The Avengers TV series - the Complete Collection [DVD]
Category: DVD, TV series
Product description
![The Avengers TV series - the Complete Collection [DVD]](/img/the-avengers-tv-series-box-set.jpg)
Throughout the swinging sixties, dapper British agent John Steed foiled countless dastardly plots by mad scientists and evil foreign powers, assisted by a succession of resourceful female sidekicks renowned for their leather apparel and penchant for karate and high-kicking.
The DVDs in this handsome package come in slim and sturdy plastic containers that protect from dust and damage. The runtime of the entire collection is 5995 minutes.
Product review
Of the many prime time television shows made in Britain in the 1960s, few
have enjoyed the worldwide success and longevity of The Avengers,
a show that started out as a pretty conventional crime series but gradually
evolved into something far more fantastic as the plots became weirder and
the characters more colourful. In the end, it literally went into orbit,
just two months before Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon.
Only two complete episodes and one partial episode still exist from Series 1, in which Steed was a supporting character to the lead Dr David Keel, played by Ian Hendry. When Hendry left the series, Patrick MacNee gravitated to the top spot as Steed, and the series' popularity soared once a leather-clad Honor Blackman came on board and proved that a pretty woman could be as tough as any man, if not tougher.
Blackman's feisty Cathy Gale brought both class and energy to Series 2 and 3, but left a big hole when the actress left which only the superlative Diana Rigg could have filled. Moving onto film, the Rigg-MacNee episodes in Series 4 and 5 are the most popular and easily the best made. MacNee later admitted that Series 6 (which partnered him with the much younger Linda Thorson) was a mistake. The follow-up series, The New Avengers (aired in the late 1970s and thankfully not included in this DVD collection) was hardly the same show.
Viewed today, the episodes in the first three series look terribly dated. Filmed 'as live' using the old multi-camera recording system, these episodes have a minimalist, theatrical feel that slows down the action to a crawl and severely restricted the range of stories that could be tackled. When The Avengers moved onto film with Series 4, it suddenly came to life, with bigger, quirkier plots and far more in the way of pace and excitement.
By far the most memorable episodes are all to be found in Series 4 and 5, the best of the bunch being The Cybernauts, Man-Eater of Surrey Green, The Gravediggers, The House That Jack Built, Escape in Time, The Joker and Death's Door. The sparkling rapport between the charismatic leads, the imaginative stories and a glittering array of supporting artistes (who included Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing), all helped to make this the series' highpoint.
Series 6 got off to a bad start with the miscasting of Linda Thorson as Rigg's replacement and was close to being cancelled. Episodes from the original (aborted) Series 6 ended up as fillers in the actually televised series, which just about redeems itself with wacky episodes like Game, Love All and Look - (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers...
For any fan of The Avengers or '60s television fantasy in general, this well-packed DVD box set is an utter delight, surpassed only by Patrick McGoohan's equally essential The Prisoner. Best served with chilled champagne.
Only two complete episodes and one partial episode still exist from Series 1, in which Steed was a supporting character to the lead Dr David Keel, played by Ian Hendry. When Hendry left the series, Patrick MacNee gravitated to the top spot as Steed, and the series' popularity soared once a leather-clad Honor Blackman came on board and proved that a pretty woman could be as tough as any man, if not tougher.
Blackman's feisty Cathy Gale brought both class and energy to Series 2 and 3, but left a big hole when the actress left which only the superlative Diana Rigg could have filled. Moving onto film, the Rigg-MacNee episodes in Series 4 and 5 are the most popular and easily the best made. MacNee later admitted that Series 6 (which partnered him with the much younger Linda Thorson) was a mistake. The follow-up series, The New Avengers (aired in the late 1970s and thankfully not included in this DVD collection) was hardly the same show.
Viewed today, the episodes in the first three series look terribly dated. Filmed 'as live' using the old multi-camera recording system, these episodes have a minimalist, theatrical feel that slows down the action to a crawl and severely restricted the range of stories that could be tackled. When The Avengers moved onto film with Series 4, it suddenly came to life, with bigger, quirkier plots and far more in the way of pace and excitement.
By far the most memorable episodes are all to be found in Series 4 and 5, the best of the bunch being The Cybernauts, Man-Eater of Surrey Green, The Gravediggers, The House That Jack Built, Escape in Time, The Joker and Death's Door. The sparkling rapport between the charismatic leads, the imaginative stories and a glittering array of supporting artistes (who included Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing), all helped to make this the series' highpoint.
Series 6 got off to a bad start with the miscasting of Linda Thorson as Rigg's replacement and was close to being cancelled. Episodes from the original (aborted) Series 6 ended up as fillers in the actually televised series, which just about redeems itself with wacky episodes like Game, Love All and Look - (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers...
For any fan of The Avengers or '60s television fantasy in general, this well-packed DVD box set is an utter delight, surpassed only by Patrick McGoohan's equally essential The Prisoner. Best served with chilled champagne.
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