No Grab
Episode 6 – You Won’t Feel a Thing
Episode 7 – Wilful Neglect
Episode 8 – A Home of Her Own
Episode 9 – Three’s a Crowd
Episode 10 – Diplomatic Immunity
Episode 11 – Man Overboard
Episode 12 – Operation Mangle
Episode 13 – The Bigger They Are
ABC Christmas Pantomime: Alice Through the Looking Box
“You just can’t win, can you?” –
The Fall of Police Surgeon
“Give the police surgeon the night off” –
The Legacy of Police Surgeon
Police Surgeon Appendices
Appendix I – Merchandise Guide
Appendix II – Chronology
Acknowledgements
Dr Brent’s Casebook contains 14 illustrations by Shaqui Le Vesconte
“I’m only here as your doctor…
The legal rights or wrongs don’t concern me.
There may be other questions to be answered,
but mine are strictly medical.
I don’t call the police – the police call me.”
GEOFFREY BRENT
‘Operation Mangle’ by F. Woodlands
PREFACE
POLICE SURGEON
In the space of a few short months in 1960, Police Surgeon was created, produced,
transmitted and then cancelled before the year was out. Today, it is referred to,
almost without fail, in terms of its position as predecessor and progenitor of The
Avengers rather than being looked at with regard to its own merits. Its single
surviving episode, Easy Money, which was repeated in the United Kingdom on
28th March 1992 as part of Channel 4’s TV Heaven strand and released on home
video as a special feature on an Avengers DVD set in 2009, contains sufficient
promise to suggest that the series was distinctive and almost certainly worthy of a
longer run than it was granted.
The authors of this book have spent eight years researching the first year of the
British television series The Avengers, which, due to its poor representation in the
archives, had long been a mystery to fans of the show, most of whom had never
seen the greater majority of its episodes. Our investigations led to the publication
of two books: The Strange Case of the Missing Episodes, which was released in 2013
and reconstructed the narratives of the lost Series 1 episodes, and With Umbrella,
Scotch and Cigarettes, which looked at the same series from the perspectives of
production, transmission and response and was issued in 2014. These books were
deleted in November 2015 and reissued as a single volume entitled Two Against the
Underworld (now in its second edition following the unexpected recovery in 2016
of a previously lost episode, Tunnel of Fear). During our researches for the second
book, we inevitably looked into Police Surgeon for reasons exclusively due, we are
sorry to say, to its association with The Avengers.
However, this modest little series, about which so little was known, began to
fascinate us. It seemed to be exactly our sort of thing – a neglected show that was
mostly shrouded in mystery apart from that repeated first episode – and we quickly
realised that it was deserving of more attention than it had hitherto received. As the
information we amassed about the series grew and grew, far beyond our
expectations, it became clear to us that Police Surgeon merited a book of its own.
Hence we present Dr Brent’s Casebook, with apologies to Dr Finlay!
Dr Brent’s Casebook comprises five sections, the first of which details the series’
birth. This essay documents the events that began with the creation of Police
Surgeon and ended with the broadcast of its debut episode.
The largest section in the book concerns the episodes of Police Surgeon
themselves, with the continuing production process being dealt with in relation to
their transmission. As a ‘lost show’ with only one of its original thirteen episodes
surviving, it is not always possible to present information in as much depth as with
better represented series – but we have endeavoured to incorporate as much detail
as we can. Much of this information has not seen the light of day since the
programmes were originally broadcast. The guide is presented in production order,
which is quite different from the sequence in which the series was transmitted. This
section concludes with a chapter on Alice Through the Looking Box, a programme
which aired on Christmas Day 1960, and featured the final television appearance of
Ian Hendry in his guise as police surgeon Dr Brent.
Following the guide format used in Two Against the Underworld, we present
cast and production credits, air dates, working titles and other information for each
episode. Within this section you will also find the following subsections:
•
Incident Report… A detailed plot description is provided for each
instalment. The narratives of eleven of the thirteen episodes of Police
Surgeon are presented in depth, as scripts for these are known to exist
and have been consulted during the writing of this volume. It is worth
noting that these scripts are rehearsal scripts – the version of the script
that was prepared for the actors and production team to work with
when rehearsals began. They are therefore probably not as accurate a
representation of the final productions as camera scripts or asbroadcast scripts would have been. Our comparison of the surviving
episode Easy Money to its own rehearsal script reveals just how much a
story could change during its rehearsal process. Occasionally, we have
deviated from the script when evidence from sources such as
photographs or TV listings indicates that a change took place. Such
revisions are noted within the episode guide. The remaining two
episodes and Alice Through the Looking Box, the content of which can
only be gleaned from brief descriptions in contemporary listings, press
coverage and, in the latter case, a familiarity with the works of Lewis
Carroll, are reported on in as much detail as is possible in the absence
of more comprehensive surviving materials.
•
Archive… This is where we list the materials that are known to survive
for each episode in terms of scripts and film elements. In each
instance, we note the organisations which hold these materials. It is
worth noting that the scripts held by the BFI can be viewed by
appointment at the BFI Southbank.
•
Production Brief… From pre-production planning and rehearsals
through to recording, transmission and beyond, this subsection has all
the hard facts about how the shows were put together.
•
Field Report… Though the episodes under discussion were largely
videotaped, studio-based productions, there is evidence that the cast
and crew did on rare occasions venture out of doors to shoot material
on location. Such excursions are detailed here.
•
Personnel File… Under this heading, we present biographical
information or notes pertaining to behind-the-scenes movers and
shakers and notable performers.
•
Matters Arising… This is where we state our observations regarding
the episode in question and raise various points of interest, such as the
historical context in which the stories took place and thematic links
between them.
•
Mentioned in Dispatches… We also make reference to coverage in
the press and wider media, either in terms of reportage and reviews
concerning specific episodes, or promotional features published to tie
in with the show’s transmission.
•
Collateral Damage… Sometimes things did not turn out quite
according to plan, and while we hold Police Surgeon in great esteem,
we can’t ignore its occasional shortcomings. Timings given for the
surviving episode are based upon the British DVD edition issued by
Optimum Releasing – readers with videos or DVDs from other
sources may notice a small variation. Of course, many production
gaffes have been wiped from the records along with the shows
themselves, though the scripts for the missing episodes also contain
occasional howlers of their own.
•
Verdict… Each chapter is rounded off with a brief review of the
episode.
