The Avengers (TV series)
British espionage series with stylish partners and constant John Steed.
Last updated
ABC Weekend TV produced The Avengers, which replaced the earlier series Police Surgeon in January 1961.[1][2] Videotapes of early episodes were reused, and only three complete Series 1 episodes survive as 16-mm film telerecordings.[3] The second series introduced Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), a self-assured anthropologist skilled in judo.[4] New female partner Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) debuted in October 1965.[5]
The character's name derived from the shorthand "M. Appeal", referring to "man appeal".[5] For its first series, production employed 405-line videotape and a multicamera setup, with very limited editing capabilities.[3] Big Finish Productions created audio recreations of the lost episodes, titling them The Avengers – The Lost Episodes.[6] A sequel called The New Avengers, which ran from 1976 to 1977, was produced by ITV and featured Patrick Macnee reprising his role as John Steed.[7]
What the cited sources add
It states that plot lines in Police Surgeon presented a morally complex doctor frequently at odds with a "by the book" inspector.[2] The same source reports that Hendry's receptionist Carol Wilson was played by Ingrid Hafner, who had portrayed Nurse Gibbs in Police Surgeon.[2] A 1963 TV Times article, presented as a memo from a crime reporter to an editor, mentions that ITV had secured permission to broadcast part of a trial on The Avengers.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "The Avengers (TV series)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "BFI Screenonline: Police Surgeon (1960)", Screenonline.org.uk, 3 December 1960 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "BFI Screenonline: Police Surgeon (1960)", Screenonline.org.uk, 3 December 1960. facts only, no text reused. screenonline.org.uk
- Wikipedia, "The Avengers (TV series)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Avengers (1961) – Lost Episode 'Tunnel Of Fear' From The Very First Series Rediscovered After 55 Years!", Ian Hendry's official website, 3 October 2016 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Avengers (TV series)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "TV Times issue 412, 20 September 1963, page 4, Inside Story Of The Avengers: Brief For Murder!, Crime Reporter, England", Deadline.theavengers.tv, 20 September 1963 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Avengers (TV series)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dave Rogers, "The Complete Avengers: The Full Story of Britain's Smash Crime-Fighting Team!", Boxtree Ltd, 1989, p. 87 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Avengers (TV series)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Avengers – Steed and Keel", Bigfinish.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Avengers (TV series)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "25 Top Cult Shows Ever!", TV Guide, 30 May 2004; "TV Guide Names the Top Cult Shows Ever – Today's News: Our Take" TV Guide: 29 June 2007 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "TV Times issue 412, 20 September 1963, page 4, Inside Story Of The Avengers: Brief For Murder!, Crime Reporter, England", Deadline.theavengers.tv, 20 September 1963. facts only, no text reused. deadline.theavengers.tv
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article The Avengers (TV series) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: The Avengers (TV series) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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