mrs_emma_peel

The Avengers - the Emma Peel/John Steed superb 1965/66 black and white series, the first, the best and the much more serious first series - is being shown on BBC4 starting on Friday 1st August, 2008 (following on directly from the 1966/67 colour - second series) with a back to back double bill of the first two episodes: The Town of No Return 11.30-12-20am and The Gravediggers 12.20-1.10am

Mrs Emma Peel

marker

I will be watching I love the b/w Avengers

Cheers Marker..... Black and White 405 Line TV Lives on

winsfordtown

This is the second showing 1965/66 series BBC 4. I think was originally shown a couple of years ago.

James Fox

Wasn't Honor Blackman the first "Avenger's" girl? Some of those were pretty good, too, as I recall.

dpgmel

Fab news about the repeats

...and yes James, Honor Blackman was Cathy Gale- kinky boots anyone !

Lord Brett

That is really good news, as I've given up hope waiting for a DVD release. Shame I didn't bother doing the colour ones, but I do still have them on VHS from Granada plus.

johng

All of the Avenger episodes are readily available on DVD most having been issued some years back but still be purchased on Amazons market place.
The first series with Honor Blackman were wiped but fourteen episodes from the second series are available on region 1 discs. There is or was someone advertising all 20 odd episodes from series 2, apparently of Dutch origin but in English but at a whopping price of around £45.

Lord Brett

As far as I know, all the Honor Blackman episodes exist. Only her second season (the series' third season) was released on UK DVD, but earlier episodes were screened by Channel 4 in the 1990s.

The first season starred Ian Hendry and Patrick Macnee, and only two and a bit episodes are currently known to exist. Others are missing, presumed lost, whixh is actually an improvement, as previously they were thought to have been live transmissions, and not recorded at all.

mrs_emma_peel

Another superb double bill of The Avengers on BBC4 12.00 - 1.40am - Friday 8th August 08:

The Cybernauts:
Steed receives a deadly gift and Emma pockets it …
The original, most dramatic and best story concerning the seemingly invincible robot killing machines.

Death at Bargain Prices:
Steed plays cricket in the Toy Department and Emma is in Ladies’ Underwear … and performs some judo-ballet feinting moves …

This episode is a favourite of Patrick MacNee and includes a wonderfully stylised judo - almost balletic - fight sequence - brilliantly directed by Charles Crichton (The Lavender Hill Mob).

Steed finds Emma in the lingerie department and remarks,
"I asked the chief predator where to find you and he said, 'Our Mrs. Peel is in ladies' underwear.' I rattled up the stairs three at a time …"

The Cybernauts / Death at Bargain Prices

Mrs Emma Peel

Chevyman

I managed to catch The Gravediggers

Wanda Ventham, Caroline Blakiston, Ronald Fraser.

Superb railway sequences both indoor and out

A Happy and Healthy New Year to all

"Don't tread on Greta Garbo, as you walk down the boulevard?"

mrs_emma_peel

Steed draws his sword and wears in a kilt whilst Mrs Peel lays a ghost tonight at midnight on BBC4 in Castle De'ath with guest star Gordon Jackson;
and in the second of this double bill Steed becomes a genius and Emma loses her mind in The Master Minds at 12.50am BBC4 with guest stars Bernard Archard and Patricia Haines.

Mrs Emma Peel

bummer1611

Until I watched that b/w youtube clip, I never realized that Dame Diana's daughter, Rachael Stirling, is the *spitting image* of her mother! Downright remarkable!

Dandy Forsdyke

Are the double bill episodes of Avengers continuing throught he repeat run. Is this what happened for the previous run?

Wish they were on an hour earlier...

mrs_emma_peel

There is a single episode of The Avengers: The Murder Market on BBC4 Friday/Saturday, 23rd August, 2008, 12.30-1.25am.
The week after - two of the very best episodes ever of The Avengers are on a superb double bill BBC4 Friday, 29th August 2008 11.00-12.40am – A Surfeit of H2O and The Hour That Never Was
This b/w series seems to be following the colour series with the same excellent, mostly double bill format. On previous BBC4 showings - I think the both series were shown mostly in single episodes.

Mrs Emma Peel

Dandy Forsdyke

Great news. The Avengers Forum has been down all weekend, so it's good to have my Avengers-natter fix here!