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The Avengers (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Avengers is a spy-fi
British television
series set in the 1960s Britain
. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel (Ian Hendry
) and his assistant John Steed
(Patrick Macnee
). Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. Steed's most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women: Cathy Gale
(Honor Blackman
), Emma Peel
(Diana Rigg
), and later Tara King
(Linda Thorson
). Later episodes increasingly incorporated elements of science fiction
and fantasy, parody
and British eccentricity. The Avengers ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as one hour episodes its entire run.
The Avengers was produced by ABC Television
, a contractor within the ITV
network. After a merger in July 1968 ABC Television became Thames Television
which continued production of the series, although it was still broadcast under the ABC name. By 1969 The Avengers was shown in more than 90 countries. The Avengers was the longest continuously running espionage series until 24
. ITV produced sequel series The New Avengers (1976–1977) with Patrick Macnee returning as John Steed, and two new partners.
In 2007 The Avengers was ranked #17 and #20 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.
), investigating the murder by a drug ring of his fiancée and office receptionist Peggy. A stranger named John Steed, who was investigating the ring, appeared and together they set out to avenge her death in the first two episodes. Afterwards, Steed asked Keel to partner him as needed to solve crimes.
The Avengers followed Hendry's Police Surgeon, in which he played police surgeon Geoffrey Brent. While Police Surgeon did not last long, viewers praised Hendry. Hendry was considered the star of the new series, receiving top billing over Macnee, and Steed did not appear in two episodes.
As the series progressed, Steed's importance increased, and he carried the final episode solo. While Steed and Keel used wit while discussing crimes and dangers, the series also depicted the interplay — and often tension — between Keel's idealism and Steed's professionalism. As seen in the surviving episode "The Frighteners", Steed also had helpers among the population who provided information, similar to the "Baker Street Irregulars
" of Sherlock Holmes
.
The other regular in the first series was Carol Wilson (Ingrid Hafner
), the nurse and receptionist who replaced the slain Peggy. Carol assisted Keel and Steed in cases, without being part of Steed's inner circle. Hafner had played opposite Hendry as a nurse in Police Surgeon.
The series was shot on 405-line videotape using a multicamera setup. There was little provision for editing and virtually no location footage. As was standard practice at the time, videotapes of early episodes of The Avengers were reused
. Of the first series, two complete episodes still exist, as 16 mm film
telerecordings
. One of the episodes remaining does not feature Steed. The first 15 minutes of the first episode also exists as a telerecording.
Production of the first series was cut short by a strike. By the time production could begin on the second series, Hendry had quit to pursue a film career. Macnee was promoted to star and Steed became the focus of the series, initially working with a rotation of three different partners. Dr Martin King (Jon Rollason), a thinly disguised rewriting of Keel, saw action in only three episodes produced from scripts written for the first series. King was intended to be a transitional character between Keel and Steed's two new female partners, but while the Dr. King episodes were shot first, they were shown out of production order in the middle of the season. The character was thereafter quickly and quietly dropped.
Nightclub singer Venus Smith (Julie Stevens
) appeared in six episodes. She was a complete "amateur", meaning that she did not have any professional crime-fighting skills as did the two doctors. She was excited to be participating in a "spy" adventure alongside secret agent Steed (although at least one episode — "The Removal Men" — indicates she isn't always enthusiastic). Nonetheless, she appears to be attracted to him and their relationship appears similar to that later displayed between Steed and Tara King. Her episodes featured musical interludes showcasing her singing performances. The character of Venus underwent some revision during her run, adopting more youthful demeanour and dress.
The first episode broadcast in the second series had introduced the partner who would change the show into the format it is most remembered for. Honor Blackman
played Dr. Cathy Gale
, a self-assured, quick-witted anthropologist who was skilled in judo
and had a passion for wearing leather
clothes. Widowed during the Mau Mau years in Kenya
, she was the "talented amateur" who saw her aid to Steed's cases as a service to her nation. Gale was said to have been born 5 October 1930 at midnight, and was raised in Africa. Gale was early-to-mid 30s during her tenure, in contrast to female characters in similar series who tended to be younger.
Gale was unlike any female character seen before on British TV and became a household name. Reportedly, part of her charm came from the fact that her earliest appearances were episodes in which dialogue written for Keel was simply transferred to her. Said series script writer Dennis Spooner
"there's the famous story of how Honor Blackman played Ian Hendry's part, which is why they stuck her in leather and such-it was so much cheaper than changing the lines!"
Venus Smith did not return for the third series and Cathy Gale became Steed's only regular partner. The series established a level of sexual tension
between Steed and Gale, but the writers were not allowed to go beyond flirting
and innuendo
. Despite this the relationship between Steed and Gale was progressive for 1962-63. In "The Golden Eggs" it is revealed that Gale lived in Steed's flat; her rent according to Steed was to keep the refrigerator well-stocked and to cook for him (she appears to do neither). However, this was said to be a temporary arrangement while Gale looked for a new home, and Steed was sleeping at a hotel.
During the first series there were hints Steed worked for a branch of British Intelligence, and this was expanded in the second series. Steed initially received orders from different superiors, including someone referred to as "Charles", and "One-Ten" (Douglas Muir). By the third series the delivery of Steed's orders was not depicted on screen or explained. In "The Nutshell" the secret organisation to which Steed belongs is shown, and it is Gale's first visit to their HQ.
Small references to Steed's background were occasionally made. In series three's "Death of a Batman" it was said that Steed was with I Corps in World War II
, and in Munich in 1945. In series four episode "The Hour That Never Was" Steed goes to a reunion of his RAF
regiment.
A film version of the series was in its initial planning stages by late 1963 after series three was completed. An early story proposal paired Steed and Gale with a male and female duo of American agents, to make the movie appeal to the American market. Before the project could gain momentum Blackman was cast opposite Sean Connery
in Goldfinger
, requiring her to leave the series.
suit, bowler hat
and umbrella with clothes later designed by Pierre Cardin
. (The bowler and umbrella were full of tricks, including a sword hidden within the umbrella handle and a steel plate concealed in the hat.) These items were referred to in the French, German and Polish titles of the series, Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir ("Bowler hat and leather boots"), Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone ("With Umbrella, Charm and Bowler Hat") and Rewolwer i melonik ("A Revolver and a Bowler Hat"), respectively. With his impeccable manners, old world sophistication, and vintage automobiles, Steed came to represent the traditional Englishman of an earlier era.
By contrast his partners were youthful, forward-looking, and always dressed in the latest mod fashions. Gale's innovative leather outfits suited her many athletic fight scenes. Honor Blackman became a star in Britain with her black leather outfits and boots (nicknamed "kinky boots
") and her judo-based fighting style. Macnee and Blackman even released a novelty song called "Kinky Boots
". Some of the clothes seen in The Avengers were designed at the studio of John Sutcliffe
who published the AtomAge
fetish magazine
.
Series script writer Dennis Spooner said that the series would frequently feature Steed visiting busy public places such as the main airport in London, without anyone else present in the scene. "'Can't you afford extras?' they'd ask. Well it wasn't like that; it's just that Steed had to be alone to be accepted-put him in a crowd and he sticks out like a sore thumb! Let's face it, with normal people he's weird. The trick to making him acceptable is never to show him in a normal world, just fighting villains who are odder than he is!"
network, the American Broadcasting Company
(ABC). The Avengers became one of the first British series to be aired on prime time U.S. television. The ABC network paid the then-unheard of sum of $2 million for the first 26 episodes. The average budget for each episode was reportedly £56,000, high for the British industry. The fourth series aired in the U.S. from March to December 1966.
Previously The Avengers had been shot on 405-line videotape using a multicamera setup, with very little provision for editing and virtually no location footage. The U.S. deal meant that the producers could afford to start shooting the series on 35mm film. The use of film rather than videotape was essential, as British 405-line video was technically incompatible with the U.S. NTSC
videotape format. Filmed productions were standard on U.S. prime time television at that time. The Avengers continued to be produced in monochrome.
The transfer to film meant that episodes would be shot using the single camera setup, giving the production greater flexibility. The videotaped episodes had looked cheap and studio bound. The use of film production and the single camera production style allowed more sophisticated visuals and camera angles and more outdoor location shots, all of which greatly improved the look of the series. As was standard on British television filmed production through the 1960s, all location work on series four was shot mute with the soundtrack created in post production. Dialogue scenes were filmed in the studio, leading to some jumps between location and studio footage.
New female partner Mrs. Emma Peel
(Diana Rigg
) debuted in this series, in October 1965. The name of the character derived from a comment by writers, during development, that they wanted a character with "man appeal". In an early attempt to incorporate this concept into the character's name, she was called "Samantha Peel", shortened to the awkward "Mantha Peel," Eventually the writers began referring to the idea by the verbal shorthand, "M. Appeal", which gave rise to the character's ultimate name. Emma Peel, whose husband went missing while flying over the Amazon, retained the self-assuredness of Gale, combined with superior fighting skills, intelligence, and a contemporary fashion sense.
After more than 60 actresses had been auditioned, the first choice to play the role was Elizabeth Shepherd
. However, after filming one and a half episodes, Shepherd was released. Her on-screen personality was deemed less interesting than that of Blackman's Gale and it was decided she simply wasn't right for the role. Another 20 actresses were auditioned before the show's casting director suggested that producers Brian Clemens
and Albert Fennell
check out a televised drama featuring the relatively unknown Rigg. Her screen test with Macnee showed that the two immediately worked well together, and a new era in Avengers history began.
A prologue was added to the beginning of all the fourth series episodes for the American transmissions. This was to clarify some initial confusion audiences had regarding the characters and their mission. In the opener, a waiter holding a champagne bottle falls dead onto a human-sized chessboard; a dagger protruding from a target on his back. Steed and Mrs. Peel (dressed in her trademark leather catsuit) walk up to the body as the voice over explains: "Extraordinary crimes against the people, and the state, have to be avenged by agents extraordinary. Two such people are John Steed, top professional, and his partner Emma Peel, talented amateur. Otherwise known as The Avengers." During this voice over, Steed pours two drinks from the wine bottle and Mrs. Peel replaces her gun in her boot. They clink glasses and depart together. Fade to black and then the opening titles proper begin.
In contrast to the Gale episodes, there was a lighter comic touch in Steed and Peel's interactions with each other and their reactions to other characters and situations. Earlier series had a harder tone, with the Gale era including some quite serious espionage dramas. This almost completely disappeared as Steed and Peel visibly enjoyed topping each other's witticisms. The layer of conflict with Gale-who on occasion openly resented being used by Steed, often without her permission-was absent from Steed's interaction with Peel. Also the sexual tension between Steed and Gale was not present with Peel. In both cases, the exact relationship between the partners was left ambiguous, although they seemed to have carte blanche to visit each other's homes whenever they pleased and it was not uncommon for scenes to suggest Steed had spent the night at Gale's or Peel's home, or vice-versa. Although nothing "improper" was displayed, the obviously much closer chemistry between Steed and Peel constantly suggests intimacy between the two.
Science fiction
fantasy elements (a style later known as Spy-fi
) emerged in stories. The duo would encounter killer robots ("The Cybernauts"), and giant alien carnivorous plants ("The Man-Eater of Surrey Green").
In her fourth episode, "Death at Bargain Prices", Mrs. Peel takes an undercover job at a department store. Her uniform for promoting space-age toys is an elaborate leather catsuit
plus silver boots, sash, and welder's gloves. The suit minus the silver accessories became her signature outfit which she wore, primarily for fight scenes, in early episodes, and in the titles. There was a fetishistic
undercurrent in some episodes. In "A Touch of Brimstone
" Mrs. Peel dressed in a dominatrix
outfit of corset, laced boots and spiked collar to become the "Queen of Sin".
Peel's avant-garde fashions, featuring bold accents and high-contrast geometric patterns, emphasized her youthful, contemporary personality. She represented the modern England of the Sixties
– just as Steed, with his vintage style and mannerisms, personified Edwardian era nostalgia. According to Macnee in his book The Avengers and Me, Rigg disliked wearing leather and insisted on a new line of fabric athletic wear for the 5th series. Alun Hughes, who had designed clothing for Diana Rigg's personal wardrobe, was suggested by the actress to design Emma Peel's "softer" new wardrobe.Pierre Cardin
was brought in to design a new wardrobe for Macnee. In America, TV Guide
ran a four-page photospread on Rigg's new "Emmapeeler" outfits (10–16 June 1967). Eight tight-fitting jumpsuits in a variety of bright colors were created using the stretch fabric crimplene
.
