Customer Reviews

Avengers '67 - Set 2, Vols. 3 & 4

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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!

Second set of 1967 - again are the Avengers at their best.

1) "The Living Dead" - "Steed finds a mine of information - and Emma goes underground". Steed and Emma find rumour of ghosts abound around an ancient chapel, leading the pair to underground plot to take over Britain
2) "The Hidden Tiger" - "Steed hunts a big cat - and Emma gets badly scratched". In this episode, Steed and Emma are looking to people being killed and all signs show they are being killed by a tiger stalking the British country side. Look for Gabrielle Drake in this episode (the head purple wigged Moon base gal from UFO!).
3) "The Correct Way to Kill" "Steed changes partners - and Emma joins the Enemy" has more than one Steed dashing about, as John and Emma try to end a ring selling British top secrets.
4) "Never, Never Say Die" "Steed meets a dead man - Emma fights the corpse" A man determined to steal the patent on eternal life has Emma and Steed running in circles and seeing the dead.
5) "EPIC" - "Steed catches a falling star - and Emma makes a movie" has Emma unwittingly starring in a movie called "The Destruction of Emma Peel". A premise John feels is not up to "snuff".
6) "The Superlative Seven" - "Steed flies to nowhere and Emma does her party piece" A really fun episode has the great Donald Sutherland as a mysterious host, ala Ten Little Indian. All the guests are the best at what they do, invited by someone unknown to them. Lured aboard a plane and set down on a tiny island, they must fight to save their lives. Emma is determined to find Steed before it's too late. Also, look for a young Charlotte Rampling in this send up of the Magnificent Seven.

All great episodes of the series at it's peak.

If you fondly remember that great British import that we watched on TV way back in the 60s then you no doubt know about the content of what you are getting. You are more likely concerned about the quality of the product. Like John might say to Emma, "You scratch my back and I'll scratch your back. Just watch the hat please." John and Emma are back and are here to stay via DVD technology. Being on DVD, the aesthetics about the actual episodes are not in question here. More appropriately one may ask how they look. They look good, very good, excellent in fact. Still can't get that great theme out of my head.

This was a last minute Christmas present for an Emma Peel/Avengers fan & she LOVED IT! Exceptional video quality allows us to relive the wittiest (& best) Avengers duo once again- I wasn't named after 'Emma Peel' but secretly wished I had been- she was the epitome of the smart & sexy woman! This great collection will have you ordering more of the series!

This set starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed and Diana Rigg as Emma Peel is very funny and holds your attention. This is a classic set, but there is a problem. I find two of these episodes completely boring. The Living Dead and Never, Never Say Die are so boring. The Living Dead is an interesting plot, but the way it was made, they didn't do a good job(in my opinion). Never, Never Say Die has an interesting plot also. It's about substituting some certain people for robots in their place. It's neat, but for 20 minutes or something like that you just keep seeing this robot walking around. The Hidden Tiger, The Correct Way to Kill, Epic, and The Superlative Seven are all very well done. This is a pretty good set, but not my favorite!

Prior to 1967, "The Avengers" was yielded in black-and-white. Going to color was a definite improvement!

This DVD package (2 DVDs, individually cased and further packaged in a box, this "Set No 2" color-coded ORANGE) is ONE of FOUR sets for the 1967 episodes. The marketing of "The Avengers" can be quite confusing so I wanted to get that information out up front. This is also the BEST way to buy the DVDs (by the "set") for any season, from 1963 through 1968.

1967 was Diana Rigg's last full season as Steed's partner. Her career really launched in 1965 from this fine series in her role as Mrs. Emma Peel, the sexy and lively partner to the refined secret agent Englishman, John Steed, who was shrewdly played by Patrick Macnee. In fact, in the U.S., most of us didn't even know about Honor Blackman and Macnee's other (earlier) partners until many years later.

Diana Rigg can probably claim about 60% of the credit for the vast number of U.S. audience members who were glued to their TVs when "The Avengers" finally hit here. The other 40% (not forgetting Macnee's fine performances) had to do with the presentation of the series. Starting in 1965, with Rigg, the filmscore was notably updated and played more prominently throughout the story, enhancing the action and suspense. Also, the action itself was boosted. Never a dull moment with Steed and Mrs. Peel. And these episodes were all FUN -- one embraced a sense that Macnee and Rigg were having a great time in making these films. Now that I've seen episodes from "The Avengers'" earlier years, ('63 and '64), I can see that they dragged quite a bit during that earlier era and were much more soap opera-ish.

