The Avengers Forever: Rodney's Reviews

	Rodney's Reviews Page 2 of 42

The Town of No Return
By Rodney Marshall

I still think of this as the inaugural Rigg episode, even though in terms of filming it wasn't. It is so nearly one of the best of the series but—unlike the train which takes them to Little Bazely—it eventually runs out of steam.

Let me begin with the positives. The backdrop of the abandoned airfield conjures up a similar post-war atmosphere to that of "The Hour That Never Was." Clemens creates an unsettling backdrop—something he is often very good at—and the pub scenes are particularly memorable. Terrence Alexander excels as the initially genial landlord. The "badger hunting" across the dunes, the empty church and the blacksmith fight help to reinforce the menacing undercurrent set up by the unfriendly locals in the pub.

Mrs. Peel has yet to become a well-rounded character; there is still much of the Gale era in this episode, including the Bond-style bunker scenes. Indeed, it is when the Avengers go underground that the plot and the atmosphere are lost. What had been, up until then, fascinating and intriguing, disintegrates into an anti-climactic ending which has more in common with "The Living Dead" than "The Hour That Never Was." Unfortunately.