Another memorable feature of the show from this point onwards was its automobiles. Steed's signature cars were vintage 1926–1928 Bentley
racing or town cars, including Blower Bentleys and Bentley Speed Six
es (although, uniquely, in "The Thirteenth Hole" he drives a Vauxhall 30/98), while Peel drove a sporty Lotus Elan
convertible which, like her clothes, emphasized her independence and vitality. During the first Peel series, each episode would end with a short, comedic scene of the duo leaving the scene of their most recent adventure in some unusual vehicle.
For this series Diana Rigg's stunt double was stuntman Billy Westley, Patrick Macnee's stunt double was Peter Clay.
This series was broadcast in the U.S. from January to May 1967. The American prologue of the previous series was rejigged for the colour episodes. It opened with the caption The Avengers In Color (required by ABC
for colour series at that time). This was followed by Steed unwrapping the foil from a champagne bottle and Peel shooting the cork away. (Unlike the "chessboard" opening of the previous series, this new prologue was also included in UK broadcasts of the series.)
The first 16 episodes of the fifth series begin with Peel receiving a call-to-duty message from Steed: "Mrs. Peel, we're needed." Peel would be conducting her normal activities when she'd unexpectedly receive a message on a calling card or within a delivered gift, at which point Steed would suddenly appear (usually in her apartment). The messages would be delivered by Steed in increasingly bizarre ways as the series progressed: in a newspaper Peel had just bought, or on traffic lights while she was out driving. On one occasion Steed appeared on her television set, interrupting an old science-fiction movie (actually clips from their Year Four episode "The Cybernauts") to call her to work. Another way Steed contacted her was in the beginning of episode 13, "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Station" when she enters her flat and sees a Meccano
Percy the Small Engine
going around a circular track with a note on one of the train cars that says "Mrs. Peel" in bold letters, she then walks over to Steed who says "you're needed". At the start of "The Hidden Tiger" Peel is redecorating her apartment (wearing a jumpsuit and drinking champagne); she peels off a strip of wallpaper, revealing the words "Mrs Peel" painted on the wall beneath. She turns to see Steed in the apartment removing another strip of wallpaper, revealing "We're needed" painted underneath on another wall. In another instance Emma enters Steed's flat to find he has just fallen down the stairs, and he painfully gasps, "Mrs. Peel, you're needed." Often the episode's tag scene would return to the situation of the "Mrs. Peel, we're needed" scene. "The Hidden Tiger" returns to the partially redecorated apartment where Steed begins painting a love heart and arrow and the initials of two people on the wall, but paints over the initials when Peel sees his graffito. In "The Superlative Seven" the call to duty and the tag both involve a duck shooting situation where unexpected items fall from the sky after shots are fired.
The series also introduced a comic tag line caption to the episode title, using the format of "Steed [does this], Emma [does that]." For example "The Joker" had the opening caption: "Steed trumps an ace, Emma plays a lone hand".
The "Mrs. Peel, we're needed" scenes and the alternate tag lines were dropped after the first 16 episodes, after a break in production, for financial reasons. They were deemed by the U.K. networks as disposable if The Avengers was to return to ITV screens. (Dave Rogers' book The Avengers Anew lists a set for every Steed/Peel episode except "The Forget-Me-Knot".)
Stories were increasingly characterised by a futuristic, science fiction bent, with mad scientists and their creations leaving havoc. The duo dealt with being shrunk to doll size ("Mission... Highly Improbable"), pet cats being electrically altered into ferocious and lethal 'miniature tigers' ("The Hidden Tiger"), killer automata ("Return of The Cybernauts"), mind-transferring machines ("Who's Who???"), and invisible foes ("The See-Through Man").
The series parodied its American contemporaries with episodes such as "The Girl From AUNTIE", "Mission... Highly Improbable" and "The Winged Avenger" (spoofing The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
, Mission: Impossible
and Batman
, respectively). The show still carried the basic format — Steed and his associate were charged with solving the problem in the space of a 50-minute episode, thus preserving the safety of 1960s Britain.
Comedy was evident in the names and acronyms of the organizations. For example, in "The Living Dead", two rival groups examine reported ghost sightings: FOG (Friends Of Ghosts) and SMOG (Scientific Measurement Of Ghosts). "The Hidden Tiger" features the Philanthropic Union for Rescue, Relief and Recuperation of Cats — PURRR — led by characters named Cheshire, Manx, and Angora.
The series also occasionally adopted a metafiction
al tone, coming close to breaking the fourth wall
. In the series 5 episode "Something Nasty in the Nursery" Peel directly references the series' storytelling convention of having potentially-helpful sources of information killed off just before she or Steed arrive. This then occurs a few minutes later. In the tag scene for the same episode, Steed and Peel tell viewers - indirectly - to tune in next week.
For this series Diana Rigg's stunt double was stuntwoman Cyd Child, though stuntman Peter Elliot doubled for Rigg in a stunt dive in "The Bird Who Knew Too Much".
At the end of the fifth series in 1967, Rigg left to pursue other projects. This included following Honor Blackman to play a leading role in a James Bond film, in this case On Her Majesty's Secret Service
.
Rigg and Macnee have remained lifelong friends.
Bryce had a difficult situation in hand. He had to find a replacement for Diana Rigg and shoot the first seven episodes of the new series, which were supposed to be shipped to America together with the last eight Emma Peel colour episodes.
Bryce signed his then-girlfriend, 20-year-old newcomer Linda Thorson
, as the new female costar and chose the name "Tara King" for her character. Thorson played the role with more innocence in mind and at heart; and unlike the previous partnerships with Cathy and Emma, the writers allowed subtle hints of romance to blossom between Steed and King. King also differed from Steed's previous partners in that she was a fully fledged (albeit initially inexperienced) agent working for Steed's organisation; his previous partners had all been (in the words of the prologue used for American broadcasts of the first Rigg series) talented amateurs. Bryce wanted Tara to be blonde, so Thorson's brown hair was bleached. However the process badly damaged Thorson's hair, so she had to wear wigs for the first third of her episodes, until her own hair grew back. Her natural brown hair was not seen until the episode "All Done with Mirrors".
Production of the first seven episodes of the sixth series began. However financial problems and internal difficulties undermined Bryce's effort. He only managed to complete three episodes: "Invitation to a Killing" (a 90-minute episode introducing Tara King), "The Great, Great Britain Crime" (some of its original footage was reused in the 1969 episode "Homicide and Old Lace") and "Invasion of the Earthmen" (which survived relatively intact except for the scenes where Tara wears a brown wig.)
After a rough cut
screening of these episodes to studio executives, Bryce was fired and Clemens and Fennel were summoned back. At their return, a fourth episode called "The Murderous Connection" was in its second day of production. After revising the script, it was renamed as "The Curious Case of the Countless Clues" and production was resumed. Production of the episode "Split!", a leftover script from the Emma Peel colour series, proceeded. Two completely new episodes were also shot: "Get-A-Way", and "Look (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers".
Dennis Spooner said of the event that "Brian left The Avengers for about three episodes, someone took over, and when Brian came back, it was in a terrible state. He was faced with doing a rewrite on a film they'd already shot." The episode had a story error where Steed leaves for a destination. The villains then realise this and pursue him - yet arrive there before Steed does. It was fixed by having a character ask Steed 'What took you so long?', to which he replies 'I came the pretty way'. "You can only do that on The Avengers you see. It was just my favourite show to work on."
Clemens and Fennel decided to film a new episode to introduce Tara King. This, the third episode filmed for the sixth series, was titled "The Forget-Me-Knot" and bade farewell to Emma Peel and introduced her successor, a trained but inexperienced agent named Tara King. It would be broadcast as the first episode of the sixth series. Tara debuts in dynamic style: when Steed is called to Headquarters, he is attacked and knocked down by trainee agent King who mistakes him for her training partner.
No farewell scenes for Emma Peel had been shot when Diana Rigg left the series. Rigg was recalled for "The Forget-Me-Knot", through which Emma acts as Steed's partner as usual. Rigg also filmed a farewell scene for Emma which appeared as the tag scene of the episode. It was explained that Emma's husband, Peter Peel, was found alive and rescued, and she left the British secret service to be with him. Emma visits Steed to say goodbye, and while leaving she passes Tara on the stairway giving the advice that "He likes his tea stirred anti-clockwise." Steed looks out the window as a departing Emma enters the Bentley driven by Peter - who from a distance seems to resemble Steed (and was played by Patrick Macnee, wearing a bowler hat and umbrella).
Bryce's original episode introducing Tara, "Invitation to a Killing", was revised as a regular 60-minute episode named "Have Guns Will Haggle". These episodes, together with "Invasion of the Earthmen" and the last eight Peel colour episodes, were shipped to America in February 1968.
For this series the government official who gave Steed his orders was depicted on screen. Mother
, introduced in "The Forget-Me-Knot", is a man in a wheelchair. The role was taken by Patrick Newell
who had played different roles in two earlier episodes, most recently in series five. Mother's headquarters would shift from place to place, including one episode where his complete office was on the top level of a double-decker bus
. (Several James Bond
films of the 1970s would make use of a similar gimmick for Bond's briefings.)
Added later as a regular was Mother's mute Amazonian assistant, Rhonda (Rhonda Parker). There was one appearance by an agency official code-named "Father"
, a blind older woman played by Iris Russell. (Russell had appeared in the series several times previously in other roles.) In one episode, "Killer", Steed is paired with Lady Diana Forbes Blakeney (Jennifer Croxton) while King is on holiday.
Scriptwriter Dennis Spooner later reflected on this series. "When I wrote "Look (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers", that was definitely the last series. They were going to make no more, so in that series we went right over the top; we went really weird, because they knew there weren't going to be any more."
Spooner said the series "worked because it became a parody on itself, almost. You can only do that so long." Overall he attributes the success of the show to its light approach. "We spoofed everything, we took Mission: Impossible, Bad Day at Black Rock
, High Noon
, The Dirty Dozen
, The Birds
... we took them all. The film buffs used to love it. There were always lines in it that people knew what we were talking about."
Vehicle wise, Steed continued to drive vintage green Bentleys in the first seven episodes in production. His regular transport for the remainder of the series were two yellow Rolls-Royce cars. Mother also occasionally appeared in silver Rolls-Royces. Tara King drove an AC 428
and a Lotus Europa
.
The revised series continued to be broadcast in America. The episodes with Linda Thorson as King proved to be highly rated in Europe and the UK. In the United States however, the ABC network which carried the series chose to air it opposite the number one show in the country at the time, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Steed and King couldn't compete, and the show was cancelled in the US. Without this vital commercial backing, production could not continue in Britain either, and the series ended in May 1969. The final scene of the final episode ("Bizarre") has Steed and King, champagne glasses in hand, accidentally launching themselves into orbit aboard a rocket, as Mother breaks the fourth wall
and says to the audience, "They'll be back!" before adding in shock, "They're unchaperoned up there!"
. Library music was used sparsely as a soundtrack. Dankworth's theme music was reworked for the third series.
When Rigg joined the series new theme music by Laurie Johnson
was introduced. This was issued on an LP, entitled The Shake.
Johnson re-scored the theme when Linda Thorson joined the series, adding a counter melody on trumpet. The new theme debuted in the closing titles of the episode "The Forget-Me-Knot", which introduced Thorson.
Johnson also provided incidental music. Owing to professional commitments in films, including Hot Millions, Johnson requested assistance from his keyboard player, Howard Blake
, who scored some of the episodes of the final season. Blake composed additional music for other episodes which Johnson did not have time to complete.
Johndon subsequently collaborated with Clemens on other projects, including the theme for The New Avengers.
was felt throughout. He wrote the second episode and became the series' most prolific scriptwriter. Succeeding producers Leonard White and John Bryce, Julian Wintle became the producer of the 4th series with Brian Clemens credited as Associate Producer and Albert Fennell
credited as "In charge of production". Series 5, made by A.B.C. Television Films, (which was created during the run up to Associated British Corporation and Associated-Redifussion forming Thames TV) Clemens and Fennell became co-producers, with Wintle as Executive Producer. For series 6, after its first producer John Bryce left, Clemens and Fennell returned as co-producers, early episodes also credit Julian Wintle as Consultant to the series and Philip Levene as Story Consultant.
