75 reviews
When I was 16 this series meant a lot to me.
Like other American fans, I became aware of it when it burst onto American TV in summer 1966. What a revelation it was to someone who'd grown up watching American TV! It was unpredictable: it mixed mystery, adventure, science fiction, and satire in always changing proportions. The mysteries were truly intriguing, the adventures truly exciting, the eerie situations truly frightening, the fantastic explanations truly ingenious, and the jokes truly funny. In later seasons the show formularized its conflicting elements, like every other show. But in the beginning you couldn't guess what might come next.
And of course there was the sex and violence. It seems impossible now that there was once a time when there was too little sex or violence on TV, but what there was was dull and stodgy. The American network had omitted the most suggestive episodes, but left in a few lines of dialogue that startled at the time. The climactic fight scenes were much more exciting than those on American shows: dynamically staged and photographed, and with a satirical edge, which was lost in later seasons.
The writing was very good too. To us in the States it seemed even better than it was because we hadn't then seen a lot of British TV. The scripts were solidly constructed, tightly packed, and full of clever dialogue. Patrick Macnee has claimed in interviews that "there was no clever dialogue" except what he and Diana Rigg rewrote, but the lines of the supporting characters belie that.
The atmosphere of the show was new to me: a dark, bright, sharp, woozy, ordered, but unpredictable world where reality could be rolled like a die, figures of speech could become facts (a killing rain, an underground club), and you couldn't be sure that anybody was what he seemed. If I'd seen Alfred Hitchcock's early films at the time, I would have recognized this as an exaggeration of their milieu, to the verge of parody: those flower sellers and organ grinders seemingly hanging out on street corners but really doing spy business. The world of The Avengers extended beyond them to encompass killer robots and plants from outer space--but only a certain distance beyond. (The failure to observe that distance spoiled many of the later shows.)
That atmosphere stayed with me for years. It carried me through dreary jobs by enabling me to imbue mundane surroundings in schools and industrial parks with fantastic and sinister possibilities. Other shows tried to imitate it, but never successfully. How could they, when The Avengers itself had lost it and never recaptured it again?
The primary technical device for bringing about this atmosphere was the teaser. The Avengers made an art out of it. A man in a field is rained on, tries to escape, is rained into the ground. Superimpose title: "A Surfeit of H2O." The title is the punchline. A man breaks into a house and opens a door; a lion jumps out at him. Title: "The House That Jack Built." And so on.
The puzzle posed by the opener often suggested philosophical or metaphysical possibilities, but they were never followed up on. The solution generally turned out to be slightly science-fictional, and the climax, rather than expanding on the potential implications of the story's premise, was just a comic fight. But it was remarkable in itself that the series could progress from one to the other with such deftness, beginning with a cosmic inversion and steadily narrowing it down to a trivial joke.
The heroes were invincible (otherwise the stories would have been too horrifying), inexplicable (those of us who didn't know the show's origins had no idea why they were called Avengers), androgynous (Steed was the fancy dresser, Mrs. Peel did the manhandling), paradoxical (Mrs. Peel was widowed, yet somehow virginal), and timeless. (In subsequent seasons, they were turned into pop icons, but divested of most of the twists that had made them interesting.)
What was considered by common consent the best episode of all, "The House That Jack Built," I didn't see originally (it was a choice between that and a screening of "The Music Box" with Laurel and Hardy). When I finally got to see it in syndication, five years later, it was like being taken back in time and watching the series for the first time. I was just as fascinated, just as mystified, just as amazed.
I set aside my Wednesday nights especially to watch the series. Apparently not many other people did. But that was always how it was with everything that developed a cult. At the time I seemed to be almost the only one who took an interest in it. Only years afterward would people write about it as if it had been a universally shared generational experience.
The following year the news came out that The Avengers would return. And so it did--sort of. But despite assiduous effort I gradually had to accede to an awareness that it was no longer very good. It had been dumbed down for Americans. It wasn't the same. It was gone.
And now, looking back on it forty years later, I wonder (and can never know for certain): was it really so good as it seemed to me, in that one happy season of my youth? And can anything ever seem that good again?
Like other American fans, I became aware of it when it burst onto American TV in summer 1966. What a revelation it was to someone who'd grown up watching American TV! It was unpredictable: it mixed mystery, adventure, science fiction, and satire in always changing proportions. The mysteries were truly intriguing, the adventures truly exciting, the eerie situations truly frightening, the fantastic explanations truly ingenious, and the jokes truly funny. In later seasons the show formularized its conflicting elements, like every other show. But in the beginning you couldn't guess what might come next.
And of course there was the sex and violence. It seems impossible now that there was once a time when there was too little sex or violence on TV, but what there was was dull and stodgy. The American network had omitted the most suggestive episodes, but left in a few lines of dialogue that startled at the time. The climactic fight scenes were much more exciting than those on American shows: dynamically staged and photographed, and with a satirical edge, which was lost in later seasons.
The writing was very good too. To us in the States it seemed even better than it was because we hadn't then seen a lot of British TV. The scripts were solidly constructed, tightly packed, and full of clever dialogue. Patrick Macnee has claimed in interviews that "there was no clever dialogue" except what he and Diana Rigg rewrote, but the lines of the supporting characters belie that.
The atmosphere of the show was new to me: a dark, bright, sharp, woozy, ordered, but unpredictable world where reality could be rolled like a die, figures of speech could become facts (a killing rain, an underground club), and you couldn't be sure that anybody was what he seemed. If I'd seen Alfred Hitchcock's early films at the time, I would have recognized this as an exaggeration of their milieu, to the verge of parody: those flower sellers and organ grinders seemingly hanging out on street corners but really doing spy business. The world of The Avengers extended beyond them to encompass killer robots and plants from outer space--but only a certain distance beyond. (The failure to observe that distance spoiled many of the later shows.)
