The Avengers (TV Series) Too Many Christmas Trees (1965) User Reviews

A Ghost story for Christmas.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 6 July 2022]

'Here comes a chopper to chop off your head.'

Stead is having bad dreams, and when he accompanies Mrs Peel to a Christmas party hosted by Publisher Brandon Storey, his dreams come to life.

What an absolute joy this episode is, you can only imagine what viewers back in 1965 made of this, talk about hitting the jackpot, fast forward almost sixty years, and today's Christmas offerings are nowhere near this good.

It's creepy, it's full of sinister ideas and concepts, it's one of the best I've seen. It doesn't just feel like an episode with seasonal bits bolted on, it's actually a well constructed Christmas plot.

Some cracking scenes throughout, I loved the humour of the Christmas card scene, I also loved the visuals of a gun wielding Father Christmas.

A Christmas class act, 9/10.

Another highlight episode of the series.

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8/10 · 11 February 2019]

This is one among the most unforgettable stories in this terrific TV show. I won't add much to what have already said the other Imdb users. Except that the dream, or may I sy nightmare, sequences remind me an Alfred Hitchcock's feature: SPELLBOUND, when Gregory Peck has also dreams. The way to present them looks like this episode, at least the first scene. But the settings are just not the same.

Bad Santa

[Lejink · 8/10 · 15 December 2018]

I've been working my way through all the series 4 episodes of "The Avengers" and purely by coincidence, came across this Christmas -themed episode the week before Christmas and also see that it was first aired around the same time in 1965. And what a great episode it is. Whilst it's loaded with wry, sometimes risque humour between Peel and Steed, there's time for Christmas nostalgia too. I loved in particular the clever reference to absent friend Cathy Gale and its then topical nod to Gale's Honor Blackman's role in "Goldfinger". The story itself is terrific. Steed is suffering recurring nightmares involving a big box of Christmas gifts, a big old house and a demonized version of Santa and after a fellow agent sharing the same state secret with Steed dies in mysterious circumstances, he accepts an invitation from Mrs Peel to attend a Christmas Dickens-themed party to take his mind off things. However, once there he keeps bumping into people he's sure he's met before but who claim never to have ever seen him. Feeling constantly in need of sleep, the dreams keep recurring only now they seem to be leading to a Sydney Carton-type fate for him at the hands of Madame Guillotine. Can Mrs Peel help him snap out of his torpor and foil the fiendish plot in time for Christmas Day? Marvellously atmospheric, particularly the surreal dream sequences, this episode brilliantly balances the show's trademark suspense, thrills and humour to make this a quintessential entry in the Avengers vaunted history.

"Effectively dark and chilly episode."

[jamesraeburn2003 · 12 March 2006]

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 room as the 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 along as the 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.

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 era as well as cinema classics such as A 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 Dickensiana as it fits in with the atmosphere of the story.

Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg (in their first season of The Avengers together) have by now established their on screen chemistry as Steed 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 Johns as Brandon 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 Macnee as the young Jacob Marley. All other members of the cast including Jeanette Sterke as Janice Crane, Alex Scott as the scheming Trasker and Barry Warren as the nervous and easily lead Wade all suit their parts perfectly.

They are "out of your mind!"

[kevinolzak · 10/10 · 24 February 2011]

"Too Many Christmas Trees," a personal favorite of Patrick Macnee, was of course the 1965 Christmas broadcast for British audiences, while in the US, it ended up being shown the following August! One concession to the Americans is having the bearded one referred to as 'Santa Claus' rather than 'Father Christmas,' and it has to rank as a most unlikely holiday theme, a dark, brooding tale of terror more suited to the 80s than the 60s. Steed is suffering sleepless nights consumed by sinister images of Santa Claus, while the sympathetic Mrs. Peel tries to lighten the holiday festivities by inviting him to a Charles Dickens-themed house party at the estate of publisher Brandon Storey (Mervyn Johns, 1945's "Dead of Night"). Steed instantly realizes something's wrong as he knows exactly which turns to make on the way, and recognizes the house as one he saw in his dreams. Psychic warfare expertly conceived and executed, with such fine actors as Edwin Richfield, weasel-faced series veteran making his fourth appearance (the next would be "Dead Man's Treasure"), Alex Scott ("Square Root of Evil"), who returned for "Game," and Robert James, in the fourth of his five episodes (the next would be "Look (stop me if you've heard this one) But There Were These Two Fellers..."). Barry Warren, Hammer veteran of titles such as 1962's "The Kiss of the Vampire" and 1966's "Frankenstein Created Woman" (and who later appeared in "False Witness"), plays Jeremy Wade, an apparently close friend of Mrs. Peel, as he becomes the first character to call her 'Emma' (Steed only mentioned her first name when making introductions), and his reluctance to push through to the end results in one of the more horrifying images in the show's history. Mrs. Peel almost loses her good humor as she reads some of Steed's Christmas cards from a vast array of female admirers (Amy, Carlotta, Irma, 'Boofums?'), with special mention to one ("best wishes for the future") coming from 'Cathy': "Mrs. Gale, how nice of her to remember me! What can she be doing at Fort Knox?" The final scene presents our duo sharing some special time under the mistletoe, most appropriate. An episode that understandably tops the favorites list of many devoted fans.