Ray Austin became the fight arranger for series 4 and 5, introducing kung fu to the series. Later he became a prolific television director. Joe Dunne took over for series 6.
In contrast 1960s US prime time drama television productions were shot on film using the single camera method. Retakes allowed obvious errors to be corrected in these productions. As they were originated on film, the editing techniques were far superior to those available for 405-line videotape. The 1965 sale of The Avengers to United States television prompted a change in production style to the single camera shooting method, originated on 35 mm film
.
The more relaxed standards of British media would have required some moments to be censored in the U.S. In "Mr Teddy Bear" Steed strips down to his underwear for decontamination. In "Death Dispatch" Gale is seen wearing a black-lace brassiere
. Other aspects were more restrained because of British television rules, such as the physical combat limitations. Gunshots had to miss and striking someone with a closed fist was not allowed. As a result, Steed and his partners defeated their opponents by throwing them into walls, making them stumble and fall after pushing them into furniture, and slapping them in the face with an open hand. Compared to the fighting styles depicted in U.S. shows like I Spy and The Wild Wild West
, The Avengers was tagged as being "too British".
The series' stunt man and stunt arranger Ray Austin expressed the opinion that the show's violence ultimately harmed its popular success in the United States. There The Avengers was given a late timeslot due to its violence. "They did that with the first Avengers here [in the U.S.], with Diana Rigg. They put us on at 11.30 pm on CBS [sic], because it was too violent." Austin goes on to explain that U.S. television follows a "different code". Austin said that on The Avengers "we were determined to do the show our way, the English way, and no one was going to stop us! And, indeed, no one did stop us. We never, never got to prime time. And it was our own faults, because we would not comply to the Midwest. That's where the money comes from in this country, nowhere else. Forget Los Angeles, forget New York-you have to aim for the Midwest. If the Midwest watches your show, you've made it." In fact the first and second series of Emma Peel episodes mainly aired at 10.00 pm on ABC. The final Rigg episodes and all the Linda Thorson episodes mainly ran at 7.30 pm, also on ABC.
American censors objected to some content, in particular the episode "A Touch of Brimstone" which featured a modern day version of the Hellfire Club
and climaxed with Emma being drugged and donning a skimpy corset costume with spiked collar and high heels to become the Queen of Sin, and being attacked with a whip by guest star Peter Wyngarde
. The American broadcast network refused to air it. In total five episodes from the first Emma Peel series were not initially broadcast by ABC. These were: "A Surfeit of H2O", "Silent Dust" (which featured Emma being attacked with a horsewhip), "Quick-Quick Slow Death", "A Touch of Brimstone" and "Honey for the Prince" (in which Emma performed the dance of the seven veils
), although they were seen in later syndicated repeats.
Earlier Cathy Gale and Venus Smith episodes had aired in Canada before the arrival of Mrs. Peel. U.S. audiences saw the 1962-1964 Gale and Smith episodes of the series for the first time in the early 1990s when they were broadcast on the A&E Network
. No Keel episode of the series repeatedly was ever broadcast outside Britain, and even in the UK , only an episode "The Frighteners" (as part of a run of classic episodes on Channel 4
in early 1993, otherwise mostly consisting of Gale episodes).
, Martin Day
and Keith Topping
in their book The Avengers Dossier: The Unauthorised and Unofficial Guide consider the last eight episodes produced after the break as constituting a short series six, and therefore count seven series in total. Within the internal production of The Avengers the last eight episodes were considered to be a continuation of series five.
.
Only two complete episodes from the show's first series are known to exist, as 16mm film telerecordings. These are "The Frighteners", an extract of which is playing on a television in the film Quadrophenia
, and "Girl on the Trapeze", which was found in the UCLA Film and Television Archive
via an internet search of their on-line database. Part of the show's first episode was found in the United States. The footage is of the episode's first 21 minutes, up to the first commercial break.
All series two and three episodes survive as 16mm telerecordings. These have been released to DVD
, as have all of the Emma Peel and Tara King episodes, which were shot on film. The two surviving complete Keel episodes, plus the remnant of the first episode, have also been released in the UK and US.
led to a 1975 French television advertisement for a brand of champagne with Thorson and Macnee reprising their roles. The advertisement's success spurred financing interest in France for new episodes of The Avengers.
The result was a new series, The New Avengers. Patrick Macnee reprised the role of Steed, with two new partners, Mike Gambit (Gareth Hunt
) and Purdey (Joanna Lumley
). It aired on ITV
in the UK in 1976-1977, CTV
in Canada
, CBS
in the United States (in 1978/79) and TF1
in France
(series 1 in 1976-1977 and series 2 in 1979). The final four episodes were almost completely produced by Canadian interests and were filmed there. In some markets they carried the title The New Avengers in Canada.
in standard paperback in 1994 and in France by Huitieme Art (1995 & 1996). They were also published in the USA for the first time by TV Books in 1998. Titan reissued the books in trade paperback format (with the same covers) to coincide with the release of the feature film The Avengers
.
There was a 1990 novel, Too Many Targets by John Peel
, that featured all of Steed's partners except Venus Smith and Dr Martin King.
A short story by Peter Leslie entitled "What's a Ghoul Like You Doing in a Place Like This?" appeared in The Television Crimebusters Omnibus, a hardback anthology edited by Peter Haining
, first published by Orion in 1994.(This Steed and Tara story first appeared in the 1969 UK Avengers annual, from Atlas publications.)
Both of the Macnee/Leslie UK paperback titles were translated and published in Portugal in 1967 as 'Os Vingadores: O Dia Depois De Amanha' (deadline) and 'Os Vingadores: O Pato Morto' (dead duck) by Deaga. All four UK John Garforth Panther book paperbacks were translated and published by Roman in France (1967), a paperback omnibus edition was published in 1998 by Fleuve Noir. Three of the Garforth paperbacks were also translated and published by Heyne in Germany (1967/68) ('Heil Harris!' was not translated for obvious reasons.) and a German hardback omnibus edition of the three titles was published by Lichtenberg (1968), reprinted in paperback by Heyne in 1998. All four titles were also translated and published in Holland by Bruna (1967) and in Chile by Zig-Zag (1968).
and ran until issue 771, dated 24 September 1966 (this run consisted of 10 serials plus one four page one off in TV Comic Holiday Special June 1966), when the rights were sold to publishers D.C. Thompson, where the next version of the strip appeared in issue 199, dated 10 December 1966, of 'Diana' the popular paper for girls, its run ended in issue 224, dated 2 June 1967, with art by Emilio Frejo and Juan Gonzalez Alacrojo, this run consisted of 8 serials. Earlier, 'The Growing Up of Emma Peel' comic strip had appeared in 'June and Schoolfriend' comic from issue 52, dated 29 January 1966, to issue 63, dated 16 April 1966, this had featured the adventures of 14 year old Emma Knight and was run concurent with the TV Comic strip and consisted of 11 instalments. The Avengers returned to TV comic issue 877, dated 5 October 1968, just after Tara King debuted on TV, the Tara & Steed strip continued until issue 1077, dated 5 August 1972, this run consisted of 28 serials plus one four page one off in TV Comic Holiday Special 1972. Also in 1966 Thorpe & Porter published a 68 page Avengers comic featuring Steed & Peel with original art by Mike Anglo and Mick Austin, this consisted of four 16 pages stories.
A few The Avengers-related comic books have been published in the USA. They are not named The Avengers because the rights to the names "Avengers" and "New Avengers" are held by Marvel Comics
for use with their Avengers
comics depicting a team of superheroes called The Avengers. Gold Key Comics
published one issue of John Steed Emma Peel in 1968 (subtitled The Avengers on the Indicia
page), which included two newly-coloured and reformatted The Avengers strips from "TV Comic". A three-issue miniseries entitled Steed and Mrs Peel appeared from 1990-1992 under the Eclipse Comics
imprint, it featured a three part story, 'The Golden Game' in book 1-3, by Grant Morrison
and a two part story, in book 2 & 3, 'A Deadly Rainbow' by Anne Caufield, both strips had art by Ian Gibson
.
In the UK, where hard back annuals are traditionally produced for sale at Christmas, The Avengers first appeared in 'TV Crimebusters Annual' (1962) and featured a 7 page comic strip with Dr. David Keel titled 'The Drug Pedlar'. And Atlas publications produced three 'The Avengers' hard back Annuals for 1967, 1968 and 1969, which also featured original Avengers comic strips featuring Steed, Emma Peel and Tara King, as well as text stories.
The TV Comic Avengers strips and the 1966 Avengers comic and a few comic strips from the Annuals have been translated and published in Germany, Holland, France and Chile.
, and directed by Leslie Philips. It starred Simon Oates
as Steed, Sue Lloyd
as new partner Hannah Wild, and Kate O'Mara
as villainess Madame Gerda. All three actors had played guest roles in the original series.
A character named Hana Wilde (played by Charlotte Rampling
) had essentially acted as Steed's partner in series five's "The Superlative Seven", an episode in which Emma Peel appears only briefly. According to John Peel in his overview of "The Superlative Seven", "Charlotte Rampling was rumoured to be grooming up to replace Diana Rigg in this story, but nothing ever came of that."
, for the 1st six months and Dennis Folbigge for the remainder. South Africa
did not have national television until 1976. The episodes were adapted from both Emma Peel and Tara King episodes, (with the Tara King character changed to Emma Peel throughout.) The Avengers were played by two British expatriate actors, Donald Monat as Steed and Diane Appleby as Mrs Peel, with Hugh Rouse as the tongue-in-cheek narrator. The stories were adapted into five episode serials under Tony Jay
and six and seven episode serials under Dennis Folbigge, of approximately 15 minutes each (including adverts) and stripped across the week, Monday-Friday, on Springbok Radio.
Currently only 19 complete serials survive, all from reel-to-reel off-air recordings made by John Wright in 1972. Also the first 3 episodes of a re-make of Escape In Time currently exists, eps 1 & 2 are copies from the original Sonovision tapes, and ep 3 is from an off air recording, on audio cassette, made by Barbara Peterson, the rest of this serial is still missing.
These episodes are also known to have been transmitted in New York on station WBAI on 99.5 FM, from 1977 to the early 1990s.
Existing episodes:
Copies from the original off-air recordings have been restored by Alan and Alys Hayes. And can be heard at their 'The Avengers Declassified' website and its sister website 'Avengers on the Radio'.
Many more serials were broadcast during its two year run on South African Radio, it is thought 83 serials were made & transmitted, but at present no other episodes are known to exist.
, Dr. No
, by one year. The Avengers stars Patrick Macnee, Honor Blackman and Diana Rigg later co-starred in Bond films. The New Avengers regular Joanna Lumley
had, prior to that series, appeared in the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service
(1969).
at one point being considered a front-runner for the role of Steed. Ultimately, the 1998 film starring Uma Thurman
as Emma Peel and Ralph Fiennes
as John Steed received poor reviews from critics and fans.
http://blogs.chi.ac.uk/theavengers/
Spy-fi
-Definition and characteristics:It often uses a secret agent or superspy whose mission is a showcase of science fiction elements such as technology and ideas used for extortion, plots for world domination or world destruction, futuristic weapons, gadgets and fast vehicles that can travel on land,...
British television
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
series set in the 1960s Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel (Ian Hendry
Ian Hendry
Ian Hendry was an English film and television actor. He is best known for his work on several British TV series of the early 1960s such as The Avengers, and for his roles in 1970s films such as Get Carter .-Career:Hendry was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and educated at Culford School...
) and his assistant John Steed
John Steed
John Steed is a fictional character and the central protagonist on the popular British series The Avengers and The New Avengers, played by Patrick Macnee and Ralph Fiennes in the movie....
(Patrick Macnee
Patrick Macnee
Patrick Macnee is an English actor, best known for his role as the secret agent John Steed in the series The Avengers.-Early life:...
). Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. Steed's most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women: Cathy Gale
Cathy Gale
Dr Cathy Gale was a fictional character, played by Honor Blackman, on the 1960s British series The Avengers. She was the first regular female partner of John Steed following the departure of Steed's original male co-star, Dr David Keel...
(Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman is an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger .-Early life:...
), Emma Peel
Emma Peel
Emma Peel was a fictional spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure television series The Avengers. She was born Emma Knight, the daughter of an industrialist, Sir John Knight.-Casting:...
(Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
), and later Tara King
Tara King
Tara King is a fictional character of British 1960s adventure television series The Avengers, played by canadian actress Linda Thorson. Sixth partner of agent John Steed , she appeared in season 6 of the series , playing 33 episodes. She is Emma Peel successor...
(Linda Thorson
Linda Thorson
Linda Thorson is a Canadian actress, most famous for her work as Tara King in The Avengers.-Personal life:...
). Later episodes increasingly incorporated elements of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy, parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
and British eccentricity. The Avengers ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as one hour episodes its entire run.
The Avengers was produced by ABC Television
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
, a contractor within the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network. After a merger in July 1968 ABC Television became Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
which continued production of the series, although it was still broadcast under the ABC name. By 1969 The Avengers was shown in more than 90 countries. The Avengers was the longest continuously running espionage series until 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
. ITV produced sequel series The New Avengers (1976–1977) with Patrick Macnee returning as John Steed, and two new partners.
In 2007 The Avengers was ranked #17 and #20 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.
Programme premise and overview
The Avengers was marked by different eras as co-stars came and went. The only constant was John Steed, played by Patrick Macnee.1961: With Dr David Keel (Ian Hendry)
The Avengers began with medical doctor, Dr David Keel (Ian HendryIan Hendry
Ian Hendry was an English film and television actor. He is best known for his work on several British TV series of the early 1960s such as The Avengers, and for his roles in 1970s films such as Get Carter .-Career:Hendry was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and educated at Culford School...
), investigating the murder by a drug ring of his fiancée and office receptionist Peggy. A stranger named John Steed, who was investigating the ring, appeared and together they set out to avenge her death in the first two episodes. Afterwards, Steed asked Keel to partner him as needed to solve crimes.
The Avengers followed Hendry's Police Surgeon, in which he played police surgeon Geoffrey Brent. While Police Surgeon did not last long, viewers praised Hendry. Hendry was considered the star of the new series, receiving top billing over Macnee, and Steed did not appear in two episodes.
As the series progressed, Steed's importance increased, and he carried the final episode solo. While Steed and Keel used wit while discussing crimes and dangers, the series also depicted the interplay — and often tension — between Keel's idealism and Steed's professionalism. As seen in the surviving episode "The Frighteners", Steed also had helpers among the population who provided information, similar to the "Baker Street Irregulars
Baker Street Irregulars
The Baker Street Irregulars are any of several different groups, all named after the original, from various Sherlock Holmes stories in which they are a gang of young street children whom Holmes often employs to aid his cases.- Original :...
" of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
.
The other regular in the first series was Carol Wilson (Ingrid Hafner
Ingrid Hafner
Ingrid Hafner was a British actress. Her father was Raoul Hafner, an Austrian helicopter pioneer, and her mother Eileen Myra McAdam was a descendant of John Loudon McAdam, the road builder....
), the nurse and receptionist who replaced the slain Peggy. Carol assisted Keel and Steed in cases, without being part of Steed's inner circle. Hafner had played opposite Hendry as a nurse in Police Surgeon.
The series was shot on 405-line videotape using a multicamera setup. There was little provision for editing and virtually no location footage. As was standard practice at the time, videotapes of early episodes of The Avengers were reused
Wiping
Wiping or junking is a colloquial term for action taken by radio and television production and broadcasting companies, in which old audiotapes, videotapes, and telerecordings , are erased, reused, or destroyed after several uses...
. Of the first series, two complete episodes still exist, as 16 mm film
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
telerecordings
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
. One of the episodes remaining does not feature Steed. The first 15 minutes of the first episode also exists as a telerecording.
1962–64: With Venus Smith (Julie Stevens) and Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman)
Nightclub singer Venus Smith (Julie Stevens
Julie Stevens (British actress)
Julie Stevens is an English actress, best known in Britain for her appearances on children's television. She married actor John White in 1961....
) appeared in six episodes. She was a complete "amateur", meaning that she did not have any professional crime-fighting skills as did the two doctors. She was excited to be participating in a "spy" adventure alongside secret agent Steed (although at least one episode — "The Removal Men" — indicates she isn't always enthusiastic). Nonetheless, she appears to be attracted to him and their relationship appears similar to that later displayed between Steed and Tara King. Her episodes featured musical interludes showcasing her singing performances. The character of Venus underwent some revision during her run, adopting more youthful demeanour and dress.
The first episode broadcast in the second series had introduced the partner who would change the show into the format it is most remembered for. Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman is an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger .-Early life:...
played Dr. Cathy Gale
Cathy Gale
Dr Cathy Gale was a fictional character, played by Honor Blackman, on the 1960s British series The Avengers. She was the first regular female partner of John Steed following the departure of Steed's original male co-star, Dr David Keel...
, a self-assured, quick-witted anthropologist who was skilled in judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
and had a passion for wearing leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
clothes. Widowed during the Mau Mau years in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, she was the "talented amateur" who saw her aid to Steed's cases as a service to her nation. Gale was said to have been born 5 October 1930 at midnight, and was raised in Africa. Gale was early-to-mid 30s during her tenure, in contrast to female characters in similar series who tended to be younger.
Gale was unlike any female character seen before on British TV and became a household name. Reportedly, part of her charm came from the fact that her earliest appearances were episodes in which dialogue written for Keel was simply transferred to her. Said series script writer Dennis Spooner
Dennis Spooner
Dennis Spooner was an English television screenwriter and story editor, known primarily for his programmes about fictional spies and his work in children's television in the 1960s...
"there's the famous story of how Honor Blackman played Ian Hendry's part, which is why they stuck her in leather and such-it was so much cheaper than changing the lines!"
Venus Smith did not return for the third series and Cathy Gale became Steed's only regular partner. The series established a level of sexual tension
Sexual tension
Sexual tension is a social phenomenon that occurs when two people interact and one or both feel sexual desire, but the consummation is postponed or never happens....
between Steed and Gale, but the writers were not allowed to go beyond flirting
Flirting
Flirting is a playful, romantic, or sexual overture by one person to another subtly indicating an interest in a deeper relationship with the other person, and can involve verbal communication as well as body language...
and innuendo
Innuendo
An innuendo is a baseless invention of thoughts or ideas. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging , that works obliquely by allusion...
. Despite this the relationship between Steed and Gale was progressive for 1962-63. In "The Golden Eggs" it is revealed that Gale lived in Steed's flat; her rent according to Steed was to keep the refrigerator well-stocked and to cook for him (she appears to do neither). However, this was said to be a temporary arrangement while Gale looked for a new home, and Steed was sleeping at a hotel.
During the first series there were hints Steed worked for a branch of British Intelligence, and this was expanded in the second series. Steed initially received orders from different superiors, including someone referred to as "Charles", and "One-Ten" (Douglas Muir). By the third series the delivery of Steed's orders was not depicted on screen or explained. In "The Nutshell" the secret organisation to which Steed belongs is shown, and it is Gale's first visit to their HQ.
Small references to Steed's background were occasionally made. In series three's "Death of a Batman" it was said that Steed was with I Corps in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and in Munich in 1945. In series four episode "The Hour That Never Was" Steed goes to a reunion of his RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
regiment.
A film version of the series was in its initial planning stages by late 1963 after series three was completed. An early story proposal paired Steed and Gale with a male and female duo of American agents, to make the movie appeal to the American market. Before the project could gain momentum Blackman was cast opposite Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
in Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
, requiring her to leave the series.
Series transformation
During the Gale era Steed was transformed from a rugged trenchcoat-wearing agent into the stereotypical English gentleman, complete with Savile RowSavile Row
Savile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers...
suit, bowler hat
Bowler hat
The bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby , billycock or bombin, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown originally created in 1849 for the English soldier and politician Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester...
and umbrella with clothes later designed by Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin Cardin was known for his avant-garde style and his Space Age designs. He prefers geometric shapes and motifs, often ignoring the female form. He advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical...
. (The bowler and umbrella were full of tricks, including a sword hidden within the umbrella handle and a steel plate concealed in the hat.) These items were referred to in the French, German and Polish titles of the series, Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir ("Bowler hat and leather boots"), Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone ("With Umbrella, Charm and Bowler Hat") and Rewolwer i melonik ("A Revolver and a Bowler Hat"), respectively. With his impeccable manners, old world sophistication, and vintage automobiles, Steed came to represent the traditional Englishman of an earlier era.
By contrast his partners were youthful, forward-looking, and always dressed in the latest mod fashions. Gale's innovative leather outfits suited her many athletic fight scenes. Honor Blackman became a star in Britain with her black leather outfits and boots (nicknamed "kinky boots
Kinky boots
Kinky boots are boots with extreme characteristics which are intended to present a dramatic sexy appearance, such as by a prostitute or dominatrix. Extreme characteristics might include very high heels, thigh- or crotch-high length, or unusual colors or materials. They can be related to boot...
") and her judo-based fighting style. Macnee and Blackman even released a novelty song called "Kinky Boots
Kinky Boots (song)
"Kinky Boots" is a 1960s song written by Herbert Kretzmer and David Lee, and recorded by Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman, stars of the television series The Avengers....
". Some of the clothes seen in The Avengers were designed at the studio of John Sutcliffe
John Sutcliffe (designer)
John Sutcliffe was a British fashion designer and fetish photographer, famous in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as a designer of clothes for aficionados of leather, rubber and PVC fetishism, with an emphasis on rubber and leather catsuits, cloaks, and gasmasks.After service in the RAF, he set up a...
who published the AtomAge
AtomAge
AtomAge magazine was a fetish magazine published in Britain by the clothes designer John Sutcliffe in the 1970s as an offshoot of his AtomAge fetish clothing business. The first AtomAge clothing catalogue was published in 1965; the first issue of the magazine in A5 format was published in 1972...
fetish magazine
Fetish magazine
A fetish magazine is a type of magazine originating in the 1960s which is devoted to sexual fetishism. The content is generally aimed at being erotic rather than pornographic...
.
Series script writer Dennis Spooner said that the series would frequently feature Steed visiting busy public places such as the main airport in London, without anyone else present in the scene. "'Can't you afford extras?' they'd ask. Well it wasn't like that; it's just that Steed had to be alone to be accepted-put him in a crowd and he sticks out like a sore thumb! Let's face it, with normal people he's weird. The trick to making him acceptable is never to show him in a normal world, just fighting villains who are odder than he is!"
1965–68: With Emma Peel (Diana Rigg)
In 1965 the show was sold to United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
network, the American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
(ABC). The Avengers became one of the first British series to be aired on prime time U.S. television. The ABC network paid the then-unheard of sum of $2 million for the first 26 episodes. The average budget for each episode was reportedly £56,000, high for the British industry. The fourth series aired in the U.S. from March to December 1966.
Previously The Avengers had been shot on 405-line videotape using a multicamera setup, with very little provision for editing and virtually no location footage. The U.S. deal meant that the producers could afford to start shooting the series on 35mm film. The use of film rather than videotape was essential, as British 405-line video was technically incompatible with the U.S. NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
videotape format. Filmed productions were standard on U.S. prime time television at that time. The Avengers continued to be produced in monochrome.
The transfer to film meant that episodes would be shot using the single camera setup, giving the production greater flexibility. The videotaped episodes had looked cheap and studio bound. The use of film production and the single camera production style allowed more sophisticated visuals and camera angles and more outdoor location shots, all of which greatly improved the look of the series. As was standard on British television filmed production through the 1960s, all location work on series four was shot mute with the soundtrack created in post production. Dialogue scenes were filmed in the studio, leading to some jumps between location and studio footage.
Emma Peel
Emma Peel was a fictional spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure television series The Avengers. She was born Emma Knight, the daughter of an industrialist, Sir John Knight.-Casting:...
(Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
) debuted in this series, in October 1965. The name of the character derived from a comment by writers, during development, that they wanted a character with "man appeal". In an early attempt to incorporate this concept into the character's name, she was called "Samantha Peel", shortened to the awkward "Mantha Peel," Eventually the writers began referring to the idea by the verbal shorthand, "M. Appeal", which gave rise to the character's ultimate name. Emma Peel, whose husband went missing while flying over the Amazon, retained the self-assuredness of Gale, combined with superior fighting skills, intelligence, and a contemporary fashion sense.
After more than 60 actresses had been auditioned, the first choice to play the role was Elizabeth Shepherd
Elizabeth Shepherd
Elizabeth Shepherd is an English character actress whose work has spanned the stage and both the big and small screens. Her surname has been alternately billed as "Shephard" and "Sheppard"....
. However, after filming one and a half episodes, Shepherd was released. Her on-screen personality was deemed less interesting than that of Blackman's Gale and it was decided she simply wasn't right for the role. Another 20 actresses were auditioned before the show's casting director suggested that producers Brian Clemens
Brian Clemens
Brian Horace Clemens OBE is a British screenwriter and television producer, possibly best known for his work on The Avengers and The Professionals...
and Albert Fennell
Albert Fennell
Albert Fennell was a British film and television producer.Best known for his work on the 1960s spy drama The Avengers with Brian Clemens, Fennell also produced its follow-up, The New Avengers and The Professionals.The Professionals was made by Mark One Productions and The New Avengers by The...
check out a televised drama featuring the relatively unknown Rigg. Her screen test with Macnee showed that the two immediately worked well together, and a new era in Avengers history began.
A prologue was added to the beginning of all the fourth series episodes for the American transmissions. This was to clarify some initial confusion audiences had regarding the characters and their mission. In the opener, a waiter holding a champagne bottle falls dead onto a human-sized chessboard; a dagger protruding from a target on his back. Steed and Mrs. Peel (dressed in her trademark leather catsuit) walk up to the body as the voice over explains: "Extraordinary crimes against the people, and the state, have to be avenged by agents extraordinary. Two such people are John Steed, top professional, and his partner Emma Peel, talented amateur. Otherwise known as The Avengers." During this voice over, Steed pours two drinks from the wine bottle and Mrs. Peel replaces her gun in her boot. They clink glasses and depart together. Fade to black and then the opening titles proper begin.
In contrast to the Gale episodes, there was a lighter comic touch in Steed and Peel's interactions with each other and their reactions to other characters and situations. Earlier series had a harder tone, with the Gale era including some quite serious espionage dramas. This almost completely disappeared as Steed and Peel visibly enjoyed topping each other's witticisms. The layer of conflict with Gale-who on occasion openly resented being used by Steed, often without her permission-was absent from Steed's interaction with Peel. Also the sexual tension between Steed and Gale was not present with Peel. In both cases, the exact relationship between the partners was left ambiguous, although they seemed to have carte blanche to visit each other's homes whenever they pleased and it was not uncommon for scenes to suggest Steed had spent the night at Gale's or Peel's home, or vice-versa. Although nothing "improper" was displayed, the obviously much closer chemistry between Steed and Peel constantly suggests intimacy between the two.
Science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
fantasy elements (a style later known as Spy-fi
Spy-fi
-Definition and characteristics:It often uses a secret agent or superspy whose mission is a showcase of science fiction elements such as technology and ideas used for extortion, plots for world domination or world destruction, futuristic weapons, gadgets and fast vehicles that can travel on land,...
) emerged in stories. The duo would encounter killer robots ("The Cybernauts"), and giant alien carnivorous plants ("The Man-Eater of Surrey Green").
In her fourth episode, "Death at Bargain Prices", Mrs. Peel takes an undercover job at a department store. Her uniform for promoting space-age toys is an elaborate leather catsuit
Catsuit
A catsuit is a close-fitting one-piece garment that covers the torso and the legs, and frequently the arms. They are usually made from stretchable material, such as lycra, chiffon, spandex , leather, latex, PVC, or velour, and frequently close using a zipper at the front or back.Catsuits, which...
plus silver boots, sash, and welder's gloves. The suit minus the silver accessories became her signature outfit which she wore, primarily for fight scenes, in early episodes, and in the titles. There was a fetishistic
Fetish fashion
Fetish fashion is any style or appearance in the form of atype of clothing or accessory, created to be extreme or provocative. These styles are not usually worn by the majority of people on any regular basis. They are usually made of materials such as leather, latex or synthetic rubber or plastic,...
undercurrent in some episodes. In "A Touch of Brimstone
A Touch of Brimstone
A Touch of Brimstone is an 1966 episode of the television series The Avengers. It is widely known for Diana Rigg's "Queen of Sin" costume...
" Mrs. Peel dressed in a dominatrix
Dominatrix
Dominatrix or mistress is a woman or women who takes the dominant role in bondage, discipline and sadomasochism, or BDSM. A common form of address for a submissive to a dominatrix is "mistress", "ma'am", "domina" or "maîtresse"...
outfit of corset, laced boots and spiked collar to become the "Queen of Sin".
Peel's avant-garde fashions, featuring bold accents and high-contrast geometric patterns, emphasized her youthful, contemporary personality. She represented the modern England of the Sixties
Swinging London
Swinging London is a catch-all term applied to the fashion and cultural scene that flourished in London, in the 1960s.It was a youth-oriented phenomenon that emphasised the new and modern. It was a period of optimism and hedonism, and a cultural revolution. One catalyst was the recovery of the...
– just as Steed, with his vintage style and mannerisms, personified Edwardian era nostalgia. According to Macnee in his book The Avengers and Me, Rigg disliked wearing leather and insisted on a new line of fabric athletic wear for the 5th series. Alun Hughes, who had designed clothing for Diana Rigg's personal wardrobe, was suggested by the actress to design Emma Peel's "softer" new wardrobe.Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin Cardin was known for his avant-garde style and his Space Age designs. He prefers geometric shapes and motifs, often ignoring the female form. He advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical...
was brought in to design a new wardrobe for Macnee. In America, TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
ran a four-page photospread on Rigg's new "Emmapeeler" outfits (10–16 June 1967). Eight tight-fitting jumpsuits in a variety of bright colors were created using the stretch fabric crimplene
Crimplene
Crimplene is a thick yarn used to make a fabric of the same name. The resulting cloth is heavy, wrinkle-resistant and retains its shape well. Britain's defunct ICI Fibres laboratory developed the fibre in the early 1950s and it is commonly thought it was named after the Crimple Valley in which the...
.
Another memorable feature of the show from this point onwards was its automobiles. Steed's signature cars were vintage 1926–1928 Bentley
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...
racing or town cars, including Blower Bentleys and Bentley Speed Six
Bentley Speed Six
The regular Bentley 6½ Litre and the high-performance Bentley Speed Six were Bentley cars in production from 1926 to 1930. They were created out of the desire for more engine power by Walter Owen Bentley by adding two cylinders to the straight-4 engine used in his Bentley 4½ Litre car. The Speed...
es (although, uniquely, in "The Thirteenth Hole" he drives a Vauxhall 30/98), while Peel drove a sporty Lotus Elan
Lotus Elan
Lotus Elan is the name of two convertible cars and one fixed head coupé produced by Lotus Cars. The original Type 26, 26R Racing version , 36R Racing version , 36 Fixed Head Coupe, 45 Drop Head Coupe, and the "Type 50" +2 Coupe, circa 1962 to 1975, are commonly known as the '60s Elans...
convertible which, like her clothes, emphasized her independence and vitality. During the first Peel series, each episode would end with a short, comedic scene of the duo leaving the scene of their most recent adventure in some unusual vehicle.
For this series Diana Rigg's stunt double was stuntman Billy Westley, Patrick Macnee's stunt double was Peter Clay.
Fifth series
After one filmed series (of 26 episodes) in black and white, The Avengers began filming in colour for the fifth series in 1966. It would be three years before Britain's ITV network began full colour broadcasting.This series was broadcast in the U.S. from January to May 1967. The American prologue of the previous series was rejigged for the colour episodes. It opened with the caption The Avengers In Color (required by ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
for colour series at that time). This was followed by Steed unwrapping the foil from a champagne bottle and Peel shooting the cork away. (Unlike the "chessboard" opening of the previous series, this new prologue was also included in UK broadcasts of the series.)
The first 16 episodes of the fifth series begin with Peel receiving a call-to-duty message from Steed: "Mrs. Peel, we're needed." Peel would be conducting her normal activities when she'd unexpectedly receive a message on a calling card or within a delivered gift, at which point Steed would suddenly appear (usually in her apartment). The messages would be delivered by Steed in increasingly bizarre ways as the series progressed: in a newspaper Peel had just bought, or on traffic lights while she was out driving. On one occasion Steed appeared on her television set, interrupting an old science-fiction movie (actually clips from their Year Four episode "The Cybernauts") to call her to work. Another way Steed contacted her was in the beginning of episode 13, "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Station" when she enters her flat and sees a Meccano
Meccano
Meccano is a model construction system comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices....
Percy the Small Engine
Percy the Small Engine
Percy the Small Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic steam engine from The Railway Series of children's books written by the Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry...
going around a circular track with a note on one of the train cars that says "Mrs. Peel" in bold letters, she then walks over to Steed who says "you're needed". At the start of "The Hidden Tiger" Peel is redecorating her apartment (wearing a jumpsuit and drinking champagne); she peels off a strip of wallpaper, revealing the words "Mrs Peel" painted on the wall beneath. She turns to see Steed in the apartment removing another strip of wallpaper, revealing "We're needed" painted underneath on another wall. In another instance Emma enters Steed's flat to find he has just fallen down the stairs, and he painfully gasps, "Mrs. Peel, you're needed." Often the episode's tag scene would return to the situation of the "Mrs. Peel, we're needed" scene. "The Hidden Tiger" returns to the partially redecorated apartment where Steed begins painting a love heart and arrow and the initials of two people on the wall, but paints over the initials when Peel sees his graffito. In "The Superlative Seven" the call to duty and the tag both involve a duck shooting situation where unexpected items fall from the sky after shots are fired.
The series also introduced a comic tag line caption to the episode title, using the format of "Steed [does this], Emma [does that]." For example "The Joker" had the opening caption: "Steed trumps an ace, Emma plays a lone hand".
The "Mrs. Peel, we're needed" scenes and the alternate tag lines were dropped after the first 16 episodes, after a break in production, for financial reasons. They were deemed by the U.K. networks as disposable if The Avengers was to return to ITV screens. (Dave Rogers' book The Avengers Anew lists a set for every Steed/Peel episode except "The Forget-Me-Knot".)
Stories were increasingly characterised by a futuristic, science fiction bent, with mad scientists and their creations leaving havoc. The duo dealt with being shrunk to doll size ("Mission... Highly Improbable"), pet cats being electrically altered into ferocious and lethal 'miniature tigers' ("The Hidden Tiger"), killer automata ("Return of The Cybernauts"), mind-transferring machines ("Who's Who???"), and invisible foes ("The See-Through Man").
The series parodied its American contemporaries with episodes such as "The Girl From AUNTIE", "Mission... Highly Improbable" and "The Winged Avenger" (spoofing The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
, Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
and Batman
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
, respectively). The show still carried the basic format — Steed and his associate were charged with solving the problem in the space of a 50-minute episode, thus preserving the safety of 1960s Britain.
Comedy was evident in the names and acronyms of the organizations. For example, in "The Living Dead", two rival groups examine reported ghost sightings: FOG (Friends Of Ghosts) and SMOG (Scientific Measurement Of Ghosts). "The Hidden Tiger" features the Philanthropic Union for Rescue, Relief and Recuperation of Cats — PURRR — led by characters named Cheshire, Manx, and Angora.
The series also occasionally adopted a metafiction
Metafiction
Metafiction, also known as Romantic irony in the context of Romantic works of literature, is a type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion...
al tone, coming close to breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
. In the series 5 episode "Something Nasty in the Nursery" Peel directly references the series' storytelling convention of having potentially-helpful sources of information killed off just before she or Steed arrive. This then occurs a few minutes later. In the tag scene for the same episode, Steed and Peel tell viewers - indirectly - to tune in next week.
For this series Diana Rigg's stunt double was stuntwoman Cyd Child, though stuntman Peter Elliot doubled for Rigg in a stunt dive in "The Bird Who Knew Too Much".
