Customer Reviews

The New Avengers '76

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As the blurb on the box says: You can't keep a good man down!

After debonair British agent John Steed was blasted into orbit with his companion Tara King at the end of "Bizarre" in 1969, the classic British TV show The Avengers finally came to an end after eight years of international success. There were certainly no plans to revive the series when Patrick MacNee (Steed) and Linda Thorson (King) got together to make a champagne commercial in 1975, but almost as soon as that short reunion was in the can, the wheels spun, and producers Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell, with French and Canadian backing, soon had The Avengers back in production. Well, almost.

For most hardcore fans of the classic Avengers series, The New Avengers is little more than a poor relation, certainly unwelcome in the show's family history. Maybe because it was my first exposure to the Avengers format, I'm not one of them. I love The New Avengers as much as I do the original 60's series. That's not to say it doesn't have faults - it does; and it certainly is more of a cousin than a sister to the original, but for me it's just as worthy of a place in Avengers folklore as anything else.

The programme had undergone many metamorphisms before. The original series starring Ian Hendry (who incidentally appears here as a guest in "To catch a rat") as David Keel, with Steed as his shadowy sidekick, bore little similarity to the subsequent seasons featuring Mrs. Catherine Gale (Honor Blackman). In turn, those episodes are only vaguely similar to the famous Mrs. Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) and Tara King (Linda Thorson) seasons that followed. But it makes perfect sense. It would have been impossible, not to mention laughable to simply pick up where those episodes left off, and it's appropriate that the 70's revival was another stage in the programmes development.

Patrick MacNee agreed to return and revive the character of Steed, without whom it must be said, there could be no incarnation of The Avengers. Now past retirement age, and sadly looking it, he really takes the role of the absent Mother, and acts more as a guiding influence than the man at the center of the action. Two younger characters were created in order to maintain the high action content of the show and keep the traditional sexual chemistry between the leads alive. Gareth Hunt was cast as the (supposedly) rugged and handsome Mike Gambit and Joanna Lumley took the role of Purdey. For me, Purdey is second only to Mrs. Peel as the best of the Avengers girls. Wonderfully elegant, beautiful, cool, witty and with bags of sex appeal she instantly became a hit with the British public, spawning a whole generation of women copying her then highly trendy (but now faintly ridiculous looking) hairstyle. Her balletic fighting style was also a real innovation. Her character became as recognizable and popular as Mrs. Peel, whereas sadly the show as a whole did not. Only 26 episodes were made and broadcast in two batches over 1976 and 1977 and then the Avengers really were over for good. Except for the terrible movie of course, but that's a whole other can of worms.

A&E now bring the first 13 episodes together on four DVD's all in one box set. They've been digitally remastered and certainly look as good as the originals, although there are imperfections in some of the prints. Oddly, the first 7 episodes released have the American titles plus some minor, yet irritating cuts. For example, a reference to Tara King has been excised from "House of cards" for some inexplicable reason. The latter 6 stories seem to be intact, and carry the original animated British title sequence. Another oddity is that the stories are arranged sequentially in production order, whereas all previous Avengers releases run in British TV transmission order. Yet again A&E have provided no extras at all, but the on screen menus are done well, and the packaging is striking. Check out the icon on the box of the three lead characters. For some reason, their heads have been morphed onto their bodies in a completely inaccurate scale, resulting in a very funny, but oddly disconcerting appearance of our three hero's. I'd probably sue if I were them.

I can't help but like these stories; even all these years later. They don't have the surreal camp value of the latter 60's Avengers, and indeed are far more gritty and "real" in many respects. Stylistically it's different too. The wonderful faux location settings achieved in the film studio are replaced by extensive location filming and the use of diabolical masterminds has been superceded by the more plausible threats from international spy and crime rings. There's a great deal of emphasis too on the, (for 1976), bang-up-to-date vehicles of the three leads, a real overplaying of product placement. Sadly, like Ms. King before her, Purdey suffers from some truly dreadful costuming; veering from scene to scene from wonderfully seductive and alluring to hideously frumpy, and don't even ask about Gambit's leisure wear. The involvement, or rather lack of it, of Steed himself is often cited as one of the biggest failings of the show, but the interplay between the two junior cast members more than make up for it. Purdey's acid humor is worth the entrance price alone. Continuity was also something of an issue, and some of the storylines certainly need to be glossed over rather quickly.

