Product Description

She is the perfect balance of sexiness and sophistication wit and whimsy. The object of many prepubescent lads desires Mrs. Emma Peel dazzled television screens on both sides of the Atlantic from 1965-1967. Starring Dame Diana Rigg as Peel and Patrick Macnee as John Steed the Emma Peel era of THE AVENGERS was the high-water-mark of the groundbreaking series with adventures more fantastic than ever. A one-stop haven for DVD collectors this special 17-disc Collector s Edition features all 51 digitally remastered Emma Peel episodes plus a new bonus disc containing three "lost" episodes from the debut season of THE AVENGERS a making-of documentary film a classic Emma Peel cameo episode from THE NEW AVENGERS 77 and more.System Requirements:DVD Features: Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) Exclusive new bonus disc includes: 3 never-before-released "lost Avengers episodes from Season One: "Hot Snow" "The Frighteners" and "Girl on the Trapeze" Avenging The Avengers behind-the-scenes bonus documentary Excerpt from a rare promotional short film: The Strange Case of the Missing Corpse ALternate USA Chessboard Opening Sequence Special Emma Peel cameo episode from The New Avengers 77: "K Is For Kill: The Tiger Awakes" Running Time: 2913 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 733961745825 Manufacturer No: AAE-74582

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4792 in DVD
• Brand: A&E
• Released on: 2006-02-28
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Black & White, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 17
• Dimensions: 3.65 pounds
• Running time: 2913 minutes

Amazon.com
Along with Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Avengers practically defined British cult television, and it was never better than during the three years that Diana Rigg's Emma Peel character tossed out her witty barbs and karate kicks. The supercool 2006 edition of The Complete Emma Peel Megaset encompasses all 51 episodes from 1965-66 (in black and white) and 1967 (in color) plus a new bonus disc, all in 17 space-saving Thinpaks. Paired with Patrick Macnee as the dapper, umbrella-wielding John Steed, Rigg's Mrs. Peel turned heads with her sexy outfits, then broke skulls of the various would-be world-dominating bad guys who crossed her path. Like the mixed crime-fighting teams who came after them in shows like Moonlighting and The X-Files, Steed and Mrs. Peel had a constant platonic playfulness. In one episode when Mrs. Peel is working undercover at a department store, Steed drops in for a visit, remarking, "They told me 'Mrs. Peel is in Ladies Underwear.' I rattled up the stairs three at a time." However, unlike their spiritual successors, Steed and Mrs. Peel never jumped the shark; instead she bid a fond farewell as she passed the torch to Steed's next partner, Tara King (Linda Thorson), just as she had been passed the torch from Honor Blackman. (Blackman left her Kathy Gale character to go on to fame as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger--in one episode, Steed receives a postcard from Gale sent from Fort Knox.) But although Macnee had some enjoyable moments with other partners throughout the series' run, it's the Emma Peel years that fans remember most fondly, not only for the great chemistry between the lead actors, but the superb writing and distinctly British, and distinctly '60s, quirky charm.

The 216-minute bonus disc is the new addition to the 2006 set. Completists will appreciate the "lost" episodes from the first season. Of the very first episode, "Hot Snow," however, only the first 15 minutes were recovered. "Girl on the Trapeze" features a vanilla-esque Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel investigating the death of a circus performer, while "The Frighteners" perks things up considerably with the addition of Macnee's Steed character, who displays a bit of the comedic twinkle that would be the cornerstone of the series through its entire run. All in all, the episodes aren't nearly as watchable as the peak years of the series. Of greater interest to fans is "Avenging the Avengers," a 1992 documentary recapping the series through clips and interviews with Macnee, crew members, and actresses Honor Blackman (Cathy Gale, 1962-64) and Linda Thorson (Tara King, 1968-69). Diana Rigg appears briefly in older interview footage. The documentary lasts 25 minutes, and an additional nine minutes of interviews are added to the end. There's also a three-minute promotional film that Macnee and Rigg made to promote the series' switch from black and white to color, an alternate opening sequence, and a 1977 episode in which Mrs. Peel makes a cameo appearance. The bonus disc is also available separately for those who already have the 2001 Megaset and don't want to upgrade just for the sake of saving shelf space. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

The Avengers
This is an OK collection. I agree with others that it's too bad a whole series of shows were lost. They were actually the main reason I bought the CD's.

Escape in the fantasy of yesterday
The real reason for my buying this collection is the "black and white" set from season 65/66...For me "The Avengers" lost something when they went to color. I really enjoy escaping into that fantasy world of "Steed and Emma" as they confront and combat all thats not right with the world. Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee have a wonderful chemistry together on screen that has rarely been matched since. There is also a "film noir" quality to many of the episodes from the black and white years with "Emma"...Castle Death, Too many Christmas Trees, Dial a Deadly Number, The Town of No Return and How to Succeed...at Murder among others all display the "noir" touch.
Before Closing I have to mention the bonus 17th CD thats contains a couple of the lost episodes of the very first season of the Avengers along with a third of another. I thought these shows were tremendous. I love live TV and thats what this was. A shame really that there are not more of them. However it peaked my interest in obtaining some of the "Cathy Gale" episodes. It was interesting to see Macnee play Steed in an entirely different way and to do it on live TV as well....very interesting and entertaining.

Adventure without gadgets and gore
Seeing the Avengers again reminded us that there was adventure and drama in TV before the need for gadgets and gore.