The Gilded Cage

DVD, The Champions (The Gilded Cage)

One of the episodes that has stayed in my mind as a rather dull instalment, and now I understand the problems with it. Partly it's the same old story of one of our champions being held captive and the other(s) searching for them using their powers to track them down while the captive uses their powers to stay alive/thwart the villains/ discover the evil plan. This time it's all up to Craig, as Sharron's apparently too busy sunning herself on a veranda to give him much help. I suppose part of it is that Richard isn't in that much danger, or at least he's walked deliberately into it and is always confident in what he's doing, but even so, you'd think Sharron would have come back from her leave, if that's what she was on, to assist Craig. The other issue with the episode is that it starts so terrifically and holds a mystery and atmosphere around Richard's position and the faceless enemy holding him there, but then as quickly blows it and loses most of that mystery, leaving behind only bare questions to be answered which never really get a satisfactory wrapping up: who were the two factions that we see (made up of Arthur G. Symons and his two lackeys, Brandon and Orley, and Samantha working for Lovegrove and Haswell), just monied individuals or rogue criminals, or representing some criminal underworld network? The formula that Richard is tasked with cracking turns out to be a joke (a substitute fuel that will actually be more expensive to produce than existing sources), and where did it come from in the first place?

The worst culprit comes in setting up the villain as this Blofeld type with spying monitor at his fingertips - at first we only see a hand with a large silver ring and a cigarette holder in front of his screen, then when he does first bodily appear it's shrouded in mystery, literally, as he steps into the gas-filled computer room, his face obscured by a gas mask. But then the spell is broken when Richard awakes to be confronted by some toff with little character to him except for his hard insistence that he'll kill Samantha Killen, the girl who seems to be working for him, unless Richard does what he asks. It seems she's as much a prisoner as Richard in that though she can come and go as she pleases, Symons has something on her. Ultimately we learn that she's actually double-crossing him, working for some other organisation and it is quite fun when Symons threatens Richard with Samantha's death, then her associates show up to threaten Symons, and finally Craig shows up to get them all in the bag. But it is a relatively slow episode with Richard trying to decipher both the code and Samantha's place in all this, which is why he bizarrely tries to send Craig on a wild goose chase to give himself more time before his colleague comes in to save the day. It doesn't show much faith in Craig, does it! You'd think Richard would know his friend well enough by now to believe in his ability to tread carefully.

Craig gets to play a bumbling Clark Kent character, pretending to be a central heating salesman (funny to think some houses in London didn't have central heating in the Sixties - I like it when we get occasional insights into this period of our history), complete with trench coat, large glasses and a self-effacing, nervous disposition. You'd think Samantha would be suspicious of someone showing up, and the same for the grinning subordinate of Symons (I don't know which was Brandon and which Orley), whose smile is unnerving and reminded me of some assassin from 'The Avengers' or other spy dramas - the kind to relish his killing in a disturbing way, while his associate was more of a basic heavy. We see both significantly less and more of Sharron this episode (there's a riddle for you), so perhaps she was off filming scenes for another episode. I never like it when they effectively write one of the trio out of a story because the strength of the series is in using them all together, but more often than not they have to be separated to create jeopardy.

One great side of the episode was how much more we see of Nemesis: there's a night watchman sat in front of a bank of lights and controls who dashes off when Tremayne presses a buzzer. We get confirmation of what I'd suspected from the last couple of episodes: Tremayne does indeed sleep in an adjoining room to his office, and we see him in bed while Symons' men sneak into the office. And we see a third door which I don't think we have before, on the left as you face the desk, which seems to lead to a corridor. It makes the room a bit confusing geographically because the building we always see externally is rectangular, yet there's a window on the same wall as the main entrance to Tremayne's office, so how does that work? There are now three doors we know of: the main entrance that requires Tremayne to manually activate from his desk; the door to the right of that, which must lead to his bedroom; and this third door to the right of that which is another entry point, though apparently not restricted by the system used for the main door. We also get to see behind the huge map to the right - previously we'd seen a row of chairs on the left, but on this end there are filing cabinets containing records on Nemesis agents standing next to a bookcase. I must say, I found all these reveals to be fascinating as you don't really get a three hundred and sixty degree view of the most important room in their world, so it's a case of piecing together details from various episodes.

Security appears to be quite lax for such an important organisation if some criminals can make their way in, photograph some files, and get away! When Tremayne was informing Craig of the event I wasn't sure if he meant Richard's file had been left on his desk by himself, but he must have been talking about afterwards. In which case, if the thieves broke in to get the file so they could find the information on him, why photograph it - they were disturbed so why not simply take the file? Their original plan must have been to copy it and get out without anyone knowing they'd been, not realising the filing cabinet was alarmed and Tremayne was right next door. I had the impression Richard had a name for code-breaking, otherwise why would they have chosen his file? Or was it a random file they picked and realised he was the best chance at cracking the code? Cracking the code to Richard's character takes a few steps further thanks to this episode: we rarely see much of their lives, but here we find out that he has an apartment in Geneva, at the most fifteen minutes from Nemesis (Craig says he'll be there in that time). He's also revealed to be a man of fine tastes, both ancient and modern: in his swish apartment he has a lot of art, including bas-reliefs on the walls, enjoys classical music (which becomes a minor plot point), and fine liquor, but also has contemporary furniture such as his multi-sided open shelving and a ceiling lamp that can be raised or lowered as desired. It's good to see so much background to a character as in those days they didn't put much stock in exploring personal lives.

