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.


Purdey, Gambit and Steed rock! great fun!   November 25, 2003
 20 out of 20 found this review helpful

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....


Forgotten Avengers treasure unearthed by A & E!   September 20, 2003
 15 out of 16 found this review helpful

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!


A genuine class act   January 27, 2004
 14 out of 22 found this review helpful

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.


Completely Different   November 26, 2003
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

The advertisements for this program in 1976 said that the program had been "completely updated." This is an understatement. The only common factor between this program and the previous series is one word in the show title and the name of one of the characters. This show was a flop when it was broadcast. Did you notice the large number of used sets at deep discounts here on Amazon?

Everything that made the old show wonderful has been removed. The new show has large amounts of graphical violence, loud rapid tempo music, chase scenes, and significant amounts of culturally lower class behavior on the part of the characters. There is a grieving widow wearing a high neck black dress with a cutout to show her cleavage.

Steed has been turned into a vulgarian (a culturally lower class person with wealth.) He makes poor decisions when confronted with options. For instance, he is set up for blackmail and does not go to the security officer to get help in burning the blackmailer. Gone is the subtle satire and references to classical literature. Do you remember the bus with "Orpheus Tours" written on it in the old show?

The script writing is poor. It violates the standard maxim that you do not tell them, you show them. The plots are presented seriously and are unrealistic. For example, The three look at a map of the whole country with regional markings in letters a half inch thick and are able to locate a place on the ground to an error of inches. Another example is a physician who cannot tell the difference between a 20 year old surgery scar and a few hour old incision on a corpse.

After saying all of this, I suggest that you buy it only to encourage the copyright holders to get around to issuing the rest of the Blackman series.