Rating: 
Summary: Build a Better Mousetrap and see for yourself
Review: 'The Outside-In Man' and 'Build a Better Mousetrap' are two of the best early episodes from this series. 'The Avengers" was a popular 1960's British fantasy-adventure series that focused on the exploits of a male-female duo in the service of the British government. The series underwent several changes of its female lead but its one constant male lead was John Steed always portrayed by the debonair Patrick Macnee (Originally the John Steed had two male partners but that format eventually changed). Kathy Gale portrayed by Honor Blackman became Steed's first female partner. However, when Honor Blackman departed the series and Diana Rigg entered as Mrs. Emma Peel, the show became an international sensation. Rigg brought sophistication, wit, charm and beauty, which hid her lethal and highly visual judo and karate abilities. Macnee and Rigg complemented each other beautifully with their carefree witty and charming exchange of dialogue. The show distinguished itself with bizarre and futuristic villains and fantastic plots. Popular at the height of the James Bond craze, the show was able to distinguish itself with its simply over-the-top visual style. Laurie Johnson's catchy and sophisticated main title theme matched the visuals of the show and still conjures up an image of the series when listened to today. When Diana Rigg left the series, Linda Thorson entered as John Steed's new partner Tara King. The series soon went off the air in the United States. It was a shame because the episodes with Tara King were quite good. The King episodes seemed to be a little more down to earth and contained some very good writing and intricate plotting. In any event series definitely left its mark amongst the finest. These DVD copies are gorgeous.
Rating: 
Summary: Early adventures for Steed
Review: 'The Outside-In Man' and 'Build a Better Mousetrap' are two of the best early episodes from this series. `The Avengers" was a popular 1960's British fantasy-adventure series that focused on the exploits of a male-female duo in the service of the British government. The series underwent several changes of its female lead but its one constant male lead was John Steed always portrayed by the debonair Patrick Macnee (Originally the John Steed had two male partners but that format eventually changed). Kathy Gale portrayed by Honor Blackman became Steed's first female partner. However, when Honor Blackman departed the series and Diana Rigg entered as Mrs. Emma Peel, the show became an international sensation. Rigg brought sophistication, wit, charm and beauty, which hid her lethal and highly visual judo and karate abilities. Macnee and Rigg complemented each other beautifully with their carefree witty and charming exchange of dialogue. The show distinguished itself with bizarre and futuristic villains and fantastic plots. Popular at the height of the James Bond craze, the show was able to distinguish itself with its simply over-the-top visual style. Laurie Johnson's catchy and sophisticated main title theme matched the visuals of the show and still conjures up an image of the series when listened to today. When Diana Rigg left the series, Linda Thorson entered as John Steed's new partner Tara King. The series soon went off the air in the United States. It was a shame because the episodes with Tara King were quite good. The King episodes seemed to be a little more down to earth and contained some very good writing and intricate plotting. In any event series definitely left its mark amongst the finest. These DVD copies are gorgeous.
Rating:
Summary: the best episodes
Review: Before Linda Thorson's Tara King, before Diana Rigg's Emma Peel, there was the original female avenger, Honor Blackman's Cathy Gale.Honor Blackman (best known as Pussy Galore in GOLDFINGER), is superb in this box set of six episodes from the rarely-seen Cathy Gale years of THE AVENGERS. Joining her is Patrick Macnee as John Steed, dapper and suave as ever, and these are some of the most enjoyable storylines in the series. True, the picture and sound quality leave much to be desired, but die-hard fans will forgive the problems and just be glad to sit back and savour these classic episodes. Top stuff!
Rating:
Summary: Requires a mind..
Review: First the technical bits: Yes, the DVD is in black and white and is taken from originals made with early technology. The picture is not as "pretty" as even the first year of the Peel Avengers. But sometimes substance outweighs flash, and in this case, the substance well outweights the lack of "flash". Now the real review. The "problems" of the early adventures of the Avengers are well illustrated by the adventures captured on this DVD. They require the audience pay attention and use their mind. This requirement was always present in the Avenger's series, but perhaps even more so in the early episodes. If you are unwilling or unable to pay attention to what is on the screen and unwilling to think, don't buy this DVD. But if you are willing to put in the effort, you will find these Episodes to be highly rewarding. These episodes are also, in many ways, more realistic. Cathy Gale's Martial Art moves are far less flashy than Emma Peel's, (or for that matter many action stars) but they are real and more accurately reflect how such moves are used. Respectfully, Cathy Gale would take Emma Peel apart in real combat. Further, the relationship between Gale and Steed is far "flintier" and the Steed is far colder and more calculating. Again, this provides an interesting contrast to the future Avengers (and a VERY interesting contrast to the Finness/? Pseudo-Avengers) To me, one of the great things about the Avenger's is the ability to surprise, so I will not talk about the "details" of each Episode, for that would spoil some of the fun. And yes, Honor Blackman was "only" James Bond's Girlfriend, while he married Dianna Rigg... but maybe that's because Bond didn't want to be upstaged...
