The Avengers

The Avengers (The Avengers) is a British TV series from the 1960s about a bunch of secret agents in the United Kingdom. The program was created by the television company Associated British Corporation, and originally ran from 1961 to 1969. The series has 161 episodes.

In the Netherlands The Avengers was broadcast by KRO (1966-1971), later a number of episodes repeated (as in 1974, 1984, 2003, 2004). Veronica In 1993 and 1995 repeated episodes of this series, in 1997 TV10 RTL5 and did this.

Patrick Macnee played throughout the series secret agent John Steed, complete with Bowler Hat and umbrella (both of which were full of tricks). In the first series, from 1961, was the main character not Steed, but Dr. David Keel (Ian Hendry). All episodes of this series are lost, except for two.



Content
[hide] *Production 1  ==Production[ Edit] == The production of the first season was interrupted by a strike. Meanwhile, Hendry left the series to a movie career. When at the end of the strike the production could be resumed, Macnee was promoted to star of the series. Steed thus became the main character, working with a variety of partners such as nightclub singer Venus Smith and Dr. Martin King. One of them was Mrs. Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), a confident type that could handle well with her fists. They had one for the British tv unprecedented character. Her charm came partly from the fact that her first appearance in the series episodes concerned in which the dialogues were written for David throat, and that after the departure of Hendry were transformed into dialogues for Cathy.
 * 2 Characters
 * 3 spin-offs
 * 3.1 Revival
 * 3.2 Books
 * 3.3 Film
 * 3.4 Stage
 * 4 Episodes
 * 5 external links

Blackman was a tv superstar in England with her leather shoes and her high-kicking fighting style. It was not strange that they opposite Sean Connery appeared in the Bond film Goldfinger, but she had to leave the series. A new female partner appeared in 1965: Mrs. Emma Peel (Diana Rigg). The name of her character was derived from the expression "M Appeal" or "Male Appeal". Riggs character retained the poise of Cathy Gale, combined with superior fighting skills and fashion consciousness.

The running gag of the series is that John Steed and Emma Peel tardiness in order to save the lives of their informants or protégés. There are very many deaths in the series but Peel and Steed remain there under extremely unfazed.

The Avengersepisodes with Macnee and Rigg are generally counted among the classics. This time was characterized by a futuristic science fiction, with mad scientists and their creations. On the other hand, the earlier series had a more hard tone, with the Blackman episodes with sometimes surprisingly serious espionage dramas (compared with the later, better-known period). There was also a perceptible fetish-like undertones in many episodes (especially visible in the episode "A Touch of Brimstone", in which Mrs. Peel dressed as a mistress, the "Queen of sin" is). Macnee and Blackman released a song entitled Kinky boots. Some garments in the Avengers were designed by fashion designer John Sutcliffe, who also published the AtomAge fetish magazine.

The arrival of Rigg came along with the sale of the series to the United States. Until then, the series was recorded on 405-line video tape, with little potential for operation. Many of the Blackman episodes were recordedlive in the studio. The tires of these episodes were later cleared for reuse. (From season 2 and 3 all episodes still exist, but in the form of telerecordings, copies that were recorded on 16 mm film .) By the agreement with the US producers could afford to record the episodes now on 35 mm film, which gave the series a much greater flexibility. This change was necessary because the British video tapes could not be exchanged with the American video system. After four seasons in black and white, The Avengers began in 1967 in color, although it would take another two years before the UK viewers could see the program in color.

In 1967 left Rigg the series for its own film career. She followed Black mans footsteps by also in a Bond movie to play (On Her Majesty's Secret Service, released in 1969), but they returned for a farewell episode in 1968. Her successor was the Canadian actress Linda Thorson, which require a more innocent role played as inexperienced agent named Tara King. Unlike the previous partners Cathy and Emma, were the writers a subtle romance between Steed and Tara.

The new series was also broadcast in America, but without Rigg swooped down and the viewing figures the series was taken off the screen. Because this important commercial backup, also the production in England, could not continue, and the series ended in 1969. ==Characters<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Spin-offs<span class="mw-editsection" len="326" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ===Revival<span class="mw-editsection" len="328" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In the 1970s, the series back under the name The New Avengers, with Macnee as Steed, but this time with two new partners, Mike Gambit (Gareth Hunt) and Purdey (Joanna Lumley). The series was produced by the original producers Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell, with French and Canadian money later. There were two seasons with a total of 26 episodes produced. Fans are divided on the merits of this revival. Many suggested that the series had lost his magic, and the last six episodes, entitled The New Avengers in Canada that were filmed and produced in Canada, are generally regarded as very weak. In Netherlands is the series broadcast by the KRO (1976-1977). ===Books<span class="mw-editsection" len="323" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p lang="en" len="496" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">A number of books was based on the series from the 60 's, including two that were written by Patrick Macnee himself fellow, and Too Many Targets from 1990 by John Peel in which already becoming partners appeared.
 * John Steed ( Patrick Macnee played by)
 * Emma Peel (Diana Rigg)
 * Catharine Gale (Honor Blackman)
 * Dr. David Keel (Ian Hendry)
 * Tara King (Linda Thorson)
 * Carol Wilson (Ingrid Hafner)
 * Various guest roles (Garfield Morgan)

<p lang="en" len="125" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The New Avengers took care of a series of books based mostly on television episodes (sometimes more than one per book).
 * The Avengers, Douglas Enefer, 1963
 * Patrick Macnee and Peter Leslie, Deadline, 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 Exit Affair, Keith Laumer, 1968
 * The Drowned Queen, Laumer, 1968
 * The Gold Bomb, Laumer, 1968
 * The Magentic Man, Norman Daniels, 1968
 * Moon Express, Daniels, 1969
 * John Steed-An Authorized Biography Vol. 1: Jealous in Honour, Tim Heald, 1977
 * The Saga of Happy Valley, Geoff Barlow, 1980 (An unauthorised book with names of the characters changed to John Steade and Emma Peale, sold only in Australia)
 * Too Many Targets, John Peel, 1990
 * The Avengers, Julie Kaewert, 1998 (film book)

===Film<span class="mw-editsection" len="321" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In the 80 's and 90 's plans were made for a feature film based on the series, with Mel Gibson in the role of Steed. In 1998 came the film The Avengers, based on the characters of Rigg and Macnee of the television series, with Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes in the leading roles. The film received bad reviews from critics and fans. The British film poster showed Fiennes and Thurman with the text: "he's Steed. She's Mrs. Peel. "The often heard and inevitable answer was, "No they're not! Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg are Steed and Mrs. Peel! " ===Stage<span class="mw-editsection" len="323" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p lang="en" len="59" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;font-family:sans-serif;color:rgb(15,15,95);">There's also been a stage version of The Avengers . ==Episodes<span class="mw-editsection" len="329" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==
 * House of Cards, Peter Cave, 1976
 * The Eagle's Nest, John Carter, 1976
 * To Catch a Rat, Walter Harris, 1977
 * Fighting One, Justin Cartwright, 1977
 * The Cybernauts, Cave, 1977
 * Hostage, Cave, 1977
 * See: list of episodes of The Avengers