New Avengers, Last of the Cybernauts

Broadcast November 2nd 1976
Before directors listed me as Robert Gillespie “able to get laughs” they had me down as Robert “kills well”. Meaning, I looked good dead. After a little practise in The Saint, I achieved near-perfection in The New Avengers.
In The Last of the Cybernauts I am the engineer Frank Goff, besotted with his mechanical creation - a super-robot. Felix Kane, a vengeful arch-criminal, played by Robert Lang - in a mask and in a wheelchair - is checking out how useful I can be to him.
Note the curious, sculptural object that Kane keeps in his den… the remains of the crashed and incinerated car that maimed and disfigured him. It’s a permanent reminder, fuelling his craving for vengeance.
I turned out to be of no help to Kane’s plans and underwent a stylish death at the hands of my own device.
The stars, Patrick Macnee (Steed) and Joanna Lumley (Purdey) don’t appear in this clip and I didn’t meet them on the shoot.

[@jeffsullivan2044]

Not the best episode ( nor as good as the 2 previous installments of cybernauts ) BUT not too bad either.
And Joanna Lumley? Yum!

[@marquonuk]

I like the idea of them using a simple, full size "naked" puppet of the cybernaut here in some of the close views of it with Robert Gillespie. They then turned the puppet sideways manually from below in a very unhuman way before the start of the walking sequence, making the cybernaut appear unreal, and subtly implying to the viewer that this is artificial and not just a man dressed up (even though it subsequently is!). That's a clever detail I've never noticed before, which does make the cybernaut seem weirder than if it had just been someone in a costume throughout, and was therefore a wise choice. I must watch that episode again. :-)

[@kazamshah4543]

I remember this episode from my childhood, still gives me the chills. Awesome show, vastly underrated.