Rating:
Summary: Requires a mind..
Review: First the technical bits: Yes, the DVD is in black and white and is taken from originals made with early technology. The picture is not as "pretty" as even the first year of the Peel Avengers. But sometimes substance outweighs flash, and in this case, the substance well outweights the lack of "flash". Now the real review. The "problems" of the early adventures of the Avengers are well illustrated by the adventures captured on this DVD. They require the audience pay attention and use their mind. This requirement was always present in the Avenger's series, but perhaps even more so in the early episodes. If you are unwilling or unable to pay attention to what is on the screen and unwilling to think, don't buy this DVD. But if you are willing to put in the effort, you will find these Episodes to be highly rewarding. These episodes are also, in many ways, more realistic. Cathy Gale's Martial Art moves are far less flashy than Emma Peel's, (or for that matter many action stars) but they are real and more accurately reflect how such moves are used. Respectfully, Cathy Gale would take Emma Peel apart in real combat. Further, the relationship between Gale and Steed is far "flintier" and the Steed is far colder and more calculating. Again, this provides an interesting contrast to the future Avengers (and a VERY interesting contrast to the Finness/? Pseudo-Avengers) To me, one of the great things about the Avenger's is the ability to surprise, so I will not talk about the "details" of each Episode, for that would spoil some of the fun. And yes, Honor Blackman was "only" James Bond's Girlfriend, while he married Dianna Rigg... but maybe that's because Bond didn't want to be upstaged...
Rating:
Summary: Early adventures for Steed
Review: For all the fans of The Avengers familiar with the Emma Peel/Tara King era of the show, these early episodes featuring Cathy Gale and Venus Smith may come as something of a disappointment. In fact, fans of the later shows may find it hard to believe that they are even part of the same TV series! After the initial run of 26 episodes featuring Police Surgeon David Keel and his cohort John Steed had aired in the UK in 1961/62, the producers of the program opted to bring Steed to the forefront of the action and give him a number of different "assistants." Thus, for season two, 26 further episodes were made and broadcast in 1962/63 featuring Steed abetted by Martin King, Venus Smith or Cathy Gale. Mrs. Gale turned out to be the most popular and successful foil for the suave agent, and the other characters did not return after season two. Unlike the later Peel/King stories which were all made on film, these studio based TV shows are much more reliant on dialogue and plot than visual elements, and can be somewhat heavy going as a result. A&E is releasing these stories in a somewhat confusing order, and has started with season three. The first two sets released, Avengers 64 1 & 2, feature the LAST six episodes of season three. Next comes Avengers 63 sets 1 & 2 which comprises of the first half of the season. Next up in the release order is 63 sets 3 & 4 which precede 1 & 2 in running order and in fact feature the last seven stories from season two, plus the first from season three. Confused? Ultimately, it doesn't really matter, since thankfully there's no real reason to watch the stories in chronological order anyway. What is interesting is the development of the production standards. 63 sets 3 & 4, featuring the latter stories from season two, are far more rudimentary in terms of production quality. The sets are extremely small and sparse; The direction very slap-hazard; Camera work shoddy; Sound is extremely poor; and the acting is negligible. With no budget for editing or reshooting, all the actor's fluffs and goofs stayed in. Steed's character is far less suave and sophisticated then he became later during his familiar role alongside Mrs. Peel, and the relationship with Mrs. Gale in particular is at first downright hostile with very little warmth between the two. He seems to get along much better with Miss Venus Smith, a night club singer who he engages at various gigs to act as his eyes and ears. Venus is a very odd character, and played strangely, but enthusiastically by Julie Stevens. She looks about 12, sings like she's forty, and dresses like anything in between. She also seems extremely naïve and it's hard to imagine why Steed engages her to help him at all. The far more intelligent and elegant Mrs. Gale does eventually warm up to Steed, and in the season three stories where she is the exclusive companion to him, their relationship develops nicely and they become much warmer and closer to each other. The production values on season three are also much better than the earlier episodes. The sets became larger and more elaborate. The direction, lighting and sound improved greatly and the acting was much less wooden. Some editing was clearly allowed on these later stories, whereas the earlier ones clearly were broadcast as if they were live. There's a terrific blunder in "Six hands across a table," where Cathy is called "Ros" in one scene, and both actors realize the mistake, but keep going. An even better goof comes in "Concerto" when Nigel Stock forgets his lines completely and a very audible prompt is given from off camera. Terrific stuff. The quality of the DVD's is somewhat disappointing, even accounting for the age of the material and the production values mentioned above. It may not be the case, but it certainly appears that A&E have made no attempt whatsoever to re-master the original tapes, and the flaws, jumps, scratches and sound blips are too numerous to mention. Virtually every episode on 63 sets 3 & 4 are hampered by picture and sound flaws and defects. Things do improve for 63 1 & 2 and 64 1 & 2, but the quality is still disappointing. Mind you, it appears they have done nothing to clean up the Tara King episodes either! As a big fan of the series, I wouldn't even consider not having these episodes in my collection, but if you're looking for the wacky camp humor and the tele-fantasy of the Peel/King eras, these stories may not be for you.
