The Avengers (TV Series) A Sense of History (1966) User Reviews

Fun but flawed episode

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 12 May 2015]

When economist James Broom is slain by an arrow it is suspected that somebody at St. Bode's College, a small university, is behind it. Mrs Peel and Steed go undercover at the university and discover students behaving in a fairly anarchic manner and the staff rather ineffectual. Their main lead in an unsigned thesis so they must find the original in the university's disorganised archives. Those who help the search also end up dead and suspicion falls on the thoroughly nasty student Eric Duboys although it is believed that he is working for somebody older and more intelligent; one of the staff.

This is an enjoyable but flawed episode; Patrick Mower is a delightfully unpleasant as Eric Duboys and the other characters are fun in their own way; however it is hard to believe in the university which appears to consist of about three staff and a dozen or so unruly pupils! If one can overlook this there are plenty of great scenes to enjoy including one where Steed gets a flaming arrow shot through his bowler hat and the rag ball where Mrs Peel dresses as a very sexy Robin Hood! When we learn the identity of the mastermind it provides a nice twist that I wasn't expecting.

Murder, mayhem, lurkings in the dark.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 12 July 2022]

Steed and Mrs Peel attend At Bode's College, to hunt for the killer of Economist James Broom, he finds an incredibly unruly bunch of students, but are their antics hijinks, or something more sinister?

It's another cracking episode, well paced, mysterious, full of intrigue. In these days of Brexit, and European problems, this feels like a very relevant watch.

I loved the contrasts, you have some outlandish humour, generally provided by the wonderful Nigel Stock, plus you have a real air of menace and danger, provided by the wonderful atmosphere, and clever use of music and lighting.

It's immaculately produced, this show truly was ahead of its time, it's so much slicker and smarter than many shows of the future. The costumes look terrific.

First off, just look at that cast, this has to be one of the show's best, most incredibly talented assembled casts so far, you have Peter Blythe, Nigel Stock, John Ringham, even a young Jacqueline Pearce, it doesn't get better than this.

I spent the whole episode wondering if we'd get to hear Jacqueline Pearce's wonderful voice.

Class, 9/10.

Some good period fun

[robert3750 · 7/10 · 30 May 2023]

I like the fun elements of this episode-Steed and Peel hanging around an old college with lots of English Ivy ambience as they investigate the murder of an economist, and the scene with people dressed in Robin Hood costumes. I love how the show would exhibit the various facets of Steed and Peel. In the physical confrontations with the students, Steed shows what a badass he really is. He "schools" the students nicely. The previous episode (The House that Jack Built) showed just how smart and resourceful Peel is. This one gave her not only a good fight scene, but showed off her sex appeal in a very fetching (and brief!) Robin Hood outfit.

Slings and arrows of merry men

[kevinolzak · 10/10 · 10 March 2011]

"A Sense of History" is another classic episode, featuring a youthful cast of familiar faces. Recalling the earlier "School for Traitors" (with Emma Peel replacing Venus Smith), we find ourselves at university, where all the students are part of a violent cult who mock the theories of their professors while following the dictates of a secret mastermind who has authored a devastating thesis designed to alter history. Dressed in Robin Hood apparel, wearing masks, and sporting accurate bows and sharp arrows, they murder eminent economist James Broom (an unbilled Kenneth Benda, later seen in "From Venus with Love"), now setting their sights on his associate Richard Carlyon (Nigel Stock, previously seen in "Concerto"), who hopes to continue his late colleague's dream of ending world poverty. Patrick Mower ("The Devil Rides Out," "Bloodsuckers," "Cry of the Banshee") heads the cast of bad boys, who make up in numbers what they lack in experience, with Peter Blythe ("Frankenstein Created Woman") second in command (he would return for "The Positive Negative Man"). It doesn't take them long to realize that the ever smiling, unflappable Steed is dangerous when crossed, and the frantic finale, with Emma's delectable derrière in plain sight in decorative Rag Week costume, gives new meaning to the term "merry men." Robin Phillips, so despicable as the villain who drives kindly Peter Cushing to suicide in "Tales from the Crypt" (1972), and Jacqueline Pearce ("The Plague of the Zombies" and "The Reptile") have less to do as frightened hangers on, along with Peter Bourne, later seen in "You'll Catch Your Death." Among the suspicious academicians are John Ringham (previously seen in "The Secrets Broker"), John Glyn-Jones (later seen in "Noon-Doomsday"), and John Barron.

POLITICS AND UNIVERSITY

[asalerno10 · 8/10 · 6 June 2022]

British Universities with their wide corridors and halls are always an interesting place to develop a story, here Emma and Steed move to one of them to investigate the murder of a famous professor who had written a thesis on Economics. They center their suspicions on a group of rebellious students who seem to have a political connection to people who were the antipodes of what the late teacher preached. The plot may be a bit slow, but the atmosphere of the University, the surrounding woods, the victims killed by arrows, the Robin Hood themed party, the Library and the students give the story a very intriguing framework.

Murder by bookshelves

[coltras35 · 8/10 · 7 December 2023]

A progressive economist is stopped by some students dressed as Robin Hood's men for Rag Week and he's shot with an arrow. Someone at the University of St Bode's is trying to stop the Europia Plan and return Europe to a fascist dictatorship. Suspicion falls on the brilliant young fascist Duboys, who rules the university with insolence, but is he the main fiend behind this diabolical plan?

If watching the professor forever doing his isometric exercises isn't enough to make this enjoyable, then the rest can still do the job with a splendid performance by Patrick Mower as a bully and the leader of some fractious students and an intriguing storyline on the grounds of university where politics and rebellion mix with abandonment. Cue: Emma Peel ( who dressed up as Robin the Hood) and Steed ( dresses as Sheriff of Nottingham) to round up the villains after some bout of hunting through some thesis and dodging some arrows. Nice setting with the alcoves and stone corridors.

A Sense of History

[guswhovian · 6/10 · 12 August 2020]

When a economist is murdered, Steed and Mrs Peel begin to investigate St. Bode's College to discover the identity of who wrote the thesis "Economics and a Sense of History".

This was a pretty standard and forgettable episode. Macnee and Rigg are charming as always, and there's several good guest stars like Nigel Stock and John Ringham. Patrick Mower is a bit over-the-top as one of the college students; he's a bit miscast, considering he was almost thirty when this was filmed. A pre-Blake's 7 Jacqueline Pearce has a small role, and Diana Rigg does look fetching in her Robin Hood outfit.