Customer Reviews

The Avengers '67 - Set 4, Vols. 7 & 8

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Following the huge success of the first filmed series of The Avengers, starring Patrick MacNee as debonair British agent John Steed and his cool, sophisticated partner Mrs. Emma Peel, the producers opted to make the next batch of 26 episodes in color, to be broadcast in 1967. In order to accomplish this, foreign backing was necessary, and the American networks were approached. The US had broadcast the black and white season four as a mid-season replacement, and were interested in moving forward with a color season in prime time, however they only provided enough backing for 16 episodes initially. Another challenge was that Diana Rigg was not particularly keen to film another season of the show, and demanded a huge salary increase in order to secure her participation. She got the money, but it was made clear it would be her second and last season with the show.

Apart from the use of color film, there were other subtle changes to the show for this fifth season. Both Steed and Emma were given new apartments and Mrs. Peel a much more stylized wardrobe. The device of ending each story with the two leads driving off in a variety of vehicles was abandoned and instead a tag scene was used to introduce each story, where Steed informed his partner that they were needed in a variety of humorous ways. Each story title was also given a two-line subtitle. After completion of the first batch of 16, the American backers did provide finance for a further 16 but asked for both the subtitles and tag scenes to be dropped, and also requested that Mrs. Peel's wardrobe became more recognizably en vogue.

After only 8 episodes were completed, producers Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell left the show after a disagreement and the new producers opted not to continue with Mrs. Peel and began their own interpretation of the show. It wasn't long before Clemens and Fennell were back in charge, but the 67 series ended with "Mission highly improbable," although Rigg was brought back in 1968 for the one-off "The forget me knot," to introduce her replacement Tara King. This episode is included in this release as a bonus episode.

In terms of storylines, acting and the wonderful interplay between the two leads, there is little difference between this color season and the preceding black and white stories and the show had really reached its zenith by this point. Certainly in terms of popularity and ratings, it was never as successful again. Interestingly, several of these stories are in fact remakes of earlier episodes from the Mrs. Gale era. "The joker," "The correct way to kill," and "The $50,000 breakfast," are all remakes, whereas "The return of the Cybernauts," is a sequel to an earlier Steed/Mrs. Peel adventure.

Fans of The Avengers will of course be delighted to have these discs, and I'd highly recommend them to any other fans of the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and indeed fans of the 60's spy format. If you've ever seen the dreadful movie featuring Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman, don't let that put you off. These stories are the real McCoy!

Fourth series for 1967, and sadly, the last of Emma Peel. You could almost sense Diana Rigg's restlessness in the series. The sparkle that had shown so brightly now had a brittle cast to it, signaling clearly, she felt she'd outgrown the series. And like Honor Blackman before her, was off to become a Bond girl. Strange, this series has lived so long in the hearts of her fans, while the arguably worst Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), was famous only because Bond married Rigg's character in the film and for being "that film with Lazenby". Her fans might feel
her time would have been better spent staying with the Avengers!


1) The £ 50,000 breakfast" - "Steed dabbles in tycoonery - and Emma in Chicanery" sees stolen diamonds - all £50,000 worth found in a dead man's stomach, the trail leads to a Pet Cemetery and a sinister plot
2) "Deans Man's Treasure" - "Steed rallies around - and Emma drives for her life. One of the most fun episodes where Steed and Emma join a cross-country car rally. Emma finds shocking results when she unravels the clues
3) "You Have Just Been Murders" - "Steed chase a million - Emma runs off it with it" has an ingenious blackmailer using the threat of "fake murders" to demonstrate just how he can kill his victims to get them to pay
4) "The Positive-Negative Man" - "Steed makes the sparks fly - and Emma gets switched on" Anyone involved in the mysterious "Project 90" is suddenly being turned to toast
5) "Murdersville" "Emma marries Steed - and Steed becomes a father" When Emma visits a friend in the tiny village of Little Storping, she finds strange doings. When she fails to turn up, Steed rushes to figure out what has happened to her, and soon finds a town where for a price you can kill anyone you want
6) "Mission Highly Improbable" - "Steed falls into enemy hands - and Emma is cut down to size." This episode really see Rigg's boredom starting to show through. A scientist has develops a machine that can shrink anything down to miniature size.
7) "The Forget-Me-Knot" is the episode where the world big farewell to Emma Peel and hello to Tara King(Linda Thorson). Emma is hit with an amnesia inducing dart and held prison in an old glass factory. Steed is paired with the gorgeous Tara to track down Emma. This episode is the first to introduce Mother. At the end, when Emma learns Peter Peel has been found alive, so she is no longer a widow - look closely at hubby dearest!

This otherwise excellent set is marred by an audio problem on "The $50,000 breakfast". The original show mix is combined with the music and effects mixouts causing the music and effects to be too loud and phasey.
After A&E did this on one of the early Prisoner releases, I had hoped they had tightened up on their quality control.
Thanks A&E. This episode is pretty much unwatchable.

