Last February I wrote a Valentine’s love letter to The Avengers — that delightfully quirky, off-balanced UK spy series from the 1960s. It subsequently became the top viewed post of 2012. It appears that hundreds of people, across the planet, love The Avengers as much as I do.

I want to celebrate that.

Pop culture and television consumption often reside in the current. Sure, Netflix and Hulu have provided a way for us to catch up on classic past series, but we don’t communally discuss bygone shows very often. After seeing the enthusiastic and affectionate responses from fellow Avengers fans, I decided to create a monthly retrospective on various Avengers episodes. Share a little synopsis, its quirks, a few pieces of trivia and other fun fragments. (In time I’ll include fun posts on other retro series, like Remington Steele and Xena Warrior Princess. I do love me some quality nostalgia.)

For today, in this sophomore valentine, I wanted to share one of my all-time favorite episodes: “The Master Minds.” Aired in 1965, “The Master Minds” is a sharply written, clever story about a group of geniuses that are brainwashed by “a diabolical mastermind” in order to use their collective brilliance to commit sophisticated acts of crime. Like stealing government secrets and nuclear missiles. They compose a group called Ransack, which is essentially Mensa, and John Steed and Emma Peel infiltrate the group to discover — and stop — its leaders.

The episode delivers zinger after zinger as Mrs. Peel intellectually outpaces Steed. One notable Emma line: “You scored under 100. I added sixty on and now you’re brilliant. Genius level.” Or this one to Steed: “You are a genius. At cribbing.”

Best Lines

Mrs. Peel: {Upon arriving at their first appointment. Steed wakes up Emma, who fell asleep in the car.} “Did it have to be the middle of the night, Steed?”
Steed: “Night? It’s morning! Bright new morning!”
Particularly love the way that Mrs. Peel pouts her line, like a sleepy cat. I’m a morning person, but not a super early morning person. So I’m totally with Emma on this one.

Davinia: {After being tackled by Steed, whom she thinks is an intruder.} “You know, I wouldn’t have screamed. I would have merely accepted my fate.”

Steed: {While watching Mrs. Peel jump up and down on a trampoline.} “It’s like watching a game of perpendicular tennis.”

Fun Fragments

The character of Dr. Fergus Campbell was played by Ian McNaughton, who produced Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

The games mistress Holly Trent (actress Patricia Haines) reappears in The Avengers as Lola in the episode “Who’s Who.”

These are the notes written on Steed’s inner sleeve, which enable him to cheat during Ransack exams: 1a. Dubhe Polaris Alioth Schedar; 1b. Achernar Acrux Canopus Rigil Kentaurus. They’re constellation references, and you can read more about Steed’s cheat sheet here.

Mrs. Peel volunteers to kill Steed. In an archery range.

The head “mastermind” speaks through a voice modulator, so the diabolical instructions sound like a tinny chipmunk.

Best Scene

Emma fights the head mastermind behind a screen projector, so all you see are their dueling silhouettes. Emma wins by hurling her opponent through the screen in a spectacular fashion.

Chemistry Score

 
 
 
Four out of five. For the scene in which Emma brings Steed an evening nightcap: “Here’s your evening cocoa. And if you’re really good, I’ll tell you a bedtime story.”

I heart you, Avengers. Forever and always.