That atmosphere stayed with me for years. It carried me through dreary jobs by enabling me to imbue mundane surroundings in schools and industrial parks with fantastic and sinister possibilities. Other shows tried to imitate it, but never successfully. How could they, when The Avengers itself had lost it and never recaptured it again?
The primary technical device for bringing about this atmosphere was the teaser. The Avengers made an art out of it. A man in a field is rained on, tries to escape, is rained into the ground. Superimpose title: "A Surfeit of H2O." The title is the punchline. A man breaks into a house and opens a door; a lion jumps out at him. Title: "The House That Jack Built." And so on.
The puzzle posed by the opener often suggested philosophical or metaphysical possibilities, but they were never followed up on. The solution generally turned out to be slightly science-fictional, and the climax, rather than expanding on the potential implications of the story's premise, was just a comic fight. But it was remarkable in itself that the series could progress from one to the other with such deftness, beginning with a cosmic inversion and steadily narrowing it down to a trivial joke.
The heroes were invincible (otherwise the stories would have been too horrifying), inexplicable (those of us who didn't know the show's origins had no idea why they were called Avengers), androgynous (Steed was the fancy dresser, Mrs. Peel did the manhandling), paradoxical (Mrs. Peel was widowed, yet somehow virginal), and timeless. (In subsequent seasons, they were turned into pop icons, but divested of most of the twists that had made them interesting.)
What was considered by common consent the best episode of all, "The House That Jack Built," I didn't see originally (it was a choice between that and a screening of "The Music Box" with Laurel and Hardy). When I finally got to see it in syndication, five years later, it was like being taken back in time and watching the series for the first time. I was just as fascinated, just as mystified, just as amazed.
I set aside my Wednesday nights especially to watch the series. Apparently not many other people did. But that was always how it was with everything that developed a cult. At the time I seemed to be almost the only one who took an interest in it. Only years afterward would people write about it as if it had been a universally shared generational experience.
The following year the news came out that The Avengers would return. And so it did--sort of. But despite assiduous effort I gradually had to accede to an awareness that it was no longer very good. It had been dumbed down for Americans. It wasn't the same. It was gone.
And now, looking back on it forty years later, I wonder (and can never know for certain): was it really so good as it seemed to me, in that one happy season of my youth? And can anything ever seem that good again?
- galensaysyes
- Nov 17, 2008
- Permalink
- smellthecult-com-1
- Jan 27, 2010
- Permalink
There were many spy series on the boob tube in the swingin' 60s. "I Spy". "Mission:Impossible". "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." I liked them all. But I adored "The Avengers".
One day at school, Brad Barner was talking wildly about a TV show. I made my mind to check it out, if I could.
At this time I had four brothers and four sisters. Use of the TV was by majority rule, so I plead my case for "The Avengers".
That first episode was "The Winged Avenger": the eponymous comic book character had apparently come to life and was killing off upper middle-management types.
Enter John Steed and Mrs. Emma Peel, who dispatch the villains with a wit and style I had never seen. The effect of Mrs. Peel's jumpsuits (Barbara called them Emma's "fighting clothes") on my teenage libido was a bonus. I would have watched if I was nine years old.
The Avengers were cool.
Each week I would watch the pair defeat all sorts of threats to the British Empire. I enjoyed the science fictional plots the best, but I was hooked.
One day at school, Brad Barner was talking wildly about a TV show. I made my mind to check it out, if I could.
At this time I had four brothers and four sisters. Use of the TV was by majority rule, so I plead my case for "The Avengers".
That first episode was "The Winged Avenger": the eponymous comic book character had apparently come to life and was killing off upper middle-management types.
Enter John Steed and Mrs. Emma Peel, who dispatch the villains with a wit and style I had never seen. The effect of Mrs. Peel's jumpsuits (Barbara called them Emma's "fighting clothes") on my teenage libido was a bonus. I would have watched if I was nine years old.
The Avengers were cool.
Each week I would watch the pair defeat all sorts of threats to the British Empire. I enjoyed the science fictional plots the best, but I was hooked.
PART ONE: THE EARLY YEARS (61-64)
When most people think of THE AVENGERS, they often think of the Emma Peel episodes and tend to ignore the magic that the entire series is. What began as a cheap weekly live-broadcast B&W thriller managed to become a major color series with quite high production values and also the first British TV show ever to be exported to the US.
THE AVENGERS began in 1961, as an attempt to cash in ABC's previous medical thriller POLICE SURGEON. The former stared Ian Hendry who became one of the biggest TV stars of the time. The show failed to be a hit however. So Hendry and his co-star Ingrid Hafner were called in to do a replacement called THE AVENGERS. The weekly show would pair up the widowed Dr. Keel (Hendry) with charming secret agent John Steed (Patrick McNee) as they hunted down criminals and diabolical masterminds while walking on the noir-like soaked London streets wearing raincoats. Hafner starred in some episodes as nurse Carol. Only two of these episodes are known to exist, and they have been rarely seen. After many videotaped episodes, the show became a hit and Hendry decided it was a perfect time to start a movie career. He quit the show and so did Hafner. This left co-star McNee all by himself.
