A Final Word--For Now--On The Avengers

I don't know about you, but I'm amazed at how much more information is instantly available to us than was the case back in the late 1990s, when I first discovered "The Avengers."  I'm also tremendously grateful to everyone who makes Wikipedia the repository of knowledge that it's become.  It may not be the final answer on any subject, but it provides an excellent starting point to find any answer I seek.  (We also support Wikipedia, which you might consider doing if, like us, you value the service it provides).  This situation makes me wonder how many more faulty assumptions that Wikipedia could correct, if only I thought of questioning what I think I know.

If you've not yet grown acquainted with John Steed and Emma Peel, you might consider doing so now.  They're a stylish couple of British agents who solve all sorts of fantastic mysteries.  The show has a whimsical air, and Steed and Peel exhibit such great chemistry that they're a pleasure to watch.  I hope this set sells well, and A&E releases previous seasons of "The Avengers" with John Steed and former partner Catherine Gale, as well as the final season with new partner Tara King, and at a similarly reasonable price.  That could reward long-term fans of the series, and attract a new generation of viewers.

Honor Blackman plays Catherine Gale, John Steed's partner in earlier seasons. These shows are less whimsical, more straight-forward spy stories, yet I find them as enjoyable as the Emma Peel years.  The stark B&W imagery contributes to the more serious tone, making the stories even more compelling.

Emma Peel hands over care of John Steed to Tara King.
(That's Diana Rigg as Emma Peel on the right).

If you've always been mystified as to how "The Avengers" saved England (and hence, the world) from all kinds of nefarious plots during the Cold War 1960s, the Emma Peel Megaset represents the perfect starting point to begin your investigation. Who knows?  If enough of us start talking about John Steed and Emma Peel again, Hollywood might make another movie about them, which could lead to a new series of "The Avengers" on TV.  And that would be great, because given the dangers of the modern world, we need all the protectors we can get.

Dragon Dave

Catching Up With Emma Peel: Part 2

In my last post, I related how "The Avengers" Emma Peel 16-DVD Megaset only seemed to have half of the 1965 and 1966 episodes featuring John Steed and Emma Peel.  Confused, I headed over to www.wikipedia.org in search of an episode list.

There, I learned (to my dismay) that Diana Rigg didn't play Emma Peel for three full seasons of "The Avengers." Her first season consisted of 26 episodes, which were transmitted from October 1965 through March 1966.  Nor did she have a proper introductory episode, to hand over the role of Steed's partner from Catherine Gale to Emma Peel, at the end of the prior season.  Another actress was actually hired first, but halfway through the first episode, "The Town of No Return," the production team stopped filming, fired the actress, and drafted in Rigg as a replacement. Then they re-filmed the story from the beginning.  (Imagine that!  Emma Peel was the most popular companion John Steed ever had, yet Diana Rigg wasn't the producers' first choice)!  After finishing the 1965/66 season, Rigg portrayed Emma Peel for a second season consisted of 24 episodes, all transmitted during 1967.  

Adding together the 1965/66 season and the 1967 season, this leaves one episode remaining. That belongs to the 1968/69 season, a mammoth production block consisting of 33 episodes, which was transmitted from September 1968 through May 1969.  That sixth-and-final season starred Linda Thorson as Tara King, who became John Steed's new companion. Unlike the abrupt handover from Catherine Gale to Emma Peel, Diana Rigg reprised her role as Emma Peel for that first story, "The Forget-Me-Knot," a nice gesture that gave closure to Peel fans, and offered a fitting introduction to her replacement Tara King.  

Of course, I could have just looked at the
episode list on the back of the package.
(Had so many of the discs not fallen off their spindles,
I probably would have).

So, while the Emma Peel Megaset technically covers three season, really there's only two, with one additional episode. But at least I've got all of them now on DVD.  Even though half the discs had fallen loose, they all played fine, which came as a huge relief.  More importantly, I can fit the discs in sleeves in a DVD storage book, which take up a lot less space than 24 VHS tapes.  Picture quality is fine; I suspect that these are the same DVDs that A&E produced in the '90s, without any additional remastering.  There are no special features, aside from two (yes, exactly two) still photographs from each episode.  Still, given that I originally purchased the 3-tape VHS sets for $30 each, to purchase the equivalent of all eight now for $25 seems an unbeatable deal. 

Frankly, after spending $240 on all those VHS tapes, even a list price of $50 seems reasonable.  

Dragon Dave

Catching Up With Emma Peel: Part 1

While searching the internet late last year, I found this: a 16 Disc set of the 1960s British TV show "The Avengers."  At the time, it was on sale for $25.  This was too good an opportunity to miss, so I sent for it, and a few days later, it arrived on my doorstep.  There was only one worrying sign: when I picked up the container, it rattled.

As it turned out, more than half of the DVDs had fallen off their plastic storage spindles.  This could suggest that the way the carrying case was constructed was inadequate, but it could also have to do with the way www.barnesandnoble.com shipped it.  Instead of placing the container in a box, and insulating it with packing peanuts or bubble wrap, their shipping people had simply mailed it inside a formfitting cardboard envelope.  Concerned by the condition of the discs, I assigned priority status to watching "The Avengers" over other TV shows.

The case promised three seasons of episodes, and I was looking forward to watching them all.  My wife and I first grew acquainted with John Steed and Emma Peel back in the late 1990s, when A&E started releasing the Emma Peel episodes in concert with the new movie starring Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman.  Ultimately, we collected all four sets (of 3 VHS tapes each) of the 1967 season, but we could only find Sets 1 & 2 for the 1965 and '66 seasons.  As I watched the 1965 B&W episodes, I enjoyed the episodes I had watched on VHS, and looked forward to discovering those in the second half of the 1965 season.

After four discs, Disc 5 shifted over to 1966 episodes.  This seemed strange, as I had only seen thirteen episodes, and they were all ones I had gotten on VHS.  Oh well, I figured. The other 1965 episodes must be on a later disc.  I must remain patient for now, and enjoy the episodes from the 1966.   

Then, after four more discs, Disc 9 shifted over to the 1967 season. What was going on!?!

Take a breath, Dragon Dave.  Relax!  Compose yourself.  Okay?  Then carry on.  

When I only had three discs left, the menu for Disc 14 showed 1967 episodes.  At this point, I got worried, as I remembered episodes from the 1967 season that I had not yet seen. What was going on?  The package had promised to have all three seasons!  So where were the second halves of the 1965 and 1966 seasons?  

This post will conclude tomorrow with Part 2.

Dragon Dave

Emma Peel & Daleks

In The Avengers episode "Death At Bargain Prices," the murder of a fellow agent causes John Steed and Emma Peel to investigate a nearby department store.  While Steed researches the store's history and owner, Mrs. Peel takes a job there.  After a brief stint in Lingerie, she ends up working in the toy department.

A fellow worker may be interested in Emma's legs, but she's more interested in the Daleks on sale.  Like so many, she can't resist their siren song.  She must hold one, and admire it, before affixing it to her back wall display.

As Steed and Emma Peel discover, the death of their fellow agent is linked to the disappearance of a nuclear scientist.  One night, they ransack the store, looking for a bomb that could destroy London.

Like Emma Peel, my wife and I find Daleks irresistible. And why not? They're a highly intelligent species.  Might the Daleks have given Emma Peel a hint to the bomb's existence?  Perhaps they communicated it to her on a psychic wavelength?

Now, to buy my wife the leather spaceman outfit Emma is modeling.

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links
Watch "Death At Bargain Prices" 
Buy The Avengers Emma Peel DVD Megaset