Product details
|
Joanna Lumley makes a foray into the world of espionage as a sexy young New Avenger.
Ten years after the end of the original Avengers, its creators brought the British spy series back with a 1970s twist. Instead of the classic man-woman team, John Steed (Patrick Macnee) was paired with two other agents - Purdey (Joanna Lumley) and Gambit (Gareth Hunt).
This 8 disc collector’s edition of The New Avengers Series 1 & Series 2 follows the adventures of John Steed and new accomplices Purdey and Gambit as they have to deal with extravagant plots and scandalous villains.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Avenging A New Decade!,
By
This review is from: The New Avengers (8 Disc Collector's Edition Box Set) [DVD] (DVD)
The trouble that The New Avengers has is that it is sometimes compared rather poorly to its' predecessor. I'm a huge fan of both series, and what you have to get your mind around is that this is different. This is the seventies, there's a whole new style and edge to the world, and the show reflects this while still trying to keep some of the whimsy that made the Avengers such a success. Bottom line, this has Patrick Macnee as John Steed, so this must be the Avengers.
The remastered quality of both DVDs are excellent, and we get to see just what a major series this must have been at the time, it cetainly holds up a lot better than a lot of the old ITC shows. It takes Patrick a little time to find his feet in this as, due to the advent of Gareth Hunt as Mike Gambit, he has a little less leg work to do in the first series, but the charm and grace of an older Steed is there to see, and particularly in the second series, we get to see him just a little world weary at times. One he's there, Patrick still makes him the cunning old fox that he always was. It's nice to hear the voice of the late Gareth Hunt speaking about his role and time on the show in the extras (of which I wish there were more) as he has often been downplayed. Mike Gambit was the typical seventies man of action, and the in the earlier episodes was often dressed to come over as a sort of rougher edged working class Steed. The main action of the first series was really his, although it has to be said that with Steed's increased role, his character suffers a lot in later episodes. Joanna Lumley looks and performs beautifully. She actually manages to give the character more than is written for (really the script is more Tara Kind, whereas she is definitely Emma Peel in attitude). At times she is clearly loving what she is doing, and the chemistry between her and the two male leads means that show has a definite twinkle. As for the episodes, frankly the series has two or three total duffers; Gnaws, Emily and The Gladiators, but a lot of the scripts are corkers; Eagle's Nest, Tale of The Big Why, Obsession, Angels of Death, Three Handed Game, To Cath A Rat, Cat Amongst The Pigeons and Forward Base all spring to mind. The rest are all visiaully striking at the very least (Target! and Sleeper being prime examples) and in one we have a definite contender for a top ten episode in the whole Avengers pantheon in Dead Men Are Dangerous. Definitely worth a trip!
69 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Almost Pur-fect,
By
This review is from: The New Avengers (8 Disc Collector's Edition Box Set) [DVD] (DVD)
Ace crime fighter and protector of the realm, John Steed, returns with two new all-action assistants - Mike Gambit and Purdey, and an awesome new car - a beefed-up Broadspeed Jaguar V12 coupé, in British racing green of course.
The New Avengers are an impressive trio - original Avenger Patrick Macnee reprises his role as the dapper and dashing John Steed with his trademark brolly and bowler, Gareth Hunt (who sadly died in March 2007) is the pistol-packing, wise-cracking action man, Mike Gambit and (my personal favourite) Joanna Lovely (sorry, I mean Lumley) is the sexy, karate-kicking super woman, Purdey - she knows how to make a fine herb omelette and field strip an automatic pistol in a matter of seconds (these are the two main qualities I've always looked for in a woman)! All the three leads are extremely good in their roles but, for me, Joanna really stands out. Not only is she incredibly gorgeous, and looks good from every camera angle, she is also a very fine actress with a remarkable CV. Prior to starring in The New Avengers she was a Bond girl (in On Her Majesty's Secret Service), a Hammer Horror heroine (she played Jessica Van Helsing in The Satanic Rites Of Dracula a.k.a. Count Dracula And His Vampire Bride) and appeared in Coronation Street and the classic sit-com Steptoe & Son. She has also starred in another cult 1970s TV series - Sapphire & Steel, has made numerous films and is unforgettable as the champagne-drinking party girl Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous. The Avengers and The New Avengers creator Brian Clemens was also associated with Hammer Horror through the films Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter and Dr Jekyll And Sister Hyde and it is good to see some Hammer Horror actors and actresses making guest appearances in this show - look out for Peter Cushing, John Carson, John Forbes-Robertson, Jon Finch, Melissa Stribling and Caroline Munro to name a few. Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) briefly appears in `K Is For Kill, Part One - The Tiger Awakes' and Only Fools And Horses fans will be able to spot `Boycie' (in the `Dirtier By The Dozen' episode) and `Marlene' (in the `Medium Rare' episode). Lewis Collins and Martin Shaw, the two stars of The Professionals (also created by Brian Clemens), appear in the `Obsession' episode but this time they are on the wrong side of the law. By the way, in the `Medium Rare' episode, there is a character called George Cowley- this was also the name of Bodie & Doyle's boss in The Professionals! This is a very entertaining DVD set. I remember watching all of these episodes when they were first shown on television and it is marvellous to own them on DVD and be able to watch them again. My favourite episode is probably `Sleeper' - I love the scene where Purdey has to pretend to be a fashion dummy in a shop window to avoid being caught by two pursuers and her pyjama bottoms keep falling down!
70 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The New Avengers DVD Set,
By
This review is from: The New Avengers (8 Disc Collector's Edition Box Set) [DVD] (DVD)
Seven years after being blasted into space with the lovely Tara King(Linda Thorson)John Steed(Patrick Macnee)returns to fight enemy agents and mad masterminds,now joined by the beautiful high kicking Purdey(Joanna Lumley)and the charming but tough Mike Gambit(Gareth Hunt)
I really enjoyed this show as it was my introduction to the world of "The Avengers" with Joanna Lumley,to me in the same league as Mrs Emma Peel(Diana Rigg)with her wit,elagance and the ablity to defend herself. The rapport between Purdey and Gambit is spot on,Steed does take more of a back seat but becomes more into the action in the 2nd season. "Return of The Cybernauts" to me is one of the best stories,Steed meeting again the dreaded Robots,he and Mrs Peel meet twice in the 60s,the fight between Purdey and and a Cybernized Kane,one of the classics of the series. To me its a shame that Steed stopped driving around in his classic cars,in "New Avengers" he drives around in a Jag,to me,this lost a lot of the charm of the character. The trio meet Nazi alive and well in Scotland,a man who can control birds by music and a man whose mere touch can cause death. The three actors work so well together,in a nice nod to its past we see Steed ringing Mrs Peel(using old footage of Diana Rigg)to discuss an old case,even Macnee's orginal Avenger,Ian Hendry makes a guest appeatrance in "To Catch A Rat",it would have been nice if he'd returned in his old role as Dr.David Keel though. If you haven't seen this show,give it a go,Joannna Lumley is great as Purdey,ok its not as good as "The Avengers" but it came pretty close.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
|
|
|