The second season started in 1962 and McNee was paired up with Dr. King (Jon Rollason), a temporary replacement. After shooting left-over season one scripts, King was dropped and Julie Stevens as jazz singer Venus Smith was brought in to be Steed's new female partner. A bad one by the way. Not only was Stevens a young unexperienced actress, but the character itself was a manipulative innocent teenager that would always become the damsel in distress and have to be saved during the climax. Weak material here. However, the writers decided to pair Steed up with a different kind of female partner. One that would be written as a male character on the script, and play it like a man. And so was born television's first true independent woman: Mrs. Catherine Gale. Played to perfection by Honor Blackman, the high-tempered Cathy would always have "battle of the sexes" arguments with Steed, hit him with outrageous answers and punchlines, ("Good morning Cathy, what's for breakfast?" "Cook it and see!") and always try to erase his sexist side. Also notable were Cathy's leather catsuits that launched an entire fashion in England, as well as her weekly judo fights with male thugs. The many Cathy Gale episodes have remained in obscurity during the years for the fact that they were videotaped on low production values and transfered into poor prints with lackluster sound. This makes them almost unwatchable. And the bad guest acting and all the technical bloopers that were never fixed during editing didn't help. But all the purists who try to avoid these episodes are actually missing a great load of fun. If you overlook all the negative elements, you are left with entertaining stories that always surprise you with all the wit, poison, and humor from McNee and Blackman. You would also be surprised at how superior the material is since back then the show took itself seriously.
Some episodes speak for themselves: MANDRAKE is a slow-paced but well done suspense with a great fight scene with Blackman and wrestler Jack Parlo. THE LITTLE WONDERS is a funny episode featuring Lois Maxwell (a.k.a Miss Moneypenny) as a wicked machine-gun shooting evil nun. DRESSED TO KILL is a well done variation of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians. THE MAN WITH TWO SHADOWS was one of the first spy stories to use the look-alike element. And THE CHARMERS is perhaps one of the best episodes ever.
It is true that these shows don't even come close to the wonderful filmed seasons that would start in 1965 and they do not hold up to today's standards when compared to other shows of the time. But the biggest reason you should go back to watch these episodes is Cathy Gale herself. A wonderful actress (Blackman) and a wonderful character, Gale is one of the most important female characters of all time. She is for sure my favorite out of all of Steed's partners. Long live Cathy Gale!
When most people think of THE AVENGERS, they often think of the Emma Peel episodes and tend to ignore the magic that the entire series is. What began as a cheap weekly live-broadcast B&W thriller managed to become a major color series with quite high production values and also the first British TV show ever to be exported to the US.
THE AVENGERS began in 1961, as an attempt to cash in ABC's previous medical thriller POLICE SURGEON. The former stared Ian Hendry who became one of the biggest TV stars of the time. The show failed to be a hit however. So Hendry and his co-star Ingrid Hafner were called in to do a replacement called THE AVENGERS. The weekly show would pair up the widowed Dr. Keel (Hendry) with charming secret agent John Steed (Patrick McNee) as they hunted down criminals and diabolical masterminds while walking on the noir-like soaked London streets wearing raincoats. Hafner starred in some episodes as nurse Carol. Only two of these episodes are known to exist, and they have been rarely seen. After many videotaped episodes, the show became a hit and Hendry decided it was a perfect time to start a movie career. He quit the show and so did Hafner. This left co-star McNee all by himself.
The second season started in 1962 and McNee was paired up with Dr. King (Jon Rollason), a temporary replacement. After shooting left-over season one scripts, King was dropped and Julie Stevens as jazz singer Venus Smith was brought in to be Steed's new female partner. A bad one by the way. Not only was Stevens a young unexperienced actress, but the character itself was a manipulative innocent teenager that would always become the damsel in distress and have to be saved during the climax. Weak material here. However, the writers decided to pair Steed up with a different kind of female partner. One that would be written as a male character on the script, and play it like a man. And so was born television's first true independent woman: Mrs. Catherine Gale. Played to perfection by Honor Blackman, the high-tempered Cathy would always have "battle of the sexes" arguments with Steed, hit him with outrageous answers and punchlines, ("Good morning Cathy, what's for breakfast?" "Cook it and see!") and always try to erase his sexist side. Also notable were Cathy's leather catsuits that launched an entire fashion in England, as well as her weekly judo fights with male thugs. The many Cathy Gale episodes have remained in obscurity during the years for the fact that they were videotaped on low production values and transfered into poor prints with lackluster sound. This makes them almost unwatchable. And the bad guest acting and all the technical bloopers that were never fixed during editing didn't help. But all the purists who try to avoid these episodes are actually missing a great load of fun. If you overlook all the negative elements, you are left with entertaining stories that always surprise you with all the wit, poison, and humor from McNee and Blackman. You would also be surprised at how superior the material is since back then the show took itself seriously.
Some episodes speak for themselves: MANDRAKE is a slow-paced but well done suspense with a great fight scene with Blackman and wrestler Jack Parlo. THE LITTLE WONDERS is a funny episode featuring Lois Maxwell (a.k.a Miss Moneypenny) as a wicked machine-gun shooting evil nun. DRESSED TO KILL is a well done variation of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians. THE MAN WITH TWO SHADOWS was one of the first spy stories to use the look-alike element. And THE CHARMERS is perhaps one of the best episodes ever.
It is true that these shows don't even come close to the wonderful filmed seasons that would start in 1965 and they do not hold up to today's standards when compared to other shows of the time. But the biggest reason you should go back to watch these episodes is Cathy Gale herself. A wonderful actress (Blackman) and a wonderful character, Gale is one of the most important female characters of all time. She is for sure my favorite out of all of Steed's partners. Long live Cathy Gale!
