Product Details

• Actors: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Honor Blackman, Linda Thorson, Ian Hendry
• Writers: Sydney Newman
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• VHS Release Date: April 27, 1999
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: 6305396329
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,682 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"Now that you've seen me, what do you think?" a gentleman inquires of his blind date. She pulls out a gun and fires. This typically provocative prologue sets the stage for a killer episode from the fourth season of The Avengers. John Steed and Emma Peel become clients of Togetherness, an exclusive marriage bureau that also traffics in assassinations. This episode is of note for reportedly being the first in which Diana Rigg portrayed Mrs. Peel. Her character engages in some un-Emmalike behavior, such as when she argues angrily with Steed and later gets tipsy on a bottle of champagne. But all is forgiven with the scene in which she lists her criteria for a husband, among them "stamina." One intriguing question: Did the character of the fashion photographer ("Fabulous, baby, yeah") inspire Mike Myers's Austin Powers?

"A Surfeit of H20" has been ranked by one Avengers-appreciation Web site as among the top five of the Mrs. Peel era. This intoxicating episode really pours it on, with vintage witty dialogue, assorted crackpot characters, and, of course, a diabolical madman--a vintner who is flooding the countryside with his own manmade rain. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Murder Market proves that marriage is murder!, January 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Avengers '65:Murder Market/Surfeit of H20 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Murder Market was the first Avengers episode Diana Rigg filmed. Emma is younger, more vulnerable, but displays confidence in her physical skills and knowledge which would become hallmarks of the character.

Emma's description of Steed's perfect mate: "Lucrezia Borgia with a bit of Joan of Arc!" The villain had a personal motive for dispatching one of the seven murdered men. Neat surprise on who is the director and the motive for Stone's murder.

Steed asks Emma:Isn't time you thought of marrying again?" She chokes on her drink. Humor wise this one gets two stars. Not as witty as Honey for the Prince or A touch of Brimstone.

A surfeit of water gets two stars. A white haired eccentric predicts the end of the world. "Build your arc!" This one has no plot twists or subtlty. Steed and Emma investigate Granny Gregson's glorious grogs. Best line, Emma, strapped to a wine press, has listened to the ravings of the demented scientist, "You diabolical mastermind you." Frankly, the movie, The Avengers, was better than the episode A surfeit of H2O or Murder Market. Some people remember the series through some kind of misty, romantic haze. Some episodes were great, others merely fair.