The Avengers (TV Series) Two's a Crowd (1965) User Reviews

Double take.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 6 July 2022]

Steed and Mrs Peel Re brought in to stop the mysterious Colonel Psev from infiltrating a meeting of national security.

Very good, very entertaining, it's a real chance for Macnee to shine, he played his parts incredibly well, we got to see some real depth from him, didn't we Duckie. You spend the whole episode asking if it's him or his double, if he's playing the second part intentionally, it's really well done.

The previous episode was out and out horror, this was an out and out espionage thriller, it's definitely impressive how much variety there is on this show, the content changes with each episode.

There are a few clues given to you, and you can work out who the Colonel is. It's always great to have a shadowy figure behind a door, sat pulling the strings.

Good action scenes, well paced, and it would have played to people's thoughts on The Eastern block at the time.

A great cast assembled once again, the likes of John Bluthal and Warren Mitchell, Julian Glover though stood out for me.

Very good, 8/10.

An enjoyable spy story with a pair of Steeds!

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 20 January 2015]

With a defence conference due to take place Steed is put in charge of security meanwhile the other side has brought in their top spy with plans to infiltrate the conference. That spy is known as Col Psev and nobody knows what he looks like; only his four assistants ever see him; even the ambassador at the embassy he is operating from has not seen him. All that is known about him is that he smokes a certain brand of cigar, drinks an unusual liqueur and likes working model aircraft. With this information Steed and Mrs Peel set about trying to identifying him. Meanwhile the enemy have found just the way to infiltrate the conference; a model who looks just like Steed is spotted and if the price is right he is happy to betray his country. At first it seems he will have no chance of passing himself off as Steed; he may look the same but getting the mannerisms of somebody as suave as Steed might prove impossible. Surprisingly it looks as if he has managed it as he fools Mrs Peel and she is captured… will the real Steed be able to save her and unmask Psev?.

This episode got off to a good start… just as I was thinking the aircraft we see about drop a bomb on London looked like an obvious model it turned out that is exactly what it was thus turning disappointment to amusement. The plot involving Steed's doppelgänger was rather fun and it was nice seeing Patrick Macnee playing the caddish double. As expected there were a few twists before Psev is unveiled in the episodes biggest twist. Warren Mitchell put in a good performance as Ambassador Brodny; before he went on to become the iconic 'Alf Garnett'. As one might expect for a TV show of its age some of the effects are a bit ropey; especially during the final model aircraft attacks, although given the budgets and technology available they aren't bad… at least we aren't meant to think they are real aircraft. Overall a good spy episode with some nicely tense moments and a good twist at the end.

Sounds familiar to me

[searchanddestroy-1 · 7/10 · 1 December 2021]

In this episode, there is something that no user seems to have noticed. No one has said that you find some similar elements in next season, color one, with WHO'S WHO episode, where you have a couple of bad "guys" - a man and a woman - who impersonate John Steed and Emma Peel. Of course the story is not the same at all, but admit that the scheme of a phony John Steed - not Emma Peel though - may have talked to any AVENGERS series buffs. Even in the very complete book dedicated to this terrific show, no one has noticed this. And one more and last thing, this is the only episode where a woman dies, here an evil character, in the end, during the climax. I won't spoil any further. In this series, a woman never passes away, one of the most notorious trademark, as there is never any children shown in the stories.

The Psev mystery

[ShadeGrenade · 9/10 · 11 October 2010]

'Two's A Crowd' opens with a stunning teaser, one of the very best in the 'Avengers' series. A plane carrying a bomb swoops over London towards the Houses of Parliament. Is there a modern-day Guy Fawkes at work? No. The plane is in fact a toy, and the 'bomb' contains nothing more than a message for the eyes of Ambassador Brodny ( Warren Mitchell ) informing him of the imminent arrival in Britain of the notorious Russian spy 'Colonel Psev'.

A top level conference is due to take place, and Psev intends wrecking it. No-one has ever seen him, except for four other Russians: Alicia Elena ( Maria Machados ), Boris Shvedloff ( Alec Mango ), Pudeskin ( Wolfe Morris ) and Vogel ( Julian Glover ). In addition to having expensive tastes in food and drink, Colonel Psev also has a fondness for deadly toys.

While at a fashion show with fellow Russian Sergei Ivenko ( John Bluthal ), Brodny spots a man on the catwalk who bears a startling resemblance to John Steed, and a plan starts to form in his nasty little mind...

Written by Philip Levene, this entertaining episode is fairly straight by 'Avenger' standards. The one unusual aspect is the 'killer' toys. Poor Sergei is shot by a toy submarine, and the climax sees Steed and Emma attacked by model planes equipped with real ammunition. Julian Glover appeared a number of times in 'The Avengers', mostly as villains. He once joked that every time the audience saw him, they knew he would be the villain! ( He did, in fairness, play a good-guy in the Thorson episode 'Split!' ). Warren Mitchell was only a few months away from his most famous role - 'Alf Garnett' in 'Till Death Us Do Part' - when he did this, yet another of his 'funny foreigner' roles. He impressed viewers so much he was brought back the following season's 'The See-Through Man'.