After years of watching women scream to be rescued, Mrs. Peel never ever screamed. She rescued herself - and sometimes she rescued Steed. It was like breath of fresh air in a hot stuffy room. Of course, that is not all there was to The Avengers. It was stylish, witty and lots of fun. No matter how bad the situation, Steed, the professional, and Mrs. Peel, the talented amateur, never lost their cool. They were always calm and dryly self-confident. And best of all, Mrs. Peel never screamed.
- ShadeGrenade
- Feb 23, 2007
- Permalink
- ShelbyTMItchell
- Jun 19, 2010
- Permalink
The best in terms of plot.
The best in terms of invention.
The best in terms of style.
The best in terms of acting.
The best in terms of direction.
The best in terms of documenting a classic era.
The best in terms of showcasing all kinds of brilliant actors in early stages of their careers (Peter Bowles, John Wood, Donald Sutherland...ad infinitum...)
The best in term of originality & freshness.
Just the very best!
The best in terms of invention.
The best in terms of style.
The best in terms of acting.
The best in terms of direction.
The best in terms of documenting a classic era.
The best in terms of showcasing all kinds of brilliant actors in early stages of their careers (Peter Bowles, John Wood, Donald Sutherland...ad infinitum...)
The best in term of originality & freshness.
Just the very best!
Barring The Prisoner, Star Trek (with Kirk and Spock) and Thunderbirds, The Avengers is the best 1960s TV series going - you can have hours of fun pretending to be John Steed by bellowing "MRS PEEL" at everybody in your life knowing that few of them will know what you mean - but will laugh anyway. Note the opening credits of the Emma Peel Colour series (1967), where Steed (Patrick Macnee)wobbles while standing on one leg proferring his furled umbrella. Some of the stories here have not been screened in the UK since 2001 - and then only on Granada Plus where they were edited down from original run times of 50 minutes to 46 to accommodate ever longer advert and trailer breaks; and in the case of the final episodes of the Tara King series (1968-9) this amounted to the removal of the tag scene which closed every episode. Thusly, volumes 7 & 8 of the Tara King series have been known to achieve ridiculously high prices in Ebay auctions - these being the episodes most rarely screened in their entirety - Channel 4 ran them in full in late summer 1997 in an early Friday evening slot. Some may choose to source their Avengers fix by buying the much better priced Dutch DVD releases (re-titled "Der Wrekers") but with the confusion that they sequenced their discs with a different running order to the UK issues. Oddly, even these do not follow the exact order in which the stories were originally transmitted or filmed (Dave Rogers' exquisite books The Avengers (1983) and The Ultimate Avengers (1995)tell you everything you need to know about this) Let's hope the whole set from Ian Hendry's one remaining 1961 videotaped episode ("The Frighteners") to Joanna Lumley's miniskirt marvel "Emily" from 1977 are all given re-releases on DVD at prices lower than you'd expect to pay for an thoroughbred Ferrari or an undiscovered Titian – which happily they now have. But what price would be paid to that enterprising and either exceptionally wealthy or well connected (pun intended) person who owns original video recordings of those 1961 episodes that ITV hadn't got room for in their apparently tiny vaults? Dream again - and dream harder,sweet cousins.
- marqymarqy
- Sep 17, 2012
- Permalink
John Steed, with his bowler and umbrella, reminded me of great deal of Raymond Barry in "Bat Masterson," with his cane and bowler. Both men were debonair, intelligent and dangerous when pushed. Unfortunately, Bat didn't have a Cathy, Emma or a Tara to assist him. Patrick Macnee' John Steed was the epitome of 'British cool' during the Swinging sixties. Emma Peel (Dame Dianna Riggs) was priceless as Steed's karate- savvy companion. I watched this classic television program back in the Sixties and to a boy growing up in rural Wisconsin there seemed no more of a mod-magical world than the city along the Thames. The avengers was "Batman," "James Bond" and The Beatles all rolled into one.
- bugsmoran29
- Sep 18, 2016
- Permalink
- rmax304823
- Aug 23, 2008
- Permalink
There has never been and will probably never be another television series as archly funny and intelligently comedic as this. How can one imagine another duo to compare with the leather jump-suited Emma Peel and the Edwardian-tailored, bowler hatted John Steed? The subtle, never overtly stated sexual tension between them was only enhanced by their wry way of addressing each other as 'Steed' and 'Mrs. Peel'. The interaction between Macnee and Rigg was absolutely unique, comprising an amalgam of whimsy, sex, camaraderie, and winking humor. The scripts were loaded with literary, cultural, musical, and historical references and double-entendres that doubtless make the show appealing only to an audience capable of catching them. The totally off-the-wall plots and deliciously absurd technical devices only added to the fun. The closest thing to this series I can think of, even if animated, was "Rocky and Bullwinkle", which shared "The Avenger's" sense of intelligent lunacy.
My favorite remembered line: "Her face was always so ... symmetrical. Not an eye out of place."
Sorry, you young folks; 'Seinfeld' doesn't even come close.
My favorite remembered line: "Her face was always so ... symmetrical. Not an eye out of place."
Sorry, you young folks; 'Seinfeld' doesn't even come close.
I just watched all the series 7/Linda Thorson episodes on dvd.
My god what a trip,there are about 6 decent episodes,4 are really good but most in this series are awful.
Why are they awful? Because the people in charge got rid of a tested team and got in people who were not up to the task.
The Avengers was always light weight and full of humour but in this series half the plots should have been rejected at an early stage.
The series never came back after this.
My god what a trip,there are about 6 decent episodes,4 are really good but most in this series are awful.
Why are they awful? Because the people in charge got rid of a tested team and got in people who were not up to the task.
The Avengers was always light weight and full of humour but in this series half the plots should have been rejected at an early stage.
