TV Series: The Avengers Season 4

"The Avengers" is a British television series that was broadcast from 1961 to 1969. It was made up of six seasons (arguably seven). It went through various style changes during its run. The first three seasons were spy thrillers. The fourth season began with spy thrillers, but it gradually introduced science fiction and fantasy elements, which took over as the series continued. Comical elements became prevalent in the fifth season, and were strongest in the sixth. In particular, in the sixth season people repeatedly died under ridiculous circumstances.

The cast changed over the years. In the first season the main character was Dr. David Keel, a police doctor, who was accompanied in most episodes by a mysterious man called John Steed. In the second season Dr. Keel no longer appeared, and Steed became the main character. It was hinted that Steed was a British secret agent, although we didn't see any of his organisation until the sixth season. Steed was accompanied by various partners in the second season, of which the most famous was Cathy Gale. In the third season she was his only partner and appeared in every episode.

Steed's partner in the fourth and fifth seasons was Emma Peel. She isn't introduced in season four; she's just there in the first episode, as if she'd always been there. In the fourth season they seem to be equal partners, but in the fifth season Steed seems to be the senior partner, requesting Peel's help whenever he needs it. I say "seems", because their relationship is never explicitly described. It's all up to the viewer's interpretation.

There's no romance between Steed and Emma, although there's frequent light flirting. Steed never calls Emma by her first name. To him she's always Mrs. Peel. In the second episode of the fourth season, "The Murder Market", Steed suggests that Peel should find another husband. This means that she's either divorced or widowed. This makes sense, because we never see her husband throughout the whole two seasons. However, at the end of the fifth season her husband, who looks remarkably similar to Steed, collects her and drives her away. This is strange, and I think it's a mistake.

Most of the episodes of the first season have been lost, i.e. the original tapes were reused. Only three of the 26 episodes still exist. The rest of the series is still available. The second and third seasons can be bought on DVD, but the quality isn't always perfect, due to the technology of the time. The other three seasons have been remastered for Blu-ray, and the quality is excellent.

John Steed is a perfect gentleman. He always wears a suit with a bowler hat and a tie, and he carries an umbrella. I have to add something here about the definition of gentleman, something that I only realised a few years ago. Most people say that a gentleman is someone who's polite and treats women with respect. By that definition I'd be a gentleman. But there's more to it, as is apparent in old films, and even in "The Avengers". Being a gentleman is also about clothing. If a man dresses as elegantly as Steed, he's assumed to be a gentleman. If a man dresses like me, with ripped jeans and over-sized T-shirts, I don't qualify as a gentleman, however politely I may act. Another factor is the social standing, but that's something that's displayed by the clothing, so I consider it secondary.

The villains in Season 4 of "The Avengers" are all gentlemen, or at least they are in the 12 episodes that I've watched so far. They dress exquisitely and speak perfectly, however evil they may be. They're all from the upper or upper middle classes. They're noble landowners, politicians or company owners. Steed is in his element when mixing with them.

Sometimes I hear fans of "The Avengers" claim that Steed never used a gun. There are several cases in the first three episodes of Season 4 where he uses a gun, but he doesn't use a gun in the following episodes. I'll be paying attention to this as I continue with the series.

There's no doubt about whether Emma Peel uses a gun. She's seen carrying a gun in almost every episode.

Not that she needs a gun. In episode five, "Death at Bargain Prices", she's threatened by a man with a gun. She slowly walks towards him clicking her fingers and saying "Give me the gun". He hesitates, his eyes fixed on her fingers, until she's close enough to kick the gun out of his hand. Something about this scene is immensely sexy. I watched it on 23rd October 1965, when I was 10, and I didn't see it again until I owned the series on DVD in late 2003. That was 38 years later, and yet I remembered the scene perfectly. It imprinted itself on my brain.

There's something that I haven't mentioned before now. When I bought my first DVD player in 2003, it wasn't primarily to watch films. I bought it in order to watch TV series. I had four series on my shopping list: "Highlander", "The Avengers", "Black Scorpion" and "La Femme Nikita". (In that order). I bought them as quickly as possible, and my first 12 months were spent watching more TV series than films. I added "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to my list the next year. At some point I might return to watching series more than films, but I haven't reached that point yet, even though the number of series I want to watch is steadily mounting.

Emma Peel has a hint of sexiness in her whole posturing. She always has a sly smile on her face, however great the danger. My daughter Fiona used to watch "The Avengers" with me, and she called Emma Peel the woman who's never afraid. That's an apt description.

The episodes are all stand-alone stories. Theoretically, they can be watched in any order. The episode order on the Blu-rays that I bought this year is different to the order on the DVDs that I bought in 2003. On the DVDs the episodes are in their broadcast order. On the Blu-rays they're in their production order, which is almost but not quite the same. It's claimed that different ITV regions in England broadcast the episodes in different orders, but I haven't been able to verify this. I rely on the list that's been published on the Epguides web site.

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