The 'double' plot gives Patrick Macnee a chance to have some fun. His 'Gordon Webster' has a moustache, smokes like a chimney and calls everyone 'duckie' - very different to Steed! The idea of a conference under threat from a Steed doppleganger would be reused in 1968's 'They Keep Killing Steed'.

Directed by the great Roy Ward Baker, who sadly passed on last week at the grand old age of 93.

A Double Role Performed With Conviction By Patrick Macnee As John Steed In Order To Repel The Topical Enemy From The East.

[rsoonsa · 9/10 · 15 November 2009]

This entertaining episode completed during the fourth season of The Avengers television series, shot in black and white, was originally aired in the United Kingdom 18 December 1965, and during the subsequent May was seen upon TV screens in the United States. The title is allusive to John Steed (Patrick Macnee)'s evidently having a doppelgänger, this exact copy being particularly perplexing to Steed's Avenger partner, Mrs. Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), as well as to those viewers who will immediately wonder at what may have brought about the appearance of his ostensible duplicate. Steed has been designated by his governmental office as chief of security for a defense conference to be held at a Cold War rival nation's embassy in London (actually the Edge Grove prep school in Hertfordshire). It has been determined that a mysterious secret agent, Colonel Psev, along with four aides, will be present at the upcoming convention, and since Psev has not been visually recognizable to the West, Steed is specifically charged with the ascertainment of the Colonel's true identity. The mentioned quartet of the enigmatic Psev's deputies have anteceded the Colonel to the embassy site and, in concert with their country's ambassador Brodny (Warren Mitchell), have formulated a thoroughgoing espionage exercise there that will audit the conference. By an astounding bit of luck, the group has located an exact replica of Steed, a clothing model named Gordon Webster whose complete lack of principles makes him ideal for the purposes of the spies who have come from behind the Iron Curtain. He even gulls Mrs. Peel. When she informs Steed of the existence of his duplicate, he retorts: "If I had a twin, I'm sure mother would have mentioned it." For those interested in the technological content of Avengers series episodes, there are recording devices (bugs) of several sorts, and also a remote controlled model aeroplane (Lancaster bomber), and a model submarine, the latter filmed at Tyke's Water Lake, Elstree, also in Hertfordshire. The scenario is overly complex, and may thereby cause some viewers to focus upon obvious breaches in logic and continuity, for what is, after all, a piece from a chain of tales that rely upon acceptance of fantasy. Nonetheless, outstanding performances (as ever) by Macnee and Rigg, in addition to a top-flight turn from Mitchell, will inspire a good many who view the film to grant it a high ranking.

Steed is beside himself

[kevinolzak · 7/10 · 23 February 2011]

"Two's a Crowd" is a rare disappointment, marred by weak villains and an inconsistent tone. Steed heads up security for an important conference, hoping to snare the elusive Colonel Psev, who has escaped detection for years because he's never been properly identified. The Colonel's circle of agents torment Ambassador Vladimir Jiroslav Brodny (Warren Mitchell, who would repeat the characterization in "The See-Through Man"), until they spot a male model who looks exactly like Steed, only without the scruples. It doesn't take long for them to convince the unpolished double to replace the real Steed, and start by convincing Mrs. Peel that he can actually pass for the real thing. Alas, the hapless Brodny can't hold a candle to Nigel Stock's Zalenko, Steed's friendly enemy from "Concerto," but once he fades into the background, things improve considerably, especially with Patrick Macnee's solid dual performance (he always complements his fellow actors). Warren Mitchell was already a series veteran ("The Golden Fleece" and "The Charmers"), but newcomer Julian Glover proved to be one of its most dependable villains, returning for "The Living Dead," "Split!" and "Pandora." Other veterans back again included Wolfe Morris ("The Yellow Needle" and "The Decapod") and Alec Mango ("Conspiracy of Silence"), but there was little difference between Psev's villains, the one major weakness of a mostly solid plot line.

Fine Episode Except for Some Acting

[aramis-112-804880 · 8/10 · 25 August 2019]

Patrick McNee gets to play a new role in "The Avengers" as a group of foreign espionage agents hire a man who looks remarkably like him to take his place at an important meeting to bug the joint. Fortunately McNee doesn't have to tax himself to strenuously as the new character is quickly groomed to become John Steed 2.

Julian Glover, whose career stretched right through one of the better Bond movies ("For Your Eyes Only") and the best of Indiana Jones ("and the Last Crusade") right up to "Game of Thrones", is one of the bad guys, a role for which he was equipped early.

