Ep 1. Brief for Murder

The Avengers was a British espionage television series produced in the 1960s. The show centered around agents John Steed and Emma Peel, who worked for an intelligence agency to thwart various criminal and espionage plots.

Season 3 of The Avengers debuted on ABC Television on September 28, 1963. The first episode of the season was titled "Brief for Murder." The episode is a mystery story that finds Steed and Peel on the case of a murder that took place on a train traveling from Paris to Calais.

The episode opens with a shot of the train moving through the French countryside. The camera then cuts to a close-up of a man's hand holding a briefcase. The man is seated in a compartment with three other passengers, all of them strangers to him. Suddenly, the train lurches and the lights go out. When the train comes to a stop, the man is dead, strangled with his own tie.

Steed and Peel are called in to investigate the murder. They arrive in Calais and immediately begin questioning the other passengers on the train. The suspects include a German businessman, a British army officer, and a French teacher. All of them claim to have been asleep at the time of the murder.

As Steed and Peel investigate further, they discover that the victim was carrying a briefcase filled with classified documents. The documents were related to the upcoming signing of a treaty between France and Germany that would end their long-standing rivalry. The victim was supposed to deliver the documents to British intelligence, but someone had beat him to it.

Steed and Peel quickly realize that the murder was not a random act of violence, but rather a calculated attempt to obtain the documents. They narrow their list of suspects down to the three passengers in the compartment with the victim. Each of them had a motive, but which one had the opportunity to commit the crime?

The investigation becomes even more complicated when Steed and Peel discover that the victim was not who he appeared to be. He was actually an intelligence officer working for the British government. His death was not just a blow to the French-German peace process, but a major threat to national security.

As the investigation draws to a close, Steed and Peel must use all of their wit and talent to solve the case before it's too late. With time running out, they race against the clock to catch the killer and recover the stolen documents.

"Brief for Murder" was a classic episode of The Avengers that showcased the series' unique blend of intelligence, humor, and action. With a gripping mystery at its core, the episode kept viewers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. As always, Steed and Peel were a dynamic duo that worked together seamlessly to solve the case and save the day.