Plot: What’s it about?
Before agents Mulder and Scully were combing through unusual case files, John Steed and Emma Peel were doing the same, on a much more adventurous scale. And who are these two people, you ask? The Avengers, of course, the team that can solve any mystery and always apprehend the criminals behind them. In case you are not familiar with this series, The Avengers was a British television show that rose to great popularity during its time, and even now has a strong cult following. The show revolves around two secret agents, Steed and Peel, who become engaged in some downright baffling situations, of both the occult and man made varieties. From elite geniuses gone wrong to modern day townsfolk building an ark like Noah’s, this team will take on any case, no matter how strange it may seem. This series has everything you need, from suspense to style, hot chicks to blazing guns, you name it and this series has it somewhere. If you’re a fan of The X-Files, I recommend you give this series a chance, I think you’ll like it, as will anyone who likes to watch a good adventure unfold.
This is another installment in A&E’s series of The Avengers on DVD, and this one lives up to the reputation set by the others, to be sure. This review covers the entire 1965 season of The Avengers, which is issued on two sets of two discs, for a grand total of four DVDs. While that may seem like a lot of discs to you, keep in mind you’re picking up an entire season here, a total of thirteen episodes. Each of the four dual layered discs contains three episodes, except for the fourth disc, which also has a fourth bonus episode included. Since the episodes are spread over dual layered discs, the audio and video are given the room to be the very best they can be, which is always a good thing to hear. The packaging for this season is in the same manner as previous releases, so it’ll look nice on the shelf next to the others, for sure. This is an easy recommendation for me, since every aspect of this release is superb. Good work, A&E, and make sure you maintain this level of excellence. Below is a listing of the episodes included on these discs.
Disc One
The Town Of No Return, The Gravediggers, and The Cybernauts.
Disc Two
Death At Bargain Prices, Castle De’ath, and The Master Minds.
Disc Three
The Murder Market, A Surfeit Of H2O, and The Hour That Never Was.
Disc Four
Dial A Deadly Number, Man-Eater Of Surrey Green, Two’s A Crowd, and Too Many Christmas Trees
Video: How does it look?
Each of these episodes is presented in the original full frame aspect ratio, just like you’d see them on television, natch. While the quality varies a little from show to show, I found the overall visual presentation to be good, and without major flaws. These episodes are black and white in format, so contrast is of supreme importance. Thankfully, no overly dark or light regions appear, and no detail seems to be lost in the equation. The transfers are free from compression errors, and the source material seems to have been in fine form.
Audio: How does it sound?
The original mono track is used for audio, and it sounds as good as I expected. The audio has a limited scope to begin with, due to the mono format, but I never missed the surrounds, to be honest. The music sounds good and undistorted, as do the effects, which never become too loud or overbearing in the mix. The dialogue comes across in a wonderful manner also, with no volume issues to contend with whatsoever.
Supplements: What are the extras?
There are some brief still photo galleries included, but that’s all.
