ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Sanjeev Waters A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

jc-osms Possibly the best-known and most successful of the escapist adventure series from the British ABC studios of the mid-late 60's, I remember "The Avengers" fondly from my childhood. I have all the Patrick McNee / Diana Rigg episodes on DVD and prompted by the recent passing of Mr McNee, I finally indulged myself by watching a random episode (the first of the 1967 colourised series), but it could have been any one from that era and I'd have been just as well entertained, I know.I never saw any of the Honor Blackman series and do recall that McNee and the post-Rigg Linda Thorson just didn't have the same chemistry, plus the writing and plotting was becoming too far-fetched (all that "Mother" nonsense, for example) when compared to its golden era of 1965-1967.McNee is splendid as the debonair and uber-cool John Steed substituting a sharp-edged umbrella in place of guns and the pre-Grand Dame Diana Rigg smoulders as the enigmatic, karate-chopping Mrs Peel. Much was made of her one-piece jump-suits of the time, no doubt helpful in protecting her modesty as she dispatched yet another set of baddies with her martial arts moves, even if today said costumes look more functional than sexy. The plots are invariably flight-of-fancy fantasy, often pitting the dynamic duo against some world-threatening individual or organisation but were usually laced with subtle and occasionally sexy interplay between the two leads, top-and-tailed in every episode with a mute opening "We're needed" sequence and similarly light-hearted epilogue with just a hint of romantic frisson between them.The best episodes tended to be written by the also recently departed Brian Clemens and the cream of British TV character actors usually made guest appearances from episode to episode. Utterly charming and entertaining, and with a distinctive title sequence and theme tune, "The Avengers", is still well-remembered today as the epitome of style and class. The McNee / Rigg axis definitely saw the show at its best helped no doubt by its identification with the swinging 60's appeal of anything British at the time. The Avengers to today's youth undoubtedly conjures up Marvel's comic-book team, but to me it'll always recall the classic team of Steed and Peel saving the world weekly and sleekly from some misguided criminal mastermind.

Robert J. Maxwell I can only comment on the episodes using Patrick MacNee and Diana Rigg between 1965 and 1968.What a diverting show it was. MacNee is John Steed, the proper gentleman in bowler hat, wielding his deadly brolly. His character and appearance are perfect for a vehicle like this. It isn't so much that he was never nonplussed, so much as that he was always plussed. Rigg is Emma Peel in her jump suits, zippered up front, with that tantalizing, over-sized ring dangling from the zipper just below her sternoclavicular notch. Diana Rigg has a curious beauty. She sports a pair of wide-set eyes, elevated cheekbones, a perfunctory nose and tiny lips, like a Hentai cartoon. She's a good actress too. Did a fine job as one of the bad daughters in Lawrence Olivier's TV production of "King Lear." She was so popular at the time she left this series that she was whisked off to Broadway for "Abelard and Heloise," which included a topless scene. I understand the theater was jammed, but then the story has always been immensely popular with the masses. There are Abelard and Heloise fan clubs in every dusty little town in the world.The two of them work off each other very well, whether popping the cork of a champagne bottle or fending off evildoers. Their, um, relationship is never fully explained. They both work for some ultra-secret British government organization apparently. Each show opens with Mrs. Peel uncovering a message from Steed, coyly hidden in a box of chocolate or under some peeling wallpaper -- "Mrs. Peel. We're needed." The forces they battle are absurd. Some fantastic organization is breeding a horde of robotic soldiers in a vast, excavated place under a cemetery, and they plan to emerge and take over the British Isles. Or another cabal -- P.U.R.R. -- has invented a device that turns ordinary pussy cats into demonic, homicidal beasts that will be used to eliminate the world's leaders so that P.U.R.R. can take over. Somebody is always trying to take over the world. And Steed and Mrs. Peel are always there to thwart their plans.It isn't broad comedy. A viewer is more likely to smile than laugh out loud. But the scripts are quietly witty and suggestive. The episode about felines -- "The Hidden Tiger" -- has an uncountable number of references and puns on the subject. P.U.R.R. is run by a Mr. Cheshire. (Cheshire cat, get it? "Alice in Wonderland"?) The manager's name is Mr. Manx. Too many puns on pussies and cats to enumerate, but the last word spoken in the episode is "cat-astrophe." The fashion is that of Britain in the period of the early Beatles, and Carnaby Street, and the general sense conveyed is that of a loose-limbed freedom from earlier conventions. Nothing is taken seriously. If a man drops dead in front of Steed and Mrs. Peel, they kneel down, check his pulse, and look at each other with a slight, quizzical frown.The plots are convoluted, and it's easy to lose track of what's going on. At times, one's mind drifts. A series like this must walk a tightrope. "Whimsy" can too easily slip into "cute" or, worse, the abyssal "silly." But the plot is never very important anyway.Everything is handled with style and panache. Bowler-hatted or coiffed auburn, these episodes are heads and shoulders above most of the junk that fill the TV screens today.

