The Avengers (TV Series) The Cybernauts (1965) User Reviews

One of the series' best

[bensonmum2 · 9/10 · 9 September 2007]

A series of otherwise unrelated murders have a few things in common. Namely, the perpetrator in each instance appears to be unstoppable. Neither bullets nor doors slow him down. Steed and Mrs. Peel are called in to investigate and soon find the genius behind a technology company is central to all the murders. But he's wheelchair-bound. He couldn't be responsible for the killings. Or could he?

"The Cybernauts" has to be one of my all-time favorite episodes of The Avengers that I've seen. The mix of sci-fi, espionage, horror, and that touch of humor ever present in the show make this one near perfect. The tension gets turned up a notch as Mrs. Peel becomes the mistaken target of an unstoppable killer. The finale is more than satisfying. The special effects may be laughable when compared to what we have today, but to me that's part of the shows charm. Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee are wonderful. In just a few episodes, the two work together as if they had done so forever. They are joined in "The Cybernauts" by the very capable Michael Gough. Even though he's in a wheelchair the entire episode, he's an actor quite capable of dominating any scene he's in. Nicely done by everyone involved!

If you've never seen The Avengers and are curious about the fuss, "The Cybernauts" would be a good one to start with.

A classic instalment

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 16 April 2015]

Somebody is killing business leaders; they aren't using weapons or poison they are killing them with a single well aimed blow. This leads Mrs Peel to deduce that the killer must be a highly trained karate expert so she starts attending the local dojo where she hears of one man who is particularly skilled. Steed meanwhile learns that all the dead men were involved in negotiations for the European rights to new electronics technology that would revolutionise the industry. It turns out one of those still in the bidding is the karate expert Mrs Peel was interested in… he hardly has time to register as a suspect when he too is killed; clearly the assassin has incredible strength. It turns out the killer isn't human at all; it is a robot created by Dr. Clement Armstrong who wants to gain access to the new technology so that he can use robots and computers to take over the country.

This is rightly considered a classic episode as it contains so many elements that made 'The Avenger' what is was; killing business leaders, a villain wanting to take over the country, sci-fi technology and some good action. Michael Gough is good in the role of the wheelchair bound Dr Armstrong; a character who appears harmless till we learn of his killer cybernauts. The story is handled well with some nice misdirection pointing us towards suspecting the karate club… even if the episodes title points to a less than human killer! Once we've learnt who is behind the killings the drama doesn't lessen; indeed it increases as Armstrong sends one of his cybernauts to kill Steed… although it goes after Mrs Peel as Steed unknowingly gave the pen with the tracking device to her. The conclusion is entertaining and, although we don't know it at the time, sets things up for a sequel episode featuring Armstrong's brother. Overall a really good episode.

The Cybernauts

[guswhovian · 8/10 · 8 July 2020]

When several businessmen are killed, Steed and Mrs Peel discover that crippled scientist Dr Armstrong has invented cybernetic men to carry out his bidding.

The Cybernauts is easily one of the most famous episodes of The Avengers. It's a fun episode, but the plot makes absolutely no sense, with characters doing things for no reason at all (why would Mrs Peel follow Steed to Armstrong's building?). The villain's plan is also incredibly stupid if you think about it.

However, the episode is incredibly fun. Macnee and Rigg seem to be having a ball, and Michael Gough turns in a good guest performance. There's also a staggering number of recognizable actors in the cast: Frederick Jaeger, Bernard Horsfall, Burt Kwouk, John Hollis and Ronald Leigh-Hunt.

A good way to spend 50 minutes.

The automated assassins

[ShadeGrenade · 10/10 · 14 October 2010]

'The Cybernauts' marked the 'Avengers' writing debut of the prolific Philip Levene. It took Steed and Emma into the fantastic realm of science fiction ( earlier episodes such as 'The White Dwarf' and 'The Big Thinker' had been at best only borderline sci-fi ). Honor Blackman commented that towards the end of her era, the scripts had started 'leaving the ground a bit'. With this, however, the show took flight.

Owners of electronics companies are being systematically murdered. Each time, the cause of death is the same - a blow to the neck. Emma visits Sensei's ( John Hollis ) karate school while Steed checks out United Automation, run by wheelchair-bound recluse Dr.Clement Armstrong ( Michael Gough ). The scientist has surrounded himself by a jungle of gadgetry, and believes someday machines will rule the world. He has created robot men - Cybernauts - which possess incredible strength and are able to kill with a single blow. The robots are like walking guided missiles, programmed to home in on and destroy those in possession of one of the company's special pens...

This exciting story was selected to be the first 'Avengers' to be screened in America. There was a problem though in that the earlier shows had not been exported, and thus viewers would not be aware of who Steed and Mrs.Peel were. A special introductory scene was affixed to the episodes, in which a man in a waiter's jacket walks across a giant chessboard. He pitches forward, and we see a dagger sticking out of a target motif on his back. While this is happening, a voice-over declares that extraordinary crimes against the State have to be avenged by extraordinary agents, and then the familiar title sequence kicks in. Reaction to the show was mixed initially, with one American critic wondering if it was intended as a big joke, and another making unfavourable comparisons to 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E'. But viewers took to it because as associate Brian Clemens later noted 'they really think England is like that!'.