Each 52-minute episode is futuristic and on the cutting edge of excellent television productions. I know of no series, "The Original Star Trek Series" excepted, which has remained as timeless as "The Avengers". You'll encounter, in these episodes, every nemesis ranging from an airborne costume party to a man (actually, an androidish double of a man), who cannot be killed by traditional means.

Here, we're talking about six very enjoyable, action-packed, color episodes:

"The Living Dead" -- A group of men are lost in a disastrous mine collapse, including the local squire. Afterward, a local hermit spots "the ghost" of this man, the "dead" Duke of Benedict, (as opposed to his wimpy succeeder), near a spooky cemetery chapel. Steed and Mrs. Peel investigate and they discover an "underground city" where an army of pseudo-evil-German-types is being built up to take over Great Britain! A superior episode.

"The Hidden Tiger" - A butler is ripped to shreds in an English manor house. Nearby is an agricultural research station which falls under the suspicion of Steed and Mrs. Peel. After more maulings (deaths), it becomes clear that a devious Sussex organization, P.U.R.R.R., (!!!) is linked to the killings - all the victims seem to be on the organization's board of directors.

"The Correct Way to Kill" - Russian espionage agents are being killed off in England... but not by the English agents. Steed and Mrs. Peel pair off with their Russian counterparts to catch the murderer. This episode is a lot of fun.

"Never, Never Say Die" - A man is accidentally run down by a car and killed... but then he "escapes" off the exam table when the doc isn't watching! Steed and Mrs. Peel really get suspicious when he is killed a second time, by the same means, and later shows up causing a LOT of trouble. This macho guy also seems much affected by radio waves which leads The Avengers to discover that the man is an android and that more such android "doubles" of important people are infesting the local community. The bonus of this episode is that it stars the great Christopher Lee!

"Epic" -- Mrs. Peel is kidnapped and taken to Schneer Studios where she is forced to make a movie about her own murder; however, the killers are mostly incompetent. This is a funny one.

"The Superlative Seven" - Steed attends a high-end costume party that is conducted in an aircraft bound for... ?????? It's quickly discovered that all the invited guests are athletes of sorts and that they will be utilized to test a new and improved superman. Mrs. Peel flies to the dangerous and isolated island stronghold to attempt Steed's rescue. A very fun romp of an episode.

The storylines of the various "The Avengers" episodes seem absurd to varying degrees as we view them today - but 1967 marked an even higher level of absurdity... in fact, it actually went "sci-fi" in some episodes. This did not diminish my love for the "The Avengers" because the overall series always manifested a "Batman" (TV series) tongue-and-cheekness about it. I mention it only to prepare viewers for these changes and actualities.

The casting in all episodes is spot-on, punctuated with the very best sets and scenic locations. And Rigg's provocative, '60s mod body suits much accentuate her sensual magnetism with the notable change from black-and-white to color.

I'll be reviewing all of the 1967 "sets," (as I mentioned earlier, there are four in all, with 2 "volumes" per set), over the next few days so be on the watch for my comments regarding the other sets at their appropriate sites on Amazon. In the meantime, this particular set garners my highest recommendation!

I knew what I wanted before I bought this DVD. I wanted to own it b/c I used to rent it from our local library. It came in superb condition. And I am GLAD that folks such as the ones selling on Amazon are here for others to enjoy these products.
THANK YOU!!!
A Very satisfied customer!!!

This is a very enjoyable old TV classic. So my review will only deal with the video quality. And that is a very well done re-master of the old film. The quality does not match current DVD offerings, but I was impressed how well they restored the old videos; I don't know how they could have done better. Therefore I am giving this a rating of 5.

i have both the dvd and vhs version of avengers67 cause i am a big avengers fan...can't wait till vols. 3 & 4....(anybody know when that's coming out ???)..then hopefully the 65 & 66 season.. Diana Rigg...(my first love)....the chemistry of both Rigg & Macnee..is unsurpassed