We would ordinarily also report on the programme’s viewing figures, as
recorded by Television Audience Measurement (TAM). However, despite claims
being made in the press that Police Surgeon performed well in this respect, the
series never broke into the regional or national Top Tens. In the absence of data
regarding positions outside these charts, we have chosen to report generally rather
than on an episode-by-episode basis.
After the episode guide, there is a second essay which documents the events
that led to the series’ cancellation. This is followed by another feature which
considers Police Surgeon’s legacy and how it led to the creation of The Avengers.
We compare and contrast the two shows, commenting upon how the former
influenced the latter and how faint echoes of Police Surgeon can even be detected in
subsequent ABC series.
The book concludes with appendices comprising a guide to Police Surgeonrelated merchandise and a helpful chronology of the dates and events documented
in this volume.
Dr Brent’s Casebook has been compiled with reference to original ABC scripts,
contemporary magazines and newspapers, and photographic materials. We are
especially grateful to the BFI Reuben Library and the National Film and Sound
Archive of Australia for granting us access to the eleven scripts known to survive
from the series. We are also indebted to the prior researches of Avengers and
general television historians, and the production personnel who have kindly
assisted us in our venture. Readers will notice occasional quotations from reference
books, biographies and periodicals, as well as emails and letters we have received,
and we make a point of crediting these sources in such instances.
Police Surgeon may not have been the hit that The Avengers grew to become, but
there is more than enough of interest in even the sole surviving episode of the
series – including some surprising foreshadowing of its illustrious successor – to
make the writing of this book worthwhile. The fact that we’ve been able to cast a
light upon the lost episodes of this series makes it all the more valuable, we feel. It is
our tribute to Police Surgeon’s creator, Julian Bond, who sadly left us in 2012. We
think you will agree that his creation is a worthy subject for our case study…
Episode Guide
Episode 2
LAG ON THE RUN
Written by Julian Bond
Working Title: Small World
ABC Production Number: 3341
Tape Number: VTR/ABC/764
Production Order: 2nd / Transmission Order: 3rd
INCIDENT REPORT
Act 1
The sign on the door reads “SURGEON’S ROOM”. It is one of two key locations in
the Bayswater area where Geoffrey Brent practises medicine – the other being his
own surgery.
The door is opened to reveal Brent’s latest patient, Jean Young. Smartly attired
in a pleated minidress cut just above the knees, the girl sits on the doctor’s couch,
idly swinging her legs. They are rather good legs. There is a small bloodstain on the
top of her dress, and she has a temporary dressing over a wound to her temple. The
doctor himself is nowhere in sight. Jean glances up at the man who has just entered
the room. It is Inspector Landon. He asks how she is feeling. She tells him she’ll
live, and asks him for a light for her cigarette.
As Landon fumbles for a match, Jean jumps down from the couch and crosses
towards him. It is a studied walk, at once insolent and inviting. She comes closer to
him than she needs to be and steadies his hand as it proffers a match.
JEAN: All of a tremble. Fancy.
Having lit her cigarette, she blows out the match, laughs shortly, and then
crosses abruptly to pick up her handbag. She wants to know if she can go home
now. Landon advises that she should wait for the doctor to arrive, assuring her that
he won’t be much longer. Besides, her statement is still being typed. Jean tuts
impatiently. This delay is costing her money. Unless, of course… She gestures to
the couch invitingly. Landon retreats rapidly.
He steps out into the general office of the police station, embarrassed by both
Jean’s suggestion and her laughter ringing out behind him. He looks sharply
around the office.
LANDON: What are you grinning about, Thomson?
PC Thomson has taken time off from his typing to observe the Inspector’s
discomfiture. His grin quickly disappears.
THOMSON: Nothing, sir.
He resumes typing, straight-faced. Landon comes over to inspect his work.
LANDON: I’ll give you something to grin about if you don’t have
that statement ready soon.
THOMSON: (Seldom daunted) It’s all go, you know, sir.
LANDON: You could always take classes in shorthand typing.
Landon turns away to the main entrance, to greet a new arrival.
THOMSON: (Sotto voce) Do you mind?
Brent has just come in. He is better dressed than usual, wearing a brilliant white
shirt, ‘good’ suit and his best tie. Not that he dresses like a slob normally, but this is
clearly more than his usual working rig. He collects Landon on his way to the
surgeon’s room.
LANDON: Evening, sir.
BRENT: Inspector. (To Thomson) Still at the old two-finger exercise,
Thomson? Before the force is through with you, you’ll make a
wonderful secretary for someone. (To Landon) What is it tonight?
LANDON: (He puts the word into inverted commas) ‘Hostess’.
BRENT: Charming. And the charge?
LANDON: Nothing against her, sir. Seems one of her clients gave her
a going over.
BRENT: Bad?
LANDON: Looks nasty. We bodged it up as best we could, but I
thought you ought to have a look at it.
The doctor nods. He is just about to go into the surgeon’s room when Landon
stops him, and asks whether he has a handkerchief. Brent does, but he wonders
why his colleague wants to know. What is this, a hygiene inspection? Landon rubs
the side of his own mouth indicatively. Brent wipes his with the handkerchief,
removing traces of lipstick. He gives a little smile.
BRENT: Well, I had to apologise for leaving the party early, didn’t I?
LANDON: Quite, sir. I just didn’t want this one to get the wrong idea
about you, that’s all.
Brent thanks the Inspector as they enter the surgeon’s room. Brent passes Jean
to wash his hands at a sink as introductions are made. Landon remains by the door.
He asks Jean if she consents to being examined by the doctor.
JEAN: Let’s see.
Jean looks Brent up and down appraisingly. He isn’t the least bit disturbed by
her scrutiny.
BRENT: Finished?
JEAN: I’ve seen worse.
BRENT: Do you or do you not consent to being examined by me?
JEAN: Oh, I thinks so. Nasty suspicious mind you’ve got, haven’t
you?
Brent shrugs.
BRENT: Routine precaution.
JEAN: Be a rich girl, I would, if I’d brought a case against every man
that’d interfered with me.
As the doctor inspects her injury, Jean asks whether Landon has to remain.
Brent explains that the presence of an observer is another routine precaution, but
she could have a female officer present if she prefers. Jean declines the offer. If she
has to have an audience, let’s at least have one in trousers.
