This really did happen to me at one point, and this woman must have an amazing memory. I'm referring to her as Ms. Poppy to protect her identity, since she'd probably remember the incident forever...

It seemed your ordinary summer Sunday night. My sister and I were watching an Avengers, my mother was out dining with a high school friend. We'd just finished "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station". After a whispered conference of "Do you think we can get away with another one?" (it was already nearly ten o'clock, meaning it would be eleven when the next episode was done) we decided to keep going to "Something Nasty in the Nursery."

We were in the opening stages (before the title and the two-liner) when my mother and Ms. Poppy walked in. Mom said something along the lines of, "What did I tell you?". Ms. Poppy and my mother needed little urging to "watch a bit." About five seconds later, Ms. Poppy said, "I remember this one!" The immediate reaction was, "You what?"

"They pick up the ball and it... hypnotises them or something, makes them think they're a baby!"

We stared at her, dumbstruck, as she described the plot of first that episode and then "Room Without a View." We reminsced about various episodes and traded bits of trivia... but the night was too short. Mom shut off "...Nursery" and sent us to bed.

But the story doesn't end there. Her thank-you note to us a week later was signed "Emma Poppy Peel". To this day, my family has kept that.

It doesn't measure up to Margaret Warren's by any means, but still -- a miracle. And that shows just how important The AVENGERS was.

Fan Nonfiction!