grendelkhan Ah, Steed and Mrs. Peel, the coolest couple on TV. From their elegant and stylish clothes, to their charm and wit; the skilled professional and the talented amateur thrilled us every week. The series combined imagination, thrills, action, sophistication, and wit into an unbeatable package.Patrick MacNee was the linchpin of the series. He was there from the beginning and made the show what it was. He exuded charm and sophistication, with a devilish twinkle in his eye. MacNee played it straight, but always kept a smile on his face to let you know he didn't take it too seriously. He developed new relationships with each partner, creating a new chemistry each time. He also set a style that was counter to the counter-culture, without seeming outdated.Diana Rigg was the marvelous Mrs. Emma Peel, a stunning combination of beauty and brains, who could also knock the bejesus out of the bad guys. She spawned more than a few kinky fantasies with her leather wardrobe and fisticuffs, not to mention her penchant for ending up in a bind. Ms. Rigg was an actress of the first level and brought strong performance to the role. She was adept at both the comedy and the drama, and a deft hand at the stuntwork; well, for the amount not done by Cyd Child and the other team members. Her presence was sorely missed in the later series.Linda Thorson came on board as Mrs. Peel's replacement. She had a tough job from the beginning; no one could easily follow Diana Rigg. Although she was a bit stiff at first, she improved as time went on and developed a strong chemistry with Steed. Where there was a hint of a deeper relationship between Steed and Peel, it was obvious that Tara King worshiped Steed. The hints were closer to statements here. Tara was more inexperienced, matching Ms. Thorson's own skills, but she got there in the end. Her tenure was diluted by weaker scripts and less dazzling costumes. She didn't have Ms. Rigg's figure, but her clothes could have been improved.Patrick Newell made a great addition in the Tara King series, moving up from bit player to become Mother, Steed and King's boss. He was pompous and grumpy and completely eccentric; perfect for the series. His office seemed to move around more than M and Q, in the Bond series. My favorite was the top deck of a bus, in "False Witness." He was accompanied by his amazonian aide, Rhonda, who combined looks with a strong physical presence.I never got to see more than a handful of Cathy Gale episodes, so I can't really comment on the series, except that those few left me cold. The studio staging and video recording detracted from the excitement. Perhaps I just haven't seen enough episodes to fully appreciate these series. I know that Honor Blackman set the standard for the women who followed.The Avengers was great fun, with action and thrills working alongside comedy and the surreal. Some episodes were a bit slow and some had absurd plots, but even they had an element of fun. The best episodes featured wonderful characters and bizarre plans, combined with deft wit and charm. Those episodes never grow tiresome with repeated viewing. Some of my personal favorites are: The Gravediggers, The Cybernauts and Return of the Cybernauts, Girl from A.U.N.T.I.E., Quick-Quick Slow Death, A Touch of Brimstone, The Living Dead, Epic, The Forget-Me-Knot, Game, False Witness, and Have Guns..Will Haggle.When it came time for a long-discussed movie, the audience was kicked in the teeth. Instead of our favorite John Steed and Mrs Peel, we were given the Bizarro World versions, bereft of charm and style, and nary an ounce of wit.Watching it, I was sure the screenwriter and director had been watching The Prisoner instead of The Avengers. It was cold and bizarre, not warm and charming. Had they meant to do The Prisoner, the still missed the boat, as it's intelligence was not to be found either. It was an abysmal failure. Patrick MacNee was a genius for keeping his face off the screen, so that he emerged from this mess with his dignity intact. You just can't remake a classic.Bravo to A&E for bringing the entire series (except the Ian Hendry years) to DVD. The only quibble is the lack of extra features. A documentary would have been nice, commentaries would have been fantastic. At least I am able to revisit my favorite duo with a pristine picture.

gnb An absolute masterpiece in British television, The Avengers is a timeless, witty, fantastical series which is as, if not more, popular today than it was more than 40 years ago.This series has something for everybody - gangsters, diabolical masterminds, glamorous girls, car chases, fights and endless glasses of champagne.It is interesting to see how the series developed from its humble beginnings in 1961. Playing it straight in the early days it gradually became more and more way-out with wackier and wackier plots and characters. The Cathy Gale and Emma Peel eras are regarded by many to be the high point of the series although there are high spots in virtually every point in the show's history.Only one episode exists from Series 1 with the mysterious, shadowy Steed being a much more sinister character to Ian Hendry's open Doctor Keel. Then we have much verbal sparring and innuendo between Steed and the delicious Cathy Gale and her kinky boots. Film and eventually colour were introduced with the feline Emma Peel and her high kicks and the show closed the 60s in gaudy, cartoonish style with the naive Tara King and her snazzy Lotus Europa.This is British television at its best and a true legend in broadcasting. The 1970s version, The New Avengers, has it's own charm in a way but is best regarded as a totally separate entity as this original series was...well...original!