Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43932 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-03-31
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 7
• Running time: 999 minutes

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
This comprehensive AVENGERS collection presents all the episodes from the 1963-1964 run of the classic television series. Follow secret agents John Steed (Patrick Macnee) and Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) on various crime-fighting adventures. The set contains the episodes The Undertakers, November Five, Second Sight, Death a la Carte, The White Elephant, Mandrake, and many more.

Customer Reviews

Quite entertaining and interesting to watch!
I've bought this DVD-box a short while ago, and I absolutely love it! The packaging is lovely, although it could've been made a bit more stronger and solid, as the packaging is a little bit vulnerable. But the real big disadvantage is that there aren't any subtitles for each episode, not even English subtitles for the hearing impaired. I myself am hearing impaired and English is also not my native language, so subtitles would've helped me quite a lot (I prefer English subtitles over Dutch subtitles). But well, there's not much that I can do about that, can't I?

The DVD-box doesn't contain all of the Cathy Gale episodes; Cathy Gale was a character on "The Avengers" from 1962 to 1964, and this DVD-box only contains the episodes from 1963-1964. I'll summarize which episodes are included, in chronological order: "Concerto", "Brief For Murder", "The Nutshell", "The Golden Fleece", "Death à la Carte", "Man With Two Shadows", "Don't Look Behind You", "The Grandeur That Was Rome", "The Undertakers", "Death Of A Batman", "Build A Better Mousetrap", "November Five", "Second Sight", "The Secrets Broker", "The Gilded Cage", "The Medicine Man", "The White Elephant", "Dressed To Kill", "The Wringer", "The Little Wonders", "Mandrake", "Trojan Horse", "The Outside-In Man", "The Charmers", "Esprit de Corps" and "Lobster Quadrille."

Being someone who firstly got acquainted with the colour episodes of "The Avengers", in which Steed's partner is Emma Peel (she replaced Cathy Gale after Honor Blackman left the show in order to star in a James Bond film), it was a fun experience to watch "The Avengers" for the first time in black & white, and to get acquainted with the character of Cathy Gale (I hadn't seen any of the Cathy Gale episodes before buying this DVD-box). I like Cathy, she's an emancipated woman with quite a lot of spunk, and I love it when she gets angry at Steed, that's always fun and interesting to watch. Emma Peel never got angry with Steed and threw things at him like Cathy did, so that's one of the things I like about Cathy. Steed is also quite different in the Cathy Gale episodes; he's lazy, ruthless and not quite the debonair English gentleman that he would become later on, in the Emma Peel episodes: he uses Cathy a lot, and also acts more like the typical '60s man who expects the woman to do the more domestic and not so fun stuff. He doesn't have as much respect for women as the Steed from the Emma Peel episodes does. But that doesn't make him less fun to watch. Steed is a lot younger in the Cathy Gale episodes, and I think it's interesting and refreshing to see his character as more serious and dark, instead of the more comical Steed from the Emma Peel episodes.

One thing that I also noticed, is that the Cathy Gale episodes are of a much better quality than the Emma Peel episodes; the acting is better (it's more serious and less comical; for example, the diabolical masterminds are much more believeable and interesting), the writing is better and I even think the way in which the episodes have been filmed is better. And the fact that music was used seldomly in the Cathy Gale episodes (in contrast to the Emma Peel episodes, in which a lot of instrumental background music was used), it made them even more realistic and thrilling to me than the Emma Peel episodes.

So, all in all, this DVD-box is a very good buy, and I highly recommend it. I give it 3 stars, but I would've given it 4 stars if there had been subtitles (and extra's would've been fun also, but well).

