The Avengers Companion [Paperback]

Alain Carraze (Author), Jean-Luc Putheaud (Author), Alex J. Geairns (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1998

To be published in conjunction with the Warner Bros. movie in Summer of 1998 (starring Uma Thurman, Ralph Fiennes, and Sean Connery), this illustrated episode-by-episode guide to The Avengers and The New Avengers will be a must-have for anyone who has enjoyed the surreal adventures the John Steed and his stellar partners.

A detailed account of the cult TV classic, The Avengers Companion presents hundreds of fabulous photos of the extraordinary agents and the diabolical villains in action, the cars, and the fashions that gave this series its inimitable style. Covering all six seasons of The Avengers, and the two seasons of The New Avengers, the book follows the adventures of British secret agent John Steed, expertly portrayed in the program by Patrick Macnee, and his various partners including Dr. Keel (Ian Hendry), Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), the memorable Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and the young Tara King (Linda Thorson). In an effort to capture the various facets of the series over the years the book incorporates remembrances from stars Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, and Linda Thorson; episode listings and synopses; essays on the authors' ten favorite episodes; an interview with the series producer Brian Clemens; biographies on all of the lead actors and actresses; and a tribute to the incredible costumes that were expertly fashioned for the show's adventurous heroes.

Over 30 years after The Avengers was first released on television, the program has become a cult classic to an entire generation of audiences from around the world. With the re-release of the original series on American television and the feature film, popular interest in The Avengers will continue for generations to come.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From urbane chaps in bowler hats to glamorous gals in very tight pants, The Avengers had everything that a TV show needs. For six seasons in the 1960s and two in the 1970s (as The New Avengers with the lusciously mop-topped Joanna Lumley) John Steed and his cohorts used wit, karate, and a healthy dose of good old British spunk to protect the Free World from legions of ingenious villains bent on world domination. The Avengers Companion was originally published in a French edition with the delightful title Chapeau Melon et Bottes de Cuir, and it combines a complete episode guide with exclusive interviews with, and essays by, the cast and creators of the show. One of its most valuable features is the enormous number of photographs--both stills from the show and publicity shots--which capture the visual style of the show. This style, and the uniquely tongue-in-cheek scripts, ensured that the popularity of The Avengers would rapidly reach bona fide cult status. This thorough and well-designed companion belongs on the bookshelf of every fan. --Simon Leake

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Paperback: 194 pages
• Publisher: Bay Books; First Edition edition (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0912333618
• ISBN-13: 978-0912333618
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,219,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mrs. Peel, it's needed!, July 10, 1998

By 

Frank Cunat - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Avengers Companion (Paperback)

Anyone reading this review is probably as addicted to "The Avengers" as I am. You may wonder what this book could offer that isn't found in other books already on the market. To my mind, what makes this book unique are its interviews (with Macnee, Rigg, Thorson, and Brian Clemens) and possibly the best collection of photos gathered in a single source, including everyone from Ian Hendry to Joanna Lumley. Dave Rogers' "The Complete Avengers" tells you more about the series itself, but "The Avengers Companion" has much better photographs. (And in the interviews, Linda Thorson unintentionally sheds light on why then-producer John Bryce cast her as Tara King.) This book captures the spirit of the show and can be recommended.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Looks lovely, but what boring text!, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Avengers Companion (Paperback)

"The Avengers hinted at a world of miraculous transformations hidden beneath the ordinary and the overlooked."

This is a book that wanted to be a video compilation. I don't have a scrap of fact for this assertion save that it would clearly make more sense as a frustrated boxed set: short 'interview' pieces by stars and fans, inadequate in a book, might be delivered to camera; exhaustively detailed synopses of episodes the authors really just want to show to us; even the photos which are the book's main attraction point to a visual, rather than a literary, aim.

Originally published as 'Chapeau Melon et Bottes de Cuir' ('Bowler Hat and Leather Boots'), this is perhaps the best-looking book on 'The Avengers' so far, yet has a strangely unprofessional feel; the writing style is more that of an old-fashioned fan magazine than a book. Other features seem short and slapdash, such as an episode guide with too many similarities to that in Dave Rogers' 'The Ultimate Avengers'. Neither can distinguish a local from a Westminster by-election in 'November Five', and that the financial mistake in 'Death of a Batman' crops up here too!

Their thirteen 'selection box' episodes are just inferior substitutes for videos or repeats, recounted at lifeless length; almost everything but the dialogue is given, complete with minute details of scenery and still the odd stupid mistake (such as missing out the main red herring in 'The Cybernauts'). They reflect little of the series - nothing with Ian Hendry or Honor Blackman (the series' real groundbreaker), but eight from the single colour Diana Rigg season. Yes, I think the black and white Rigg and the colour Thorson seasons are a better mix of the silly and the sinister, but if the authors had made comments on their choices they might communicate some of their enthusiasm to the reader. Sadly, the width of coverage without the added depth of performances, music and dialogue gives little idea of why 'The Avengers' was special - instead bringing you perilously close to boredom.

There are suddenly several 'Avengers' books around, and more variety with the Movie - though I still reckon Lily Savage makes a better Mrs Peel than Uma Thurman! The best episode guides are in Dave Rogers' 'The Complete Avengers'; for background information, try his aforementioned 'The Ultimate Avengers', despite the largest number of typos ever; the most readable is Patrick Macnee's 'The Avengers and Me', which looks great too (even if it's not quite so unputdownable as his autobiography 'Blind in One Ear'); the best 'feel' for the series, with dialogue quotes and reviews, is Cornell, Day and Topping's 'The Avengers Dossier', despite my not agreeing with all their opinions (particularly their attacks on Linda Thorson's wonderful Tara King). My liberal hatred of monopoly notes this is the only one with no involvement by Rogers - unless you count his helping get its original version withdrawn, which is why the current re-release has been nicknamed 'The Avengers Unpulped'!

So what's the unique selling point here? The photos. Some are previously unpublished, and I love the one on page 67. Otherwise, I'd only recommend it to beginners and completists. It simply isn't "the definitive Avengers guide" its publicity claims, and if you've seen a fair number of episodes and want a book about the series, it might be pretty but it's not the best one for you.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good But Not Great, May 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Avengers Companion (Paperback)

If you're an Avengers fan, you'll want this book for the pictures. If you just want one book, then get the Complete Avengers.