The series never came back after this.
- ib011f9545i
- Jul 14, 2022
- Permalink
I watched very puzzled, trying to figure out why people would rate this so highly. Other than looking at Diana Rigg, there's nothing to recommend in the series.
The male lead looks old enough to be her father and doesn't have a tenth of the charm of any of the men who played James Bond. The plots were slow, the villains dull. I struggled to get past a few episodes and gave up. The humor that was supposed to be there is buried in slow moving stories.
Apparently the one thing the internet can agree on is Rigg in a bondage outfit for one episode. My advice is to seek out the stills of her and ignore the series itself.
The male lead looks old enough to be her father and doesn't have a tenth of the charm of any of the men who played James Bond. The plots were slow, the villains dull. I struggled to get past a few episodes and gave up. The humor that was supposed to be there is buried in slow moving stories.
Apparently the one thing the internet can agree on is Rigg in a bondage outfit for one episode. My advice is to seek out the stills of her and ignore the series itself.
- reymunpadilla
- Jan 9, 2024
- Permalink
PART TWO: KINKY BOOTS AND BOWLER HAT (65-68)
THE AVENGERS was already a popular show in England during the early 60s. However, it all backfired when Honor Blackman decided to leave the series in order to star in GOLDFINGER. When season three ended, ABC decided to pull the plug on THE AVENGERS and sold the series to Telemen Limited. Albert Fennel and Brian Clemmens were both recruited to keep up the standard. Plus, a big revolution happened: The series moved from videotape to film and the budget was also sightly improved.
But even knowing Patrick McNee came back, the studio faced a major problem: Cathy was gone. Since Blackman had already made the character so popular, it was decided a new partner would be created to be paired up with Steed. So Elisabeth Shappard was cast as Emma Peel (Man appeal! Get it?) and production started. But it was soon noticed Sheppard's cold beauty and persona was not right for the role. So Sheakespeare stage actress Diana Rigg was cast as a replacement. The show premiered in 1965 as a completely different deal.
And of course, the rest is history... Diana Rigg brought the charm and kindness that Blackman lacked, altrough she lacked Honor's strenght and toughness. Patrick McNee also played a very different Steed: He went from a James Bond-like sexist macho man to a more kind gentleman spy. The new AVENGERS became so popular that it was exported to the US. Yes, the fourth season was indeed revolutionary. But what made it so much better than the previous seasons? The most obvious answer would be Emma Peel, or the bigger budget, but I would give credit to the writers. This time, the scripts were much sharper and the show never took itself very seriously. And then there is the wonderful chemistry between McNee and Rigg. The Steed/Emma relationship was subliminally romantic and funny. They always enjoyed great lines togheter.
Some season four episodes are good even for today's standards: THE GRAVEDIGGERS has a hilarious silent film spoof climax. THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT was a clautrophobic "girl alone in a house" sort of thriller. THE CYBERNAUTS brought a strong sci-fi element. TOO MANY CHRISTMAS TREES brought the Steed/Emma chemistry to he highest calibur. And let's not forget a TOUCH OF BRIMSTONE that gets the award for sexiest episode ever.
The UK didn't order a season five, but the US did. The series moved from B&W to color, the budget was even higher, and the action increased as well. Gone were the sloppy season four fights and the large male stunts used to double Rigg. Now, the fights were better coreographed, and Cyd Childs (Who looked a lot like Diana Rigg) would be in charge of the kung fu moves that would take out the female baddie of the week. Included were the "we're needed" introductions that were made in order to format the show a-la MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. The US backers also demanded Emma Peel to be more femenine and Rigg decided to replace her leather catsuits with jumpsuits that woulkd go down in fashion history as Emmapeelers.
No doubt season five was fun, but the show went from spy adventures to spoof comedies. Just look at the plot lines: THE HIDDEN TIGER dealt with cats progammed to attack their owners. ESCAPE IN TIME was about time-traveling! And FROM VENUS WITH LOVE was about an alien beam that would kill scientists! You just couldn't watch the show as a thriller anymore.
Even Rigg got tired and decided to leave the series. Linda Thorson was cast as Tara King for season six. Of course, the only reason was that Linda was the girlfriend of then-producer John Bryce. The character of Tara King was the femenine partner that the US backers wanted. The girl was so dependent of Steed that she carried a brick on her purse. It looks like Venus Smith all over again. The fact that Linda was a totally unexperienced actress didn't help. Season six began, with quite good rantings that kept up the standard.
Most fans usually hate season six because of the absence of Emma Peel, but I dare say this season was a great deal of underrated fun. Not as silly as season five or as serius as the first three seasons, this era of the show saw Steed and Tara on trully good adventures. LOOK... teamed them against killer clowns (?). SPLIT! dealt with agents shifting personalities through brainwashing. And STAY TUNED is one of those rare episodes where Steed almost cracks!
Even the character of Tara King became more tolerable as the season progessed. She even had a Steedless episode (ALL DONE WITH MIRRORS) where she put both Emma and Cathy to shame. She soon didn't need the brick (*sight*) and her intelligence was also improved. In France, she is ten times more popular than Emma.
However, the show's rantings in the US were poor due to the bad time-slot of putting the show against LAUGH-IN. The US didn't order more episodes and without the US support, THE AVENGERS ended.
THE AVENGERS was indeed a revolutionary and magic TV show. Many later sows (HART TO HART, REMINGTON STEELE) owe a lot to it.
Sure there is the 1976 revival and te dreadful 1998 movie, but that is another story...
