"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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