The New Avengers (8 Disc Collector's Edition Box Set) [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.

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!

As a kid I always looked forward to my fix of The New Avengers on a Friday evening. I loved the cars, Purdy's Mg and the two Jags used by Steed and Gambit. It just seemed so stylish. I loved the speeded up running sequences, watching Gareth Hunts body double despatching the bad guys with aplomb. There is much to enjoy in this box set. Face spotting all the british actors past and present the lush countryside locations and some utterly preposterous acting and accents from the guest stars. Watching this box set was a great trip down memory lane for me, some episodes I recalled better than others. In one we see Joana Lumley tackling an army assault course, I think out of the three stars she was the only one who could actually run. I was a bit disappointed at the absence of extras in the set. However thats a very minor quible. In terms of value for money this an excellent buy.
Avengers purists may not like these episodes as much as the originals but I for one loved them. So if you take your nostalgia seriously then you cant miss out on this box set. A great reminder of what fun TV used to be.