The Avengers
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The Avengers

Year:
Duration:
60 min (161 episodes)
Genres:
Action | Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller
IMDB rate:
8.4
Awards:
Nominated for 4 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win
Details
Country: UK
Release Date: 1966-03-28
Filming Locations: 31 Ennismore Gardens Mews, Knightsbridge, London, England, UK
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Trivia
When the series began, Ian Hendry was the main star, with the idea being he would rotate between different partners (an early version of the Mission: Impossible (1966) format). The series title actually refers to Hendry's character, Dr. David Keel, and Steed, who worked together to find those responsible for Keel's fiancée's murder in the first episode. Early episodes focused more on Keel's character, and Steed doesn't even appear in a couple! When the first season was interrupted by a strike, Hendry quit the series during the hiatus. The same format was used for Steed with a couple of leftover Dr. Keel scripts retooled for a new character named Dr. Martin King, but other scripts, originally written for a male character, were rejigged for another new addition: Catherine Gale.
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Steed's London address is, variously: 5 Westminster Mews (during the Cathy Gale run), 4 Queen Anne's Court in the monochrome Emma Peel editions, and 3 Stable Mews for the colour episodes.
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Despite the reputation of "The Avengers", In Britain it only made the top ten of watched shows four times between 1960-69. February 1964, November 1965, March 1967 and February 1969. Ian Hendry's subsequent series The Informer (1966) was actually more popular at the time. So when the production company (ABC [Associated British Corp.], nothing to do with the American ABC, which stood for American Broadcasting Co.) was ordered to be wound up by July 1968 (due to breach of license on another matter), it was easy for the new company (Thames TV) to cancel the series.
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Quotes
John Steed: [picking up Emma, who is injured] Lean on me, Mistress Peel, as much as you like.
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Emma Peel: Always keep your bowler on in time of stress, and watch out for diabolical masterminds.
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John Steed: Mrs. Peel, we're needed.
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Faq
Q
Why doesn't Steed use a gun?
A
-Steed doesn't habitually use a gun because Patrick McNee had an antipathy to them based on his wartime combat experiences as a motor torpedo boat commander in the Royal Navy. However he does use one to free Tara in 'Game' , to bluff the courier into giving Tara his secret instructions in 'Take Me To Your Leader' and in 'Split!' he states that he shot a Russian agent in the heart a few years previously. In 'Get-A-Way' he tells a Russian agent that his favourite gun is a Smith&Wesson Magnum. In 'The Curious Case of the Countless Clues' he is seen to be carrying one and in 'Legacy of Death' and 'Homicide and Old Lace' he uses one to kill two villains. He goes on to use firearms on many occasions during 'The New Avengers' although the only gun he keeps in his house is an antique Colt 45 revolver from his cowboy days.The above answer from Joxerlives is certainly true, and well explained, of the most popular years of 'The Avengers', that is to say the colour episodes featuring Dianna Rigg alonside Macnee. These are the episodes that first gained cult popularity in the USA. However, when the series first began in 1961, it was a much straighter espionage show, with only faint traces of the later popular quirkiness. This aspect built up gradually over time. In the first two series of the show, featuring Macnee alongside Ian Hendry (Series 1) and Honor Blackman (Series 2), there is a lot of gunplay and Steed happily exchanges fire most weeks, often in extended gun battles. This was phased out, as Joxerlives quite rightly says.
Q
What's the difference between The Avengers and The New Avengers?
A
-The New Avengers breaks many of the traditional rules of the original Avengers such as including uniformed policemen, blood visibly on display and Steed using firearms in episodes such as 'Dead Men are Dangerous', 'The Gladiators', 'Hostage' and 'Trap'. Steed also keeps an antique Colt 45 from his cowboy days in his house. The lower classes are now portrayed including tramps and the central conflict is explicitly the Cold War between NATO and the Warsaw Pact rather than some unnamed 'foreign power'. In many ways the series is seen as bridging the gap between the pure fantasy of 'The Avengers' and the gritty realism of creator Brian Clemens next project 'The Professionals'.Again, as above, Joxerlives excellently describes the original 'Avengers' as per 1965-69. The 'New Avengers' episodes certainly differ from that era of the show at times, although there are still plenty of fantastical episodes - Hitler being revived, giant rats, a third Cybernauts story, for example. However, the inclusion of uniformed police and Steed shooting a gun do tie in with the earliest seasons of 'The Avengers', 1961-1964. Many prefer to see the later series as a completely seperate entity, although many others accept the clear line of continuity - right down to the previously mentioned Cybernauts returning, and also a brief return for Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), courtesy of reused footage from the 1960s. The show, like other long-standing shows or film series, manages to survive by re-inventing itself to a greater or lesser agree, depending on current audience preference or the wishes of a new, incoming Producer (show-runner). Same goes with the likes of Doctor Who or James Bond.Producer Brian Clemens summed up the difference saying "The Avengers" was a essentially a comedy with dramatic overtones, while "The New Avengers" was more of a drama with comedic overtones.
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Photos from cast
Patrick Macnee Peter Arne Arthur Cox Jonathan Elsom Fenella Fielding Susan Hampshire Helen Lindsay Sue Lloyd
little girl ballet clipart simple girl image cartoon girl raising both hands cartoon a woman