You might think The Wild Wild West and The Avengers wouldn't have much in common besides being part of the 1960s spy craze.
Afterall, The Wild Wild West was produced in the U.S. while The Avengers was a U.K. production. The formats were different. The Wild Wild West had spies operating in the 1870s American west. The Avengers was a fanciful series set in the then-present day in the U.K.
But if you look closer, there's more in common than you might guess. (Original air dates via IMDB.com)
HERO GETS SHRUNK
The Wild Wild West, "The Night of the Raven," Sept. 30, 1966: U.S. Secret Service agents James West (Robert Conrad) and Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin) have their fifth encounter with mad scientist Dr. Michelito Loveless (Michael Dunn).
After the usual fun and games, Loveless pulls a big surprise on West. The intrepid agent is reduced in size via a powder (Loveless puts it in a cigar that West smokes) where he is only a few inches tall. Among other things, West has to deal with a normal-sized cat. West gets the anecdote just in time and achieves normal size again.
The Avengers: "Mission...Highly Improbable," Jan. 10, 1968: John Steed (Patrick Macnee) and Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) investigate some mysterious disappearances. It turns out those missing were shrunk via a ray. Steek and Emma are separately reduced in size to where they are only a few inches tall.
The duo manage to turn the tables. They achieve normal size while shrinking the villains.
With both episodes, the art departments built huge sets to simulate characters who have been reduced in size.
VILLAIN GOES ON A REVENGE RAMPAGE RELATED TO A PREVIOUS WAR
The Wild Wild West, "The Night of the Steel Assassin," Jan. 7, 1966: An 1870s half-man, half-machine cyborg, Torres (John Dehner) is hunting down former military officers from the Civil War. His last target is President Ulysses S. Grant. West and Gordon try to prevent the president from being killed.
The Avengers, "Game," Sept. 23, 1968: Five men are killed after playing games set up the villain. The deaths are being investigated by Steel and Tara King (Linda Thorson). The one thing the deaths have in common: The dead men were involved in an Army court-martial of a person who is coming back for revenge. There is a sixth target: Steed.
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