Avengers '67 - Set 1, Vols. 1 & 2
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Actor: Diana Rigg, Honor Blackman, Ian Hendry, Linda Thorson, Patrick MacneeCinematographer: Gerald Gibbs
Cinematographer: Walter J. Harvey
Editor: Frank P. Keller
Editor: John Glen
Writer: Sydney Newman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 340 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-04-13
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: A&E Home Video
DVD Reviews of Avengers '67 - Set 1, Vols. 1 & 2
DVD Review: The sensual Mrs. Peel... finally in living color!
Summary: 5 Stars
Prior to 1967, "The Avengers" was yielded in black-and-white. Going to color was a definite improvement!
This DVD package, (2 DVDs, individually cased and further packaged in a box, this "Set No. 1" color-coded BLUE), is ONE of FOUR sets for the 1967 episodes. The marketing of "The Avengers" can be quite confusing so I wanted to get that information out up front. This is also the BEST way to buy the DVDs (by the "set") for any season, from 1963 through 1968.
1967 was Diana Rigg's last full season as Steed's partner. Her career really launched in 1965 from this fine series in her role as Mrs. Emma Peel, the sexy and lively partner to the refined secret agent Englishman, John Steed, who was shrewdly played by Patrick Macnee. In fact, in the U.S., most of us didn't even know about Honor Blackman and Macnee's other (earlier) partners until many years later.
Diana Rigg can probably claim about 60% of the credit for the vast number of U.S. audience members who were glued to their TVs when "The Avengers" finally hit here. The other 40% (not forgetting Macnee's fine performances) had to do with the presentation of the series. Starting in 1965, with Rigg, the filmscore was notably updated and played more prominently throughout the story, enhancing the action and suspense. Also, the action itself was boosted. Never a dull moment with Steed and Mrs. Peel. And these episodes were all FUN -- one embraced a sense that Macnee and Rigg were having a great time in making these films. Now that I've seen episodes from "The Avengers'" earlier years, ('63 and '64), I can see that they dragged quite a bit during that earlier era and were much more soap opera-ish.
Each 52-minute episode is futuristic and on the cutting edge of excellent television productions. I know of no series, "The Original Star Trek Series" excepted, which has remained as timeless as "The Avengers". You'll encounter, in these episodes, every nemesis ranging from a time-traveling nemesis to a bird-like, comic book super-hero who knocks off ruthless businessmen.
Here, we're talking about six very enjoyable, action-packed, color episodes:
"From Venus with Love" -- A group of rich individuals, all of whom are dedicated to the future habitation of Venus, are being systematically knocked off. Steed applies for membership!
"The Fear Merchants" - What's the best way to defeat your competition? It's simple! Just find out what they're each personally scared of, (through psychological analysis), and then scare them to death! A great episode -- lots of fun.
"Escape in Time" - A covert group is hiding away international criminals for a cut of their profits by sending them back in time! Steed investigates and, in an attempt to rescue him from danger, it's Mrs. Peel who gets sent back in time to a brutal inquisitor! A superb episode.
"The See-Through Man" - It appears that the Russians have bought a secret weapon which will send Great Britain to its knees -- a formula to make their agents invisible! A quirky, (but unfortunately absent-minded), professor tries to make good on his mistake of being duped into selling the formula to the enemy by helping Steed and Mrs. Peel to recover it but the professor's unethical assistant sees a chance to make some extortion money, which fouls up the good guys (and gal).
"The Bird Who Knew Too Much" -- A shrewd parrot with a great memory and an extensive vocabulary is being used by the Ruskies to transmit secret military information from out of England to behind the Iron Curtain. Steed and Mrs. Peel have to track down the elusive Macaw before it's too late!
"The Winged Avenger" - A madman dons the garb of an ornithological super-hero to make England a better, and kinder, place to live... by killing off ruthless businessmen! Steed and Mrs. Peel are called in to quell this comic-book weirdo. A really great episode.
The storylines of the various "The Avengers" episodes seem absurd to varying degrees as we view them today - but 1967 marked an even higher level of absurdity. This did not diminish my love for the "The Avengers" because the overall series always manifested a "Batman" (TV series) tongue-and-cheekness about it. I mention it only to prepare viewers for this actuality.
The casting in all episodes is spot-on, punctuated with the very best sets and scenic locations. And Rigg's provocative, '60s mod body suits much accentuate her sensual magnetism with the notable change from black-and-white to color.
I'll be reviewing all of the 1967 "sets," (as I mentioned earlier, there are four in all, with 2 "volumes" per set), over the next few days so be on the watch for my comments regarding the other sets at their appropriate sites on Amazon. In the meantime, this particular set garners my highest recommendation!
Description of Avengers '67 - Set 1, Vols. 1 & 2
The long-running Avengers series added some extra gloss to its look and feel by filming in color starting in 1967, making the inimitable, eccentric atmosphere of the show complete. That production change coincided with some of the best writing the program ever enjoyed. So it makes sense that those late-1960s episodes of The Avengers have been packaged to help us forget the botched 1998 feature film version of the show. Set 1 includes a mystery about killer phobias, "The Fear Merchants"; the time-travel story "Escape in Time"; the feathery spy tale "The Bird Who Knew Too Much"; the invisible-villain yarn "The See-Through Man"; and the comic-book spoof "The Winged Avenger"; and "From Venus with Love." --Tom KeoghBestsellers in DVD
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