I have seen quite a few old 60's TV series lately and they have failed to charm me the way they did when I was a child. The Avengers was however a very surprising find!

I am very impressed with the way these episodes hold up after over 30 years. The scripts are well written, the relationship between Steed and Mrs Peel is perfect, and the fruity enchange of banter between them a delight. The sound is very good and the picture quite extraordinary.

Yes, it is a shame that there weren't some juicy extras on the disc, but don't let that put you off buying them. My own personal thrill was seeing the Saracen FV603 (an English military vehicle) in Mission Highly Improbable, as I am about to buy one!

Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee as Emma Peel and John Steed are fabulous. These two are the best from the avengers. This set isn't the best (in my opinion), but a classic. The 50,000 pound breakfast is just a silly plot about stealing a dog for money. Another problem, even though it (Tara King episode)is free, I don't like Tara King. The bonus episode is well known with Mrs. Peel and Tara King in The Forget-Me-Knot. The others are all great! Set includes: Dead Man's Treasure, Positive-Negative man, You Have Just Been Murdered, Mission Highly Improbable, and Murdersville. The other two episodes have been mentioned further up.

If you've only ever watched these on A&E or on video tape, you're in for a treat with these high-quality DVD versions! I'm going to put my VHS versions up for auction and buy the whole set on DVD. This is the only way to enjoy the Avengers! A must for any fan.

`The Avengers" was a popular 1960's British fantasy-adventure series that focused on the exploits of a male-female duo in the service of the British government. The series underwent several changes of its female lead but its one constant male lead was John Steed always portrayed by the debonair Patrick Macnee (Originally the John Steed had two male partners but that format eventually changed). Kathy portrayed by Honor Blackman became Steed's first female partner. However, when Honor Blackman departed the series and Diana Rigg entered as Mrs. Emma Peel, the show became an international sensation. Rigg brought sophistication, wit, charm and beauty, which hid her lethal and highly visual judo and karate abilities. Macnee and Rigg complemented each other beautifully with their carefree witty and charming exchange of dialogue. The show distinguished itself with bizarre and futuristic villains and fantastic plots. Popular at the height of the James Bond craze, the show was able to distinguish itself with its simply over-the-top visual style. Laurie Johnson's catchy and sophisticated main title theme matched the visuals of the show and still conjures up an image of the series when listened to today. When Diana Rigg left the series, Linda Thorson entered as John Steed's new partner Tara King. The series soon went off the air in the United States. It was a shame because the episodes with Tara King were quite good. The King episodes seemed to be a little more down to earth and contained some very good writing and intricate plotting. In any event series definitely left its mark amongst the finest. These DVD copies are gorgeous.

Set 4, Volumes 7 and 8 contain 7 episodes of the series. "Mission Highly Improbable" is highly inferior to the other 6. Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg are both espionage veterans via this British TV series as well as appearing subsequently in "A View To A Kill" and "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" respectively. As we see Mrs. Peel make her exit, enter Tara King played by the highly overlooked Linda Thorson in "The Forget-Me-Knot". "The £50,000 Breakfast," brings to mind Ian Fleming's "Goldfinger" and that villain's attempt to smuggle gold from country to country. "Dead Man's Treasure" is an interesting and memorable episode. Years ahead of its time, Mrs. Peel is compelled (that's putting it nicely) to operate a racing car at the controls of a simulator. If she doesn't keep the car on the road she is subject to electrical shock. This was a similar device used years latter in "Never Say Never Again" as James Bond and Largo "suffer the pains of their armies' defeats" on a virtual hologram game for global conquest. I do hope your navigator has a good map and is well insulated. Good hunting! "You Have Just Been Murdered" is just so bizarre an episode proving that no one can ever be completely safe from would be assassins and death can come from even the most innocent looking childlike device. "The Positive-Negative Man" is reminiscent of an animated "Batman" episode. "Murdersville" is very good and offbeat and leaves the viewer curiously paranoiac. Good luck, Mrs. Peel! I wish we could see more of Tara.

Following the huge success of the first filmed series of The Avengers, starring Patrick MacNee as debonair British agent John Steed and his cool, sophisticated partner Mrs. Emma Peel, the producers opted to make the next batch of 26 episodes in color, to be broadcast in 1967. In order to accomplish this, foreign backing was necessary, and the American networks were approached. The US had broadcast the black and white season four as a mid-season replacement, and were interested in moving forward with a color season in prime time, however they only provided enough backing for 16 episodes initially. Another challenge was that Diana Rigg was not particularly keen to film another season of the show, and demanded a huge salary increase in order to secure her participation. She got the money, but it was made clear it would be her second and last season with the show.