Brent asks her to sit in a chair. He has prepared some lint, cotton wool, a
bandage and a bowl with antiseptic in it. Brent asks her about the attack, his
question a mixture of professional interest and genuine compassion. Jean sighs.
Does she have to go through all that again? Landon recaps Jean’s earlier statement.
She had taken a man home, but as soon as they were inside the flat he had set about
her, and stolen some money. Brent asks if it was a regular customer. No, explains
Jean, it was a first-timer. This sort of thing happens to most of the girls at some
time. She suddenly cries out as the antiseptic stings. Brent apologises.
JEAN: Anybody’d think you were trying to finish where he left off.
Dirty so-and-so. He could’ve killed me. And I was in two minds
about going home on my own. Just goes to show. Well, cheer up. It’s
not fatal, is it?
Brent is of the opinion that a trip to hospital is required – a few stitches in
Casualty. Jean is worried that she will end up with a scar. Brent tries to reassure
her. She should be able to conceal it to an extent with make-up, and it is pretty
close to the hairline. Jean baulks at the idea of growing a fringe. That’s not her style
at all.
JEAN: Shame he didn’t make a job of it, really. I’d have had to have
left the game alone, then, wouldn’t I?
BRENT: You could always leave it of your own accord.
JEAN: And do what? I’ve got expensive tastes, remember.
BRENT: It’s your life.
JEAN: It is, isn’t it, eh?
Brent finishes bandaging the wound. As he starts to clear his things away, he
points out to Landon that it would have taken more than just a fist to leave a cut as
deep as that. Landon asks Jean if the man had used a weapon. She doesn’t know.
She’d just turned away from him to kick off her shoes, and the first she knew about
it was when he’d taken a swipe at her. She’d only made a few quid, and now that’s
gone. Landon wonders whether the man might have used a knuckleduster. Brent
doubts it. The area of the wound is quite small. Then Jean remembers – he was
wearing a ring.
JEAN: A dirty great big ring on his right hand. Silver it was. Done up
like a… what are they called…? You know, all bones but human.
BRENT: A skeleton.
JEAN: That’s it. I remember spotting it when he was paying off the
taxi. Thought to myself then, “He’s a cheerful sort of sod, he is.”
It seems likely to Brent that the cut was caused by the ring. Landon points out
to Jean that she did not include this in her statement. She argues that she meets a
lot of different people in her line of work. She’d go potty if she had to remember
everything about each and every one of them. Abruptly, she steps out into the
general office to revise her account. Landon and Brent follow.
Jean approaches Thomson, who is still tapping away at the typewriter. She is
surprised that he hasn’t finished yet. The service round here is chronic, she opines.
Landon tells Thomson to add “silver ring in the shape of skeleton on right hand” to
the description. Thomson looks appalled – this could mean retyping the whole
document! Brent comes to the rescue, suggesting that he could type the addition in
the margin and Jean could initial it. Landon agrees. Thomson is relieved. He resets
the machine and makes the correction. Now finished at last, he removes the page
and the carbon paper behind it, handing the top copy to Landon.
The Inspector glances through it, then passes it to Jean. He invites her to check
it and sign it. Jean reads back the description. Tall, dark-haired, clean-shaven, black
monk shoes, blue reefer jacket, and the ring – that’s him alright.
While Thomson shows Jean where to sign the statement, Landon admits to
Brent that he doesn’t like blokes beating up women in his manor. This is hardly
surprising to Brent, but he points out that there isn’t much to go on. Apart from
the ring, that description could match countless individuals. Landon jokes that if
the doctor should happen to run into the man, he might care to mention it to the
police. Continuing in the same vein, Brent agrees to do just that.
With the statement signed, Landon offers to have the station’s area car run
Brent home and then drop Jean off at the hospital. Brent suggests visiting the
hospital first – he can hand the patient over to the sister and ensure that she is
looked after properly. Jean thanks him sourly. Landon is somewhat more
appreciative.
LANDON: If your… party’ll wait that long, sir.
BRENT: She’s well trained. Goodnight, Inspector. Thomson.
LANDON: Night, sir.
THOMSON: Night.
JEAN: Well, ta-ta all. (To Brent) You know what? Makes a change for
me to be going out the station the front way.
As they leave, Landon studies the statement again. He and Thomson doubt that
much will come of it, but they’d better issue the description in any case.
The following afternoon, in one corner of a modest little newsagent /
tobacconist’s shop, Mrs Dews and her daughter Molly are busy stacking the latest
deliveries. The shop bell rings and a customer comes in. Molly goes to the serving
area to attend to him.
He wants to buy some cigarettes – a hundred. Molly is delighted to take such a
sizeable order, but the customer doesn’t seem so happy. He appears anxious to
complete the transaction as swiftly as possible. Mrs Dews joins them, attempting to
strike up a conversation. She hasn’t seen this customer before, has she? The man
does not respond to her queries. He slaps a five-pound note down on the counter
to pay for the cigarettes. Molly asks if he has anything smaller, but he doesn’t. She
fears that they don’t have enough change. The man bluntly suggests that she had
better go and get some, then. At this point, Molly’s emotions override her customer
service role – she won’t be spoken to like that. Mrs Dews steps in. Attempting to
defuse the situation, she sends Molly out to get some change from the shop next
door. She apologises for the girl’s attitude, explaining that she is not quite herself
today. The man ignores these overtures. He moves over to a revolving book-stand
in the middle of the shop while he waits for his change.
Mrs Dews is wondering how best to proceed when the shop bell rings again. She
is relieved to see that this time it is a familiar face. It is Dr Brent, on his way to his
evening surgery.
MRS DEWS: Hello, Doctor. The usual?
BRENT: Please.
MRS DEWS: Where’s she put them steps now? Oh, there they are.
(She makes an opera of reaching the carton on the shelf) We’re not as
young as we used to be.
BRENT: How’s Molly?
MRS DEWS: Still having a lot of trouble with her… you know.
BRENT: I thought those pills’d have helped. You’d better bring her
into the surgery again.
MRS DEWS: I’ve been meaning to and all. But we’ve been that busy
one way and another. Still, I will bring her in, I will really. You look
ever so tired yourself, Doctor. Still doing all that police work, are
you?
Over by the book-stand, the other customer freezes. He recovers, returning a
book to the stand, taking care not to draw attention to himself.
BRENT: Now and again.
MRS DEWS: Thought so. I heard them run you home in the early
hours this morning, didn’t I?
BRENT: Probably.