A Christmas nightmare

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 22 January 2015]

As this episode opens Steed is having a strange dream; he is walking through a forest of Christmas trees and meets a distinctly creepy Father Christmas who takes him to the body of a colleague. When he wakes up Mrs Peel informs him that the colleague had died in his sleep. It seems like a very odd coincidence; especially given the fact that the two of them were the only people to know certain secrets that had recently leaked… of course we soon learn that it wasn't; they were part of a sinister experiment into telepathy. He continues to be tired and have strange dreams and these too start to come true when he attends a Dickensian themed party in the country with Mrs Peel. While here his dreams become worse; he imagines himself to be Sydney Carton, from Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities' as he goes to the guillotine. That evening the guests are to attend a fancy dress party… the costume provided for Steed is none other than Sydney Carton. As the evening progresses Steed's behaviour becomes somewhat strange; is he suffering the way his colleague did or is he fighting back against telepathic assault?!

Long before 'Doctor Who' had its regular Christmas episodes 'The Avengers' gives us an enjoyably sinister Christmas tale. The dream sequences were clearly done on the cheap but they were effective and the Father Christmas featured was particularly creepy. The Dickens' themed house and party were enjoyable in the strange way one expects in this series. The bad guys were a little disappointing as we knew little of their motivation or how their telepathic powers were meant to work; it would have been better if we'd been given a sci-fi explanation rather than just believing they had an innate ability. There were some amusing moments; most notably a Christmas card from Cathy Gale… from Fort Knox; a nice nod to Honor Blackman's role on 'Goldfinger'. Overall an enjoyable episode despite its weaker than usual bad guys.

Tis a far, far better episode.

[rmax304823 · 8/10 · 4 January 2009]

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.

At the Christmas Eve party, everyone must dress in costumes derived from one or another of the novels. Mrs. Peel winds up as Oliver 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.

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.

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.

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.

Such an interesting Christmas premise, with nice Easter eggs

[robert3750 · 9/10 · 15 May 2023]

This is the first time I've been watching all the episodes of the first season with Diana Rigg. I had no idea the show had this much science fiction and fantasy content. Steed has been having Christmas season themed bad dreams, which it turns out have been caused by a team of psychic researchers. They intend to probe his secrets, which he has plenty of as a top agent. I really liked the caring and concern that Mrs. Peel shows for him, as well as his ability to figure out what's going on. What a superlative team they were, and what a nicely form fitting Oliver Twist outfit Rigg was wearing! I immediately caught on to the meaning of Steed's remark about "Cathy Gale's" Christmas card, asking what she was doing in Fort Knox. This, of course, was a nice Easter egg referencing the fact that Gale was played by Honor Blackman, who had just played Pussy Galore in Goldfinger, which involved a plot to destroy Fort Knox. I also immediately recognized one of the characters as having played Bob Cratchit in the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol. Fun stuff, including the climactic fight in the hall of mirrors.

Too Many Christmas Trees

[guswhovian · 8/10 · 23 July 2020]

Steed has been having recurring nightmares. When he and Mrs Peel attend a Christmas party at a country estate, Steed finds his dreams echoed in the events of the party.

Too Many Christmas Trees is a huge improvement on Two's a Crowd. The script is great, and Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg are wonderful together. The script is absolute nonsense, but it's a very fun episode. Diana Rigg looks very pretty in her Oliver Twist outfit as well, which is a bonus.

ITC's perennial villain Alex Scott appears as a henchman, while recognizable faces like Edwin Richfield appear. Mervyn Johns is the main guest star; his presence in the episode is a nice touch, as the plot was obviously inspired by Dead of Night, which he starred in.

EXCELLENT DARK AND GRIM EPISODE

[asalerno10 · 10/10 · 6 June 2022]

John Steed begins to be the victim of frightening nightmares that are constantly repeated, everything turns out to be the product of an organization that uses the telepathic powers of its members to enter his psyche and manipulate his behavior. The nightmares that incorporate a sinister Santa Claus, divergent mirrors and guillotines, the old castle with a costume party themed on the characters of Charles Dickens and the table of spiritualism make this episode one of the darkest and scariest of the entire series serie.

