7cb1d79195 Steed has been having bad dreams involving Christmas trees and a man dressedSanta Claus. At a party given by publisher and Dickens fan Brandon Storey, two telepathic spies attempt to read Steed's mind and make sense of the dream. However, the dream is echoed exactly by the events of the party, enabling Steed to spot the villains in advance and identify the dangerous Santa.
I find this one of the more enjoyable entries in the series. It aired on Christmas day and is built around a story in which Steed and Mrs. Peel are invited to a Dickensian Christmas party at one of England's stately homes, owned by Mervyn Johns, who is a renowned collector of Dickensiana.<br/><br/>At the Christmas Eve party, everyone must dress in costumes derived from one or another of the novels. Mrs. Peel winds upOliver Twist. Steed, ominously, is assigned the identity of Sidney Carton of "A Tale of Two Cities," the debauched alcoholic who recovers his humanity in time to sacrifice his life for someone else.<br/><br/>The plot, what there is of it, has something to do with drugs, mental telepathy, hypnosis, induced dreams, premonitions, and wringing state secrets out of Steed's mind. The Sidney Carton business has nothing to do with the story and is simply an excuse to film a nightmare and have a few subtle jokes.<br/><br/>Especially appealing is the notion of the Dickensian Christmas with its punch, puddings, and roast goose. There's a fireplace and a fiddler playing jigs. The set decorator deserves a two-shilling emolument.<br/><br/>It's curious that the Dickens collector who has laid on this affair is Mervyn Johns. This is the Mervyn Johns who dreamed "The Dead of Night" in its entirety. That's a movie I would recommend watching if you really want to be spooked. And a tip: A slight chemical alteration of the mind, and the film will REALLY make your hair stand on end. I believe Johns was also Bob Cratchett in the early 50s version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," the best version in my view.
A colleague of John Steed's called Freddie Marshall has come under suspicion for betraying government secrets. However, soon after, Marshall is found dead in a hotel roomthe result of a brainstorm. This was caused by the same heady nightmares involving mistletoe, white cardboard Christmas trees and a psychotic Santa Claus that Steed is now having. Both Steed and Mrs Peel have been invited to a Christmas party hosted by the publisher and Dickens fanatic Brandon Storey (Mervyn Johns) and despite his good cheer and hospitality, it is here where the answer to Marshall's death and Steed's nightmares lie. The telepathic Martin Trasker (Alex Scott) and Jeremy Wade (Barry Warren) are using their gifts to milk state secrets from Steed's mind having failed with Marshall whom died because of the mental strain put on him. Also involved is the medium Janice Crane (Jeanette Sterke) whose midnight mind reading game finally makes Mrs Peel suspicious of the evil activities going on amongst the seasonal festivities. Meanwhile, Wade is murdered before he can defect and Steed now seems to be having a complete mental breakdown. However, despite Mrs Peel's concerns, Steed was suspicious of Trasker and Wade all alongthe festive display in the house resembled the one in his dreams. The breakdown is merely a ruse to bring the ring into the open and a showdown in the hall of mirrors reveals Brandon Storey to be the Father Christmas of his nightmares and the leader of the spy ring. With the mind readers brought to book, Steed is glad that he will be able to sleep more soundly from now on.<br/><br/>Too Many Christmas Trees (first aired on Christmas Day 1965) is an effectively dark and chilly episode under the direction of veteran film maker Roy Baker. His credits include installments of practically every cult British TV show of this erawellcinema classics suchA Night To Remember and The October Man. His handling of the dream sequences come off extremely well considering the cardboard sets and the limitations of TV special effects in 1965. The atmospheric black and white cinematography of Gerry Turpin and Laurie Johnson's eerie incidental music ensure that the proceedings are genuinely unsettling and suitably dark and menacing -much better than I expected them to be. Turn out the lights and you will be in the right mood to have your spine chilled. In addition, the set of Storey's country house (actually Haberdashers Aske's school in Elstree, Hertfordshire) is impressively decorated with Dickensianait fits in with the atmosphere of the story.<br/><br/>Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg (in their first season of The Avengers together) have by now established their on screen chemistrySteed and Mrs Peel and are a joy to watch. They are very close friends but they don't always understand each other's methods of working. For instance, it is not until Steed gives the game away that she realizes that the breakdown has been put on to fool the villains. As fans of the show like myself usually expect, a first class supporting cast is on hand to support Macnee and Rigg including the excellent Mervyn JohnsBrandon Storey who appeared in many British films of the 1940's including the classic Ealing chiller DEAD OF NIGHT (1945). He was also Bob Crachet alongside Alastair Sym's Ebeneezer Scrooge in SCROOGE (1951), which incidentally featured a young Patrick Macneethe young Jacob Marley. All other members of the cast including Jeanette SterkeJanice Crane, Alex Scottthe scheming Trasker and Barry Warrenthe nervous and easily lead Wade all suit their parts perfectly.


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