Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was 13 years old in 1966 flipping through the 5 television channels then available when I came across the scene of a man dressed as a giant bird climbing the outside of a city building. There was very little in the way of science fiction or comic book related video entertainment on television at the time so I eagerly kept watching. I was lucky enough to have found an episode of The Avengers and, in one evening, became a lifelong fan of both that series and of British programming in general. The Avengers ran from 1961 through 1969. But the value of the stylish British import lies chiefly in the episodes that paired Diana Rigg with Patrick Macnee from 1965 to 1968. Rigg had replaced Bond girl Honor Blackman as English superspy Emma Peel for the show's fourth season, the first to be available in the US, and nothing like her had ever been seen on the television screen. The cat-suitted Peel used a kung fu fighting style to defeat England's enemies. John Steed would occasionally draw a sword from his umbrella or raise a fist if forced by circumstance but the muscle of the team was the female lead. When not tossing bad guys around the screen, Rigg's character was cultured, stylish and wonderfully intelligent. It was virtually impossible for a 13 year old boy not to be entranced by Emma Peel. In 1965, ABC paid the unheard of price of two million dollars for 26 episodes of The Avengers. The series first aired from March to December 1966 in the 10:00 time slot because of subject matter deemed to be too mature in the States. There were in fact 5 shows that were held from distribution in the US (including Emma's appearance in a dominatrix outfit in "A Touch of Brimstone") because they were thought to be unsuitable. Besides the obvious charms of Ms Rigg and the sparkling on screen chemistry between she and Macnee, The Avengers presented a perfect mix of adventure, humor and style. The show is also a wonderful mirror of the times as Emma Peel represents the swinging London sixties scene contrasted with the Edwardian image of John Steed. The Avengers looked like a Bond movie at times and satirized everything from The Man from UNCLE to Mission Impossible to Batman. The look of the show was often cinematic and it took great care with its eccentric, secondary characters in a way reminiscent of Dickens. The only reason I am giving one the favorite viewing experiences of my life 4 stars is that I am a bit disappointed by its release in standard format. I'm not an engineer so I'm not sure that Blue Ray treatment would make a difference with a show produced in 1960 as some reviewers have suggested. But I did purchase a Blue Ray version of The Prisoner last year, another BBC produced series from the same era, and found the color and clarity striking and surprising. I've waited a long time for a definitive version of The Avengers (possessing a carton of A&E VHS sets from the 90s) so the non Blue Ray release is a bit of a let down. Make no mistake, though, I have pre-ordered this standard format DVD if for no other reason that its producers had the taste to break out the Emma Peel episodes, including her final, touching leave-taking of John Steed, into a stand alone set. Younger viewers may be thrown by some of the period satires but should enjoy contrasting the young, sexy Diana Rigg with the matriarchal and no less compelling character she portrayed in the latest Game of Thrones season. In any case, there are worse ways to spend your viewing time then watching the complete Emma Peel Megaset. Put an episode on each Monday night at 10 for period accuracy or, if you fell for Mrs Peel like I did, clear the evening and settle in for an Avengers marathon.