Review for The Avengers - Series 5

Wow! By the fifth series, 'The Avengers' had become the epitome of swinging sixties cool, mixing high fashion with surreal psychedelia, cold-war mystique and pop culture. This new edition of this legendary series is an absolutely essential purchase and if you can spare five minutes, I'll tell you why.

(Cue Top of the Pops music and Alan 'Fluff' Freeman style voice…)

So here we go. 5 reasons to buy this essential box set:

1) It's an investment. Previously issued editions (Kult TV) were discontinued after the initial flurry of sales, and thereafter were frequently sold for 20X original purchase price.


2) It's in colour. The previous four seasons, whilst imminently collectible, were black and white and couldn't fully reflect the vibrant sixties meltdown that was 'The Avengers'. You can stop any disc on any frame and it would provide you with a picture worthy of printing and putting up on your wall. Every frame is a delicious treat and somehow captures the very essence of UK sixties pop culture. It was filmed in 35mm and this set has newly restored images, better than anything previously released. (It certainly looks better than my R1 Emma Peel Mega set which lacks the clarity and vibrance available here). I may have over-indulged you with the selection of images below, but every picture tells a story and these will tell you far more about what to expect than any words I write. So sit back and wrap your reading gear round this lot.

3) The extra features on this set are worth the price alone. Brian Clemens certainly looks a little older than when I last viewed him (on my Network 'Thriller' set) though has lost none of his bumptious enthusiasm for a series that he is clearly proud to be associated with. There is also a rare appearance from Peter Wyngarde who I haven't seen since discovering an easter egg on my 'Jason King' set which shows him discussing 'The Avengers'). The PDF scripts are fascinating, often with hand-written production notes - and if you have previous Optimum released seasons you are nudging towards a full set. (Just the Tara King episodes to come - unless you count 'The New Avengers'). The documentary is fun - and unusually includes some very healthy chunks of programme, so gives a thoroughly decent overview of the season. It was originally edited for the first release of the series since broadcast on VHS tape in the late 1980's. Here's the complete list of what you get.

· Audio commentary by script writer / producer Brian Clemens on Murdersville

· Audio commentary by guest star Peter Wyngarde on Epic

• Audio commentary by script writer Richard Harris on The Winged Avenger
• Audio commentary by Diana Rigg's stunt double Cyd Child on Return of The Cybernauts
• Archive German TV interview with Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg
• Episode trims from The Fear Merchants, Escape In Time, From Venus With Love and The See-Through Man
• The Avengers - A Retrospective (documentary)
• ATV newsreel footage (Diana Rigg receives TV Award)
• The Avengers - "They're Back" archive trailer
• Filmed episode intro by Brian Clemens to The Bird Who Knew Too Much, The Living Dead, Epic, The Correct Way To Kill, The Superlative Seven, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Station, The Joker and Murdersville
• Granada + points for each episode
• Episode Reconstructions for lost series 1 episodes One For The Mortuary, Death on The Slipway, Tunnel of Fear and Dragonsfield
• 1960s German Titles
• Insert reprint of series 5 promotional brochure
• Stills gallery for featured episodes
• PDF material

4) This was the most popular series of 'The Avengers' to date, making impact in the USA and including firm fan favourites like 'Murdersville' (a peaceful village where one may murder with impunity as all the residents are in on it); 'The Return of the Cybernauts' (where someone wants to turn Steed and Emma into robots) and 'From Venus with Love' ( A personal favourite where members of The Venusian Society of Great Britain are wiped out by Venusians (or so it would seem) merely for looking at the planet through a telescope!). The on-screen chemistry between Diana Rigg (Emma Peel) and Patrick Macnee (Steed) surpasses even that of the Honor Blackman era - with a humourous glint always in the eye, and a mischievous double-meaning behind even the politest and most formal conversations.

5) It's 20 plus hours of arguably the best season of the best British TV show of all time. Though it excludes the 'handover' episode from Emma Peel to Tara King (included in previous sets of the series), strictly speaking that episode belongs in Series 6 anyway as that was when it was originally broadcast. The set would certainly be one of my '10 Desert Island DVD's' as, despite repeated viewings of many of these episodes, they always deliver a unique sense of fun, excitement and style.

So - 5 good reasons to buy. The only reason not to buy may well be price, though I would argue that it still represents amazing value and it's possible to purchase for around £40.00 through all the normal e-tailers.

Congratulations should be extended once again to Optimum for doing such sterling work on the series (in liaison with Jaz Wiseman for whom it is clearly a major labour of love) and I for one am happy to do all I can to support such a noble cause).