|
The Avengers '67 - Set 4, Vols. 7 & 8 | 
| Actor: Diana Rigg
Studio: A&E Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.95
Buy Used: $9.95
You Save: $10.00 (50%)
New (39) Used (10) from $9.95
Rating:  11 reviews
Format: Box Set, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Academy Ratio
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 378 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.2 x 1.3
MPN: 70017
ISBN: 630529996X
UPC: 733961700176
EAN: 9786305299967
ASIN: 630529996X
Theatrical Release Date: March 28, 1966
Release Date: April 13, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Near MINT condition DVDs (2). No scratches, marks or bruises. Even the case is in GREAT condition! Slipcase has light wear.
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
This final set of episodes from the 1967-1968 season of The Avengers follows the delightful, pop-surreal series through the concluding chapter of Diana Rigg's involvement as agent Emma Peel. On tap is "The 50,000 Breakfast," in which a ventriloquist is discovered to be carrying a stash of diamonds in his stomach, leading Mrs. Peel and John Steed (Patrick Macnee) into an investigation that involves murder, dummies, and borzoi dogs. "Dead Man's Treasure" finds a mortally wounded fellow agent hiding important documents in the home of a racing enthusiast--whose driving "simulator" nearly kills poor Mrs. Peel with a lethal dose of electricity. This set also includes the terrific "You Have Just Been Murdered," in which a gaggle of blackmailers and assassins accosts prospective victims with toy weapons to prove they can easily be killed. Steed and Mrs. Peel enter the fray, just as they do in "The Positive-Negative Man," a tense but amusing plot about an electrically charged killer dispatching members of a scientific research team (and very nearly our heroes) with one touch of his high-voltage finger. Also contained in the set is the dark and scary "Murdersville," in which Mrs. Peel is kidnapped in a town full of killers-for-hire. Following that is the cheeky "Mission Highly Improbable," featuring Steed and Emma as shrunken versions of themselves after being subjected to a miniaturization device. The series ends--rather sadly for worshippers of Mrs. Peel--with "The Forget-Me-Knot," introducing Steed's next partner, Tara King (Linda Thorson), in a story about a traitor within the intelligence community. A coda in which Steed and Emma say goodbye is indeed unforgettable. Fortunately, the good times and quirky humor and whimsical sexuality between this perfect pair live on forever in this set. --Tom Keogh
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Alas! Mrs. Peel Leaves us! Episode details follow... May 27, 2008
Patrick W. Crabtree (Lucasville, OH USA)
Prior to 1967, "The Avengers" was yielded in black-and-white. Going to color was a definite improvement!
This DVD package, (2 DVDs, individually cased and further packaged in a box, this is "Set No. 4," color-coded PURPLE), is just one of FOUR sets which take in all the 1967 episodes. The marketing of "The Avengers" can be quite confusing so I wanted to get that information out up front. This is also the BEST way to buy the DVDs (by the "set") for any season, from 1963 through 1968.
1967 was Diana Rigg's last season as Steed's partner. The BONUS EPISODE in this set, introduces Steed's new partner, Tara King, (played by Linda Thorson), and she takes us into and through 1968 which was the final season for "The Avengers".
Rigg's career really launched in 1965 from this fine series in her role as Mrs. Emma Peel, the sexy and lively partner to the refined secret agent Englishman, John Steed, who was shrewdly played by Patrick Macnee. In fact, in the U.S., most of us didn't even know about Honor Blackman and Macnee's other (earlier, '63 and '64) partners until many years later.
Diana Rigg can probably claim about 60% of the credit for the vast number of U.S. audience members who were glued to their TVs when "The Avengers" finally hit here. The other 40% (not forgetting Macnee's fine performances) had to do with the presentation of the series. Starting in 1965, with Rigg, the filmscore was notably updated and played more prominently throughout the story, enhancing the action and suspense. Also, the action itself was boosted. Never a dull moment with Steed and Mrs. Peel. And these episodes were all FUN -- one embraced a sense that Macnee and Rigg were having a great time in making these films. Now that I've seen episodes from "The Avengers'" earlier years, ('63 and '64), I can see that they dragged quite a bit during that earlier era and were much more soap opera-ish.
Each 52-minute episode is futuristic and on the cutting edge of excellent television productions. I know of no series, "The Original Star Trek Series" excepted, which has remained as timeless as "The Avengers". You'll encounter, in these episodes, every nemesis ranging from a killer nanny to a mind-transfer device!
Here, we're talking about SEVEN very enjoyable, action-packed, color episodes.
