Quite a nasty ep in some ways, people having miniature explosives planted inside them? Once again we learn of Steed's WW2 history, he was a prisoner in the Far East at some point, he did get around didn't he?
A lovely little game of one-upmanship between Steed and the lead bad guy over the recording, some interesting interplay too between Steed and the damaged goods girl villain. Pretty good.
Initially, I didn't care for this one on first viewing, but now I fully appreciate it and feel it is a tremendous episode. The feel and tone of this episode is so removed from what I usually expect an Avengers episode to be that I was taken aback.
This is a deadly serious episode, and has a very realistic feel. Quite unusual for an Avengers episode. The home invasion aspect with the cyinide capsules implanted in the victims was truly terrifying. Never will forget Circe wearing the hospital mask! The remote country house setting was effective and the foyer with the antique car was very interesting.
Take-Over again to me feels like a Cathy Gale episode in its more realistic approach. There is also limited use of music which adds to this feel. One of the most shocking aspects is seeing Steed's hair getting messed up and out of place when he is crawling outside!
One of the greatest aspects of the Tara King season, is how experimental the show got. Although wonderful, the Emma Peel episodes stuck to a formula of strange occurrence or death happening, Avengers arrive on scene, put clues together, catch or dispose of villain. The Tara King episodes tried to mix it up and try new approaches. (Successfully and unsuccessfully)The season swung wildly from frothy comedic episodes, to fantasy science fiction, to deadly serious dramatic episodes, such as this one. It turned out to be quite an interesting season in
retrospect.
Take-Over shows that The Avengers was not just a jokey spy show, but reminds us of its grittier, more dramatic earlier seasons and that given an opportunity could still pack a serious punch!