THE AVENGERS was already a popular show in England during the early 60s. However, it all backfired when Honor Blackman decided to leave the series in order to star in GOLDFINGER. When season three ended, ABC decided to pull the plug on THE AVENGERS and sold the series to Telemen Limited. Albert Fennel and Brian Clemmens were both recruited to keep up the standard. Plus, a big revolution happened: The series moved from videotape to film and the budget was also sightly improved.
But even knowing Patrick McNee came back, the studio faced a major problem: Cathy was gone. Since Blackman had already made the character so popular, it was decided a new partner would be created to be paired up with Steed. So Elisabeth Shappard was cast as Emma Peel (Man appeal! Get it?) and production started. But it was soon noticed Sheppard's cold beauty and persona was not right for the role. So Sheakespeare stage actress Diana Rigg was cast as a replacement. The show premiered in 1965 as a completely different deal.
And of course, the rest is history... Diana Rigg brought the charm and kindness that Blackman lacked, altrough she lacked Honor's strenght and toughness. Patrick McNee also played a very different Steed: He went from a James Bond-like sexist macho man to a more kind gentleman spy. The new AVENGERS became so popular that it was exported to the US. Yes, the fourth season was indeed revolutionary. But what made it so much better than the previous seasons? The most obvious answer would be Emma Peel, or the bigger budget, but I would give credit to the writers. This time, the scripts were much sharper and the show never took itself very seriously. And then there is the wonderful chemistry between McNee and Rigg. The Steed/Emma relationship was subliminally romantic and funny. They always enjoyed great lines togheter.
Some season four episodes are good even for today's standards: THE GRAVEDIGGERS has a hilarious silent film spoof climax. THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT was a clautrophobic "girl alone in a house" sort of thriller. THE CYBERNAUTS brought a strong sci-fi element. TOO MANY CHRISTMAS TREES brought the Steed/Emma chemistry to he highest calibur. And let's not forget a TOUCH OF BRIMSTONE that gets the award for sexiest episode ever.
The UK didn't order a season five, but the US did. The series moved from B&W to color, the budget was even higher, and the action increased as well. Gone were the sloppy season four fights and the large male stunts used to double Rigg. Now, the fights were better coreographed, and Cyd Childs (Who looked a lot like Diana Rigg) would be in charge of the kung fu moves that would take out the female baddie of the week. Included were the "we're needed" introductions that were made in order to format the show a-la MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. The US backers also demanded Emma Peel to be more femenine and Rigg decided to replace her leather catsuits with jumpsuits that woulkd go down in fashion history as Emmapeelers.
No doubt season five was fun, but the show went from spy adventures to spoof comedies. Just look at the plot lines: THE HIDDEN TIGER dealt with cats progammed to attack their owners. ESCAPE IN TIME was about time-traveling! And FROM VENUS WITH LOVE was about an alien beam that would kill scientists! You just couldn't watch the show as a thriller anymore.
Even Rigg got tired and decided to leave the series. Linda Thorson was cast as Tara King for season six. Of course, the only reason was that Linda was the girlfriend of then-producer John Bryce. The character of Tara King was the femenine partner that the US backers wanted. The girl was so dependent of Steed that she carried a brick on her purse. It looks like Venus Smith all over again. The fact that Linda was a totally unexperienced actress didn't help. Season six began, with quite good rantings that kept up the standard.
Most fans usually hate season six because of the absence of Emma Peel, but I dare say this season was a great deal of underrated fun. Not as silly as season five or as serius as the first three seasons, this era of the show saw Steed and Tara on trully good adventures. LOOK... teamed them against killer clowns (?). SPLIT! dealt with agents shifting personalities through brainwashing. And STAY TUNED is one of those rare episodes where Steed almost cracks!
Even the character of Tara King became more tolerable as the season progessed. She even had a Steedless episode (ALL DONE WITH MIRRORS) where she put both Emma and Cathy to shame. She soon didn't need the brick (*sight*) and her intelligence was also improved. In France, she is ten times more popular than Emma.
However, the show's rantings in the US were poor due to the bad time-slot of putting the show against LAUGH-IN. The US didn't order more episodes and without the US support, THE AVENGERS ended.
THE AVENGERS was indeed a revolutionary and magic TV show. Many later sows (HART TO HART, REMINGTON STEELE) owe a lot to it.
Sure there is the 1976 revival and te dreadful 1998 movie, but that is another story...
- nilesswenson-12076
- Oct 16, 2017
- Permalink
Possibly the best-known and most successful of the escapist adventure series from the British ABC studios of the mid-late 60's, I remember "The Avengers" fondly from my childhood. I have all the Patrick McNee / Diana Rigg episodes on DVD and prompted by the recent passing of Mr McNee, I finally indulged myself by watching a random episode (the first of the 1967 colourised series), but it could have been any one from that era and I'd have been just as well entertained, I know.
I never saw any of the Honor Blackman series and do recall that McNee and the post-Rigg Linda Thorson just didn't have the same chemistry, plus the writing and plotting was becoming too far-fetched (all that "Mother" nonsense, for example) when compared to its golden era of 1965-1967.
McNee is splendid as the debonair and uber-cool John Steed substituting a sharp-edged umbrella in place of guns and the pre-Grand Dame Diana Rigg smoulders as the enigmatic, karate-chopping Mrs Peel. Much was made of her one-piece jump-suits of the time, no doubt helpful in protecting her modesty as she dispatched yet another set of baddies with her martial arts moves, even if today said costumes look more functional than sexy. The plots are invariably flight-of-fancy fantasy, often pitting the dynamic duo against some world-threatening individual or organisation but were usually laced with subtle and occasionally sexy interplay between the two leads, top-and-tailed in every episode with a mute opening "We're needed" sequence and similarly light-hearted epilogue with just a hint of romantic frisson between them.
