The Avengers: The Complete Emma Peel Megaset

I have watched The Avengers since they were on prime time, but i have never seen them like this! This product contains 51 episodes bridging three seasons of The Avengers with my favorite episodes containing Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee (1965-1968). Their chemistry and acting grabbed me more than Honor Blackman and Linda Thorson, although Julie Stevens had her own brief charm. This is my analysis as a photographer: The black and white first season was clear, with bright whites and deep blacks containing lots of detail. A couple of episodes showed less detail in bright-lit or dark scenes. The color series suffered from the color process at the time -- tones easily wash out in overlit scenes and dark tones lose some of their detail. But these episodes are pristine compared with anything you saw on television. There are fewer artifacts than i expected, and the audio sounded good in unprocessed mono on my system. I intended to buy Blu-Ray, but i am more than satisfied with the quality of this DVD set, and the price is just short of amazing. More digital processing would change the image, but THIS is the way The Avengers were intended to be experienced, in my opinion. The set arrived quickly and the discs were well protected inside flexible boxes. It takes a little pressure to release a disc from its box, so i doubt that the current packaging is likely to result in loose discs. OVERALL: I have no complaints and i am overjoyed to see the original episodes in deeper tones and clearer detail. I would easily buy this again, and i recommend it. HELPFUL TIP: There is plenty of image on these DVD discs -- be sure you make the most of it with updated firmware and clean, high-quality cables. It doesn't hurt to carefully wipe the artifacts off your television screen, either. Enjoy!

Holy crap, Batman! The full Emma Peel set in a compact case and affordable. Lionsgate has been bitched about for releasing without remastering but they don't really have to if the titles are good in the first place. Their Miramax Blu-rays are very good so why fix it if it ain't broke? Not having seen the originals these appear to be exact copies of the A&E, they even have their logo on the menus. Quality is very good except for some interlacing. Now let's talk about the packaging. Much more compact than the A&E box set so it fits nicely on the shelf. However, all of the discs are two to a hub and the offset stacking means you have to take the top two out before you can access the bottom discs. If you look at the pictures in the listing you'll see what I mean. Half of the discs are on two hinged holders. A word of caution, they do lock to the front and back but, when I did that I noticed a couple of the lower discs had come off and were rattling around when I closed the case. From the looks of it the hub on the hinged holder lines up with the one on the inside cover so it presses against it causing the disc to pop off. No damage but didn't happen when I didn't lock them. As with most A&E DVD sets there is no subtitles or Close Captioning. I haven't watched all episodes but did check all the discs for the additional features and the all had small still galleries. An interesting feature on the '67 set was a resume feature from the main menu. The discs are not labeled as to what season they are and the back cover only lists the episodes per disc. As was mentioned in other reviews, the coveted 17th disc is missing. I can see it listed for about $20, used, so you might be taking a chance. Can see one on ebay for $69, also used. Kind of wish A&E had kept this and remastered like they did with The Prisoner. Did a side by side with their original release and there is really no comparison. It's absolutely beautiful and well worth the cost. Of course there is the Optimum Complete Avengers with all seasons (except the "New Avengers"). Rumor has it there were some issues with some discs but, they were exchanged by Optimum. Any way I do highly recommend if you are an Emma Peel fan. UPDATE: Got the Optimum set from Amazon UK. Really beats this set by a country mile. The transfers are sharper and no interlacing as far as I can tell. Here's the thing. The first three seasons were not shown here in the 60's. As they were shot on video, they were not up to the US standards as most of our shows were filmed and Soap Opera were on tape. As a result the forth to sixth were shot on film and shown here. The only release for the earlier seasons was on the original A&E videos. Seriously, if you don't care about getting the full Avengers experience, stick with this set. The interesting thing about this set is that it includes the last Emma Peel episode which was not the last of season 5 but the first of season 6 with Linda Thorson. If you don't have the last season you're kind of left hanging. You can still find the last season on ebay but, it's going for twice this one and really wasn't as good as these. That, however, is just my humble opinion. Have always loved Dame Diana and glad to see she's still out there in Game of Thrones.