Too many Christmas

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 16 December 2023]

Steed has a nightmare about a fellow agent dying and it comes true. Mrs Peel decides he needs a break and whisks him away to a Dickensian Christmas Party in the country but they discover they have both been hypnotised by some sort of telepathic control into coming to the party, and someone is after Steed's secrets.

A mysterious psychic tries to break Steed's resolve but Emma's intervention, and some very loud Christmas carols, keep their minds clear.

Steed is a little vulnerable as someone is drugging him. He gets off nightmares. The mystery is quite good - the rapport between Mrs Peel is quite tender here. There's the usual bizarreness but the story is quite strong. A shoot-out in a hall of mirrors is quite exciting. There's a little nod to Cathy Gale ( Honor Blackman) when Steed says "What can she be doing in Fort Knox?" It refers to Honor starring in Goldfinger.

SPOOKY Santa

[profh-1 · 9/10 · 22 August 2023]

Steed is having Christmas-related dreams that wind up coming true. Emma has been invited to a Dickens-themed party by an old friend, and brings Steed along. But from the moment he arrives, he feels he's seen people and places before-- in his dreams. It turns out Emma's old friend is involved in a psychic "experiment"-- but the people he's working with refuse to tell him what's REALLY going on. And then, when he turns up dead, and Steed doesn't seem to care, Emma fears Steed may be suffering a nervous breakdown!

I first saw this late at night in the 70s, and thought it had to be the single SPOOKIEST episode of the series ever made. Somehow it eluded me after that until my PBS station ran it in the late 80s. It's been a strong favorite of mine ever since.

Among the highlights are Steed receiving a card from Cathy Gale. "So nice of her to remember me-- whatever is she doing in Fort Knox?" -- IN JOKE!!. There's also a final fight in a "mirror room" that's an obvious tribute to THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1947), and was also later paid tribute to in ENTER THE DRAGON (1973).

Mervin Johns is "Brandon Storey", a publisher absolutely obsessed with Dickens. I've seen him in many things, but perhaps most memorably DEAD OF NIGHT (1945), the classic horror anthology which involves nightmares (type-casting!).

The funniest part of this mostly-dark and moody story, for me, is Edwin Richfield as "Dr. Felix Teasel", an expert on psycho-analysis, who in the most arrogant fashion insists on over-analyzing anything in front of him, and suggests to Emma that Steed may be heading for a nervous breakdown. When it appears to be he is having one, the Doctor keeps casually, even callously, dismissing all Emma's "facts" and fears... until he pulls a GUN on her. Aha! Clearly he's NOT what he seems-- and, deservedly, gets his HEAD handed to him! It's only after we learn the REAL truth about him, and I just about fell over laughing when I found out. (Watch it yourself and see.) Richfield's almost always playing rotten characters, so him turning out to be shady wasn't that big a surprise. It's what Steed said about him later that was!

The 2015 Region 2 Blu-Ray is such a staggering difference from the 2010 Region 2 DVD, I've never been so thrilled to have sent back a box set to replace it with another one. Apart from 2 spots where the sound gets a bit odd (Emma's arrival at the begining, and, the end credits), the sound and picture on this episode are "PERFECT". I can scarcely think of any TV series I've bought on disc that looks THIS good. What a huge, tremendous upgrade from my old videotapes recorded off PBS.

An Avengers Christmas

[starrywisdom · 28 December 2008]

I loved this episode when I saw it way back on its first US television run, and I love it just as much now.

I don't even care that it breaks Avengers "conventions", with its ESP and telepathy-based plot. Steed and Mrs. Peel are an absolute delight, and the Dickens stuff is great fun. Plus the country house is spectacular.

It's just such a joy to watch these two pros skate elegantly across acres of double-entendres, obviously enjoying themselves as much as we are. And Emma reverses when she waltzes! Who knew? And Steed wanted socks for Christmas, just like Dumbledore...

Anyway, possibly my single favorite Avengers ep ever. Don't miss it.

Implicit rules broken

[kmoh-1 · 3 January 2008]

A nice Christmas romp for Steed and Emma, with an in-joke about Cathy Gale to (kinky) boot. However, the episode isn't quite from the top drawer. The setting is somewhat dull, and the support cast also. The confinement of the action to the single location is constraining. The Dickensian theme is somewhat bolted on and extraneous to the action. And the sinister masked Santa appears only in Steed's dream until his appearance in the final shoot-out, and so no tension or interest has been raised about his real identity (and so no thrill of excitement when he or she is finally unmasked).

But the real sin of the episode is to break the implicit rule of the show that, though the action is highly improbable not to say absurd, the laws of physics remain unbroken. There must be a mundane explanation for the mystery, to keep us out of the twilight zone. But here, actual telepathy and ESP are used to interfere with Steed's mind, and the show has just crossed the line into the supernatural.