Gough ( who played Batman's butler 'Alfred' in the '80's/90's ) turns in a silky-smooth performance as the deranged 'Armstrong'. Frederick Jaegar is his assistant 'Benson'. Once robot men had featured in 'The Avengers', there was to be no turning back. Later plots revolved around man-eating plants from outer space, time machines, Venusian invaders with death rays, invisible men, killer cats, and miniaturisation devices.

The Cybernauts returned to menace Steed in a further two episodes - 'Return Of The Cybernauts' ( 1967 ) and 'The New Avengers' caper 'Last Of The Cybernauts...' in 1976. They also appeared in the novels 'Two Many Targets' by John Peel and Dave Rogers, and 'Cybernauts!' by Trevor Dower in which the movie versions of 'The Avengers' met the killer robots.

A superb episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 2 July 2022]

Steed and Peel investigate a series of murders, the only link appears to be that they're high profile people.

I am somewhat of a new Avengers fan, I've seen a few scattered episodes in the past, now though I am working through it, I've enjoyed them all so far, but this one blew me away.

A high energy, creepy, exciting sci fi horror, this ticks every single box, there's something here for everyone to love.

It made a nice change for us to see Steed in danger, so far it's generally been Mrs Peel.

I love how slow they are to show the actual threat, they really do make you wait, all manner of things run through your mind, it's very skillfully done, the only comparison I can make is the first time a Daleks appears on Dr Who, just the eye stalk, brilliantly done.

Fabulous acting, the regulars of course are first rate, but it's the performance of Michael Gough that had me, he embraced the role, and played it with true vigour, but at no point did be overdo it.

First class, 10/10.

The most famous AVENGERS episode of them all

[kevinolzak · 10/10 · 15 February 2011]

Look no further if you want to know which episode is the most famous, most acclaimed, and best remembered (to the tune of two sequels). Add the casting of venerable screen villain Michael Gough, whose sterling career paralleled that of Christopher Lee, except that Gough has had many more successes on stage, and even Broadway. Dr. Clement Armstrong may be confined to a wheelchair, but he's one of the greatest adversaries in the show's history, and Gough's assured confidence gives him a steely determination. "The Cybernauts" was the debut for Philip Levene, a prolific writer very much in tune with top writer/producer Brian Clemens, and the deft handling of horror, science fiction, and humor makes for an unbeatable combination (just don't mention it to a Cathy Gale purist). Although the third episode to be shown in Britain (October 14 1965), it was wisely chosen to introduce the series to American audiences (March 28 1966), and it was the US that determined the show's future. Gough would play a different role in "The Correct Way to Kill," while Frederick Jaeger, previously a villain in "Death of a Great Dane," would return as Benson in the sequel "Return of the Cybernauts," opposite the legendary Peter Cushing. Other veterans on hand include Burt Kwouk ("Kill the King" and "Lobster Quadrille"), Ronald Leigh Hunt ("Dragonsfield"), Gordon Whiting ("The Golden Eggs"), and John Hollis, previously seen in "Warlock," who went to do "The Superlative Seven" and "Legacy of Death." An actress who does NOT appear is Diane Clare, who actually appears only in the following episode, "Death at Bargain Prices," which also features a wheelchair-bound villain, Andre Morell (like Michael Gough, a renowned veteran of Hammer Films).

Amateur robotics

[Lejink · 9/10 · 16 September 2018]

One of the most celebrated of all the Avengers episodes and confirmation, if any were needed, that the series was ready to embrace the challenge of American shows like "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", "The Wild Wild West" and "Mission Impossible" in the escapist adventure stakes.

Yes , "Dr Who" got there first with the creation of the Cyberman, but the automated assassin here, a hulking, karate-chopping machine-mountain seems infinitely more threatening, capable of breaking its victim's neck with one blow.

Steed and Peel as ever strive to divide and conquer, following their own separate leads to try to track down the cybernaut controller, with Steed's hunch proving to be the right one and Emma as usual the intended pre-ordained victim at the climax. As ever Steed devises a simple but cunning way to extricate the duo from danger as the tables are turned on the evil, wheelchair-bound professor , played with gusto by Michael Gough.

A terrific episode, so good that it spawned a follow-up episode later in the show's run and indeed also in "The New Avengers" in the 70's.

The Cybernauts

[coltras35 · 9/10 · 9 December 2023]

Someone is killing the great industrialists of England, someone with extraordinary strength and determination. The Avengers investigate and discover they were all competing for a new electrical circuit from Japan so they turn their attention to the remaining bidders, one of whom is a karate champion. The villain turns out to be Dr Armstrong, a wheelchair-bound automation expert who has built robots to do his work - homing in on fountain pens like the one he just gave Steed!

The subject of machines taking over is quite relevant today, but irrespective of this it's still a grand episode, fast-paced, intriguing and has a touch of menace. Michael Gough plays the creepy villain and there's an karate sensei (John Hollis is Blofeld in For Your Eyes Only but of course you don't see his face). The climax is quite tense.

A GREAT IDEA BUT WITH SLOW DEVELOPMENT

[asalerno10 · 7/10 · 9 June 2022]

The Avengers investigate the murder of several scientists under strange circumstances, all have ended with a broken neck. Emma enrolls in a judo academy as she suspects these killing blows were done by a martial arts specialist, while Steed investigates an automation company. The story of the killer robots is great and has had two sequels, this first installment has a defect, its first part is quite slow and can even be boring, you have to wait 25 minutes for the episode to gain momentum, Netizens have a menacing look and Dr. Armstrong driving them remotely from his wheelchair in the dark warehouse is pretty scary.