This is called justice!!! It was 57 years ago that I was sent off to bed while the rest of the family stayed up to watch the episode, "The House That Jack Built." My Mother deemed it was too scary for me and sent me to bed. I think she really just wanted to get rid of me by sending me to bed. I made the long walk down a dark hallway to my bedroom. My older brother was smirking with delight since he was permitted to stay up and watch the episode, "The House That Jack Built." I committed the episode title to memory always remembering it over the years. The cruelty that I endured by this deprivation left a deep scar that affected my future greatness is how I reasoned it. I laid in my bed quite alone in the darkness; but memorizing the title, "The House That Jack Built." It was rhapsody as I watched; and I am quite certain that the Angels in Heaven are celebrating that this injustice has been corrected.... even if it took 57 years !!! My mother lied to me as she said that perhaps I could watch it in reruns. The Avengers never came on reruns during the summer. The video quality is very good and absolutely loved watching Diana Rigg drive her lotus convertible. For almost one hour I must have heard the flutter of angel wings !!! I had to buy a Megatek DVD player off Amazon that would bypass the different country codes preventing my other blu ray/DVD player from playing it. I would not be denied the justice due me!!! It was 😃 great !!! I finally won even if it took me 57 years !!! I have the classic Avengers theme song on my phone... set as my ringtone. I also have a Emma Peel aka Diana Rigg print in my home. I savored this victory. The quality of this video is very good; and the above mentioned title is from the year 1966!! I won 57 years later... I am Avenged... Lol.

"THE AVENGERS" Is a uniquely stylized 1960's detective series with a charming British flavor. The cool personas of the two sophisticated stars, Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee, are reminiscent of Myrna Loy and William Powell of "The Thin Man" movies and their endearing tongue-in-cheek view of life. The key elements that most clearly define and distinguish the "Avengers" series and make it distinctly different from others in this genre, are 1) the show's electrifying and engaging original music that is an integral part of its sublime magic; 2) the thought-provoking bizarre stories and characters; and 3) the offbeat camera angles and artistic imagery. In addition, the show's overall cinematic artistry generates an eerie yet charming aura of exciting mystery. All of the episodes are fun and seldom fail to engulf the senses and activate the imagination. A viewer is ultimately attracted to the cool and unflappable personalities of these two stylish, cultured, and intelligent crime fighters. No matter how hopeless or mystifying their situation, Steed and Mrs. Peel always manage to find a logical solution to the problem. They remind me of another pair of English sleuths named Holmes and Watson. I'm sure you'll find "The Avengers" to be a most enjoyable series, and will award it its own VIP reserved seat in your collection of vintage TV classics. Cheers! (If this review was helpful in any way, please click on the "Helpful" key below, or write a comment. Thanks).

The long awaited return of The Avengers Emma Peel Mega-set comes not a moment too soon. "The Avengers" is one of the seminal programs in television history. A part of the British wave into America during the 1960s, the show featured Patrick Macnee as the always dapper, indefatigable John Steed and the lovely Diana Rigg as Mrs. Peel, the "muscle" of the team as it were. The unique chemistry between the two actors along with the beautiful photography, adventurous story-lines and "diabolical masterminds" made "The Avengers" one of the most popular shows during its era. The episodes themselves need no review as loyal fans know them by heart while those new to "The Avengers" can discover the humor, action and unique atmosphere that is delivered in all 51 separate episodes. I will state that the first season of black and white or monochrome episodes are generally superior, but that is a matter of taste. The best monochrome episodes include, "Quick Quick Slow Death", "The Gravediggers", "The Hour that Never Was", "Honey for the Prince" and two favorites, "A Touch of Brimstone" featuring Mrs. Peel in a barely-there outfit and "Too Many Christmas Trees" which may be the best of the lot. The move to color for the second set of episodes includes favorites such as, "From Venus with Love", "The Winged Avenger", "The Hidden Tiger", "Death's Door" and the highly unique episode "Epic" which is either the best they've ever done or the worst depending on your point of view. The final episode "Forget-Me-Knot" was actually filmed during the following season, but served as an introduction to Tara King, Steed's new partner as Diana Rigg left the series. Long out of print from A & E, the original Emma Peel Mega-set along with the separate volumes that were sold individually fetched a very high price, even the individual volumes were more expensive that this new, complete package. So, perhaps the best aspect is the price itself which makes it very affordable for those who have yet to experience the pure joy of these episodes. Admittedly, it would have been nice to include more information about the episodes themselves, behind the scenes or other extras, but considering the price such expectations are rather beyond the intention of this particular set. However, and this cannot be stated strong enough, the overall packaging is quite poor. When the set arrived four of the DVD discs were loose and bouncing around inside the plastic box. Because there are sixteen discs, they are stacked two-deep in each holder with one set above the other. This means that to pull out the bottom disc, you have to remove three DVDs first. Also, the discs do not fit well into the plastic box in the first place. Barring a move to Blu-Ray, which would certainly reduce the number of discs, a better solution would have been to provide 8 two-disc thin plastic holders within a larger cardboard box, much like the "Monty Python Mega-set". While that is hardly a perfect solution, it would be far better than this mess, so I'm docking this package one star. However, this should not reflect on the show itself which is still glorious and a must-see for all Avenger fans and those who may only know Diana Rigg from her recent appearances on "Game of Thrones".