Rigg's departure
Rigg was initially unhappy with the way she was treated by the show's producers. During her first series she learned she was being paid less than the camera man. She demanded a raise which put her more on a par with her co-star, or she would leave the show. The producers gave in, thanks to the show's great popularity in the US.At the end of the fifth series in 1967, Rigg left to pursue other projects. This included following Honor Blackman to play a leading role in a James Bond film, in this case On Her Majesty's Secret Service
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the sixth spy film in the James Bond series, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. Following the decision of Sean Connery to retire from the role after You Only Live Twice, Eon Productions selected an unknown actor and model, George Lazenby...
.
Rigg and Macnee have remained lifelong friends.
1968–69: With Tara King (Linda Thorson)
When Diana Rigg left the series in October 1967, the British network executives decided that the current series formula, despite resulting in popular success, could not be pursued further. Thus they decided that a "return to realism" was appropriate for the sixth series (1968–69). Brian Clemens and Albert Fennel were replaced by John Bryce, producer of most of the Cathy-Gale era episodes.Bryce had a difficult situation in hand. He had to find a replacement for Diana Rigg and shoot the first seven episodes of the new series, which were supposed to be shipped to America together with the last eight Emma Peel colour episodes.
Bryce signed his then-girlfriend, 20-year-old newcomer Linda Thorson
Linda Thorson
Linda Thorson is a Canadian actress, most famous for her work as Tara King in The Avengers.-Personal life:...
, as the new female costar and chose the name "Tara King" for her character. Thorson played the role with more innocence in mind and at heart; and unlike the previous partnerships with Cathy and Emma, the writers allowed subtle hints of romance to blossom between Steed and King. King also differed from Steed's previous partners in that she was a fully fledged (albeit initially inexperienced) agent working for Steed's organisation; his previous partners had all been (in the words of the prologue used for American broadcasts of the first Rigg series) talented amateurs. Bryce wanted Tara to be blonde, so Thorson's brown hair was bleached. However the process badly damaged Thorson's hair, so she had to wear wigs for the first third of her episodes, until her own hair grew back. Her natural brown hair was not seen until the episode "All Done with Mirrors".
Production of the first seven episodes of the sixth series began. However financial problems and internal difficulties undermined Bryce's effort. He only managed to complete three episodes: "Invitation to a Killing" (a 90-minute episode introducing Tara King), "The Great, Great Britain Crime" (some of its original footage was reused in the 1969 episode "Homicide and Old Lace") and "Invasion of the Earthmen" (which survived relatively intact except for the scenes where Tara wears a brown wig.)
After a rough cut
Rough cut
In filmmaking, the rough cut is the second of three stages of offline editing. The rough cut is the first stage in which the film begins to resemble its final product...
screening of these episodes to studio executives, Bryce was fired and Clemens and Fennel were summoned back. At their return, a fourth episode called "The Murderous Connection" was in its second day of production. After revising the script, it was renamed as "The Curious Case of the Countless Clues" and production was resumed. Production of the episode "Split!", a leftover script from the Emma Peel colour series, proceeded. Two completely new episodes were also shot: "Get-A-Way", and "Look (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers".
Dennis Spooner said of the event that "Brian left The Avengers for about three episodes, someone took over, and when Brian came back, it was in a terrible state. He was faced with doing a rewrite on a film they'd already shot." The episode had a story error where Steed leaves for a destination. The villains then realise this and pursue him - yet arrive there before Steed does. It was fixed by having a character ask Steed 'What took you so long?', to which he replies 'I came the pretty way'. "You can only do that on The Avengers you see. It was just my favourite show to work on."
Clemens and Fennel decided to film a new episode to introduce Tara King. This, the third episode filmed for the sixth series, was titled "The Forget-Me-Knot" and bade farewell to Emma Peel and introduced her successor, a trained but inexperienced agent named Tara King. It would be broadcast as the first episode of the sixth series. Tara debuts in dynamic style: when Steed is called to Headquarters, he is attacked and knocked down by trainee agent King who mistakes him for her training partner.
No farewell scenes for Emma Peel had been shot when Diana Rigg left the series. Rigg was recalled for "The Forget-Me-Knot", through which Emma acts as Steed's partner as usual. Rigg also filmed a farewell scene for Emma which appeared as the tag scene of the episode. It was explained that Emma's husband, Peter Peel, was found alive and rescued, and she left the British secret service to be with him. Emma visits Steed to say goodbye, and while leaving she passes Tara on the stairway giving the advice that "He likes his tea stirred anti-clockwise." Steed looks out the window as a departing Emma enters the Bentley driven by Peter - who from a distance seems to resemble Steed (and was played by Patrick Macnee, wearing a bowler hat and umbrella).
Bryce's original episode introducing Tara, "Invitation to a Killing", was revised as a regular 60-minute episode named "Have Guns Will Haggle". These episodes, together with "Invasion of the Earthmen" and the last eight Peel colour episodes, were shipped to America in February 1968.
For this series the government official who gave Steed his orders was depicted on screen. Mother
Mother (The Avengers)
"Mother" is a fictional character in British TV series The Avengers. "Mother" is a codename. In the series the incumbent in the role is a wheelchair using male British government official. He made his debut in The Forget-Me-Knot, which was Emma Peel's final episode and Tara King's first. In...
, introduced in "The Forget-Me-Knot", is a man in a wheelchair. The role was taken by Patrick Newell
Patrick Newell
Patrick David Newell was a British actor known for his large size. It is reputed he gained weight as a deliberate attempt to boost his career, marking him out for some niche roles...
who had played different roles in two earlier episodes, most recently in series five. Mother's headquarters would shift from place to place, including one episode where his complete office was on the top level of a double-decker bus
Double-decker bus
A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or 'decks'. Global usage of this type of bus is more common in outer touring than in its intra-urban transportion role. Double-decker buses are also commonly found in certain parts of Europe, Asia, and former British colonies and protectorates...
. (Several James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films of the 1970s would make use of a similar gimmick for Bond's briefings.)
Added later as a regular was Mother's mute Amazonian assistant, Rhonda (Rhonda Parker). There was one appearance by an agency official code-named "Father"
Father (The Avengers)
"Father" is the codename given to a blind female British government official who appears as a supporting character in the 1998 film The Avengers, based on a very brief appearance in the British TV series of the same name.-Role:...
, a blind older woman played by Iris Russell. (Russell had appeared in the series several times previously in other roles.) In one episode, "Killer", Steed is paired with Lady Diana Forbes Blakeney (Jennifer Croxton) while King is on holiday.
Scriptwriter Dennis Spooner later reflected on this series. "When I wrote "Look (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers", that was definitely the last series. They were going to make no more, so in that series we went right over the top; we went really weird, because they knew there weren't going to be any more."
Spooner said the series "worked because it became a parody on itself, almost. You can only do that so long." Overall he attributes the success of the show to its light approach. "We spoofed everything, we took Mission: Impossible, Bad Day at Black Rock
Bad Day at Black Rock
Bad Day at Black Rock is a 1955 thriller film directed by John Sturges that combines elements of Westerns and film noir. It tells the story of a mysterious stranger who arrives at a tiny isolated town in a desert of the southwest United States in search of a man...
, High Noon
High Noon
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
, The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen is a 1967 film directed by Robert Aldrich and released by MGM. It was filmed in England and features an ensemble cast, including Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, and Robert Webber. The film is based on E. M...
, The Birds
The Birds (film)
The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...
... we took them all. The film buffs used to love it. There were always lines in it that people knew what we were talking about."
Vehicle wise, Steed continued to drive vintage green Bentleys in the first seven episodes in production. His regular transport for the remainder of the series were two yellow Rolls-Royce cars. Mother also occasionally appeared in silver Rolls-Royces. Tara King drove an AC 428
AC Cars
AC Cars Group Ltd. formerly known as Auto Carriers Ltd. is a British specialist automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest independent car marques founded in Britain...
and a Lotus Europa
Lotus Europa
The Lotus Europa was a two door mid-engined GT coupé built by Lotus Cars from 1966 to 1975. In 2006 Lotus began production of a totally new, Lotus Elise-derived design, a mid-engined GT coupé named Europa S....
.
The revised series continued to be broadcast in America. The episodes with Linda Thorson as King proved to be highly rated in Europe and the UK. In the United States however, the ABC network which carried the series chose to air it opposite the number one show in the country at the time, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Steed and King couldn't compete, and the show was cancelled in the US. Without this vital commercial backing, production could not continue in Britain either, and the series ended in May 1969. The final scene of the final episode ("Bizarre") has Steed and King, champagne glasses in hand, accidentally launching themselves into orbit aboard a rocket, as Mother breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
and says to the audience, "They'll be back!" before adding in shock, "They're unchaperoned up there!"
Music
The 1961 series featured a jazz-influenced theme by John DankworthJohn Dankworth
Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE , known in his early career as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist and clarinetist...
. Library music was used sparsely as a soundtrack. Dankworth's theme music was reworked for the third series.
When Rigg joined the series new theme music by Laurie Johnson
Laurie Johnson
Laurie Johnson is an English film and television composer, and bandleader.-Career:...
was introduced. This was issued on an LP, entitled The Shake.
Johnson re-scored the theme when Linda Thorson joined the series, adding a counter melody on trumpet. The new theme debuted in the closing titles of the episode "The Forget-Me-Knot", which introduced Thorson.
Johnson also provided incidental music. Owing to professional commitments in films, including Hot Millions, Johnson requested assistance from his keyboard player, Howard Blake
Howard Blake
Howard Blake, OBE is an English composer , particularly noted for his film scores, although he is prolific in several fields of classical and light music...
, who scored some of the episodes of the final season. Blake composed additional music for other episodes which Johnson did not have time to complete.
Johndon subsequently collaborated with Clemens on other projects, including the theme for The New Avengers.
Production team
The production team changed during the series' long run, particularly between the third and fourth series, but the influence of Brian ClemensBrian Clemens
Brian Horace Clemens OBE is a British screenwriter and television producer, possibly best known for his work on The Avengers and The Professionals...
was felt throughout. He wrote the second episode and became the series' most prolific scriptwriter. Succeeding producers Leonard White and John Bryce, Julian Wintle became the producer of the 4th series with Brian Clemens credited as Associate Producer and Albert Fennell
Albert Fennell
Albert Fennell was a British film and television producer.Best known for his work on the 1960s spy drama The Avengers with Brian Clemens, Fennell also produced its follow-up, The New Avengers and The Professionals.The Professionals was made by Mark One Productions and The New Avengers by The...
credited as "In charge of production". Series 5, made by A.B.C. Television Films, (which was created during the run up to Associated British Corporation and Associated-Redifussion forming Thames TV) Clemens and Fennell became co-producers, with Wintle as Executive Producer. For series 6, after its first producer John Bryce left, Clemens and Fennell returned as co-producers, early episodes also credit Julian Wintle as Consultant to the series and Philip Levene as Story Consultant.
Ray Austin became the fight arranger for series 4 and 5, introducing kung fu to the series. Later he became a prolific television director. Joe Dunne took over for series 6.
Reception in North America
Although kinescopes of the second and third series were seen in Canada as early as 1965, the first three series of The Avengers were not broadcast on television in the United States. These series were shot in the studio on 405-line video using a multicamera setup. Episodes were often performed live to tape on the day they were to be transmitted and there was little provision for retakes. Seven episodes of the first series were actually performed live. As there was little opportunity for retakes, these early episodes were fraught with technical errors. The episode "Immortal Clay" features a visible camera shake. In "School for Traitors" Julie Stevens stumbles over her dialogue when introducing Steed to someone, prompting Macnee to ad lib a joke to cover the error.In contrast 1960s US prime time drama television productions were shot on film using the single camera method. Retakes allowed obvious errors to be corrected in these productions. As they were originated on film, the editing techniques were far superior to those available for 405-line videotape. The 1965 sale of The Avengers to United States television prompted a change in production style to the single camera shooting method, originated on 35 mm film
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
.
The more relaxed standards of British media would have required some moments to be censored in the U.S. In "Mr Teddy Bear" Steed strips down to his underwear for decontamination. In "Death Dispatch" Gale is seen wearing a black-lace brassiere
Brassiere
A brassiere is an undergarment that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts. Since the late 19th century, it has replaced the corset as the most widely accepted method for supporting breasts....
