Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

ShelbyTMItchell Started loving the show as a kid in the 1990s, teenager when the show was on the A&E(Arts & Entertainment) Network. As it had people like Honor Blackman(Cathy Gale aka Pussy Galore in "Diamonds Are Forever"), Diana Rigg(Who would go onto bigger things, but remains ever beautiful and great as Emma Peel when the show would take off), and Linda Thorson(Tara King). But really who was the star was Patrick MacNee as handsome, witty, debonair John Steed, UK secret agent. He was the only constant that remained in a show that had cast changes it seems like every 2-4 years. But without Steed, there would be No Avengers. The show had wit, charm, action, some romance, and chemistry. Especially with Diana Rigg and Patrick MacNee. Great writing and great acting put together! Wished there were more shows like that. Sadly, that is what TV is lacking these days!

ShadeGrenade 'The Avengers' is one of the most successful television shows ever made in Britain, and stands up extremely well forty years later. It starred Ian Hendry originally as 'Dr.David Keel', a medic turned investigator after his fiancée is killed by the underworld. His partner 'John Steed' was played by Patrick Macnee. Initially, Steed was a trenchcoat-wearing spook no different from a thousand others, but as the series progressed he evolved into the suave, bowler-hatted, umbrella-carrying secret agent we all know and love, the quintessential gentleman spy. When Hendry dropped out, they replaced him with Honor Blackman as the karate-chopping 'Mrs.Cathy Gale'. The show took off.Honor left after two seasons to co-star in the Bond classic 'Goldfinger'. After a false start with Elisabeth Shepherd, the producers sensibly cast Diana Rigg as 'Mrs.Emma Peel'. Of all the actresses to have played his sexy sidekicks, she was the one who made the greatest impact. Her arrival coincided with a move onto film, and the plots got wilder!The pair would be called on to solve the most outrageous crimes imaginable, bringing them into contact with fiendishly clever diabolical masterminds.The new-look 'Avengers' was a smash hit in the U.S.A. precisely because it made no attempt to pander to American tastes. From the very moment the classy opening titles and marvellous Laurie Johnson theme tune burst onto the screen, it has a polish that positively dazzles.Where else would you get to see Ronnie Barker training cats to become assassins, a fight where the protagonists wear anti-gravity boots, bird seed spilling out of a dead man's chest, Clive Dunn killed by a 'Jack-In-The-Box', Paul Eddington regressing to childhood after touching a bouncy ball, John Cleese as a collector of eggs bearing the faces of clowns, a computer that writes romantic fiction, invisible spies, Venusian death-rays, rain-making machines, man-eating plants from space, amnesia-inducing milk, guns that destroy nothing except wood, British Rail ticket collectors out to take over the country, miniaturisation machines, underground cities, a village where for a price you can commit murder and the locals provide you with an alibi, and an assassination bureau masquerading as a dating agency. Nowhere except 'The Avengers'.If you've never seen an episode, give it a whirl. You'll like it.Rigg left in 1967 and the unknown Linda Thorson took her place as 'Tara King'. The Thorson series is in my view the highpoint of the show. But in America it was badly scheduled and ended after 32 episodes.'The Avengers' returned in 1976 as 'The New Avengers', teaming Steed with Gareth Hunt's 'Mike Gambit' and 'Joanna Lumley's 'Purdey'. Two seasons were made.The Rigg shows were repeated by Channel 4 in 1982 at the ungodly time of 12.55 a.m. on Sundays. However, it proved so popular it was eventually promoted to peak-time Sunday evening. Recent repeats have taken place on Sky's now-defunct Granada Plus, and B.B.C.-4. In 1998, 'The Avengers' was made into a movie starring Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman, and Sean Connery. Though not well received at the time, it has developed something of a cult following. A campaign is presently underway to secure a Director's Cut D.V.D. release.I loved 'The Avengers' as a boy, and love it still. It gets better the further away from the '60's we get.