The best episodes tended to be written by the also recently departed Brian Clemens and the cream of British TV character actors usually made guest appearances from episode to episode.
Utterly charming and entertaining, and with a distinctive title sequence and theme tune, "The Avengers", is still well-remembered today as the epitome of style and class. The McNee / Rigg axis definitely saw the show at its best helped no doubt by its identification with the swinging 60's appeal of anything British at the time.
The Avengers to today's youth undoubtedly conjures up Marvel's comic-book team, but to me it'll always recall the classic team of Steed and Peel saving the world weekly and sleekly from some misguided criminal mastermind.
I never saw any of the Honor Blackman series and do recall that McNee and the post-Rigg Linda Thorson just didn't have the same chemistry, plus the writing and plotting was becoming too far-fetched (all that "Mother" nonsense, for example) when compared to its golden era of 1965-1967.
McNee is splendid as the debonair and uber-cool John Steed substituting a sharp-edged umbrella in place of guns and the pre-Grand Dame Diana Rigg smoulders as the enigmatic, karate-chopping Mrs Peel. Much was made of her one-piece jump-suits of the time, no doubt helpful in protecting her modesty as she dispatched yet another set of baddies with her martial arts moves, even if today said costumes look more functional than sexy. The plots are invariably flight-of-fancy fantasy, often pitting the dynamic duo against some world-threatening individual or organisation but were usually laced with subtle and occasionally sexy interplay between the two leads, top-and-tailed in every episode with a mute opening "We're needed" sequence and similarly light-hearted epilogue with just a hint of romantic frisson between them.
The best episodes tended to be written by the also recently departed Brian Clemens and the cream of British TV character actors usually made guest appearances from episode to episode.
Utterly charming and entertaining, and with a distinctive title sequence and theme tune, "The Avengers", is still well-remembered today as the epitome of style and class. The McNee / Rigg axis definitely saw the show at its best helped no doubt by its identification with the swinging 60's appeal of anything British at the time.
The Avengers to today's youth undoubtedly conjures up Marvel's comic-book team, but to me it'll always recall the classic team of Steed and Peel saving the world weekly and sleekly from some misguided criminal mastermind.
In spite of how "The Avengers" series is best known, the opening season was a completely different kettle of fish.
The season from 1961 - mainly missing sadly - was more of a conventional police thriller. None of the programme's quirky humour was displayed, there was no female leading character and John Steed was technically the second lead behind Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel. The general synopsis was usually as follows: Keel would be approached by Steed who would seek the good Drs help in the fight against the latest villains of the show. Dr. Keel was most reticent about becoming involved in Steeds assignments but invariably was.
Only 3 episodes from 1961 exist and including the first 15 minutes of the opening episode.
Judging by the existing 3, the more gritty and realistic style works very well. Ian Hendry and the only John Steed - Patrick Macnee - compliment each other.
After Ian Hendry decided to focus on a film career, Patrick Macnee was made the show's leasing character. In addition, he would be the actor who would appear in more episodes than anyone else.
The series seemed to struggle in finding it's form/style. The characters of Dr. Martin King and that of the pop star Venus Smith, aren't all that interesting but one or two episodes they are in are quite good.
When Honor Blackman joined the series in 1962 for its second season, everything changed for the better. The series became ground-breaking in having a regular female character who was just as tough, brave, resilient and intelligent as John Steed.
The second and third seasons feature some marvellous episodes - too many to list them here. The series was firmly established as a huge success with Britain and the two leading actors became very popular with the viewers.
With Honor Blackman leaving in 1964 to appear in "Goldfinger" opposite Sean Connery, major changes were about to occur for "The Avengers" series.
Having been shot on video and in whole takes as though filmed live, now the show would be filmed on film and eventually in colour. In particular though, the most popular female character of them all would help tremendously in pushing the series to its peak of popularity - Diana Rigg as Emma Peel.
The on-screen chemistry between the characters of John Steed and Emma Peel was both natural and highly effective. The episodes were better than ever - several masterpieces are included and eventually, America became interested in securing the rights in broadcasting "The Avengers."
It came as a bit of a shock when Diana Rigg announced she was leaving the series. She had made the Emma Peel character her own.
For my money, the series declined in overall quality. The rather eccentric humour from the Emma Peel era worked for those episodes. Now with Linda Thorson was cast as Tara King, the stories became a bit too silly and I find many of the last season's episodes rather irksome.
The other problem I find with the last episodes, is that Linda Thorson has neither the acting ability nor the kind of personality that Diana Rigg brought to "The Avengers." 1969 was the right time to bring the series to a close. It had lasted over 180 episodes since 1961 and has earnt its place in British television history.
The season from 1961 - mainly missing sadly - was more of a conventional police thriller. None of the programme's quirky humour was displayed, there was no female leading character and John Steed was technically the second lead behind Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel. The general synopsis was usually as follows: Keel would be approached by Steed who would seek the good Drs help in the fight against the latest villains of the show. Dr. Keel was most reticent about becoming involved in Steeds assignments but invariably was.
Only 3 episodes from 1961 exist and including the first 15 minutes of the opening episode.
Judging by the existing 3, the more gritty and realistic style works very well. Ian Hendry and the only John Steed - Patrick Macnee - compliment each other.
After Ian Hendry decided to focus on a film career, Patrick Macnee was made the show's leasing character. In addition, he would be the actor who would appear in more episodes than anyone else.