I enjoyed watching and rewatching this series with some of the best actresses from the Bond films, and getting to see the architecture and autos, etc., from the sixties. Classic TV! The discs come in double wide plastic snap cases, one case per season. Each episode is a mystery. The two protagonists spend most of each episode figuring out what is going on, then there’s a fight between the protagonists and the antagonists, then in the last scene of each episode the two protagonists leave in a different conveyance, a classic car, a sports car, a go-carts, a helicopter, a horse and buggy, or on a miniature train, etc. It’s always a treat to see how they will end each show. And it’s never clear who they work for, but they deal with “the Ministry”, high-level government officials, admirals, generals, colonels, etc. Diana Rigg and Honor Blackman made this show memorable. All of Blackman’s episodes and half of Rigg’s episodes are in black and wide, instead of color, which I didn’t remember from watching the show as a kid. The switch to color wasn’t made until 1966. Without Blackman and Rigg the Avengers would’ve only rated 3 stars. Blackman and Rigg made James Bond movies after being in The Avengers. Fifty years after The Avengers, Rigg was wonderful in Game of Thrones (2011-2019). She’s one of the gifted actors that have made memorable performances in multiple shows and movies spanning many decades. Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLaine also made memorable performances in the show Downton Abbey (2010-2015), half a century after they began their brilliant careers.

Was there ever a TV heroine more alluring and titillating than Emma Peel in "The Avengers"? She reminds me of a modern day Irma Vepp, though on the good side of the law. Moving with catlike grace in her black catsuits, mod pantsuits and miniskirts, Mrs. Peel kicked villainous arses with aplomb, sipping champagne with one hand, karate-chopping with the other. Mostly unfazed, Mrs. Peel along with her equally unflappable partner, John Steed, combined glamour, elegance and cool athleticism as "The Avengers" embarked on cartoonish weekly adventures that were too silly to ever be taken seriously. But boy, were they fun! Each episode vaguely (and sometimes blatantly) resembled the next, usually involving a series of men being stalked by a mysterious assassin in the employ of the episode's villain of the week. After the first murder, Steed and Mrs. Peel were on the case, though their efforts seldom, if ever, resulted in the rescue of any of the killer's ensuing targets: they always seemed to arrive seconds too late. Not that it much matters, the entire series is less an exercise in suspense or characterization than a thrillingly entertaining example of style, personality and a certain 60's-era charm. Not quite as campy as the American-made "Batman", "The Avengers" nevertheless incorporates many of the same elements but still manages to hold its head up: the idiocy of the plots never interferes with the viewers suspension of disbelief. As John Steed, Patrick Macnee is charming and debonair; rarely breaking a sweat as he routinely tosses off bon mots in his tailored suits and bowler hat. After a particularly grueling battle with bad guys, he can routinely be seen adjusting the flower in his lapel. Macnee, actually a very good actor, isn't called on to emote much in "The Avengers"; other than making witty observations and displaying a surprising amount of athleticism, he somehow seems rather low-key. The same cannot be said of co-star Diana Rigg in the breakout role that made her an international star. As Emma Peel, Diana Rigg is anything but ordinary and the screen fairly crackles when she's on (which is most of the time). Rigg, also an esteemed actress, isn't required to act much either, although she is funny and stylish and exudes a sex appeal that blends perfectly with Macnee's more subdued persona. Together, they make a wonderful team. The Emma Peel Megaset is extensive, indeed. When I received my DVD's in the mail, some of them were loose and I was afraid that they might be damaged although, happily, that was not the case. The episodes, themselves, are clear and fairly crisp although further restoration would certainly be welcomed. Well worth the price if you're a fan of the series.

I have loved this show since its first run in the 60's. The chemistry and partnership of these 2 was so special then and now. When this came out on VHS from A&E I couldn't wait to get them but they weren't cheap and did not have the means to get all of the Emma Peel set when they were released. I would look for them the past few years occasionally but when I had any means they were still too expensive a luxury and stopped looking aftera while. I was so happy to see this coming out now at such a reasonable price. I am concerned though about the packaging. I plan on taking my time to watch these so I won't know for awhile if they are damaged aside from looking for obvious scratches. Four of the discs were not snapped into their holders at all so have been loose and moving around the whole time they were in transit. That seems to be all that was needed,once snapped in they stay tight. It doesn't appear that they could have just fallen out. Unless the whole thing was thrown hard at one point I don't see how they could have come out on their own, so it appears to be an issue of quality control at the initial manufacturing/packaging point. I have other sets with multiple discs that use the method these use and have had no issue with them though it does make for more handling to get the one you want to see and replace one you have just finished. In addition the cardboard box it shipped in was not taped shut at one end, the whole thing could have fallen out and been lost. For such a treat as this set is and the joy it will bring to see them again a bit of extra care ensuring their safety is all that is needed, not a whole revision of the packaging.