User Reviews

Once again secrets are being leaked and once again the only men who had access to the secrets are above reproach and deny all knowledge of the leaks. The only clue is a rather strange one; each of the men had a child's ball thrown through a window and each had a dream about their childhood nanny. The distinctive ball leads Steed to an exclusive toy shop where he learns the entire consignment of the balls has been ordered by G.O.N.N.; the Guild of Noble Nannies. At first it looks like a normal nanny training school but inevitably there is something more sinister about it. It turns out enemy agents are using it as cover and the balls are treated with a psychotropic drug which cause those who take it to regress to their childhood where somebody pretending to be their old nanny asks them their secrets; and what child wouldn't tell his nanny whatever she asked?

This was a fairly entertaining episode; it was amusing to see grown men acting like toddlers; most notably Paul Eddington; long before his 'Yes Minister' days. Another notable guest performance comes from Dad's Army's Cpl Jones; AKA Clive Dunn who plays the shop keeper… it seems half the Dad's Army cast has appeared in recent Avengers episodes! The 'evil nanny' is an enjoyably menacing villain whose identity is kept hidden till near the end; which serves to make the character all the more sinister; especially when she is chasing somebody in her electric wheelchair. The basic story is similar to 'What the Butler Saw' but the execution is quite different; this is more surreal thanks to the effects of the drugs. Overall this isn't a classic episode but it is still quite fun.

This episode conforms to the usual template. Someone is killing off a couple of aristocrats who head a hush-hush missile program. The secret is that when these Lords and Viscounts and Honorables pick up a toddler's bouncing ball, a psychedelic drug enters their bodies through their fingertips (cf., Woody Allen's sphere in Sleeper). The substance regresses them to the age of toddlers and then, under the influence of a phony nanny, they either spill the beans or are shot.

It's kind of amusing to see the contrast between the impeccably mannered noblemen and the near-infants they become under the influence. The performers do a fine job of being childishly enthusiastic or passively petulant if scolded.

Mrs. Peel doesn't have much to do, but Steed infiltrates the nanny school that is the organization's headquarters.