With a degree of relish, Mrs Dews asks if it was anything nasty. Brent, who
never discusses police cases, replies blandly that it was nasty enough – and then
reminds her about his cigarettes, which she seems to have forgotten about.
MRS DEWS: Oh! Aren’t I awful? Mustn’t hold you up, must I, or
you’ll be late for your surgery.
Brent hands over his payment. Mrs Dews is just giving him his change when
Molly returns from next door, carrying a considerably larger amount of money.
Brent turns to hurry out of the shop, collides with Molly, and a heap of silver goes
flying.
The immediate reaction of the other customer is one of anger at Brent’s
clumsiness – but he quickly restrains himself. At all costs he must avoid making a
scene. Brent apologises, and stoops to help the man retrieve his change from the
floor. Several half crowns are wedged under the counter. Brent starts picking them
up. Then he stops. He has noticed the other man’s hand retrieving the coins. It has
a ring on it. The ring has a skeleton design. Brent rises. A moment later, so does the
other man. He becomes aware of Brent’s scrutiny. The man fits the description,
such as it was, of Jean’s attacker.
Brent breaks the silence by handing over the change he has collected, as casually
as he can manage. The other man takes it and exits rapidly. Mrs Dews asks Brent if
he knows the man. Preoccupied, the doctor mutters that he doesn’t, then recovers
himself and bids the women goodnight. He leaves the shop. Molly turns to her
mother.
MOLLY: Ooh, he was rude, Mum, honestly.
MRS DEWS: In the air tonight. The doctor didn’t hardly pass the
time of day with me. Let’s get on with stacking this lot, shall we?
The man is moving away down the street. Brent watches him from a distance.
The man looks back, then hurries round a corner. Brent climbs into his Morris
Minor Traveller, and follows.
His quarry runs up the steps of a terraced house. As he closes the door, Brent’s
car draws up across the street. He leans across in the car to make out the house
number: 37. He scribbles it down on a prescription pad, then looks down at the pad
thoughtfully.
Inside Number 37, a hand moves the net curtain aside to reveal Brent’s car
parked opposite. As the car pulls away, the man at the window brings up his left
palm, and drives his right fist into it. The skeleton ring glints in the now fading
daylight.
Act 2
Entering the consulting room of his surgery, Brent throws his prescription pad
down on the desk. The note on the top sheet reads, “37 Enders Street”. Brent
approaches the desk and sits down. He drums a tattoo with his fingers as he studies
the pad.
In addition to the desk, the room is furnished with a comfortable chair each for
both doctor and patient. There is a tall anglepoise lamp on the floor, and a sink
plumbed into the wall. Brent’s desk is at a 45-degree angle to the walls, with a
window to his right and several shelves of hefty medical books to his left. There are
two doors. The one Brent has just come through leads to a corridor, which accesses
the front door and his own home. The other, which is slightly ajar, leads to a
waiting room. Adjacent to this door is a large medicine cabinet, covered with
frosted glass panels. Paintings of relaxing landscapes are dotted here and there,
affording the room a more personal touch, and there is a vase of chrysanthemums
on one corner of the desk, to Brent’s left. On the right of the desk is a telephone.
Coming to a decision, Brent reaches for the phone – but he is deflected by a
knock on the waiting room door. Amanda Gibbs, his nurse and receptionist,
enters.
NURSE GIBBS: I thought I heard you, Doctor.
BRENT: You’ve got the best radar in the business. Anything new?
A pregnant patient called Mrs Allen thinks her pains have started. Brent says he
will visit her later. Anything else? He is somewhat surprised to be told that he has a
full surgery already. Nurse Gibbs jokes that he should feel flattered to be so
popular.
BRENT: I reckon it’s you they come to catch a glimpse of.
NURSE GIBBS: What? Mrs Biggs?
BRENT: Not again?
NURSE GIBBS: First in the queue. (She hands him a record card) I’ll
show her in, shall I?
BRENT: If you must.
Since he is going to be busy, he asks the nurse to call Inspector Landon and ask
if he could look in if he happens to be passing later. There’s just a chance that the
doctor may have stumbled upon a particular needle he’s looking for.
NURSE GIBBS: Needle?
BRENT: You know. Needles in haystacks.
NURSE GIBBS: You do love riddles, don’t you?
The nurse sends in Mrs Biggs and departs – but not before giving Brent a glance
of sympathy, which is tinged with playful malice. Mrs Biggs is a mountainous
woman with a ridiculous hat skewered onto her head. It would be charitable to
suppose that the bulging string bag she clutches accounts for her stertorous
breathing. In fact, alcohol is to blame. She drops into the seat opposite Brent. Nurse
Gibbs closes the door behind her.
MRS BIGGS: Thought you were never coming this evening. Thought
you never were. I did, really. Still, you’re here, that’s the great thing.
You’re here now, aren’t you? Tell you what, though. (She nods in the
direction the nurse went) I don’t care for her a lot. Properly stuck up,
she is. Not like the one you had last time. Still, it takes all sorts, I
suppose. How’ve you been, then, Doctor?
Brent politely replies that he has been fine, but quickly turns the conversation to
the reason for Mrs Biggs’ visit. She has had a fall and badly grazed her elbow. The
doctor advises her to ease up on the stout and bitter. Last time it was her knee. One
of these days she’ll really hurt herself. His tone is caring rather than condemnatory.
He washes his hands and asks her to slip off her coat. After a bit of a struggle, she
manages to release herself from her coat and bag. Brent smiles, and crosses to
examine the graze. The wound is clean, so he proceeds to assemble a hypodermic.
Meanwhile, Mrs Biggs argues that her accident wasn’t down to drink this time.
MRS BIGGS: It would have been our Golden Wedding today, if Biggs
hadn’t been taken from me. I never had no more than one – to
absent friends. And what with my mind on the past and the step
being slippery… Well. The next thing I knew, the pavement had
come up and hit me.
She notices Brent filling a syringe from an ampoule, and asks what it is. It’s an
A.T.S. injection, Brent explains. Mrs Biggs rumbles with merriment. She’s a bit old
for the A.T.S., she jokes – referring to the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the
women’s branch of the Army during the Second World War. This is a different
kind, the doctor explains – it stands for Anti-Tetanus Serum, to make sure she
doesn’t get lockjaw from any dirt left in that graze. Mrs Biggs hates needles. She
screws up her face in anticipation. Brent walks back to the sink, telling her it’s all
over. He presses an electric buzzer on the desk to summon Nurse Gibbs. Mrs Biggs
finds it hard to believe that he has given her an injection at all. She didn’t feel a
thing, she claims, rather indignantly. Brent shows her the tiny puncture mark on
her arm by way of proof. The nurse comes in, leaving the waiting room door open.
