A window into 'The Avengers' TV Series

Being in the Science Fiction community in the 80s, it was hard to avoid mention of the old British TV series "The Avengers." And then there was the notorious 1998 Hollywood film starring Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes, which achieved an appalling 5% on Rotten Tomatoes. I've often wondered what this oh-so-greatly-loved show was about. When a random disc from the series appeared in front of me at the library, I picked it up. This is the fourth disc of 1966, including the episodes "The House That Jack Built," "A Sense of History," "How to Succeed ... at Murder," and "Honey for the Prince."

Wikipedia suggests that the first couple episodes were actually about avenging something (a murder), but by the fourth season it was simply an excuse for Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg to run about being goofy, solving crimes with smart minds and an ability to fight, and be charmingly deceptive when necessary. While the cover shows Rigg clinging to Macnee, the DVD shows her to be eminently capable of taking care of herself. He rides to the rescue once, only to find that she's already got herself out of trouble: "Where's your shining armour?" "Oh, ah, it's at the laundry." It was lovely to see a capable woman who didn't need rescuing - particularly in something from the 1960s. On the flip-side of that, in all four episodes they find a way to get her into a revealing costume. Macnee on the other hand is always dressed in a suit and tie. So only partial points for the creation of a strong female lead.

Charming, somewhat entertaining, and about as deep as a puddle. I'm afraid it falls under the Samuel Johnson quote: "Worth seeing? Yes; but not worth going to see."