"The Avengers" and "The New Avengers" scriptwriter Dennis Spooner said that at the end of its run "The Avengers" had gone as far as it could in terms of parody. For this reason, producer Brian Clemens intentionally aimed for real stories and straight, Len Deighton-type spy stories in "The New Avengers". Spooner explained that "it's no good saying 'I don't like "The New Avengers" so much, because it wasn't like the old show'-because it never could have been. We did everything – we did the kitchen sink! – and there was no way of going back on it". When reminded of his "The New Avengers" script "Gnaws", Spooner admitted that "well, yes, towards the end we relaxed a bit!" Some of the storylines used in the series were recycled from earlier scripts penned by Clemens or Spooner from other series. "Medium Rare" was based on the episode "Murder in Mind" of the British series "Thriller", and "Gnaws" was based on the "Thunderbirds" story "Attack of the Alligators!"