MRS BIGGS: You might have warned me. Suppose I’d yelled. Upset
your other patients, wouldn’t I?
BRENT: Not really. The door’s soundproof. They wouldn’t have
heard a thing.
Brent asks Nurse Gibbs to put a dressing on Mrs Biggs’ elbow. He will take
another look at it once he’s seen his next patient. As the nurse leads Mrs Biggs
away, she informs Brent that his next patient is a new one. Acknowledging this
information, Brent returns to the sink, where he prepares the syringe for
sterilisation and washes his hands again. Meanwhile, the next patient enters, closes
the door behind him, and takes a seat.
The doctor turns from the basin and finally sees the face of his visitor. It is the
man from the shop. The man with the skeleton ring. There is an instant’s
hesitation… and then Brent walks smoothly to his desk, as though nothing at all
were amiss.
BRENT: Now then, Mr…?
DRAKE: I’ve got to talk to you.
BRENT: Quite.
Now convinced that this visit is no mere coincidence, Brent reaches for the
buzzer.
DRAKE: Look – please – don’t do anything till you’ve heard what
I’ve got to say.
BRENT: What did you think I was going to do?
DRAKE: I don’t know. Only… just don’t do anything, please. Not till
I’ve had my say.
BRENT: Alright.
The man, Drake, doesn’t know what put Brent on his scent, but he knows that
the doctor has been following him and has his address. But Brent looks like a fair
sort of bloke to Drake. He wouldn’t shop him to the police, would he? Not without
hearing his side of the story first. Brent says nothing. His silence drives Drake to
talk – urgently, compulsively.
DRAKE: You see, it’s like this. I’ve been in a bit of bother, I don’t
deny that. Well, I’ve been waiting, see? Waiting till I could get fixed
up on a boat, find the money, get away. Well, I’ve got it sorted now. I
can go tomorrow. After hiding out for a month, I can go tomorrow.
Well, you’ve got nothing against me, have you? I’ve never done
nothing to you, have I? Then, look, I’m begging you. Whatever
you’ve got against me, don’t put them onto me. Not now. Not now I
stand a chance of getting away. I mean, I’m not asking you to do
much, am I? I mean, you don’t know anything, do you? All I’m
asking you to do is to keep your suspicions to yourself, just for
twenty-four hours.
BRENT: Why should I?
DRAKE: Why shouldn’t you? You’re not going to get any medals, are
you, for putting the law onto me? Look, I’ve served three years.
That’s enough, isn’t it? What have I ever done to you that you should
want to put me back in the Ville for another three?
Brent is not concerned with what Drake did three years ago, but with what he
did last night.
BRENT: You’ve never done anything to me, that’s true. What had a
girl called Jean Young ever done to you?
DRAKE: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
BRENT: I’m talking about the girl you picked up last night. The girl
who took you home. The girl you set about and robbed. And you
didn’t even know her name. You might have taken the trouble to find
that out, mightn’t you? Before you killed her.
Drake is stunned. How can he have killed her? He didn’t hit her that hard. Then
he realises that he has given himself away. Brent thanks him for confirming his
suspicion. He reaches for the buzzer again.
DRAKE: No, wait! I can explain that. Listen! Just listen a minute,
please. I didn’t mean to hurt the girl. I didn’t, really. I’d been out for
a month. And I hadn’t gone out with a woman. Not one. After three
years I’d had a month out, and I hadn’t had a woman so much as
smile at me. I had to lie low. Sneak in and out. Never talk to anybody.
Not draw attention to myself, while they were fixing the getaway.
Well, I went into this club – a near-beer joint. Just for one drink. Just
one. And the lights. And a bit of company. And there was this girl.
She smiled at me. It was wonderful. She didn’t pry. Just took me as I
was. You know, chatted and smiled. I thought she liked me. I thought
she really liked me. And then, the lousy rotten cow, she wanted
money. Like all the rest. She wanted money. I just… But I never
meant to hurt her. I never, really.
BRENT: The fact remains that you did. Not at all badly, but you did.
DRAKE: But you said…
BRENT: I know. I’m sorry. It was a cheap trick, but I had to make
sure you were the right man.
Drake argues that the doctor cannot prove anything. Brent thinks he can prove
enough. As it becomes clear that Brent intends to inform the police, Drake
produces a knife. He doesn’t want to use it, but he has too much to lose. Brent
remains perfectly still. His hand is almost at the buzzer. He knows he could press it
before Drake had a chance to cut him, but what good would that do? Help could
not possibly reach him before he sustained serious injury – or worse. He glances
anxiously towards the waiting room door.
The waiting room is furnished with an assortment of mismatched chairs, with
an assortment of equally mismatched patients sitting upon them. On a central table
is a selection of fairly recent magazines and newspapers. In one corner of the room
is the nurse / receptionist’s station: a small desk with a couple of filing cabinets
alongside. Seated at this station, Amanda Gibbs is currently being harangued by
Mrs Biggs. Having had her grazed elbow dressed by the nurse, this decidedly
impatient patient is wondering when the doctor will be free to give her his final
inspection. She has better things to do than hang about here all night. So does the
doctor, Nurse Gibbs tersely replies. Mrs Biggs takes umbrage.
MRS BIGGS: Hoity-toity.
She crosses to sit next to another patient, a stringy Welshwoman with a small
boy in tow. The child has an iced lolly, which is rapidly melting.
MRS BIGGS: Doesn’t half give herself airs, does she?
WELSHWOMAN: Got a living to make, hasn’t she? Same as
everyone. (To the child) Lick it, can’t you? It’s slopping all over your
jersey.
Then a new development piques Mrs Biggs’ interest, as Inspector Landon walks
in. He approaches Nurse Gibbs. Having received her telephone message, he wants
to know what’s all this about needles. The nurse, of course, knows no more about it
than he does. Brent is the only one who can answer that question, and he is with a
patient at the moment. He’s been in there for some time now… Checking his
watch, Landon says he can afford to wait for a few minutes.
