Customer Reviews

The Avengers: A Celebration: 50 Years of a Television Classic

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To commemorate the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest cult TV shows of all time, Titan Books and author Marcus Hearn have produced "The Avengers: A Celebration". Titan and Hearn are responsible for a number of fine books on the history of Hammer Films. This book has the same high standards of layout and design. This is not really an "ultimate" history of the British spy show. It is more of a photographic trip through the show's original 1961-1969 run. Most of the photos have never been published before, and they look like they were taken yesterday. The highlights are the many pictures of "The Avengers" leading ladies: Honor Blackman, Diana Rigg, and Linda Thorson.
The book is divided into chapters representing each of the original show's seasons. Each season gets a brief write-up concerning various details, and then photos from episodes of that season fill out the chapter. The book also has a foreword written by series star Patrick Macnee.
Unfortunately not every episode is given a photo, and there is not a complete episode guide listed. This book is more of a pictoral "celebration" of the show, instead of a nuts and bolts history. But the incredible images (especially of Blackman, Rigg, and Thorson) more than make up for any shortcomings. Any "Avengers" fan would love to have this book.

Mrs Peel, We're Needed.

Just received this book today and its a winner. Another great publication by Titan. Jam packed with photos in the 160 pages, and I wish it was twice the size. Great celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Avengers TV show that was so much fun. One of my all time favorites, alongside The Man From Uncle (hey Titan, how about a similar book on that great show?). Fans of the series will love this book, the size is nice and large, providing great coverage with the many photos that take us back to that special time. There has never been another show like it, and the great John Steed and Emma Peel never looked better. Of course, this book covers the entire run of the show (minus the New Avengers from the 70s), each season getting it's fair share of exposure. I love these books, full of fun and pictures, and leaving you wanting more.

Grab this book, you won't regret it.

If any television show of the 1960s deserves a 'celebration,' it's THE AVENGERS. When this witty, tongue-firmly-in-cheek English import premiered on American TV in 1966, it was an exhilarating breathe of fresh air. Brimming with outlandish plots, menacing but ever-so-British villains and the wonderful pairing of Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, THE AVENGERS was 'must-watch' TV from the word go. Author Marcus Hearn takes an informative and well-illustrated trip down Avengers Memory Lane in this 2010 Titan Books release.

In his Avengers coverage, Hearn limits himself to the classic shows broadcast in the 1960s, detailing the Ian Hendry, Honor Blackman, Diana Rigg and Linda Thorson series. Like most baby boomers, I never saw the Hendry or Blackman shows. My first exposure was to Macnee and Rigg. What a wonderful combination that was: the ever urbane secret agent Steed and the fearless feminist - not to mention drop dead gorgeous - Peel. The chemistry between the two was a joy to behold. Whether they faced winged avengers, demented movie producers or Venusians, you knew Steed and Peel would triumph through their intelligence, fighting skills and a few arched eyebrows and double entendres.

Yet beyond the grand silliness of it all, The Avengers was quite trendsetting in the Peel character. Here was an intelligent, resourceful woman clearly the equal of her partner. She could take care of herself - thank you very much! - and didn't have to be rescued at the end of each show; sometimes she did the rescuing!

Aside from the wonderful chemistry between the two, Macnee and Rigg were fine actors in their own right. Both had wonderfully expressive faces and could convey genuine emotion in the midst of all the tongue-in-cheek antics.

When Linda Thorson replaced Rigg, my initial thought was that she had a very, very tough act to follow. Judging from THE AVENGERS, A CELEBRATION, the show's new production team didn't help her in initially creating a watchable character. The Tara King shows were ok but not as much fun as the Rigg episodes.

In any case, Avengers fans should enjoy this romp through our TV back pages. Hearn provides an entertaining overview of the show but the book's main selling point is the tons and tons of b&w and color photographs of Macnee, Hendry, Blackman, Rigg and Thorson in action. Recommended.

I watched The Avengers when it originally premiered on ABC in the '60s. I would watch it for a while and invariably tire of it after a few episodes. When they brought it back for the series first color episodes with Diana Rigg and the Linda Thorson episodes, the same thing would happen and I would tire of it after a few episodes. During the early '80s, WABC here in New York would start rebroadcasting reruns about 3 in the morning. I began taping them on my VCR and started watching them back. Only then did I truly realize what a brilliant and imaginitive series this truly was. I enjoyed the reruns immensely. Since that time I've bought various books on the series. This is far and away my favorite.
Each chapter begins with a short history of each season from the earliest episodes of Patrick MacNee teamed with Ian Hendry to the Linda Thorson years. (The New Avengers and the Avengers film are not covered.) After reading about that particular season, there are dozens of black and white and color photos covering the majority of the episodes, most of which I had never seen before. The pictures are truly spectacular. Patrick MacNee has never been more dapper and Honor Blackman, Diana Rigg and Linda Thorson more beautiful. (After looking through this book I remembered why I had a serious case of the hots for Linda Thorson while in high school.)
All in all this is a highly entertaining book about a classic series that still holds up to this day. I heartily recommend it to all Avengers fans.

As a fan of the cult TV show, I have to say that I was not disappointed in the book. It's a photo book, and not an episode-by-episode guide, but the only quibble I have is that I wish some of the photos that showed up as thumbnails in the inside cover would have been used in the book proper. No matter which series is your favorite, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel or Tara King, there are plenty of photos to pour over. My favorites have to be those of Diana Rigg smoking between takes. It brings to light the tedium of filming. It also makes you wonder why the writers didn't come up with a scene where Steed & Peel shared a cigarette. Certainly would've quelled those questions of 'are they or aren't they?'

A nice gift for an Avengers fan just in time for the holidays.

When we AVENGERphiles think we've seen all the pictures and snippets and minutiae there is to see about John Steed and his many partners, along comes this book to treat us to many, many new photos (several in color), along with several handsful of old friends we've seen many times before. Marcus Hearn's text doesn't set new standards in terms of either research or style, but he's still responsible for this excellent and highly-recommended package, which is as fun and frothy as the show itself. One note of caution: my copy arrived with a dustjacket that is mis-folded -- the left edge of the inside flap is visible on the front of the book, the 'jacket's spine bleeds around to the back of the book, and the left edge of the rear 'jacket appears on the rear flap. That's unfortunate, but it's just sizzle -- the steak, the book itself, is still quite tasty!

After having been a fan of the Avengers for thirty years, I thought I had seen pretty much every photo that had ever been taken from the series. This book proves me wrong. Featuring many shots you'll find nowhere else, the book captures perfectly the nostalgia for the series. It's largely a photo book -- there is some text, but the emphasis here is on the visual, and with all the new images that's a positive for the book. As you would expect, it centers mostly on the Steed and Emma years, although all of Steed's partners are represented. Personally I can never get enough of Diana Rigg as Emma Peel, so this book was a welcome addition and is an excellent volume.

THIS BOOK IS THE BEST! It's a beautiful photo review of all the seasons of The Avengers. Even if you are mainly a fan of the Emma Peel years (as I am), you will want this book! 50 years?! Hard to believe! Long Live The Avengers!

Of all the multitude of books about this series, this is by far the best. With many previously unpublished photos, a foreward by Patrick Macnee himself, and detailed text, this book is the ultimate tribute to the fondly-remembered classic TV series. (I had a crush on Diana Rigg back in the day. Seeing her photos in this book - WOW!)

This is a very nice book celebrating the Avengers series, but it gives basically an overview of the series. There are a few interesting facts given, but one wishes there were a lot more text. There are some great photos, both in color & black & white. One wishes there were more of these, too. Not a definitive book about the Avengers but a nice one.