Richard's enjoyment of 'The Four Seasons Suite' by some composer called Gressini (which I assume was invented), performed by 'The London Octet,' is what he plays as awaits his kidnappers, and does so again within his gilded cage as Symons also has a copy. This helps Craig realise Richard is likely to be in the building even though he sent a message via pigeon that suggests he's been taken to Liverpool and then by boat to Dublin, but as pigeons aren't going to fly that far Craig works out he must be in London - it's a sort of cheeky message in a way, warning Craig to tread lightly and not come crashing in and spoil the party, though I don't know why he couldn't have left a more specific message. I suppose they have to play it carefully because Tremayne doesn't know they have ways of being in contact beyond mere mortals, though it does seem that they can only transfer pictures or sensations long distances and have to be in hearing distance (though further than normal people), to communicate verbally. This telepathic connection does introduce some rather personal questions in the episode - previously we've seen pain transferred between the champions, but this time Richard kisses Samantha and Craig appears to feel the sensation, judging by his bemused expression. Hopefully this isn't something that occurs every time or it could become a rather awkward talking point among the three and would suggest they've had to give up truly personal lives as a sacrifice for these abilities!

The episode is littered with minor examples of powers, mostly from Craig as he's doing the legwork while Richard's mostly stuck in a room. Tremayne could have done with his own powers of night vision, increased strength and an instinct to dodge since he's injured again (after the assassination attempt on him in 'The Fanatics'), slugged on the head when he interrupts the thieves in his office. The first actual use of powers comes in the post-credits tag scene where, suitably, it's Richard travelling by train on his own (in keeping with the episode's style, since he spends most of it away from his colleagues), even if it's not directly connected to the story: he fills in The Times Crossword Puzzle in the time it takes for the owner of the newspaper to leave their carriage and return, much to his chagrin - I'm sure there must be a serious rule of etiquette amongst those that partake of such challenges that you never fill in somebody else's crossword! Richard overstepped the bounds there, and what's more, found it highly amusing - that doesn't seem to be using his powers for law, order and justice! He does better when he allows himself to be whacked by one of Symons' men, disguised as carpet removals firm Chaudronnier (et Cie.). He's with it enough to know who of the pair hit him, even though it was behind him, as he pays the fellow back in kind later on, and isn't knocked unconscious as he's able to fall to the floor without spilling a drop from his (no doubt expensive), liquor, depositing it safe from harm under a small table for later - he's fine with a hard knock to the noggin, yet winces in pain when he's injected with a needle. Have we discovered his Achilles heel?

Craig senses the attack, but arrives too late, so the only contribution Sharron makes is to help him visualise the van he saw that must have taken Richard - he can see photographically, though it's not clear whether he actually sees it that perfectly or it's for the audience's benefit. As I mentioned, he senses Richard and Samantha's kiss, and is soon honed in on Symons' house, speaking to Richard when he's nearby, though Richard hears and ignores it to give himself more time to work out what's going on. Craig's hearing recognises 'The Four Seasons Suite,' and when he continues following Miss Killen he gains entry into her place by poking the garage door lock in with one finger! He's clumsy enough to knock a stove over, but quick thinking saves the day as he pulls a nail out of the wall so they can attribute the sound to a tyre falling down. Sometimes you can only speculate that it's a power because it may be the nail wasn't that secure in the wall anyway, though it did look like he had to use some strength of grip to rip it out. The same can be said when Richard flicks a bottle cap off with his thumb: it could be an ordinary thing, but as easily could be a display of force that ordinary people couldn't do, and sometimes that's the beauty of it. It doesn't always have to be grand gestures and impressive shows of force, because they'd be able to do little things better, too. Though it's still satisfying to see Richard knock the guy who clobbered him earlier, all the way through an open door, like a bowling pin sent flying.

The main use of special power is Richard's brain magically unravelling the code - Symons gives him twelve hours to accomplish the task (it should have been called 'Twelve Hours'!), and he does it in five, then remembers every detail, not needing to keep it in written form for Symons, or anyone else, to see. It's not among the most spectacular examples, but it's different, akin to Craig hurriedly working out the correct coordinates for a safe location to redirect the missile in 'The Search' - in both cases they succeed without computers, Craig because he needed to be faster than a computer, and Richard, when Symons expresses surprise that he didn't use the prepared computer room to help him, admits that he wouldn't have known how to use it! It's fascinating to see the place of computers in the lives of people a few decades ago, and then compare it to how integral they've become in such a short space of human history. Scary, in a way. It's another example of a question that would be interesting to pose if 'The Champions' was a series made today: seeing how they'd deal with computers as they are now, and how they'd match up, as I suspect that would be the main opposition force they'd be facing, all the villains would be doing things over the internet or running programs.

Once again we find ourselves in the environs of London, the favourite place of crooks and villains in the series. Apart from that and Tremayne's office it's all new, though I suspect the corridor the night watchman ran through (dressed in suitably Swiss attire), was one of the usuals redressed. It looks good, with Craig exploring the London streets here and there, but though I found it less dull than I feared (impressed by the opening, and enjoying the beginning of the mystery), it was too messy a story with too many unanswered questions, not answered because they weren't really important. At least the smaller guest cast is easier to follow: Samantha and her two associates, Symons and his two, and the Manager of Chaudronnier (et Cie.), whose van was stolen and Craig follows up as a line of enquiry. The poor guard didn't get a credit (nor the old man on the train), although I think he marks the first we see of a member of Nemesis (no matter how small in the organisation's pay), other than the four main cast, but he never spoke. Richard's cage was gilded not just with Samantha, but with various statues and objet d'art, including a goodly sized one of what I like to imagine was Mr. Tumnus the faun from 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe,' though it was just as likely to be Pan. Richard must have felt quite at home among this lavishly adorned room as it was quite in keeping with his own taste. One thing about his record player I noticed is the previous record was still playing when he put another one in without removing the first, so perhaps it had the ability to store more than one at a time on the turntable? And here marks the halfway point of the series…

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