He crosses to sit alongside Mrs Biggs and the Welshwoman. His attempts to
converse with them fall flat, so he tries the boy instead.
LANDON: Shouldn’t eat too many of those, you know. You’ll be
having teeth like mine. (To the Welshwoman) Not a whole one
among them.
The Welshwoman sniffs pointedly. Landon, resigned to a certain coolness
towards the force in this area, retires behind a magazine. Surreptitiously, the boy
sticks his tongue out at him. Without seeming to move, the Welshwoman slaps the
child.
In the consulting room, none of this can be heard. Drake gestures towards
Brent with the knife. Getting the message, Brent withdraws his hand from the
buzzer. Both men contemplate their next move. After a moment, Brent nods
towards the knife.
BRENT: It’s pretty pointless, that, you know. With a roomful of
patients next door, I’ve only got to raise my voice…
Drake knows that the door is soundproof. Brent changes tack, arguing that even
if he did agree to keep quiet, what’s to stop him from tipping off the police the
instant Drake leaves? The man has no answer to that. Brent continues. The only
way to ensure that he is rendered harmless is to kill him. Even though that would
certainly stir the police into action, and it might also raise the price of getting
Drake out of the country, murder is his only possible chance. Drake considers this
argument. There is an awful logic to it. The doctor goes on, deliberately baiting the
man.
BRENT: I don’t think you’re prepared to do that. It’s just not your
style. Breaking out of prison – very good. Knocking defenceless
women about – you can manage that. But taking on a grown man?
Oh, no. Even when you’ve got a knife in your hand, you haven’t got
the guts to do that, have you?
DRAKE: Look, I’m desperate.
BRENT: So you say. But you’re not exactly determined, are you? You
come here to shut me up and what do you do? Start off by pleading
with me. And when that doesn’t work, you resort to threats. Without
having enough guts to back them.
DRAKE: Shut up!
BRENT: You don’t know whether you want freedom or sympathy.
And you’re not brave enough to win one, or honest enough to
deserve the other.
DRAKE: Look, all I’ve done is to hit a rotten tart. That’s all I’ve done,
I tell you.
BRENT: If she’s rotten, what does that make someone who beats her
up and takes her money? A hero?
It’s the final insult that leads him to lunge at Brent. The doctor parries with the
vase of chrysanthemums, which shatters but sends the knife flying. Brent goes off
balance, but, with three neat ju-jitsu throws, he frees himself from the oncoming
Drake, winds the man and drops him back into the patient’s chair, unconscious. It
happens so quickly that even Brent seems slightly surprised by it. He mutters a
quick apology to the insensible felon, then presses the buzzer.
Nurse Gibbs comes in. She takes in the scene at a glance, and closes the door
behind her. Having established that Brent is alright, she informs him that Landon
is here. She calls the Inspector in from the waiting room. He stops short in surprise
just inside the door.
LANDON: Well, I’ll be…
BRENT: (Indicates Drake) Friend of yours?
LANDON: Don’t know about friend. Name of George Drake. He was
serving a seven-year stretch. Went over the wall at the Ville about a
month ago.
BRENT: So I gathered.
Landon asks how Brent had got onto him. The doctor explains how he had
noticed the ring earlier. At the time, he had assumed it was nothing more than a
coincidence, hardly worth reporting to Landon at all – but Drake had jumped to
the conclusion that he’d been recognised as an escaped convict. As it turns out,
there are incriminating traces of blood on the ring. Analysis of that ought to clinch
the case.
Drake is starting to regain consciousness. Landon hoists him up, intent on
taking him to the police station. Brent asks the Inspector to use the house door on
his way out – it wouldn’t be good for the surgery’s image to have a semi-conscious
patient carried off the premises through the waiting room. Landon agrees.
Meanwhile, Brent and Nurse Gibbs have a quick tidy up. They need to resume
the surgery as soon as possible, or their waiting patients will get restless. The nurse
sweeps up the broken vase and flowers, then retreats through the house door and
returns with a similar vase of chrysanthemums from Brent’s hallway. They are a
lighter shade than the previous arrangement, but they will have to do. Finally, they
are ready to let Mrs Biggs in.
The old girl lumbers in, greatly relieved to be seen at last. She wonders what
happened to the previous patient. Brent explains that he was taken ill. When asked
how the injection feels, Mrs Biggs complains that her arm is a bit stiff and
throbbing. The doctor assures her that this will wear off in an hour or two.
Suddenly, Mrs Biggs notices something.
MRS BIGGS: That’s queer.
BRENT: What?
MRS BIGGS: You had red chrysanthemums on your desk when I was
in just now. These are yellow ones.
BRENT: I told you you ought to leave that stout and bitter alone,
didn’t I?
Mrs Biggs looks at him strangely. It’s all a bit beyond her. She shakes her head
as she gets up to leave. Nurse Gibbs cannot help grinning as she sees the woman
out. There’s a hint of a smile on Brent’s face, too… but it fades as he gets back to
work. Briskly, he asks Amanda to send in the next patient.
CAST
Ian Hendry (Dr Geoffrey Brent), John Warwick (Inspector Landon), Ingrid Hafner
(Nurse Amanda Gibbs), Olive McFarland (Jean Young), Howard Daley (PC
Thomson), Harry H. Corbett (George Drake), Annette Robertson (Molly Dews),
Patsy Smart (Mrs Dews), Rita Webb (Mrs Biggs), Janet Davies (Welshwoman),
John Bosche (Child)
PRODUCTION
Production Assistant – Barbara Forster
Floor Manager – Alan Davidson
Stage Manager – Hugh Forbes
Consultant – ‘J.J. Bernard’ MBBS (a pseudonym), London Police Surgeon
Designer – Alpho O’Reilly
Producer – Julian Bond
Drama Supervisor – Sydney Newman
Director – Don Leaver
Rehearsed from Tuesday 19th July 1960
at The Tower, RCA Building, Brook Green Road, Hammersmith
Camera rehearsed and recorded on Sunday 24th July 1960
at Studio 2, ABC Television Studios, Broom Road,
Teddington Lock, Middlesex
Recording Format – 405 Line Black and White Videotape
TRANSMISSION
Saturday 24th September 1960, 7.00pm
(ABC Midlands, ABC North, Anglia, ATV London, Scottish,
Southern, Television Wales and West, Tyne Tees and Ulster)
ARCHIVE
Rehearsal Script – held by British Film Institute, United Kingdom
PRODUCTION BRIEF
The rehearsal script for this episode that has been retained by the British Film
Institute gives an interesting peek into the genesis of the series, at which point
Police Surgeon’s central character was not called Dr Brent. The script, which carries
the working title Small World, refers to our police surgeon hero throughout as Dr
Kemp. It is unclear whether the change to Brent was simply the result of a better
name being decided upon or if the Dr Kemp name was already in prominent use
elsewhere in fiction or reality.
