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Steed and Ms. King in TV Comic: Story Five

Detail...

Story Five
Issues: 902 to 907, March 29th to May 3rd 1969.

Part One - Issue 902, March 29th 1969:
The English Channel port is festive with flags and the blare of brass bands as President Frederick Diaff of the tiny European state of Gunthstat comes ashore.

Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.

An English Channel Port is festooned with flags and alive with the sound of a brass band as President Frederick Diaff of the tiny European state of Gunthstat come ashore. He is given a great welcome by the public. Steed and Tara are part of the reception committee. They think they have been given a cushy job as they can think of no one who would want to harm ‘Dear Little President Freddie’. But suddenly, he is attacked by the crowd, who boo and hiss him as they try to get to him. Steed and Tara help to hold them back and President Diaff is hurried away from the turmoil.

John Steed and Tara King, allegedly.  TV Comic #903Part Two - Issue 903, April 5th 1969:
As he steps ashore on a visit to England, the popular President "Freddie" Diaff of Gunthstat is suddenly attacked by all sorts of people from the crowd waiting to welcome him.  The assailants are hurriedly arrested.  A detachment of the Army is paraded for review on the quayside...

Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.

President Diaff is taken to his next appointment – inspecting a parade of British troops. Steed and Tara look on a little nervously. This is justified as one after another the troops begin to aim their weapons at the President. Steed and Tara usher him into a tank for his protection, and deliver him to the Excelsior Hotel where he is staying. Steed is bemused as to why the head of a friendly government has been attacked by the British people.

Part Three - Issue 904, April 12th 1969:
THE visit of the normally very popular President "Freddie" Diaff of Gunthstat to England has been marred by some attacks on him.  John Steed and Tara King prepare to question some of his assailants.

Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.

Steed and Tara prepare to question some of the people who attacked President Diaff. Nobody can remember a thing about the attacks. Steed says that it was like they had all been hypnotised, and that there seemed to be no connection between the assailants. Tara points out one small link – they had all been to the cinema that week. Steed finds it hard to believe that that could be the source, but he and Tara decide to investigate the local cinema. Just in case.

At the cinema, there is a very old film showing, which seems to be pretty harmless. Tara decides to have an iced lolly, but fails to see the face of the ice cream man as he walks away sneering. ‘Ah-ha! Yet another sucker’, he thinks.

Steed and Tara go to the cinema in TV Comic #904

Part Four - Issue 905, April 19th 1969:
PRESIDENT "Freddie" Diaff of Gunthstat, a usually popular visitor to England, has been attacked for no apparent reason.  The only clue leads John Steed and Tara King to a local cinema where a sinister-looking attendant sells Tara a lolly.

Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.

TV Comic #905 - Tara has been hypnotised.The ice cream salesman is thinking to himself that one of the ten iced lollies he has sold will succeed where the others have failed.  Ten minutes later, Steed and Tara are back at Steed's apartment, where Freddie has been waiting.  Steed asks if the President has any enemies and he is told about 'Cousin Rupert'.  Suddenly Tara begins to act strangely.  She grabs a sword from the wall and attacks President Diaff.  Steed blocks her thrust with his bowler and knocks the sword from her grasp with his brolly.  He can see that Ms. King has been hypnotised and deduces that the source must be the cinema.

Part Five - Issue 906, April 26th 1969:
When a number of people attack the visiting President of Gunthstat, John Steed and Tara King follow up a clue to a local cinema. But on their return, it is Tara herself who attacks The President. Fortunately, Steed is able to stop her.

Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.

Part Six - Issue 907, May 3rd 1969:
Their search for an answer to the attacks on the genial President "Freddie" Diaff of Gunthstat leads John Steed and Tara King to a small cinema.  Suspicion centres on an ice cream attendant and the strange effect of the lollies he sells.

Written by unknown, drawn by John Canning.

The ice cream attendant heads for the projection room with Steed and Tara in hot pursuit.  He locks the door, but they kick it in and overpower him and his cronies.  Tara asks Steed what the relevance of the lollies was.  Steed explains that the projectionist was a man who should have been president instead of Freddie, and that he had made a film on the subject.  He then 'sold lollies containing a drug which produced some form of mass hypnosis'.  Anyone sucking one was led to hate the villain in the film they saw, and in this case the villain looked like President Freddie.  Steed finds a can of film containing a film called 'The Mind Benders' and suggests that he and Miss King view it.  She demures...

Comment...

There was a film called 'The Mind Benders' which starred Dirk Bogarde and was directed by Joseph Losey.

Back to Tara King era TV Comic Index (1-10) on to story number six