The Avengers
The Town of No Return
TV Flash files “The Town of No Return” as a desk essential hour — The Avengers (1961–1969) on ITV, season 4, episode 1, aired 1965-10-02, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E01: listed hour 79 of 161 in the The Avengers guide, first listed hour of season 4. It aired 1965-10-02 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Lobster Quadrille” (S03E26). Next is “The Gravediggers” (S04E02).
Essential hour: “The Town of No Return”. The Town of No Return is the Peel-era door — Diana Rigg's leather chic as export product, Bond-adjacent television with better posture.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Steed and Emma find a hidden army at a coastal village while investigating the disappearance of agents.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Town of No Return sit in the The Avengers guide?
S04E01 is listed hour 79 of 161 — first listed hour of season 4, season 4 episode 1.
When did The Avengers S04E01 air?
The Town of No Return aired 1965-10-02 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start?
The Steed/Peel era is the global-fame on-ramp: Macnee's bowler, Rigg's catsuit, high-concept adventure. Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) is the earlier partner if you want the path into that chic; Tara King is the later close.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Bowler hats, leather catsuits, and deadpan danger: Patrick Macnee's John Steed and Diana Rigg's Emma Peel made British spy chic a mid-sixties export. Honor Blackman's Cathy Gale came first; Tara King closed the decade. Gadgets optional, attitude mandatory — Bond-adjacent television with better tailoring.
The group chat did not invent Steed/Peel. It just never logged off. Britain's *The Avengers* (ITV, 1961–1969; 161 episodes) evolved from straight spy drama into stylish pop espionage: Patrick Macnee's John Steed in the bowler, gadgets optional, attitude mandatory. Honor Blackman's Cathy Gale came first. Diana Rigg's Emma Peel became the fashion-and-feminist-icon lightning rod. Linda Thorson's Tara King closed the decade. Sydney Newman's series treated villainy like theater design. U.S. import success made it a…
Filed against
- Patrick Macnee as John Steed
Patrick Macnee’s John Steed made The Avengers a 1960s export of bowler hats, leather catsuits, and deadpan danger — Diana Rigg’s Emma Peel, Honor Blackman’s Cathy Gale first, Tara King closing the decade. Gadgets optional, attitude…
- Diana Rigg as Emma Peel
Diana Rigg’s Emma Peel made The Avengers British spy chic — bowler hats, leather catsuits, deadpan danger, Patrick Macnee’s John Steed as partner, Honor Blackman’s Cathy Gale first, Tara King later. Gadgets optional, attitude mandatory.…
- Honor Blackman as Cathy Gale
Honor Blackman's Cathy Gale came first on The Avengers — bowler hats, leather, deadpan danger, Patrick Macnee's John Steed, British spy chic as a mid-sixties export before Emma Peel became the poster. Gadgets optional, attitude mandatory.…
- Linda Thorson as Tara King
Linda Thorson closed the decade as Tara King on The Avengers — after Cathy Gale and Emma Peel, the partner who inherited Patrick Macnee’s bowler-hat spy chic and kept the deadpan danger walking. Gadgets optional, attitude mandatory. TV…