FIELD REPORT
The script includes two scenes at the end of Act 1 – Scenes 4 and 4a – which were
intended to be filmed on location. Taking place during the daytime in West
London, this sequence features Brent following Drake to the latter’s hideout at 37
Enders Street (a fictitious address), and Drake looking out through his window and
noticing his pursuer. No dialogue was written for these scenes – location footage
for use in videotaped dramas was often shot mute (silent) at this point in ABC’s
history. Julian Bond’s script does, however, suggest the addition of incidental
music, which would have been played in separately from grams. The majority of
our information concerning this episode is derived from a rehearsal script. This
document specifies the location filming but also contains a note at the end of Act 1
suggesting that, if necessary, it would be possible to realise these scenes in the
studio environment. Therefore, it cannot be said with absolute certainty that this
location filming session actually took place.
PERSONNEL FILE
This episode marks the first of two appearances by Ingrid Hafner as Nurse Amanda
Gibbs. Lag on the Run is the only instalment of Police Surgeon in which the actress
is billed in contemporary TV listings, though press coverage of her next role, as
nurse / receptionist Carol Wilson in The Avengers, suggests that she guest-starred
in more than one episode of Police Surgeon as Dr Brent’s nurse. Furthermore, the
surviving rehearsal script for Diplomatic Immunity (an episode that was not billed
in TV listings) also includes the character of Amanda.
An actress of British and Austrian descent, Ingrid Hafner was born in London
on 13th November 1936. Her father was Raoul Hafner, an Austrian helicopter
pioneer who made a significant contribution to the British aerospace industry, and
her mother, Eileen Myra McAdam, was a descendent of the road builder John
Loudon McAdam. Ingrid studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and later
joined the Old Vic in London, then under the auspices of Michael Benthall. During
her time with the company, she featured in many productions, most notably
between 1956 and 1957 in the William Shakespeare plays The Two Gentlemen of
Verona, Titus Andronicus, Antony and Cleopatra and Richard III. She also
appeared in a 1959 Associated-Rediffusion schools television adaptation of Twelfth
Night, and figured in a Bristol Old Vic production of Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac
(1959) in a cast headed by Peter Wyngarde. Her appearances in Police Surgeon led
to her casting in The Avengers when the production team and actor Ian Hendry
were moved across to work on the replacement series. In the new show, Ingrid
retained a similar position alongside the charismatic Hendry, but both characters
were renamed, his to Dr Keel, and hers to Carol Wilson. At the time, Ingrid was
fresh from her feature-film debut in Bluebeard’s Ten Honeymoons (1960), a lowbudget British thriller starring George Sanders. It was hardly a feature film that
made its mark, but it was excellent experience for the young, aspiring actress. In
between her ‘nurse’ roles, Hafner appeared in an episode of Armchair Theatre,
entitled Clip Joint People (transmitted on 4th December 1960). It made a welcome
change from her usual parts, as the actress later told John K. Newnham of the
Scottish listings magazine TV Guide on 27th July 1961: “I’m usually a nice girl.
That time, I was a clip-joint girl. I got a great kick out of it!” Her roles in Police
Surgeon and The Avengers caused her to look for property in London, leaving her
home in Somerset behind, but she would return and work in the south west at
various stages of her career, most notably in the children’s supernatural television
serial The Clifton House Mystery (1978), which was set and recorded in Bristol
under the auspices of Police Surgeon producer Leonard White. She went on to
appear in several more feature films, including The Amorous Adventures of Moll
Flanders (1965) and Philby, Burgess and MacLean – Spy Scandal of the Century
(1977). Ingrid’s post-Avengers television work included The Corridor People (1966),
The Mind of Mr J.G. Reeder (1971) and The Lotus Eaters (1972), a series which
reunited her with Ian Hendry. In the 1980s, Ingrid guest starred in the HTV West
series Robin of Sherwood, a well-regarded update of the Robin Hood legend,
playing Mary in The Swords of Wayland. Towards the end of her career, she
featured in Take the High Road, a long-running Highlands soap opera made by
Scottish Television. She also made several appearances on British radio, notably in
the BBC’s 1989 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, in which she portrayed Mrs
Weston. Ingrid Hafner died in Berkshire, on 20th May 1994 of Motor Neurone
Disease, leaving husband Richard Clothier and two sons, Ben and William.
Harry H. Corbett, who played George Drake, was born on 28th February 1925
in Rangoon, Burma (now known as Yangon, Myanmar), where his father was
stationed as a British Army quartermaster sergeant. At the time of his appearance
in Lag on the Run, Corbett was establishing a reputation as a serious and intense
Method actor. He added the middle initial to his name during the 1950s in order to
avoid confusion with the puppeteer Harry Corbett, of The Sooty Show fame – he
claimed that the “H” stood for “hennyfink”, a Cockney pronunciation of
“anything”. The actor’s career took a very different path when he appeared as the
rag-and-bone man Harold Steptoe in The Offer, a 1962 episode of the BBC
anthology series Comedy Playhouse, written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The
concept was successfully developed that same year into the situation comedy
Steptoe and Son, which ran for a staggering twelve years and spawned a radio series
and two feature films. Though the series turned Corbett into a star, it also led to
him being typecast as a comedy actor. Tellingly, out of the thirteen appearances he
made in Armchair Theatre from 1957, only two of them (The Hothouse in 1964,
alongside Diana Rigg, and A Second Look in 1968) were made after the debut of
Steptoe and Son. Corbett’s final role was in an episode of the Anglia Television
anthology show Tales of the Unexpected. Entitled The Moles, this decidedly lighthearted story features a group of men (played by Corbett and fellow situation
comedy stalwarts Fulton Mackay and Bill Owen) who dig their way into a bank,
only to find the vaults empty due to industrial action. Filmed shortly before
Corbett’s death, at the age of 57, from a heart attack on 21st March 1982, The Moles
was transmitted two months later, on 30th May 1982.