Volume 7:
"The 50,000 Breakfast" -- A ventriloquist is comatose due to a car crash. X-rays reveal 50,000 in stolen diamonds in his stomach which were about to be smuggled out of England and into Switzerland. Steed, posing as a blackmailer, fences them back to the Litoff Corporation, the original owners of the jewels who want no publicity since the ventriloquist was their own employee. But very soon thereafter, one of the Litoff people gives the lamentable ventriloquist a fatal injection before he can recover and tell what he knows. Then, the ventriloquist's wife trys her own hand at blackmail -- she soon meets her husband's fate. As it turns out, Litoff's people are hiding another BIG (criminal) secret. Steed and Mrs. Peel get a bit too nosy for these devious folks and you know what that means!
"Dead Man's Treasure" -- A millionaire sponsors a sports car rally and the prize is a big, red treasure chest with a nice bit of cash inside. But, through a comedy of British spy errors, the chest also contains a secret government document. To retrieve it, Steed and Mrs. Peel must compete in the car rally with partners that they don't know... they also have to compete for their lives!
"You Have Just Been Murdered" -- Millionaires are being intimidated into paying extortion money when it's demonstrated to each one that he can, and will, be murdered if he doesn't pay up. Steed and Mrs. Peel try to help out one target millionaire by stealing the suitcase filled with cash. Mrs. Peel makes a successful grab but she doesn't know that, in addition to the cash, this shrewd millionaire has also placed a bomb in the suitcase!
Volume 8:
"The Positive-Negative Man" -- The secret notes for "Project 90" have been mysteriously rendered to ashes. Then, all the scientists involved with the project are being systematically murdered... by a man who can electrocute people with simply a touch of his finger! Steed and Mrs. Peel soon discover the "source of power" -- in more ways than one. A great episode.
"Murdersville" -- A murderer kills a rich man in a small village. He bribes most of the townsfolk, keeping them quiet by splitting the take of the murdered man's millions -- but a few honest hold-outs must be held in the town's little museum. Then, the crooked folks of the village let it be known that you can murder anyone there... for a price. Unfortunately, an old friend of Mrs. Peel decides to retire and Mrs. Peel drives him to his doom at his new resdience near "Murdersville". Steed races to Mrs. Peel's rescue.
"Mission Highly Improbable" -- This is another "sci-fi" episode. An old professor on a military base is worried about an upcoming audit and inspection in regard to how he's been spending the government's money. But he need not worry becuase when it's discovered that he's used the funds to invent a great secret weapon for Great Britain, clearly all will be forgiven -- it's a ray gun that shrinks anything it's aimed at! But there's trouble right off. A high-ranking military officer goes missing as he enters the base. Then, the primary military weapon which was also invented by the professor, an armored vehicle which withstands direct artillery fire, also disappears. No doubt there is a defector on the premises and he's about to sell the secret vehicle, as well as the shrinking ray, to the Ruskies. Steed and Mrs. Peel encounter a "little" trouble!
"BONUS EPISODE: The Forget-Me-Knot" -- This is the episode that broke my heart. Agents of Steed's and Mrs. Peel's organization are developing amnesia, (thanks to strategically-wielded dart guns loaded with a memory-loss drug), and then they go missing. There's a defector in the agency and the top man is advised that it's Steed, who also goes missing. Meanwhile, Steed has met agent-in-training Tara King (played by Linda Thorson), who believes in Steed's loyalty and she tries to help him. Mrs. Peel also takes a dart which further complicates Steed's investigation of the matter. I'll spare you the spoiler but the heartbreaker is that Mrs. Peel's husband, ace flyer Peter Peel, is suddenly located in the Amazonian jungle where he had apparently crashed years before! So, Mrs. Peel retires from the agency to become a full-time wife and Steed gets a new partner, Tara King, the sweet gal who takes us into the final year of "The Avengers," 1968! This is really a sad episode for fans of Mrs. Peel, (Diana Rigg).
The storylines of the various "The Avengers" episodes seem absurd to varying degrees as we view them today - but 1967 marked an even higher level of absurdity. This did not diminish my love for the "The Avengers" because the overall series always manifested a "Batman" (TV series) tongue-and-cheekness about it. I mention it only to prepare viewers for this actuality.
The casting in all episodes is spot-on, punctuated with the very best sets and scenic locations. And Rigg's provocative, '60s mod body suits much accentuate her sensual magnetism with the notable change from black-and-white to color.
I've reviewed all the '65, '66, and '67 sets so you can check the appropriate sites for details of each episode. In the meantime, this particular set garners my highest recommendation!
Avengers ROCK !!!! May 7, 2007
Paul E. Gower (Warrenton, N.C. United States)
Nice with a big mug of Fortnum and Mason Royal Blend !!!
