Upon finding out that a terrific episode like "Mr Teddy Bear"
opened the Second Season in UK in September 1962, one can't help but
regard it as historical. Conceived at a time of virtual hodgepodge among
the starring roles, the maneuverings the TV business made around these
first episodes of the Second Season, appear quite perplexing. "Mr
Teddy Bear" was the seventh episode to be produced, but the first to
be shown to British viewers. One may infer the understandable confusion
the public must have experienced when they realized Steed had,
alternatively, three different partners: Mrs Gale, Venus Smith and a Dr
King. This latter came from a few episodes produced before Honor Blackman
and Julie Stevens were hired. As a consequence, Cathy wasn't formally
introduced in "Mr Teddy Bear." The public would have to wait
until an episode called "Warlock" (only in January 1963!) to
learn a little more about Mrs Gale, and in the meantime, assume she came
from "nowhere" as Mrs Peel would, just a few years later.
However, not for this reason "Mr Teddy Bear" loses its own
charming. In no way. By now, Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman had already
worked together in three episodes. This forth would prove again that
although their characters still kept a rather distant relationship, there
was a spark that undoubtedly would jump out of the screen not too much
later. We should remember, basically, that it was the first time the
audience saw Steed teamed up with a woman. The fact is that the wise
insolence shown by Steed, who still calls her "Cathy" (as he did
in an earlier episode, "Death Dispatch")
coupled to his "know-it-all" attitude, created in Mrs Gale a
rather unpleasant situation of mixed feelings, sort of
repulsion-attraction towards Steed, that leaves several pearls along the
way. Just watch her furious look when Steed laughs openly at her, upon
learning Mr Teddy Bear's cigarette case contained fingerprints of a chimp
instead of the killer she tried to identify. Or her expression "Why
aren't you dead?", wanting to sound funny, but truly ignoring Steed
had escaped death miraculously. These are good examples of a battle
between sexes (or should we say between characters?) that believe it or
not, was pretty evident during the Second Season of The Avengers.
This special situation in which Steed and Cathy compare notes in fact
holds the audience's attention, but by no means spoils the other
fundamental elements of the episode. The surrealist scenes wherein Cathy
arranges the "murder" of Steed with Mr Teddy Bear, talking all
the time to a teddy bear with solemn gravity, place this episode as the
precursor of others that would be based on the same idea.
"How To Succeed....At Murder"
and "Look - (stop me if you've heard this one) But There
Were These Two Fellers..." also showed villains who gave wicked
orders camouflaged by toys.
The killing methods Mr Teddy Bear makes use of, show his intelligence
and originality; and by the way, gives this episode the privilege of
presenting the first diabolic mastermind of the entire show. Alerted that
Steed's life could truly be in danger in the hands of this unpredictable
professional, One-Ten and his men take all precautions possible and leave
Steed half-naked while his clothes are meticulously checked after his
visit to Mr Teddy Bear's warehouse. (For those who had the chance to see
the original "Cape Fear" in B&W, Steed's
"strip-tease" sequence is very similar to that played by an
unforgettable Robert Mitchum in that superb thriller of 1962.)
Nevertheless, no one could have suspected that Mr Teddy Bear had smeared
Steed's phone with a lethal poison, forcing Steed to inject himself an
antidote before it was too late. And the ironic thing is that the
"executioner" calls Steed to warn him... "You have just
been murdered!"
For these and many other things, "Mr Teddy Bear" will remain
as a great classic, a masterful piece among the most representative
episodes of The Avengers. It's hard to understand that forty years
after the episode was produced, it still retains all the freshness that
even seems to improve as time goes by.
Mr Teddy Bear
by Frankymole, Bristol
"Perhaps you've noticed: I'm not a gentleman." Cathy dons her leather 'action suit' for
the first time. She doesn't get a fight this week, but she does grapple playfully with Steed (he moves as if to kiss
her and gets pushed to the floor for his pains). In story production order, Cathy is by now really getting into her
stride (before taking a break for Venus Smith!).
The praise this story receives is deserved, but it's true that it
is best watched after some of Cathy's others. Between the hard-nosed crime stories before it, and the more fanciful
tales to come in the third and fourth seasons, only at this point in the series could a scene like Cathy's final
confrontation with the 'superb technician' assassin have such an edge of uncertainty as to its outcome. Gripping!
She's used a gun before and looks prepared to kill, resolute in the face of the threat of sudden death from an
expert in its techniques.
Cathy is abrupt with Steed; "I've already thanked you" when he reminds her that he saved
her life, and "not on the furniture!" when he brings his dog around to her flat. He holds his ground when she says
he should go to the bottom of the class: "Well, you should be caned in front of the class!" Kinky. We also see
Steed's home for the first time — it comes with en-suite atropine antidote!
The Avenged?: A long line of victims,
the last of which is Michael Robbins' hapless biker, discovered in a scene that made me jump! Steed revels in the
ageing biker's misery: "I see here it says you've been driving trucks for years. But I suppose it's a bit too
difficult to follow anyone in a truck!"
Diabolical Masterminds?: Why did Mr Teddy Bear swallow the pill? He could
just have given up. But he probably had pride of some sort, and couldn't face losing and a probable hanging for
murder. He apologises for lying to Cathy. One almost feels sorry for the downfall of this complex man, although his
charm hides ruthless professionalism (as does Steed's). The scene-setting of One-Ten explaining Mr TB's wartime
resistance background is time well spent. His mistake of returning to the scene of an earlier crime is an apparent
plot hole.
The Avengers?: Cathy is clever, witty and charming. She gives as good as she gets with Steed, though.
The famous "why aren't you dead" is delivered with real venom, hinting at a real sense of loss when she thought he'd
died, and also anger at his casual lack of reassurance. Watch her seething as he discusses the photogenic quality of
his corpse.
Umbrella, Charm and a Bowler Hat?: Steed strips (not all at once) for a booby-trap check. However it
seems "you can leave your hat on" as that doesn't seem to get checked — odd when Mr TB reminded Steed to take it
with him. He's gangsterish with Cathy: "So forget about concealing six-shooters in your stocking-tops, baby blue
eyes!" And Cathy doesn't do 'charm'. She does something far better: directness. Oh, and what a gorgeous Chinese silk
jacket.
Bizarre?: For all its reliance on high-tech gadgetry and long-distance assassination, this episode works
as a brilliant character piece. Don't let the awkward intro scene put you off, they are the only unconvincing
performances in the piece. It twists and turns and raises a smile. Even One-Ten seems a bit more lively than usual.
Fun scenes include Steed carrying on a conversation with his unseen foe while whacking merry hell out of a
gadget-laden room with his umbrella, Cathy's clever exchanges with Mr Teddy Bear, and Steed's teasing of the
trucker/biker.
Three bowlers.