Apart from the use of color film, there were other subtle changes to the show for this fifth season. Both Steed and Emma were given new apartments and Mrs. Peel a much more stylized wardrobe. The device of ending each story with the two leads driving off in a variety of vehicles was abandoned and instead a tag scene was used to introduce each story, where Steed informed his partner that they were needed in a variety of humorous ways. Each story title was also given a two-line subtitle. After completion of the first batch of 16, the American backers did provide finance for a further 16 but asked for both the subtitles and tag scenes to be dropped, and also requested that Mrs. Peel's wardrobe became more recognizably en vogue.

After only 8 episodes were completed, producers Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell left the show after a disagreement and the new producers opted not to continue with Mrs. Peel and began their own interpretation of the show. It wasn't long before Clemens and Fennell were back in charge, but the 67 series ended with "Mission highly improbable," although Rigg was brought back in 1968 for the one-off "The forget me knot," to introduce her replacement Tara King. This episode is included in this release as a bonus episode.

In terms of storylines, acting and the wonderful interplay between the two leads, there is little difference between this color season and the preceding black and white stories and the show had really reached its zenith by this point. Certainly in terms of popularity and ratings, it was never as successful again. Interestingly, several of these stories are in fact remakes of earlier episodes from the Mrs. Gale era. "The joker," "The correct way to kill," and "The $$$$$ breakfast," are all remakes, whereas "The return of the Cybernauts," is a sequel to an earlier Steed/Mrs. Peel adventure.

Fans of The Avengers will of course be delighted to have these discs, and I'd highly recommend them to any other fans of the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and indeed fans of the 60's spy format. If you've ever seen the dreadful movie featuring Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman, don't let that put you off. These stories are the real McCoy!

- One thug to another, after surviving a scrap with Emma Peel: "Mrs. Peel jumped me. You didn't see her. She's well and truly emancipated, is that one."

As I sip my bottle of Night Train and nosh on my spaghetti with Vienna sausage bits in it, I can't help but reflect on how very much I have in common with John Steed and the incomparable Mrs. Emma Peel, those two classy British super-agents. Like those two clotheshorses, I am never less than exquisitely turned out as I harbor fondness for the very best hoodie fabrics from the Gap. And, like them, I'm more than capable of resolving a sticky situation. Ask me about The Adventure of the Lost Parking Stub some time, or The Puzzle of the Two Stuck Together Shopping Carts at Walmart. I feel eminently qualified to comment on THE AVENGERS '67 SET 4 DVD collection.

No one karate chopped her way into the television audiences' hearts quite like Mrs. Emma Peel and one can't help but be impressed with John Steed's impeccable manners and old world sophistication. THE AVENGERS specialized not only in imaginative stories which sometimes strayed into the area of wild science-fiction, it also established a standard for elegance, wit, and sexual subtext. Even more than the espionage capers, people tuned in for the undeniable chemistry between the well-starched Patrick MacNee and the fabulous Diana Rigg and their clever jousting with words and that unspoken smoldering thing between them. Slightly surreal meets mod meets tongue-in-cheek meets stylish bowler hat meets sleek Lotus Elan convertible, all these elements adding up to one irrefutable conclusion: Let all eccentric evil masterminds in the 1960s beware.

THE AVENGERS '67 SET 4 DVD collection presents several production stills by way of bonus material. More gratifyingly, it also gives us these seven episodes (with "The Forget-Me-Knot" - featuring Mrs. Peel's final appearance - counting as a bonus episode).

- "The £50,000 Breakfast" - High level jitters at the British Treasury compel Steed and Mrs. Peel to investigate a case involving a dead ventriloquist found with stolen diamonds lining his stomach. As one observing surgeon remarks regarding the corpse: "High on carat, low on protein."

- "Dead Man's Treasure" - In a fun romp, Steed and Mrs. Peel compete (on different teams) in a foul-plagued car rally combined with a treasure hunt, and with two underhanded cads having gotten themselves an invite. Love the sight gag about the Swingingdale road sign.

- "You Have Just Been Murdered" - Time and again millionaires are being creatively fake-murdered, with the promise of the real murder being carried out should they not meet the fiendish extortionist's asking price of £1,000,000.

- "The Positive-Negative Man" - Steed and Mrs. Peel are charged with a crackling good case when an assassin who can channel electricity begins executing scientists connected to the mysterious abandoned Project 90. The Avengers must stay grounded to solve this one.

- "Murdersville" - Mrs. Peel and a childhood friend unearth a sweeping conspiracy when they drive into Little Storping In-The-Swuff, a quaint little town what's been voted the "Best Kept Village In the Country"... for murder. Talk about creepy villagers...

- "Mission Highly Improbable" - Baffling goings-on during a military field testing unveil enemy agents and a device which can reduce matter. Into the fray leap Steed and Mrs. Peel, both of whom are no shrinking violets.

- "The Forget-Me-Knot" - In a bittersweet episode which closes the curtain on the Emma Peel era, a rash of amnesia cloaks a traitor within Steed's spy organization. In the end Mrs. Peel cedes her place by Steed's side to new agent Tara King (Linda Thorson). Oh, and we meet "Mother," that corpulent government gent what gives Steed his marching orders.