Farewell Mrs. Peel October 11, 2004
Deborah MacGillivray (US & UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Fourth series for 1967, and sadly, the last of Emma Peel. You could almost sense Diana Rigg's restlessness in the series. The sparkle that had shown so brightly now had a brittle cast to it, signaling clearly, she felt she'd outgrown the series. And like Honor Blackman before her, was off to become a Bond girl. Strange, this series has lived so long in the hearts of her fans, while the arguably worst Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), was famous only because Bond married Rigg's character in the film and for being "that film with Lazenby". Her fans might feel
her time would have been better spent staying with the Avengers!
1) The 50,000 breakfast" - "Steed dabbles in tycoonery - and Emma in Chicanery" sees stolen diamonds - all 50,000 worth found in a dead man's stomach, the trail leads to a Pet Cemetery and a sinister plot
2) "Deans Man's Treasure" - "Steed rallies around - and Emma drives for her life. One of the most fun episodes where Steed and Emma join a cross-country car rally. Emma finds shocking results when she unravels the clues
3) "You Have Just Been Murders" - "Steed chase a million - Emma runs off it with it" has an ingenious blackmailer using the threat of "fake murders" to demonstrate just how he can kill his victims to get them to pay
4) "The Positive-Negative Man" - "Steed makes the sparks fly - and Emma gets switched on" Anyone involved in the mysterious "Project 90" is suddenly being turned to toast
5) "Murdersville" "Emma marries Steed - and Steed becomes a father" When Emma visits a friend in the tiny village of Little Storping, she finds strange doings. When she fails to turn up, Steed rushes to figure out what has happened to her, and soon finds a town where for a price you can kill anyone you want
6) "Mission Highly Improbable" - "Steed falls into enemy hands - and Emma is cut down to size." This episode really see Rigg's boredom starting to show through. A scientist has develops a machine that can shrink anything down to miniature size.
7) "The Forget-Me-Knot" is the episode where the world big farewell to Emma Peel and hello to Tara King(Linda Thorson). Emma is hit with an amnesia inducing dart and held prison in an old glass factory. Steed is paired with the gorgeous Tara to track down Emma. This episode is the first to introduce Mother. At the end, when Emma learns Peter Peel has been found alive, so she is no longer a widow - look closely at hubby dearest!
 poor quality control July 27, 2003
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This otherwise excellent set is marred by an audio problem on "The $50,000 breakfast". The original show mix is combined with the music and effects mixouts causing the music and effects to be too loud and phasey.
After A&E did this on one of the early Prisoner releases, I had hoped they had tightened up on their quality control.
Thanks A&E. This episode is pretty much unwatchable.
New color era for Steed and Mrs. Peel May 12, 2003
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
Following the huge success of the first filmed series of The Avengers, starring Patrick MacNee as debonair British agent John Steed and his cool, sophisticated partner Mrs. Emma Peel, the producers opted to make the next batch of 26 episodes in color, to be broadcast in 1967. In order to accomplish this, foreign backing was necessary, and the American networks were approached. The US had broadcast the black and white season four as a mid-season replacement, and were interested in moving forward with a color season in prime time, however they only provided enough backing for 16 episodes initially. Another challenge was that Diana Rigg was not particularly keen to film another season of the show, and demanded a huge salary increase in order to secure her participation. She got the money, but it was made clear it would be her second and last season with the show.Apart from the use of color film, there were other subtle changes to the show for this fifth season. Both Steed and Emma were given new apartments and Mrs. Peel a much more stylized wardrobe. The device of ending each story with the two leads driving off in a variety of vehicles was abandoned and instead a tag scene was used to introduce each story, where Steed informed his partner that they were needed in a variety of humorous ways. Each story title was also given a two-line subtitle. After completion of the first batch of 16, the American backers did provide finance for a further 16 but asked for both the subtitles and tag scenes to be dropped, and also requested that Mrs. Peel's wardrobe became more recognizably en vogue. After only 8 episodes were completed, producers Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell left the show after a disagreement and the new producers opted not to continue with Mrs. Peel and began their own interpretation of the show. It wasn't long before Clemens and Fennell were back in charge, but the 67 series ended with "Mission highly improbable," although Rigg was brought back in 1968 for the one-off "The forget me knot," to introduce her replacement Tara King. This episode is included in this release as a bonus episode. In terms of storylines, acting and the wonderful interplay between the two leads, there is little difference between this color season and the preceding black and white stories and the show had really reached its zenith by this point. Certainly in terms of popularity and ratings, it was never as successful again. Interestingly, several of these stories are in fact remakes of earlier episodes from the Mrs. Gale era. "The joker," "The correct way to kill," and "The $50,000 breakfast," are all remakes, whereas "The return of the Cybernauts," is a sequel to an earlier Steed/Mrs. Peel adventure. Fans of The Avengers will of course be delighted to have these discs, and I'd highly recommend them to any other fans of the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and indeed fans of the 60's spy format. If you've ever seen the dreadful movie featuring Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman, don't let that put you off. These stories are the real McCoy!
|
|
|
| |