Avenging With Cathy Gale
For the longest period of time, I've been a HUGE fan of "The Avengers". Like most people, I am very familiar with the Diana Rigg era of the series, however I've always long to see Honor Blackman at work.
This DVD box set (which covers the entire third season of "The Avengers" from 1963-1964) contains 26 episodes and as such, offer a fasinicating insight into a television series that has become not only a worldwide favourite but more importantly a landmark in television making.
The focal point of "The Avengers" was and will always be Patrick Macnee. His portrayl of John Steed (agent extroridnary - man about town) was the glue that held the entire series together. Much has been said and written about the female stars of this series (Honor Blackman, Diana Rigg, Linda Thorson & Joanna Lumley of "The New Avengers"), but I personally feel that not enough attention has been paid to Mr Macnee and his contribution to this program. Steed is a captivating character. Sly, cunning, munipulative, yet charming and debonair, he has a strong presence on screen and is always a joy to watch.
However, it has to be said, that this show really took flight, when the producers decided to take the series in a very different direction from the one it was originally on.
In the first season, the series starred Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel (who having lost his fiancee in the first episode when she was gunned down by a gang of drug dealers by mistake), was determined to "avenge" her death and thus joined forces with a shadowy figure called John Steed (Patrick Macnee), and so "The Avengers" were born. The series was an instant success in Britain, however after the first season aired, Ian Hendry felt the desire to move and pursue a career in British cinema (which he did). The producers of "The Avengers" decided to hire not one, but three replacements to help Steed in his fight againist crime. First to come on board was Jon Rollason as Dr. Martin King (the character was only featured in three episodes during the second season and in essence was there to literally fill the void left by Hendry's character, Dr. Keel). The next arrival was Julie Stevens as nightclub singer Venus Smith (who appeared in six episodes during the second season). Venus, was in many ways a more "traditional" female charcter in that whenever she found herself in a tough situation, Steed was always come to her rescue. The third companion to join the series, was by far the most dymanic. Honor Blackman as Mrs. Catherine Gale.
Cathy Gale was a first for television. Here, viewers were treated to an intelligent, strong, independent (not to mention attractive) woman who lived life on her own terms, did not play "second fiddle" to any man and what's more, made no apologies about it either!. A widow, with a PH'd in Anthrapology, Mrs Gale has travelled extensively, lived in Africa and had a diverse range of interests including photography, art and motorcycling to name just a few. She was also skilled in martial arts and had a black belt in judo and was more than capable of taking care of herself in any given situation - no matter how tough things got.
Like the first series, the second season was a success (if not even more popular than before). Viewers especially clicked with Honor Blackman and her performance as Cathy gale, so when the series geared up for it's third season, it was wisely decided to leave the spotlight on Steed and Mrs Gale (both Jon Rollason and Julie Stevens were let go).
The third season of "The Avengers" is what this DVD box set concentrates on and viewers are treated to interesting mix of intrigue and suspense. There are a few things that need to be pointed out beforehand. The first three seasons of "The Avengers" were shot on black and white videotape, so as a result the finish product lacks the polished look and feel of the later seasons featuring Diana Rigg & Linda Thorson (which were shot on film). Production mistakes do pop up from time to time (ie: boom mircophones, and camera cords appearing in shots) but they don't distract from the overall quality of the episodes. The early seasons of "The Avengers" also contain a strong element of grit and realism that the later years don't have so anyone looking for outlandish villians and larger-than-life scenrios may want to look elsewhere. There is a strong emphasis on plot, characters, and situations. What is the key to these episodes is the interplay between the shows two leads - Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman.
It has to be said, that Steed is a far more devious man in these episodes that what he became later on. In these adventures, Steed is a man who has several things on go at the same time so as the viewer, it's interesting to watch how these things come together at the conclusion of the episode. He is also cunning in the way he gets people to do what he wants and this is particularly evident in his treatment of Mrs Gale.
While she doesn't possess the devil-may-care attitude of Emma Peel or the playful kitsch of Tara King, Cathy Gale has a no nonsense approach to these episodes, which suits perfectly with what tone of the series was all about at that time. She gets annoyed at Steed for taking advantage of her when using her skills ans knowledge during the course of an investigation and is always weary of his motives. Take for example the following line in the episode "The Golden Fleece":

Mrs Gale (to Steed): "Why is it whenever you wine and dine me on this scale, it's always a prelude to some hideous adventure?"

Still, when the chips are down, she's there to help him out (and in some instances, bail him out of trouble). The episodes themselves range from political intrigue ("November Five" & "The Outside-In Man"), to matters regarding the law - or more to the point - how to get around it ("Brief For Murder" & "The Undertakers), to revenge ("Don't Look Behind You"), to threats of national security ("The Nutshell", "Man With Two Shadows" & "The Wringer") and to episodes with strong comic tones ("Esprit De Corps" & "The Charmers). In short something for everyone.
Like it's first two years, the third season of "The Avengers" was a resounding success with an increase sense of pace and style combined with strong storytelling and solid direction. Naturally the producers had plans for new and better things for the following year. However, those ideas were thrown into a huge tailspin when Honor Blackman announced her intention of leaving the series after securing a film contract and playing the female lead of "Pussy Galore" in the next James Bond epic "Goldfinger" opposite Sean Connery. The producers found themselves back at square one. Who would take over as the new "Avengers Girl"?. As history has proven, the show would go onto even more fame, fortune and success on a scale it had never previously achieved, but that's another story.
For a slice of early 60's British drama, done with a unique feel that puts it apart from it's contemporaries (ie: "Danger Man" & "The Saint"), than look no further than this DVD box set.