Getting Reacquainted with The New Avengers

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https://comforttv.blogspot.com/2026/...-avengers.html

Last year I mentioned a company in Australia called Imprint that has been putting out some impressive Blu-rays of classic television shows. One of their more recent releases was The New Avengers, which I was eager to revisit as I hadn’t watched an episode in decades.



I’ve had the Emma Peel episodes of The Avengers in my DVD collection since they were first released, and I vaguely recall enjoying this revival, but sometimes the memory can cheat on such things. However, I’m happy to report that if anything these 26 episodes surpassed my expectations, and once again Imprint did an outstanding job on picture and sound quality, as well as providing a generous selection of extra features.

No, it wasn’t as good as the Steed-Peel years – but what could be? Replicating the impeccable chemistry between Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg hardly seems possible. But there is great chemistry as well in this new trio of heroes, and I would rewatch their adventures over any of the Tara King episodes.

It’s 1976 – seven years have passed since we last saw John Steed. In The New Avengers he has not yet retired but has clearly moved up to a more senior role within the British government. He’s still capable of knocking out an enemy agent with his steel-lined bowler, but now leaves most of the fighting to Mike Gambit, played with suave James Bond charm by Gareth Hunt.



Casting a new female agent had to be the show’s toughest challenge, as Honor Blackman and Diana Rigg were tough acts to follow. But the series struck gold in Joanna Lumley as Purdey, who had the same mix of sass, sophistication and sex appeal as her predecessors.



This may be sacrilegious, but to me Lumley was more convincing in her fight scenes than Rigg or Blackman. In episodes like “The Midas Touch” it’s clear she’s doing many of her own stunts; I can only imagine what those who first met her on Absolutely Fabulous would think of seeing the always sloshed Patsy running, jumping and high kicking bad guys with the lithe grace of a ballerina. With these two series and Sapphire and Steel on her resume, I hope Lumley has been afforded the status of national treasure in what’s left of British England.

In every incarnation this series is known for its cool, detached approach to dangerous circumstances, but behind the scenes things were more chaotic. A second season was only made possible through foreign financing, which resulted in episodes being filmed in Canada and then in Paris. For such a quintessentially British show that might have been disappointing, but regardless of the change in scenery it still feels like The Avengers.



Much of the credit belongs to Patrick Macnee, who inhabits Steed so naturally that one wonders if there really was any distinction between the actor and the character. But we must also extol the irreplaceable contributions of Brian Clemens, a virtual script-writing machine.

If you had a favorite episode, chances are Clemens wrote it (“The Cybernauts,” “The House That Jack Built,” “Honey for the Prince,” “From Venus with Love”). He knew the precise tone that best served this property and carried it into the revival in episodes like “The Eagle’s Nest” and “Faces.” Dennis Spooner’s episodes were not always as good, but he did give us the unforgettable “Gnaws,” an homage to Jaws in which our heroes face off against a giant rat.

Imprint Blu-rays are pricey limited editions, a sales strategy that seems out of step when fewer stores even stock physical media, and streaming has replaced DVDs as a primary source for classic shows. But I will always prefer to own the shows I like, and this is a purchase I do not regret. Even in lesser episodes there will be a line, a look, a reaction, a flirtatious exchange between Gambit and Purdey, that could only emerge from the unique world of The Avengers.



As with British classics Doctor Who and Monty Python’s Flying Circus, it’s a show like nothing else on TV before or since. And that’s worth raising a glass (champagne, or course) to celebrate.