. Other aspects were more restrained because of British television rules, such as the physical combat limitations. Gunshots had to miss and striking someone with a closed fist was not allowed. As a result, Steed and his partners defeated their opponents by throwing them into walls, making them stumble and fall after pushing them into furniture, and slapping them in the face with an open hand. Compared to the fighting styles depicted in U.S. shows like I Spy and The Wild Wild West
The Wild Wild West
The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on CBS for four seasons from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1969....
, The Avengers was tagged as being "too British".
The series' stunt man and stunt arranger Ray Austin expressed the opinion that the show's violence ultimately harmed its popular success in the United States. There The Avengers was given a late timeslot due to its violence. "They did that with the first Avengers here [in the U.S.], with Diana Rigg. They put us on at 11.30 pm on CBS [sic], because it was too violent." Austin goes on to explain that U.S. television follows a "different code". Austin said that on The Avengers "we were determined to do the show our way, the English way, and no one was going to stop us! And, indeed, no one did stop us. We never, never got to prime time. And it was our own faults, because we would not comply to the Midwest. That's where the money comes from in this country, nowhere else. Forget Los Angeles, forget New York-you have to aim for the Midwest. If the Midwest watches your show, you've made it." In fact the first and second series of Emma Peel episodes mainly aired at 10.00 pm on ABC. The final Rigg episodes and all the Linda Thorson episodes mainly ran at 7.30 pm, also on ABC.
American censors objected to some content, in particular the episode "A Touch of Brimstone" which featured a modern day version of the Hellfire Club
Hellfire Club
The Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century, and was more formally or cautiously known as the "Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe"...
and climaxed with Emma being drugged and donning a skimpy corset costume with spiked collar and high heels to become the Queen of Sin, and being attacked with a whip by guest star Peter Wyngarde
Peter Wyngarde
Peter Paul Wyngarde is an Anglo-French actor best known for playing the character Jason King, a bestselling novelist turned sleuth, in two British television series in the late 1960s and early 1970s: Department S and Jason King .-Biography:He was born Cyril Goldbert in Marseilles, France, the...
. The American broadcast network refused to air it. In total five episodes from the first Emma Peel series were not initially broadcast by ABC. These were: "A Surfeit of H2O", "Silent Dust" (which featured Emma being attacked with a horsewhip), "Quick-Quick Slow Death", "A Touch of Brimstone" and "Honey for the Prince" (in which Emma performed the dance of the seven veils
Dance of the Seven Veils
In several notable works of Western culture, the Dance of the Seven Veils is one of the elaborations on the biblical tale of the execution of John the Baptist...
), although they were seen in later syndicated repeats.
Earlier Cathy Gale and Venus Smith episodes had aired in Canada before the arrival of Mrs. Peel. U.S. audiences saw the 1962-1964 Gale and Smith episodes of the series for the first time in the early 1990s when they were broadcast on the A&E Network
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
. No Keel episode of the series repeatedly was ever broadcast outside Britain, and even in the UK , only an episode "The Frighteners" (as part of a run of classic episodes on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in early 1993, otherwise mostly consisting of Gale episodes).
Non-English language titles
The Avengers was broadcast to over 120 countries, under various titles.- France: Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir (Bowler Hat and Leather Boots)
- Germany: Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone (With Umbrella, Charm and Bowler)
- Italy: Agente Speciale (Special Agent)
- Serbia: Osvetnici (The Avengers)
- Spain, Mexico and South America: Los Vengadores (The Avengers)
- Romania: Răzbunătorii (The Avengers)
- Bulgaria: Отмъстителите (The Avengers)
- Portugal and Brazil: Os Vingadores (The Avengers)
- The Netherlands: De Wrekers (The Avengers)
- South Korea: 전격 제로 작전 (The Blitzkrieg Operation No. 0) for "The New Avengers"
- Turkey: Tatli - Sert (Sweet - Harsh)
- Greece: Οι Εκδικητές (The Avengers)
- Israel: הגומלים (Reward)
- Finland: Herrasmiesagentti (Gentleman agent)
- Poland: Rewolwer i melonik (Revolver and Bowler Hat)
- Taiwan: 復仇者 (The Avengers). From October 1971 to 1973 Emma Peel-Tara King era episode aired Tuesday evenings, 10-11 P.M.
- Thailand: เพื่อนใจสายลับ (Chappie-The Spy) for season 1-3 , ขวัญใจสายลับ (Dearie-The Spy) for season 4-5 , กลอยใจสายลับ (Sweetie-The Spy) for season 6
- Iceland: Skelegg skötuhjú (Trenchant twosome)
Episodes
Six series of The Avengers were made between 1961 and 1969. There was an enforced break in filming and transmission towards the end of series five due to financial problems. Television researcher Andrew Pixley and authors Paul CornellPaul Cornell
Paul Cornell is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield....
, Martin Day
Martin Day
Martin Day is a screenwriter and novelist best known for his work on various spin-offs related to the BBC Television series Doctor Who, and many episodes of the daytime soaps Doctors and Family Affairs.-Work:...
and Keith Topping
Keith Topping
Keith Andrew Topping , is an author, journalist and broadcaster most closely associated with his work relating to the BBC Television series Doctor Who and for writing numerous official and unofficial guide books to a wide variety of television and film series, specifically Buffy the Vampire...
in their book The Avengers Dossier: The Unauthorised and Unofficial Guide consider the last eight episodes produced after the break as constituting a short series six, and therefore count seven series in total. Within the internal production of The Avengers the last eight episodes were considered to be a continuation of series five.
Episode copies and DVDs
All original videotapes from series one, two and three, which were shot on video, were wipedWiping
Wiping or junking is a colloquial term for action taken by radio and television production and broadcasting companies, in which old audiotapes, videotapes, and telerecordings , are erased, reused, or destroyed after several uses...
.
Only two complete episodes from the show's first series are known to exist, as 16mm film telerecordings. These are "The Frighteners", an extract of which is playing on a television in the film Quadrophenia
Quadrophenia (film)
Quadrophenia is a 1979 British film, loosely based around the 1973 rock opera of the same name by The Who. The film stars Phil Daniels as a Mod named Jimmy. It was directed by Franc Roddam in his feature directing debut...
, and "Girl on the Trapeze", which was found in the UCLA Film and Television Archive
UCLA Film and Television Archive
The UCLA Film and Television Archive is an internationally renowned visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles. It holds more than 220,000 film and television titles and 27 million feet of...
via an internet search of their on-line database. Part of the show's first episode was found in the United States. The footage is of the episode's first 21 minutes, up to the first commercial break.
All series two and three episodes survive as 16mm telerecordings. These have been released to DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, as have all of the Emma Peel and Tara King episodes, which were shot on film. The two surviving complete Keel episodes, plus the remnant of the first episode, have also been released in the UK and US.
The New Avengers
The sustained popularity of the Tara King episodes in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
led to a 1975 French television advertisement for a brand of champagne with Thorson and Macnee reprising their roles. The advertisement's success spurred financing interest in France for new episodes of The Avengers.
The result was a new series, The New Avengers. Patrick Macnee reprised the role of Steed, with two new partners, Mike Gambit (Gareth Hunt
Gareth Hunt
Alan Leonard Hunt was an English actor, known as Gareth Hunt, best remembered for playing the footman Frederick Norton in Upstairs, Downstairs and Mike Gambit in The New Avengers.-Early life:...
) and Purdey (Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
). It aired on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in the UK in 1976-1977, CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in the United States (in 1978/79) and TF1
TF1
TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(series 1 in 1976-1977 and series 2 in 1979). The final four episodes were almost completely produced by Canadian interests and were filmed there. In some markets they carried the title The New Avengers in Canada.
Novels
A number of original novels based on the series were published in the 1960s. The first by Douglas Enefer, published by Consul Books, was the only 60s novel to feature Cathy Gale. In the UK Panther books published four novels written by John Garforth, featuring Emma Peel in 1967, these were reprinted in the US by Berkley Medallion books, who, after Panther stopped publishing Avenger novels in the UK, continued publishing original novels of their own, one featuring Emma Peel & four featuring Tara King for the US market only, three by Keith Laumer in 1968 and two by Norman Daniels 1968/69. Berkely Medallion later re-printed all nine novels with new covers that featured photos of both Emma and Tara, regardless of which Avenger girl appeared in the novel. The two novels published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1965/66 were co-written by Patrick Macnee, making him one of the first actors to write licensed spin-off fiction of their own shows. The Macnee novels, deadline and dead duck, were reprinted in the UK by Titan BooksTitan Books
Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...
in standard paperback in 1994 and in France by Huitieme Art (1995 & 1996). They were also published in the USA for the first time by TV Books in 1998. Titan reissued the books in trade paperback format (with the same covers) to coincide with the release of the feature film The Avengers
The Avengers (film)
The Avengers is a 1998 American film adaptation of the British television series of the same name from the 1960s.The film was directed by Jeremiah Chechik...
.
There was a 1990 novel, Too Many Targets by John Peel
John Peel (writer)
John Peel is a British writer, best known for his books connected to several television series. He has written under several pseudonyms, including John Vincent and Nicholas Adams. He lives in Long Island, New York and his wife is a U.S...
, that featured all of Steed's partners except Venus Smith and Dr Martin King.
- The Avengers, Douglas Enefer, 1963
- deadline, Patrick Macnee and Peter Leslie, 1965
- dead duck, Macnee and Leslie, 1966
- The Floating Game, John Garforth, 1967
- The Laugh Was on Lazarus, Garforth, 1967
- The Passing of Gloria Munday, Garforth, 1967
- Heil Harris!, Garforth, 1967
- The Afrit Affair, Keith LaumerKeith LaumerJohn Keith Laumer was an American science fiction author. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was an officer in the United States Air Force and a U.S. diplomat...
, 1968 - The Drowned Queen, Laumer, 1968
- The Gold Bomb, Laumer, 1968
- The Magnetic Man, Norman DanielsNorman DanielsProf. Norman Daniels, PhD, is an American philosopher, ethicist, and bioethicist at Harvard. Currently, Norman Daniels is in the of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston....
, 1968 - Moon Express, Daniels, 1969
- John Steed — An Authorized Biography Vol. 1: Jealous in Honour, Tim HealdTim HealdTim Heald is a British author, biographer, journalist and public speaker.Heald was born in Dorchester, Dorset, England, and educated at Sherborne School, Dorset and Balliol College, Oxford, receiving an MA in Modern History....
, 1977 (UK release only)
- The Saga of Happy Valley, Geoff Barlow, 1980 (Unauthorised, with character names changed to John Steade and Emma Peale. Sold only in Australia)
- A 4 volume low volume fan fiction set produced in Australia but authorised.
- Vol.1 The Weather Merchants (1989) by Dave Rogers and Geoff Barlow, Rogers had previously written several non-fiction books about the series
- Vol.2 The Monster of the Moor (1990) by Geoff Barlow
- Vol.3 Before the Mast (1991). A Tara short story, produced only in photocopied supplement format
- Vol.4 (1994). Contains 2 stories, Moonlight Express and The Spoilsports.
- Too Many Targets, John PeelJohn Peel (writer)John Peel is a British writer, best known for his books connected to several television series. He has written under several pseudonyms, including John Vincent and Nicholas Adams. He lives in Long Island, New York and his wife is a U.S...
and Dave Rogers, 1990. - The Avengers, Julie Kaewert, 1998 (film novelisation)
A short story by Peter Leslie entitled "What's a Ghoul Like You Doing in a Place Like This?" appeared in The Television Crimebusters Omnibus, a hardback anthology edited by Peter Haining
Peter Haining
Peter Alexander Haining was a British journalist, author and anthologist who lived and worked in Suffolk...
, first published by Orion in 1994.(This Steed and Tara story first appeared in the 1969 UK Avengers annual, from Atlas publications.)
Both of the Macnee/Leslie UK paperback titles were translated and published in Portugal in 1967 as 'Os Vingadores: O Dia Depois De Amanha' (deadline) and 'Os Vingadores: O Pato Morto' (dead duck) by Deaga. All four UK John Garforth Panther book paperbacks were translated and published by Roman in France (1967), a paperback omnibus edition was published in 1998 by Fleuve Noir. Three of the Garforth paperbacks were also translated and published by Heyne in Germany (1967/68) ('Heil Harris!' was not translated for obvious reasons.) and a German hardback omnibus edition of the three titles was published by Lichtenberg (1968), reprinted in paperback by Heyne in 1998. All four titles were also translated and published in Holland by Bruna (1967) and in Chile by Zig-Zag (1968).