bribabylk I loved this show as a kid, but never got to see any of the Honor Blackman eps, and am going through them now, three at time, via rented DVDs from Blockbuster Online. A lot of the criticism leveled at these early eps is true, but there's also a lot to like. The most frustrating thing about them is the poor sound; this combined with the accents, unfamiliar idioms and fast-paced delivery causes me to have to rewind certain scenes three or four times in order to determine what the heck they're saying. Also, the fight choreography would greatly improve over subsequent seasons; take "The Grandeur that was Rome" for example. Ugh! However, the writing tends to be a little more literate and the tone more dramatic; there's more genuine emotion. In contrast to what other posters have noted, I find the supporting characters in those early eps to often be more well-developed than the leads! I loved the speech given by Mrs. Turner toward the end of "Mandrake"; a woman's life has rarely been more wittily and succinctly summarized. The characterization in "Second Sight" is very good as well. What's also interesting is that the show was freer to be a bit more racy in those early eps than when they were being produced with an eye for the American market. There was a lot more innuendo-laden dialogue; it seems like there was an illicit tryst going on in the background of almost every plot, and there was a great deal more skin. Steed even strips down to his tighty-whities in one episode! Emma Peel will always be my favorite of Steed's partners, of course, and I have a lot of affection for daffy, Steed-infatuated Tara, with her signature action-somersault move, but the real Avengers aficionado shouldn't cheat him or herself by passing up the Cathy Gale shows. Clumsy fighting but great words. And even though I've read that they're of dubious quality, I'd also be curious to see the season two eps, in which Martin King, Venus Smith and Cathy rotated as Steed's partners. How intriguing! As a kid watching the Diana Rigg / Linda Thorson shows on cable in the early 70's, I never would have guessed the Avengers had such a rich, deep history.

grendelkhan Ah, Steed and Mrs. Peel, the coolest couple on TV. From their elegant and stylish clothes, to their charm and wit; the skilled professional and the talented amateur thrilled us every week. The series combined imagination, thrills, action, sophistication, and wit into an unbeatable package.Patrick MacNee was the linchpin of the series. He was there from the beginning and made the show what it was. He exuded charm and sophistication, with a devilish twinkle in his eye. MacNee played it straight, but always kept a smile on his face to let you know he didn't take it too seriously. He developed new relationships with each partner, creating a new chemistry each time. He also set a style that was counter to the counter-culture, without seeming outdated.Diana Rigg was the marvelous Mrs. Emma Peel, a stunning combination of beauty and brains, who could also knock the bejesus out of the bad guys. She spawned more than a few kinky fantasies with her leather wardrobe and fisticuffs, not to mention her penchant for ending up in a bind. Ms. Rigg was an actress of the first level and brought strong performance to the role. She was adept at both the comedy and the drama, and a deft hand at the stuntwork; well, for the amount not done by Cyd Child and the other team members. Her presence was sorely missed in the later series.Linda Thorson came on board as Mrs. Peel's replacement. She had a tough job from the beginning; no one could easily follow Diana Rigg. Although she was a bit stiff at first, she improved as time went on and developed a strong chemistry with Steed. Where there was a hint of a deeper relationship between Steed and Peel, it was obvious that Tara King worshiped Steed. The hints were closer to statements here. Tara was more inexperienced, matching Ms. Thorson's own skills, but she got there in the end. Her tenure was diluted by weaker scripts and less dazzling costumes. She didn't have Ms. Rigg's figure, but her clothes could have been improved.Patrick Newell made a great addition in the Tara King series, moving up from bit player to become Mother, Steed and King's boss. He was pompous and grumpy and completely eccentric; perfect for the series. His office seemed to move around more than M and Q, in the Bond series. My favorite was the top deck of a bus, in "False Witness." He was accompanied by his amazonian aide, Rhonda, who combined looks with a strong physical presence.I never got to see more than a handful of Cathy Gale episodes, so I can't really comment on the series, except that those few left me cold. The studio staging and video recording detracted from the excitement. Perhaps I just haven't seen enough episodes to fully appreciate these series. I know that Honor Blackman set the standard for the women who followed.The Avengers was great fun, with action and thrills working alongside comedy and the surreal. Some episodes were a bit slow and some had absurd plots, but even they had an element of fun. The best episodes featured wonderful characters and bizarre plans, combined with deft wit and charm. Those episodes never grow tiresome with repeated viewing. Some of my personal favorites are: The Gravediggers, The Cybernauts and Return of the Cybernauts, Girl from A.U.N.T.I.E., Quick-Quick Slow Death, A Touch of Brimstone, The Living Dead, Epic, The Forget-Me-Knot, Game, False Witness, and Have Guns..Will Haggle.When it came time for a long-discussed movie, the audience was kicked in the teeth. Instead of our favorite John Steed and Mrs Peel, we were given the Bizarro World versions, bereft of charm and style, and nary an ounce of wit.Watching it, I was sure the screenwriter and director had been watching The Prisoner instead of The Avengers. It was cold and bizarre, not warm and charming. Had they meant to do The Prisoner, the still missed the boat, as it's intelligence was not to be found either. It was an abysmal failure. Patrick MacNee was a genius for keeping his face off the screen, so that he emerged from this mess with his dignity intact. You just can't remake a classic.Bravo to A&E for bringing the entire series (except the Ian Hendry years) to DVD. The only quibble is the lack of extra features. A documentary would have been nice, commentaries would have been fantastic. At least I am able to revisit my favorite duo with a pristine picture.