The Avengers: The Complete Series 2 & Surviving Episodes From Series 1 (8 Discs)

...but an assessment in advance that this is likely to be the definitive release of The Avengers. While it might be considered expensive, just look at what you get for your money in terms of bonus features alone - let alone what the remastered picture quality will be like.

C'mon people, buy this set and make sure we get a full run of the the film series too!

After a long wraggle over rights in the UK,"The Avengers",the classic 60s spy series begins a UK DVD release,with the entire second series of the show and the two and a quarter episodes,that survive from the first series of twenty six episodes.
The series began with Ian Hendry as the shows star,Dr David Keel coping with the brutal shooting of his financee Peggy in the opening episode when he mets the mysterious,the ruthless but dashing and charming John Steed(Patrick Macnee)
Hendry left after the first series and the shows producers decided to replace Keel with a woman,Mrs Catherine Gale,the part of course went to Honor Blackman,who in a first for televison, fought villians with Judo and was a highly intellligent,resourceful but still most definately,a highly attractive woman.
While Cathy was being cast,three unused Ian Hendry scripts were filmed with a new character,Dr Martin King(Jon Rollason) who helps Steed in three episodes of series2,they are actually very good and give a feel as to what the first series was like.
The third c/o Avenger in series 2 is Venus Smith played by Julie Stevens,a jazz singer,very innocent who is used by Steed,her singing jobs usually arranged by Steed to investigate a crime.
The character appears in six episodes,after two episodes,Venus suddenly has very short hair and is now from Manchester,but Julie Stevens is very likeable and is the shortest Avengers lady,only having a six episode stint.
The paring of Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman is really what give the show a cult status,I like Cathy Gale as the ice madien but Honor Blackman always gives Cathy a humanity and always smiles at the right moment,clearly although Steed annoys her,she is very fond of him and the pretty young widow enjoys the excitment of it all.
There's a very nice line in one episode,when a woman says to Cathy"You don't know what its like being a widow" and Cathy replies,sadly "As a matter of fact I do",great writing and performances make this set a DVD essential,enjoy!

Everything about this set is superb from the episodes to the menus. A fantastic job and a must have for any fan of the series.

This is not the Avengers everyone remembers. This is brilliant, although the theme is a little boring. Although Ian Hendry suffers somewhat from the lights in the studio, his character grabs your attention and in the little available, 2 full episodes and 15 minutes off the first episode, this is more Dr Keel's show that Steed's. Cathy Gale, originally called Katherine Gale in the title's suffers in the early episodes, one minute being a strong character but ultimately relying on a male character to save her, thankfully the producers change the character to suit the show and gives Cathy a 'kick ass' attitude that breaks a stunt mans arm in one episode. This is great stuff and really, these days, TV cannot compete.

The Avengers is a 1960s British television series in the Spy-Fi genre. The Avengers focused on John Steed (Patrick Macnee) and his succession of investigative partners working as government agents. Steed's partners were high profile, stylish women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), followed by Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and later Tara King (Linda Thorson).

The Avengers was produced from 1961 to 1969; these do look dated now, but at the time were ground breaking with the female partners been highly independent and very sexy people who were very much part of the physical action, and had the costumes to match. Although you get many strong female characters in films and TV today, somehow they just don't have the class and originality of The Avengers female characters. Brilliant.