Rating:
Summary: An oldie but a goodie
Review: I read a the other reviews and pondered my own position for about 3 seconds. This is how much time it took me to decide to write my own review. The recent movie was a blast and technically fabulous. The colour episodes were brilliant but the black and white can only be described a "must see". I for one found it refreshing not to be knocked on the head with plot. If effects and whiz-bangery are your thing then don't bother here. These actors had to rely on talent. The bugs on the data-capture were a bother but hey this is a trip into the past! I found the style and substance made up for the short comings in the fliming!!!
Rating:
Summary: Like a Fine Wine
Review: If you relish a series like "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE," "T.H.E. Cat" or "77 Sunset Strip" you no doubt know about the content of what you are getting. You are more likely concerned about the quality of the product. Like John might say, "You scratch my back and I'll scratch your back. Just watch the hat please." John is back and are here to stay via DVD technology. Being on DVD, the aesthetics about the actual episodes are not in question here. More appropriately one may ask how they look. They look good, very good.
Rating: 
Summary: AND YOU THOUGHT THE MOVIE WAS BAD!
Review: if you think this is anything like the emma peel avengers then think again, as the reviewer says rarely seen in usa,thats because nobody wants to see them.true,the plots are there but mostly talk with little action.the picture quality is really dark on the dvd.it gave me a headache.the british talk is pretty heavy also.i know it was made for brittish tv,but sometimes its hard to understand the slang - cheario old chap.one of the biggest problems was these are shot on video instead of film. like some of the twilight zone episodes,more of a staged play.honor blackman is more of a stiff,tough looking,no nonsense person who wears a lot of leather.she reminds me of lauren bacall.dont get me wrong she is a good looking woman.but she was a fling for james bond and diana rigg was the woman james bond married.well i bought the dvd with high expectations and to tell you the truth it put me to sleep.
Rating:
Summary: For completists only!
Review: It is so very good to be able to see the "old" <Avengers> with Honor Blackman as Cathy Gale, not only for its own sake but as an historic document (so to speak) and as a foreshadowing of the greater things to come the very next season when Diana Rigg continued to make television history as Blackman's replacement. First the negatives. These are "live," studio-bound productions in which lines are flubbed, jailers have all sorts of trouble opening the doors to cells, gun shots do not convince, and fights are obviously tame to prevent injury in these days before films, stunt-doubles, and retakes. Now and then the sound gets fainter as characters move away from the mikes, now and then the film jumps just a bit, and in at least two sequences a pesky fly seems to have been caught by whatever process was being used to reproduce the original image onto tape/DVD. Neither positive nor negative but merely interesting is that Steed has not picked up his ultra-refined characteristics by way of wardrobe, umbrella (until the last episodes), and steel-coated bowler hat. His relationship with Cathy varies from amused tolerance on her part to such manifestations of her annoyance as throwing things at him. She takes things a lot more seriously than Emma will. In fact, there is little of that Avengers banter we so enjoy in the later episodes and consequently not so much of that chemistry between the two. In one surprising moment that Emma would never tolerate, Cathy asks Steed what he wants from the army stores, and he replies, "Nothing you would be willing to issue." Here she gives him a "you bet your life" smile. (Emma would have killed him, I think.) There are three episodes on each DVD and twelve in all in this '64 series. Set II starts off well with a sci-fi "Build a Better Mousetrap," pre-echoing many plots to follow. "The Outside-in Man" has a good twist ending and a "Man from UNCLE" place to meet the Top Man. "The Charmers" is the best so far, humorous, having a good plot and the wonderful Warren Mitchell who would twice play the same bumbling Russian agent in the Rigg episodes; and in fact it was remade as "The Correct Way to Kill" with several interesting changes. "Concerto" has the soon-to-be overdone plot of someone trying to ruin East-West relations. "Esprit de Corps" also has a predictable plot but given some broad humor by funny man Roy Kinnear, who plays his scenes with Steed quite well. "Lobster Quadrille" ends the series on a not very glorious note; but it does finish with Cathy going off on vacation, refusing to take on an assignment there, and Steed phoning a female replacement. I believe they knew by that time that Blackman was leaving the series. Please watch these without the foresight of what is to come and try to keep a 1964 frame of mind when this was the hottest stuff on the telly and a female character never had it so good before Cathy Gale blew into town.
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