Whatever your views on the authenticity of this incarnation of the Avengers, I can't see how you'd fail to enjoy it. Sadly, the second batch of 13 didn't quite match up to this promising start and led to the show's terminal demise, but that's another release for another time.

I was a very impressionable child when Honour Blackman first don the Avengers leather. She created a self-assured woman, a role model. Diana Rigg refined it more with Mrs. Peel. I loved Linda Thorson as Tara King, but the series was showing wear by then. Not Thorson's fault, just rather limp scripts. So when they announced they were coming back and this time with Steed not having one partner but two and one a man, I was slightly resistant to the notion.

However, the New Avengers was just that, NEW...the series was very fresh, updated and the three leads, Patrick Macnee, Joanna Lumley (AB FAB) and Gareth Hunt (Upstairs Downstairs) work well together. The chemistry between Steed and Purdey, and Purdey and Gambit sparkles. The stores are less the 'fantasy' type of the old Avengers. This is more high energy spy vs spy. THe set is the first year - 13 episodes and are some of the best. I did miss having EMILY in this packet - one of the lighter and funniest they did - but well, next group!!

THREE HANDED GAME is a wonderful race to stop a spy with a 'brain drain' from robbing three curiers of the secrets they carry - watch that shuffle-buck-wing!! GNAWS is great romp with their take off of JAWS in the sewers! TARGET! is a great race as someone at the target range has devised a way to knock off Britain's super spies, and it's Steed to the rescue to save Purdey's life. EAGLES NEST finds the trio off to Scotland to foil neo-Nazi group. My Favourite is The LAST OF THE CYBERNAUTS?...a tribute to the old Cybernaut episodes of the original series.

Just great fun and a delight to finally have them on DVD. Now if they will just put Return of the Saint on DVD....

I bought this box set because I love the Avengers and because I want everything that's out there pertaining to the Avengers on DVD.
And I bought the first season of "The New Avengers" thinking that I would suffer through all 13 episodes. WRONG!!!
These are simply wonderful! In fact, I watched all 13 episodes almost non-stop. The New Avengers, as far as I'm concerned, is a proud addition to the Avengers canon.
Now, A & E, when are you going to release the final season of the New Avengers, and the first half of Honor Blackman's first season? And be sure to throw in as an "extra" the one or two surviving episodes of Steed with his male partner.
Long live the Avengers!

Wow, I just got this DVD from a friend, I have been waiting for years for this incredibly fun series to come on TV. The New Avengers managed to capture the off-beat spirit of the first series without making a mess of things.

Patrick Macnee is back as Steed, I always liked this witty, proper British gentleman spy, portraying the supervisor of two younger spies. Junior spy No. 1, Purdy, is played by skinny Joanna Lumley (nowhere near as good as Diana Rigg's Emma Peel). No. 2 is Gambit, a rougher, more Americanized version of Steed, is played by Gareth Hunt.

Even though Purdy and Gambit cannot hold a candle to Steed and Emma, the whole thing seems to work, due to the show's more down-to-Earth and darker storylines. But don't worry, this version of the Avengers does have its wild moments: super-powered enemy agents who can catch bullets, giant rats...

You won't see anything like this on TV today; well worth buying.

I have to agree with the other posters who rate this revival more highly than its revered 1960s predecessor -- which (even with the inestimable Diana Rigg in the cast) has not dated very well, too often coming across as rather arch and quaint, and often cringingly twee.

THE NEW AVENGERS, on the other hand, manages to maintain the sense of playfulness and fun that made the earlier series such a hit, while incorporating the hard-hitting action and genuine sense of menace that Seventies movies and television honed to perfection.

