aa56 Did anyone care if the show had severe failings?"...made them ever so slightly ludicrous - because we thought that life was ludicrous anyway, which it is! To stay alive and all, you have to be slightly mad - but you also had to be basically cool. We used that, we tilted it a bit, we made it funny and the show worked." – Patrick MacneeIt had farcical, formulaic stories. Examples: -- someone arranges to meet Steed or Emma somewhere and then gets killed just before the latter arrives; -- the time-filling banter with an eccentric Englishman (pardon my redundancy); -- very rarely are doors locked. Steed and Emma simply open them and walk in no matter what the facility is; -- Emma often gets tied up so old English gentlemen can have their private fantasies; -- no one ever kills Steed or Emma when they have opportunity and motive--they simply secure them or knock them out; -- a minor character shown in the beginning often is the chief villain; –- obvious back-screen projection and stunt doubles; –- villains are rendered unconscious with the slightest of falls, hitting some object, or being lightly struck; –-reused sets, locations, props, and actors (such as Jack Watson); –- amateur special effects and some props (a revolver with a silencer?!).Someone wrote that "Honey West" was canceled because there wasn't room or budget for both of these shows to be on the air, and The Avengers won, but Honey West tried to take itself seriously, whereas The Avengers didn't, so it's too bad they didn't keep both, for Anne Francis and Diana Rigg were the only reasons for males to watch either show. The best episodes for seeing the most Rigg flesh are "The Girl from Auntie," "A Touch of Brimstone," and "Honey for the Prince."So did anyone care if the show had severe failings? No, because it had Diana Rigg.

marqymarqy 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.

charlesnapier-1 The final series of The Avengers (1968-69), had not only the highest ever ratings in the UK but also in Europe (especially France). The whole image and upbeat, catchy signature tune (the Thorson theme)are very different. The introduction sees a far more feminine Tara (pearls and chiffon) and a gentler Steed (picking a rose). Romance, youth and visceral eroticism are promised as Tara runs along the bridge to be greeted by an immaculate man in a bowler hat, Steed...the adventures begin...Linda Thorson stepped into fill some very big shoes and people forget she was only a mere 20-year-old, and a Canadian! Tara King is a huge departure from both Mrs Gale (not so well-known in the USA) and the iconic, inimitable Mrs Peel. Tara brings us youth, amazing beauty and guile in a less 'acid Chelsea humour, sloan-ranger' way. Her diction is nonetheless impeccable and she is more than a match for the dastardly masterminds with her karate skills.Linda Thorson did an amazing job, when you consider the problems that were faced after Diana Rigg's departure: scripting, producing, directing etc. The character is not 'helpless' just warmer and softer. The chemistry Tara has with Steed is very visible... these episodes are vastly entertaining, highly exciting, amazingly comedic and are bursting with 1960's British quintessential 'character'.Linda, thank you for making such a huge contribution to what is one of the best series ever made in the history of British TV!

inframan 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!