Lag on the Run was an early television acting job for Janet Davies, who was born
on 14th September 1927 in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. A handful of previous roles
included the character of Miss Tiddy in The Curse of the Bellfoots, an episode of the
1960 ATV situation comedy anthology Arthur’s Treasured Volumes, starring
Arthur Askey. Though mainly remembered for playing the nagging Mrs Pike in 30
episodes of the BBC comedy Dad’s Army between 1968 and 1977, Davies also
appeared in many other television and film productions, including Dixon of Dock
Green (various roles in six episodes between 1964 and 1972), the 1972 feature film
Under Milk Wood (1972), Z Cars (various roles in six episodes between 1962 and
1978) and The Professionals in 1982. She was sometimes credited as Jan Davies
during her later career. When not acting, she put her typing and shorthand skills to
good use, and is said to have landed the role of Mrs Pike while carrying out such
work for the theatrical agent Ann Callender, who was the wife of TV producer
David Croft – the director, co-writer and producer of Dad’s Army. Davies
happened to be in the office when the first Dad’s Army script arrived, and quickly
recommended herself for the part. Her brief role as the Welshwoman in Lag on the
Run was similarly comedic. Janet Davies died on 28th September 1986, aged 59, of
breast cancer which had spread to her lungs.
MATTERS ARISING
Lag on the Run establishes a minor running theme regarding the comically feeble
typing skills of PC Thomson. It takes the hapless constable some considerable time
to type out Jean’s statement – a fact that is remarked upon by Landon, Brent and
Jean herself – and he is horror-struck when it seems as though he may have to
retype the whole thing! Later in the series, writer Peter Yeldham picked up on this
character trait in his script for Diplomatic Immunity, in which Thomson is still
struggling with the typewriter.
Mrs Biggs points out that Amanda Gibbs is not the same nurse that the doctor
had the last time she visited the surgery, which suggests that Amanda is either new
or not a permanent member of staff. Indeed, in the episodes You Won’t Feel a
Thing and A Home of Her Own, Brent has a different nurse, played by Patricia
Mort. It is quite possible that the nurses at Brent’s surgery alternated on a jobsharing / part-time basis or were supplied to him by an agency. Perhaps Julian
Bond was planning ahead with the inclusion of Mrs Biggs’ line, building in an
explanation for the eventuality of an actress not being available when a nurse
character was required. This also suggests that Ingrid Hafner was engaged for the
series on an episode-to-episode basis, rather than on a contract for an agreed
period of time. In fact, judging by the comings and goings among the supporting
cast during the series, it would seem that Ian Hendry and John Warwick were the
only actors who were contracted to Police Surgeon on a regular basis.
“The Ville” referred to by Drake and Landon is an informal name for Her
Majesty’s Prison Pentonville. Opened in 1842, Pentonville Prison is not actually
located in the Pentonville district, but further north, on the Caledonian Road in the
Barnsbury area of the Borough of Islington in North London.
A contact sheet of 12 stills held by Leonard White was long believed to pertain
to the Avengers episode Square Root of Evil. The sheet, which is marked on the back
by White as “Avengers Episode 3”, comprises glamorous portraits of Ingrid Hafner
alongside a vase of flowers, and shots of empty sets for a doctor’s surgery (complete
with waiting room) and a newsagent. However, the photographs bear little or no
relation to the plot of Square Root of Evil, which does not feature a newsagent.
Examination of the script for Lag on the Run suggests that these images relate to
another “Episode 3” entirely. The third episode of Police Surgeon to be transmitted,
Lag on the Run featured Hafner as Nurse Amanda Gibbs, a vase of
chrysanthemums, a composite set for Geoffrey Brent’s surgery and waiting room,
and a newsagent / tobacconist’s shop. It is possible that the contact sheet was
initially marked as “Episode 3” but was not identified by series, and that the word
“Avengers” was added some time later. Since the third episode of The Avengers
similarly involved a GP’s surgery (that of David Keel) and Ingrid Hafner as a nurse
(Carol Wilson), the mistake is an understandable one.
Another photograph from the production of Lag on the Run shows Brent
examining Jean’s injury in the surgeon’s room of the police station, with Landon
loitering in the background. The set depicted in this image exactly matches that
shown in one of the contact sheet images. This photograph also reveals that Jean’s
costume comprised a pleated minidress, rather than the blouse suggested in Julian
Bond’s script.
MENTIONED IN DISPATCHES
An adaptation by Julian Bond of Carter Dickson’s The Judas Window was
announced as a forthcoming BBC television serial for Saturday nights in the Guild
News section of The Stage and Television Today on 29th September 1960. Further
to this information, an aside was made remarking that “ABC series Police Surgeon,
devised and produced by Bond, is getting good ratings… [At the] end of this
month, he hopes to fly to the island of Ibiza for a week or two of sun and siestas.”
Despite the report of respectable audience figures, the series never made the TAM
Top Ten chart, either regionally or nationally.
VERDICT
In some ways, Lag on the Run curiously predicts The Avengers. Here we see Brent
in sleuthing mode, tracking the villain to his lair – in a rare excursion out of doors
that may well have been shot on film. In a move not dissimilar to a plot
development in the Avengers episode Double Danger, the doctor sends a cryptic
message to his colleague via his nurse. There is even a fight scene at the end
(though it is over rather quickly), with Brent using ju-jitsu to overcome Drake!
Brent’s vague message to Landon is a slight weakness in the story. The doctor
claims to be too busy with his patients to telephone Landon, so he gets Amanda to
ask the Inspector to pop round if he should happen to be passing. Would it really
have taken Brent that long to telephone Landon? Less time than talking to him as a
visitor in person? Probably not – but it serves the purposes of the plot for him to do
so! This is mitigated by the explanation that Brent believes his observation of
Drake’s ring to be most likely a sheer coincidence, hardly worth passing on to the
Inspector at all, and by the writer’s masterful manipulation of tension.
Julian Bond contrasts the developing threat to Brent with humorous dialogue
exchanges at the station, in the shop and at the surgery. This is most dramatic
towards the end of Act 2, when the writer cuts from Brent being threatened with a
knife in his consulting room to a highly comical scene involving Mrs Biggs, the
Welshwoman and her son in the waiting room. All in all, it’s something of a
mystery why this exciting episode was not selected as the first one to be broadcast
(but see the Verdict on Easy Money for more musings about this subject…).
FOR THE FULL DIAGNOSIS…
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