Patrick MacNee's iconic John Steed has here been graduated to a kind of elder statesman role, which suits him better; Gareth Hunt's rougher-edged Mike Gambit is a roguishly charming replacement; and there are simply no words for Joanna Lumley's Purdey. The actress's indelible portrayal of Patsy Stone in ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS may be the role cited someday in her obituary, but Purdey is every bit as memorable -- coy, smart, seductive, kittenish, deadly; an irresistible paradox.

Buy it, buy it, buy it, buy it!

And yes, definitely -- bring on Season Two.

A month and a half ago I got the first season of The New Avengers, and truly I tell you this was the greatest two season show of all time and in my opinion the greatest show of all time period! I have watched the 13 episodes and enjoyed them all. I have begun watching it all over and I never seem to get tired of it. And can't wait to get the second season soon! I am well pleased with this DVD box set of The New Avengers!

My favorite episodes from season 76 are Target, The Eagle's Nest, and Faces, Dirtier by the Dozen.

The show was made in the 70's and yet still holds out well today. It is timeless, love the locations, the filming style, the music, all of it. The New Avengers was a big international hit, and was also a show ahead of it's time. Some of it's episodes about cloning, robots, ruthless villains wanting to bring harm to the world or control it, and other stuff could be related to today's current events.

But the biggest thing was the The New Avengers themselves Steed, Purdey, Gambit, good repore between them and they were fun to watch. Another big, big thing was style, this show had a great style that I have never seen being matched by any other show.

It's the best and it's my favorite show of all time!

Some fans don't like the New Avengers as much as the original series. These may not be quite up to the Emma Peel stories, but then the Tara King and Honor Blackman episodes aren't up to that standard either.

Joanna Lumley ranks up there with Diana Rigg as one of the best Avengers girls, certainly better than King and arguably better than Blackman. The stories are enjoyable and the chemistry between the 3 stars is very good. An enjoyable romp - highly reccomended.

WOW, I cannot believe it! FINALLY! We now have the first complete 13-episode season of The New Avengers available here in the U.S. THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE! Thank you, A&E!

I once never thought that anything could top the original Avengers. But to me, The New Avengers are actually superior to the original series. Don't get me wrong. I love Steed and Mrs. Peel. I even love Steed and Tara King. However, the New Avengers have something additional that the original Avengers never had: Gareth Hunt as Mike Gambit. (This is one slick, tough dude who is seriouly underrated!)

Placing the charater of Mike Gambit in the middle of the standard Avengers duet was a stroke of pure genius. Gambit brings a cool, silent-but-deadly ingredient to the mix that makes the series pack a bigger punch as a whole . . . especially in the action department.

The great thing about Gareth Hunt is that he doesn't compete with Patrick Macnee. Rather, he compliments Macnee's sophistication and charm with cool youthful bravado.

Finally, The New Avengers have Joanna Lumley, one actress who is PURE DYNAMITE as the chic, sexy and deadly Purdey. You cannot take your eyes off this lady and together: Steed, Purdey and Gambit make this series the best series in television history!

RUN . . . DO NOT WALK . . . TO PURCHASE THIS VIDEO! HIGHLY, HIGHLY , HIGHLY RECOMMENEDED!!!

This is an amazing museum piece from the 70's. Steed is classy, Purdey is both sexy and funny, and Gambit is...well, he'd not terribly. Actually, speaking of Purdey, she does what few televised heroines can do: be very apealing without getting coarse or lose her sense of humor. Highly recomended and I can't wait for Season 2!

This box set is a welcome addition to anyone's collection; anyone, that is, who loves 70's TV from England! The acting of the three leads, MacNee, Hunt and Lumley is first-rate. The banter is a delight. The pseudo-sexual tension between Hunt and Lumley is always fun. The stories are unique and bring in wonderful guest stars like Peter Cushing and Ian Hendry (the latter was the original Avenger Dr. Keel in the first Avengers episode way back when). The theme music is jaunty and a wonderful derivative of that of the original series. This is a must for any lover of outstanding TV!