Comics
The first UK Avengers comic strips featuring Steed and Cathy Gale first appeared in regional TV listings magazines 'Look Westward' and 'The Viewer' from 14 September 1963 to 9 May 1964, (later in 1964, re-printed in the 'Manchester Evening News' newspaper.) this run consisted of 4 serials. Steed and Mrs Peel comic strips began in 'TV Comic' in issue 720, dated 2 October 1965, beginning after the TV debut of Emma PeelEmma Peel
Emma Peel was a fictional spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure television series The Avengers. She was born Emma Knight, the daughter of an industrialist, Sir John Knight.-Casting:...
and ran until issue 771, dated 24 September 1966 (this run consisted of 10 serials plus one four page one off in TV Comic Holiday Special June 1966), when the rights were sold to publishers D.C. Thompson, where the next version of the strip appeared in issue 199, dated 10 December 1966, of 'Diana' the popular paper for girls, its run ended in issue 224, dated 2 June 1967, with art by Emilio Frejo and Juan Gonzalez Alacrojo, this run consisted of 8 serials. Earlier, 'The Growing Up of Emma Peel' comic strip had appeared in 'June and Schoolfriend' comic from issue 52, dated 29 January 1966, to issue 63, dated 16 April 1966, this had featured the adventures of 14 year old Emma Knight and was run concurent with the TV Comic strip and consisted of 11 instalments. The Avengers returned to TV comic issue 877, dated 5 October 1968, just after Tara King debuted on TV, the Tara & Steed strip continued until issue 1077, dated 5 August 1972, this run consisted of 28 serials plus one four page one off in TV Comic Holiday Special 1972. Also in 1966 Thorpe & Porter published a 68 page Avengers comic featuring Steed & Peel with original art by Mike Anglo and Mick Austin, this consisted of four 16 pages stories.
A few The Avengers-related comic books have been published in the USA. They are not named The Avengers because the rights to the names "Avengers" and "New Avengers" are held by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
for use with their Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
comics depicting a team of superheroes called The Avengers. Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984.-History:...
published one issue of John Steed Emma Peel in 1968 (subtitled The Avengers on the Indicia
Indicia (publishing)
Indicia is the plural of the Latin word indicium, meaning distinguishing marks.In magazine publishing, indicia refers to a piece of text traditionally appearing on the first recto page after the cover, which usually contains the official name of the publication, its publication date, information...
page), which included two newly-coloured and reformatted The Avengers strips from "TV Comic". A three-issue miniseries entitled Steed and Mrs Peel appeared from 1990-1992 under the Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
imprint, it featured a three part story, 'The Golden Game' in book 1-3, by Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
and a two part story, in book 2 & 3, 'A Deadly Rainbow' by Anne Caufield, both strips had art by Ian Gibson
Ian Gibson (artist)
Ian Gibson is a British comic book artist, best known for his 1980s black-and-white work for 2000 AD, especially as the main artist on Robo-Hunter and The Ballad of Halo Jones, as well as his long run on Judge Dredd.-Biography:...
.
In the UK, where hard back annuals are traditionally produced for sale at Christmas, The Avengers first appeared in 'TV Crimebusters Annual' (1962) and featured a 7 page comic strip with Dr. David Keel titled 'The Drug Pedlar'. And Atlas publications produced three 'The Avengers' hard back Annuals for 1967, 1968 and 1969, which also featured original Avengers comic strips featuring Steed, Emma Peel and Tara King, as well as text stories.
The TV Comic Avengers strips and the 1966 Avengers comic and a few comic strips from the Annuals have been translated and published in Germany, Holland, France and Chile.
Stage play
A stage version of The Avengers was produced in Britain in 1971, written by TV series veterans Brian Clemens and Terence FeelyTerence Feely
Terence Feely was a British screenwriter, playwright and author. Though his work has spanned five decades, he is perhaps best remembered as the creator of the groundbreaking ITV drama series The Gentle Touch ....
, and directed by Leslie Philips. It starred Simon Oates
Simon Oates
Simon Oates was an English actor best known for his roles on television.Born in Canning Town, east London, and subsequently moving to Finchley in his teens, Oates trained as a heating engineer for his father's firm, before becoming an actor...
as Steed, Sue Lloyd
Sue Lloyd
Sue Lloyd was an English model turned actress with numerous film and television credits.-Biography:...
as new partner Hannah Wild, and Kate O'Mara
Kate O'Mara
Kate O'Mara is an English film, stage and television actress. She is perhaps most widely known for her role as Caress Morell, the scheming sister of Alexis Colby in the 1980s American primetime soap opera Dynasty, though is also known for playing other villains such as The Rani in Doctor Who and...
as villainess Madame Gerda. All three actors had played guest roles in the original series.
A character named Hana Wilde (played by Charlotte Rampling
Charlotte Rampling
Charlotte Rampling, OBE is an English actress. Her career spans four decades in English-language as well as French and Italian cinema.- Early life :...
) had essentially acted as Steed's partner in series five's "The Superlative Seven", an episode in which Emma Peel appears only briefly. According to John Peel in his overview of "The Superlative Seven", "Charlotte Rampling was rumoured to be grooming up to replace Diana Rigg in this story, but nothing ever came of that."
Radio series
The Avengers Radio series was transmitted between 6 December 1971 and 28 December 1973 on Springbok Radio, the english language service of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), it was recorded at Sonovision Studios in Johannesberg, produced by Dave Gooden, the original TV scripts were adapted and directed by Tony JayTony Jay
Tony Jay was an English actor, voice actor and singer. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was known for his voice work in animation, film and computer games. Jay's distinctive baritone voice often landed him villainous roles...
, for the 1st six months and Dennis Folbigge for the remainder. South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
did not have national television until 1976. The episodes were adapted from both Emma Peel and Tara King episodes, (with the Tara King character changed to Emma Peel throughout.) The Avengers were played by two British expatriate actors, Donald Monat as Steed and Diane Appleby as Mrs Peel, with Hugh Rouse as the tongue-in-cheek narrator. The stories were adapted into five episode serials under Tony Jay
Tony Jay
Tony Jay was an English actor, voice actor and singer. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was known for his voice work in animation, film and computer games. Jay's distinctive baritone voice often landed him villainous roles...
and six and seven episode serials under Dennis Folbigge, of approximately 15 minutes each (including adverts) and stripped across the week, Monday-Friday, on Springbok Radio.
Currently only 19 complete serials survive, all from reel-to-reel off-air recordings made by John Wright in 1972. Also the first 3 episodes of a re-make of Escape In Time currently exists, eps 1 & 2 are copies from the original Sonovision tapes, and ep 3 is from an off air recording, on audio cassette, made by Barbara Peterson, the rest of this serial is still missing.
These episodes are also known to have been transmitted in New York on station WBAI on 99.5 FM, from 1977 to the early 1990s.
Existing episodes:
- The Fantasy Game (7 eps) (based on 'Honey for the Prince')
- The Quick-Quick Slow Death (6 eps)
- Love All (6 eps)
- Get-A-Way! (6 eps)
- A Deadly Gift (6 eps) (based on 'The Cybernauts')
- The Super Secret Cypher Snatch (6 eps)
- Dial A Deadly Number (6 eps)
- Not To Be Sneezed At (7 eps) (based on 'You'll Catch Your Death')
- Who Shot Poor George/XR40? (7 eps)
- A Grave Change (6 eps) (based on 'Bizarre')
- All Done With Mirrors (7 eps)
- The Morning After (6 eps)
- The Joker (6 eps)
- Straight From The Shoulder (6 eps) (based on 'Invitation To A Killing')
- Stop Me If You've Heard This (6) (based on 'Look, Stop Me If You've Heard This one etc..')
- From Venus With Love (6 eps)
- A Case of Interrogation (7 eps) (based on 'The Interrogators')
- Too Many Oles (6 eps) (based on 'They Keep Killing Steed')
- Train Of Events (6 eps) (based on 'A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Station')
- Escape in Time (eps 1-3 only)(a remake of the first serial broadcast in South Africa)
Copies from the original off-air recordings have been restored by Alan and Alys Hayes. And can be heard at their 'The Avengers Declassified' website and its sister website 'Avengers on the Radio'.
Many more serials were broadcast during its two year run on South African Radio, it is thought 83 serials were made & transmitted, but at present no other episodes are known to exist.
Influence
The Avengers preceded the first James Bond filmJames Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
, Dr. No
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
, by one year. The Avengers stars Patrick Macnee, Honor Blackman and Diana Rigg later co-starred in Bond films. The New Avengers regular Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
had, prior to that series, appeared in the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the sixth spy film in the James Bond series, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. Following the decision of Sean Connery to retire from the role after You Only Live Twice, Eon Productions selected an unknown actor and model, George Lazenby...
(1969).
Film
Plans for a motion picture based upon the series circulated during the 1960s, 1980s and 1990s, with Mel GibsonMel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
at one point being considered a front-runner for the role of Steed. Ultimately, the 1998 film starring Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
as Emma Peel and Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
as John Steed received poor reviews from critics and fans.
In popular culture
- In Get SmartGet SmartGet Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
episode "Run, Robot, Run" (1968), evil British agents "Snead" and "Mrs Neal" are spoofs of Steed and Mrs Peel.
- In an episode of Married... with ChildrenMarried... with ChildrenMarried... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
, Al Bundy tries to buy an Avengers video featuring Mrs Peel, but receives a Tara King episode instead.
- In FrasierFrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
episode "Radio Wars" Frasier's father says his sons were picked on as children for emulating Steed by wearing bowler hats. Daphne says she once dressed as Mrs. Peel in a skintight black leather catsuit for HalloweenHalloweenHallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
.
- In an episode of LeverageLeverage (TV series)Leverage is an American television drama series on TNT that premiered in December 2008. The series is produced by director/executive producer Dean Devlin's production company Electric Television...
Sophie and Hardison use the pseudonyms Emily Peel and Jonathan Steed.
- In the comic book series X-MenX-MenThe X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
Emma FrostEmma FrostEmma Grace Frost is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne....
and the Hellfire ClubHellfire ClubThe Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century, and was more formally or cautiously known as the "Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe"...
were inspired by an episode of The Avengers. The X-Men spin-off ExcaliburExcalibur (comics)Excalibur is a Marvel Comics superhero group, an off-shoot of the X-Men, usually based in the United Kingdom. Conceived by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer Alan Davis, the original Excalibur first appeared in Excalibur Special Edition , also known as Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn.The...
introduced a villain named Emma Steed, a thinly veiled combination Emma Peel and John Steed.
- In the graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black DossierThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black DossierThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier is an original graphic novel in the comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill. It was the last volume of the series to be published by DC Comics. Although the third book to be...
, Mother appears as Director of British Intelligence, Robert Cherry, and is referred to as "M". A young Emma Peel appears and the recent death of her father Sir John is a subplot.
- Catherine Gale (played by Laura Putney) was the name of a CIA agent featured in the CBS series JAGJAG (TV series)JAG is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television and, for the first season only, NBC Productions...
in five episodes during seasons eight and nine (2002–2003): "Critical Condition" (8.01), "Need to Know" (8.07), "Pas de Deux" (8.23), "Shifting Sands" (9.02), and "Back In The Saddle" (9.06).
See also
- List of Avengers and New Avengers cast members
- Avengerland, an archetype of Metro-land
- Honey WestHoney West (TV series)Honey West is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC during the 1965-1966 television season. The series stars Anne Francis as female private detective Honey West and John Ericson as her partner Sam Bolt....
- The SaintThe Saint (TV series)The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
External links
- TheAvengers.TV - An International Family of Websites Devoted to The Avengers
- Avengers Artland
- Avengers: The Journey Back
- The Avengers Episode Guide (all series)
- The Fashion Guide of Seasons 4 - 6
- Stapleford Miniature Railway Leics Location of the "Grave diggers" episode
http://blogs.chi.ac.uk/theavengers/