Thank you both for your thoughts. I'm always interested in fans' opinions about the newer episodes, as I've only briefly seen parts of them here and there, and only really have a perspective on them based on fan comments. (I have to admit, based on what I have actually seen of those episodes I think I might tend to agree with those who feel the series took a dip in quality during that time, but on the other hand there must be some gems, as you've pointed out; certainly I can't imagine any episode with either McGoohan's or Fischer's name on it being bad)

In regards to Fischer's scripts, and adding a comment about another repeat series director, I've always felt that with the two episodes Ben Gazzara directed, "A Friend in Deed" is so incredibly dramatic and effective, while for me "Troubled Waters" is a drastically weaker effort. I wonder if my feelings might hinge on the fact that "Friend" had such a wonderful script by Fischer, while "Waters" lacked his talent (although for me the differences go a little beyond just the flow of story, with the overall mood and aesthetic in "Friend" being more impressive). Another director I wanted to comment on is James Frawley. All three episodes he directed for the seventh seasons I felt had great strengths, especially "How to Dial a Murder" and "Make Me a Perfect Murder". To me, those episodes had a slightly edgier quality that, though I don't think it would have worked well as a general tone in the series, I felt for those two stories it was perfect. There's two scenes in those episodes that strike me as quite similar, and for me are very effective in setting the mood - In "Make Me" there's the scene where Kay's voice is playing on the recorder as the camera sort of wanders about her apartment, finally stopping on Kay herself, who rises and snaps the recorder's antenna; then in "Dial", there's the intro scene where the camera roams about Eric Mason's home as a phone rings in the background, and then the camera finally stops on the hanging dummy that the dogs promptly attack. Another aspect of that part in "Dial" that I love is how Mason's voice angrily saying "You're gonna die!", is heard as the dogs are mauling the dummy, only to have the scene cut to sometime later, revealing that Dr. Mason was saying it to his lecture audience. I feel that, in general, the seventh season had some really impressive directing techniques, and Leo Penn, who did a great job with "Any Old Port in a Storm" in the third season, did an even more rich and stylish show with "The Conspirators" in the seventh (of course, I think the script was much stronger, as well). One part in "Conspirators" that really stands out to me is in the beginning, where Vincent Pauley's face is reflecting on the bookstore window as he looks in happily at his prospective buyer. That's an instance where it seems as though the shot must have been devised by the director entirely, unless, perhaps, that particular imagery was specified in the script. In that regard, it would be interesting if anyone out there who's read some of the actual scripts, could shed some light on how many of the visual flourishes were scripted, and how many were devised by the director while filming.

Since I don't dislike MIND OVER MAYHEM nearly as much as many of you do (I just saw it again, and it still seems pretty good to me), I'd like to name Alf Kjellin, due to it and of course NEGATIVE REACTION.

I've read that working with children is very difficult in directing, so it's definitely to Kjellin's credit that he was able to get such a relaxed, natural performance out of Lee Montgomery in "Mayhem". Although it's not quite in my top tier of favorite episodes, I certainly enjoy it a great deal more than a few others that are widely considered to be standouts.