Production: GB, 1961-69, 1976-77
Cast: Patrick McNee, Diana Rigg, Linda Thorson, Honor Blackman, Ian Hendry, Gareth Hunt, Joanna Lumley.


One of the most playful shows of ever, which was also lately recalled by a big screen movie (not much seen and not well understood).

The beginning was a serie made in 1960 by british producer ABC, titled “Police surgeon”, showing an english doctor, Geoffrey Bent (Ian Hendry), who was also a detective in his spare time, and solved crime affairs. The following year, Hendry starred in a similar programme, clearly inspired by the previous one and created by Doctor Who’s producer Sidney Newman: the title was “The Avengers”, and the principal character, dr. David Keel, begun his fight against crime after his fiancèe’s murder. Helping him there was a man from british secret service, very elegant as a dandy with bowl hat and umbrella, named John Steed (Patrick McNee).
The first season lasted for 26 episodes, but things changed when hendry decided to stop with television, wishing different acting experiences.

At first he was replaced by another similar character, dr. Martin King (Jon Rollason), but then it was decided to have a woman as Steed’s assistant.
Steed’s first pal was Cathy Gale, played by Honor Blackman (who later became Pussy Galore in “007 – Goldfinger”). Cathy was tall, blond-haired, always dressed in tight leather, was skilled with arms and martial arts.
It was a sort of revolution seeing a woman fighting to save the world, but there were also several spicy and fetish situations, in which Cathy was tied or wore very provocative clothes.
This new season, filmed in 1963, was a good success, and another one was produced in 1965, both of 26 episodes. But unfortunately also Honor Blackman wanted to try with cinema, and producers had to cast a new companion for Steed.

The character name was obtained by the words “man” and “appeal”, which became M + appeal = Emma Peel.
To play the new character was cast actress Elizabeth Sheperd, but things didn’t go well: after two episodes, she left the production.
Producers had to re-cast immediately, and was choosen a young theatre actress, Diana Rigg.
Attractive and witty at the same time (quite unusual for a woman), Diana Rigg became soon very popular, and appeared in two seasons, the last one in colour. This was surely the serie’s best moment, and also the recent movie was inspired by those two seasons.
Stories had often elements of science fiction, sometimes shown as a spoof  (futurible inventions revealed as a complete mock-up) and sometimes as a

real menace (robots, crazy computers, mad scientists and similar).
But finally also Diana Rigg decided to work in the movies (she starred in George Lazemby's 007), and another replacement was needed.
After a new casting was found a very young actress named Linda Thorson, who played Steed’s new pal, Tara King.
The show was becoming dated and grotesque, and McNee had aged and become unfit for an action role. Ratings were getting worse, especially in the USA, and so after 33 episodes the last season ended in the most absurd way, showing Steed and Tara’s lift off in a rocketship to unknown destination…
In 1975 the show’s popularity was still alive, so came out a french producer who picked up again the idea to make a new serie titled “The new avengers”.
Patrick McNee was 54, but agreed to be John Steed again, and his assistants were Joanna Lumley (later seen as Sapphire in “Sapphire and Steel”),

who played Purdey, and Gareth Hunt playing Mike Gambit. Steed had become a sort of  chief who acted in the shadow, while the other two had a more action role. But all the show’s original features were lost: no more humour, no more gags, no more science fiction, and the show ended after only a 26 episodes season.
More than 20 years after that, a big screen movie has been made with a very important cast: Ralph Fiennes as Steed, Uma Thurman as Emma Peel, and an unusual Sean Connery as the villain sir August De Wynter.
The plot was very simple: sir August De Wynter was a mad scientist who wanted to alter the Earth’s weather and blackmail the world. Special agent John Steed was sent to investigate, and dr. Emma Peel, a botanist, was asked to help him.

Things were complicated by a second Emma Peel, double of the real one, who left several dead bodies behind her, waiting for the right moment to get rid of Steed…
The movie was absolutely unsiccessful. But Uma Thurman was the only possible heir of Diana Rigg, and also Ralph Fiennes was fit in the role. Humour and gags did not lack. So, what happened? It has to be said that not always what works on TV can do the same on the big screen, maybe a large part of the viewers did not know the original and did not understand, and anyway there’s always people who need to make comparisons and regrets.
To be noticed Patrick McNee’s cameo, playing an invisible officer… His voice was recognizable, and for a while he was enlighted by a projector and his typical shape could be seen…

161 episodes, 104 b/w, 57 colour, 60'

First season

1) Hot Snow
2) Brought to Book
3) Square Root of Evil
4) Nightmare
5) Crescent Moon
6) Girl on the Trapeze
7) Diamond Cut Diamond

53) Concerto
54) Brief for Murder
55) The Nutshell
56) The Golden Fleece
57) Death à la Carte
58) Man With Two Shadows
59) Don't Look Behind You
60) The Grandeur That Was Rome
61) The Undertakers

79) The Town of No Return
80) The Gravediggers
81) The Cybernauts
82) Death at Bargain Prices

83) Castle De'ath
84) The Master Minds
85) The Murder Market
86) A Surfeit of H2O
87) The Hour that Never Was
88) Dial a Deadly Number
89) Man-Eater of Surrey Green
90) Two's a Crowd
91) Too Many Christmas Trees
92) Silent Dust
93) Room Without a View
94) Small Game For Big Hunters

105) From Venus With Love
106) The Fear Merchants
107) Escape in Time
108) The See-Through Man
109) The Bird Who Knew Too Much
110) The Winged Avenger
111) The Living Dead
112) The Hidden Tiger
113) The Correct Way to Kill
114) Never, Never Say Die
115) Epic

Sixth season

129) The Forget-Me-Knot
130) Game
131) Super Secret Cypher Snatch
132) You'll Catch Your Death
133) Split!
134) Whoever Shot Poor George Oblique Stroke XR40
135) False Witness

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