Diana Rigg plays Mrs. Peel with perfect aplomb; and, as usual, delivers her lines with perfect inflection on every letter. She was a great find for the fourth season. Here she is able to go all the way to complete bewilderment and back again with only the slightest of differences. She sets her mouth and doesn't let it hang open slack-jawed like a lot of actors. Wonderful performance.

The weak spot is Warren Mitchell. Though not as badly as later in "The See-Through Man", Mitchell overacts shamefully, like he's trying to "ham" the paper off the wall. Shame.

There's a lot of nonsense about model airplanes delivering bombs and machine-gun fire but it's par for the course for "The Avengers" which, at least in the all-too-short Mrs. Peel years, never did anything or had lines quite like any other show.

WHO is Colonel Psev?

[profh-1 · 7/10 · 3 October 2023]

Steed get security duty on an armaments conference. But he also gets wind that the notorious "Colonel Psev", an eccentric genius whose face has never been seen, is in town, with intentions to infiltrate the conference. Complicating matters, Ambassador Brodny (who loved all things English and fears being sent back home) spots a fashion model who is a DEAD ringer for Steed, and suggests to Psev's assistants to hire the man to impersonate Steed, and use him to infiltrate the conference. Will Mrs. Peel be fooled?

Over the years, this one was a slow boil for me. I vaguely remember being confused and possibly bored the first time I saw it. But good writing comes through, and each time I've seen it, I've liked it more. This was one of the early scripts from Philip Levine, who I'd rank as one of the BEST writers in the series' history. On one hand, it's a low-key mystery. On the other hand, it's a low-key COMEDY. And at the center of the humor is "Ambassador Brodny", played by comic actor Warren Mitchell, who specialized in foreigners with accents, here, on THE SAINT, in the movie HELP!, and on the long-running sitcom TILL DEATH DO US PART. Tasked with finding a rare brand of liquor, he's at his wit's ends until Steed shows up, with the exact item he's looking for, as a gift. Brodny's relieved, until Steed says, "I'm sure the COLONEL will like it."

"Duplicates" was a recurring theme on this show, with several of them being among my all-time favorite episodes. There was "Man With Two Shadows" with Cathy Gale, "Two's A Crowd" with Emma Peel, "Who's Who?" also with Mrs. Peel (although, that was really a "mind-swapping" story), "They Keep Killing Steed" with Tara King (which outright swiped technology from THE OUTER LIMITS story "The One Hundred Days of The Dragon"), and of course, "Faces" with Mike Gambit & Purdey.

Among the guest cast are Alec Mango (THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD), Wolfe Morris (THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD, THE BEST HOUSE IN LONDON, and the Venus Smith episode "The Decapod"), John Bluthal (HELP!) and Julian Glover (QUATERMASS AND THE PIT, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, and the Tom Baker-Lalla Ward DOCTOR WHO story "City Of Death").

Watching the climax of this story, I felt sure Cathy Gale would have been FURIOUS at Steed; Emma was merely cold-blooded. Cool and detached is one thing, but in some stories, she doesn't seem quite human! (I thought she looked wonderful in those glasses.)

Two's a Crowd

[guswhovian · 5/10 · 22 July 2020]

Steed sets out to trap a mysterious Russian agent named Psev, who is supposedly out to spy on a top-secret conference.

Even the presence of great actors like Warren Mitchell and Julian Glover can't save Two's a Crowd. It is easily the worst episode thus far. The plot is incredibly moronic, with plot holes galore and a poorly written part for Diana Rigg. The silliest moment is when Steed and Mrs Peel are being chased by model airplanes; you can clearly see the wires holding them up.

Two's a crowd

[coltras35 · 4/10 · 15 December 2023]

Steed learns that the entourage of the shadowy Colonel Psev has arrived in Britain but he has to attend a security conference and wants Emma to investigate. Psev wants to infilitrate the conference and the ambassador, Brodny, is amazed when he sees a dead ringer for Steed at a fashion show, a model called Webster. Webster is bribed to betray his country but they want a test run against Mrs Peel first. She's a bit suspicious so they tie her up, the evil Webster toasting her health then smashing his glass, Russian style, in the fireplace beside her.

Webster has apparently succeeded but insists on only giving the film to Psev himself, and the entourage reveal they are ALL Psev, whose name is simply their initials. At this point they discover that Webster is a phoney, and was in fact Steed all along. Steed and Emma escape but have to divert Psev's model bomber back on the enemy spies when they're attacked. The Avengers meet later on horseback, but Emma claims she's someone else...

There's a good performance by Warren Mitchell and Julian Glover who plays a villain, something he can do effortlessly, but overall I found this episode confusing and dull. It didn't grab me and was a little tedious. It was like watching paint dry but Steed and Mrs Peel and the aforementioned actors keep it from being totally awful.