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The Avengers - Vol. 17 of The Complete Emma Peel Megaset Collector's Edition (Bonus Disc) Review

This is worth getting for the 2 1/3 episodes that remain of Season One. This is the season that introduces Dr David Keel who decides to join forces with shadowy agent John Steed to bring down the drug dealings of the gang that killed Dr Keel's girlfriend. Only the first Act from the very first episode 'Hot Snow' survives but this offers a tantalisingly bried introduction to the series.

Following on from this, 'Girl on the Trapeze' showcases the characters Dr Keel and his 'Avengers' girl, secretary Carol Wilson in a fantastic episode that is full of tense situations and twists and turns and is an amazing episode that leaves the viewer wanting to see more of these early Avengers regulars.

The final Season One episode still in existence is 'The Frighteners' in which Dr Keel,Steed and Carol join forces to bring down an illegal activity involving three men who physically beat and threaten people for financial gains, however there is more to the story than just that....

The Emma Peel related stuff, although not my most favourite era of the show, is interesting. The black and white American introduction is 30 seconds of fun. The 3 minute advertisement for the 1967 colour series is interesting and great for completist. The addtion of a New Avengers episode seems quite odd though and a waste of time as it is the first part of a two part story and brief cameo appearances by Emma total about 10-15 seconds only.

The documentary is excellent, only a shame it wasn't in depth a bit more but great to hear the main regulars talking about their time on the show.

Get this to watch all that remains of Season One starring Ian Hendry, also starring Patrick Macnee and Ingrid Hafner. Fingers crossed more episodes will be discovered in the future!

The Avengers - Vol. 17 of The Complete Emma Peel Megaset Collector's Edition (Bonus Disc) Overview

This 216-minute bonus disc is part of the 2006 Complete Emma Peel Megaset, but is also available separately for those who already have the 2001 Megaset. Completists will appreciate the "lost" episodes from the first season. Of the very first episode, "Hot Snow," however, only the first 15 minutes were recovered. "Girl on the Trapeze" features a vanilla-esque Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel investigating the death of a circus performer, while "The Frighteners" perks things up considerably with the addition of Patrick Macnee's John Steed, who displays a bit of the comedic twinkle that would be the cornerstone of the series through its entire run. All in all, the episodes aren't nearly as watchable as the peak years of the series. Of greater interest to fans is "Avenging the Avengers," a 1992 documentary recapping the series through clips and interviews with Macnee, crew members, and actresses Honor Blackman (Cathy Gale, 1962-64) and Linda Thorson (Tara King, 1968-69). Diana Rigg appears briefly in older interview footage. The documentary lasts 25 minutes, and an additional nine minutes of interviews are added to the end. There's also a three-minute promotional film that Macnee and Rigg made to promote the series' switch from black and white to color, an alternate opening sequence, and a 1977 episode in which Mrs. Peel makes a cameo appearance. --David Horiuchi

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Feb 12, 2010 01:50:16

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Labels: (Bonus, Avengers, Collector's, Complete, Edition, Megaset