The series seemed to struggle in finding it's form/style. The characters of Dr. Martin King and that of the pop star Venus Smith, aren't all that interesting but one or two episodes they are in are quite good.
When Honor Blackman joined the series in 1962 for its second season, everything changed for the better. The series became ground-breaking in having a regular female character who was just as tough, brave, resilient and intelligent as John Steed.
The second and third seasons feature some marvellous episodes - too many to list them here. The series was firmly established as a huge success with Britain and the two leading actors became very popular with the viewers.
With Honor Blackman leaving in 1964 to appear in "Goldfinger" opposite Sean Connery, major changes were about to occur for "The Avengers" series.
Having been shot on video and in whole takes as though filmed live, now the show would be filmed on film and eventually in colour. In particular though, the most popular female character of them all would help tremendously in pushing the series to its peak of popularity - Diana Rigg as Emma Peel.
The on-screen chemistry between the characters of John Steed and Emma Peel was both natural and highly effective. The episodes were better than ever - several masterpieces are included and eventually, America became interested in securing the rights in broadcasting "The Avengers."
It came as a bit of a shock when Diana Rigg announced she was leaving the series. She had made the Emma Peel character her own.
For my money, the series declined in overall quality. The rather eccentric humour from the Emma Peel era worked for those episodes. Now with Linda Thorson was cast as Tara King, the stories became a bit too silly and I find many of the last season's episodes rather irksome.
The other problem I find with the last episodes, is that Linda Thorson has neither the acting ability nor the kind of personality that Diana Rigg brought to "The Avengers." 1969 was the right time to bring the series to a close. It had lasted over 180 episodes since 1961 and has earnt its place in British television history.
- alexanderdavies-99382
- Apr 20, 2017
- Permalink
Diana Rigg is a true goddess and Patrick Macnee a true British gentleman to the bone. What we get is a spy show with lots of humor, fun, action, many unique ideas and the heart at the right place. Without doubt, still an excellent show. Like Get Smart (Don Adams and Barbara Feldon), one of my absolute favorite shows of the 60s, and they show, like the Bond movie of the 60s and 70s, that you can make fantastic stories in the world of espionage and crime.
- Tweetienator
- Feb 28, 2022
- Permalink
The James Bond movies owe a great deal to The Avengers. First, Bond stole THREE actresses from the show to portray Bond women: Lois Maxwell, Honor Blackman, and of course, Dame Diana Rigg. Second, many of the spy tropes that are credited to Bond films were lifted from or inspired by The Avengers. Obviously, most of the credit for Bond is due to Ian Fleming, a spy himself, and one would assume The Avengers writers had read his books. So perhaps it's all a big happy virtuous cycle.
But The Avengers was also special enough that it became the very first British television show exported to the US, and became part of the British Invasion, a part and parcel of the style and sensibility of the mid-sixties here.
Do not underestimate this series. Immensely enjoyable!
But The Avengers was also special enough that it became the very first British television show exported to the US, and became part of the British Invasion, a part and parcel of the style and sensibility of the mid-sixties here.
Do not underestimate this series. Immensely enjoyable!
- clinton-pittman
- Jul 28, 2020
- Permalink
They were beachhead in the mod British Invasion, paving the way for The Beatles Feb 7, 1964 landing at the newly renamed JFK (Idlewild) airport, signaling a cultural revolution like the world had never seen before, or since. No Redcoats this time, colors black & white (TV) in wave of early 60s spy series, shows like The Avengers (Macnee) (61-69), Danger Man (McGoohan) (60-62) and The Saint (Moore) (62-69). Better than the Bond movies for which they were template (Dr No and Goldfinger memorable exceptions), sex was not a selling point but a suggestion, and this time the Yanks loved the takeover, for as the English were steeping in style on their side of the Pond, Americans were, apart from Camelot (61-63), still wearing poodle skirts and sporting crew cuts (3.5/4).
- StevenKeys
- Mar 20, 2023
- Permalink
December 2021
Just watched all the Emma Peel and Tara King episodes again, truthfully i cant get on with the early ones starring Honor Blackman.
They remain great and for me got better with the arrival of Tara King as the episodes got more and more quirky, so its a shame they ended when they did.
So for fancy fashions and some clever quirky episodes, these are well worth checking out.
Once you have watched these, you can move on to "The New Avengers" also starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed.
9 avengers out of 10.
Just watched all the Emma Peel and Tara King episodes again, truthfully i cant get on with the early ones starring Honor Blackman.
They remain great and for me got better with the arrival of Tara King as the episodes got more and more quirky, so its a shame they ended when they did.
So for fancy fashions and some clever quirky episodes, these are well worth checking out.
Once you have watched these, you can move on to "The New Avengers" also starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed.
9 avengers out of 10.
- gorytus-20672
- Dec 25, 2021
- Permalink
I watched this on and off during it's original broadcast and had a positive memory of this show..especially the Diana Rigg episodes. Watching them now, many of the plots seem a little hard to believe...but still fun to watch. What i noticed now was the phony and quite ridiculous fight scenes,,,,,,not realistic at all..But as I say...still fun to watch. Who exactly did Steed work for...he didn't seem to have any contact with his office>>> even Maxwell Smart had backup LOL.
This is a fine series for all viewers to watch. The storyline of this series could have been stronger but it was alright to watch. The crew did not put enough effort when they were creating this series. It needed more work. The cast selection was good enough. They did not fully connect to the storyline nor to their respective characters. The chemistry between the cast members was not even that strong. This series reveals to viewers what the true power of teamwork can do for everyone. I have never been part of a team. I have always been alone, bullied, depressed, and hated. My life will always remain stuck. This is an alright series for all viewers to watch.