The Avengers 4.21

A Touch of Brimstone

Steed and Peel investigate a series of incidents in which diplomats and leaders from other countries have been humiliated via practical jokes. It is all harmless until a foreign diplomat gets electrocuted. Steed and Peel’s work leads them to the Hellfire Club.

Peel catches the eye of Cartney, leader of the Hellfire Club, and gets to attend one of the club’s parties. Darcy, a member of the Hellfire Club, interrupts the party. He feels guilt over what happened to the dead diplomat and wants answers from the club’s leadership. He doesn’t get answers but a meeting is called at which he is murdered.

Steed applies for membership in the Hellfire Club. They warn him that they are dedicated to evil but Steed insists that he wants to be a member. He passed their tests and is accepted into the club.

The next night, the Night of All Sins, the Hellfire Club holds a special celebration as they prepare to blow up a cabinet meeting. Steed and Peel are both there for the party. During the party they learn of what the Hellfire Club has planned and do what they must to stop it.

Thoughts

This is the most watched episode of The Avengers in large part due to the Queen of Sin outfit that Diana Rigg wears towards the end of this episode.

Peter Wyngarde played the part of Cartney. He was in Flash Gordon (1980) and an episode of the Prisoner but I thinks that's about all that he's been in that I have watched. Colin Jeavons played the part of Darcy. He's been in a couple things I have watched, but nothing I have watched recently. Jeremy Young played another member of the Hellfire Club. This is the first of three episodes of this show in which he appeared. The next one was 5.10 Never, Never Say Die.

The Hellfire Club in this episode was the inspiration for the Hellfire Club in Marvel Comics. 

This was fun but silly. Steed and Peel wasted no time working their way into the Hellfire Club's inner circle. Good? Yes. Great? No. Worth a watch? Depends on what you are hoping for. This is 1960s television, after all. It is fairly tame by 21st century standards but must have been quite scandalous six decades ago when it first aired.