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The Avengers/Danger Man opinions wanted (1 Viewer)

Bob Hug

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All of the shows that you mention are worthwhile. However, I have a slight preference for Danger Man. It's one of the earliest British spy series and the plots are usually plausible . . . you won't see too many "James Bond" type gadgets. I'd also recommend it if you want to see how Patrick McGoohan progressed throughout the Sixties as Danger Man is the starting point, followed by Secret Agent and The Prisoner.

As far as the The Avengers, you might want to try the two-disc, six-episode "Best of the Avengers" as it gives you two episodes each of John Steed's female partners.

The Saint is also an excellent series but, like Danger Man, I would go with the early episodes first to see Roger Moore's progression into the Simon Templar character.

One gripe that I have on all of these series is the fact that they are all released in the US by A&E, which charges some of the highest prices for TV on DVD and ususally has minimal extras (mostly photo sections of screen grabs). You may want to shop around for these or wait until A&E has one of their clearance sales (where I picked up Danger Man and Secret Agent).
 

michael_ks

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I'm glad to see so many fans of the British 60's spy/adventure tv series. It's interesting to note that not only did 'Danger Man' preceed James Bond, but so did 'The Avengers' and 'The Saint' (by a couple of weeks to be sure, but it still came first).

I was never much a fan of 'The Avengers' since it so often dabbled in satire/science fiction, however both 'Danger Man' and 'The Saint' are firm favorites. I have a preference for the first season of 'Danger Man' where that series is concerned--it's tautly written, well paced and the character of John Drake is upbeat and has a strong sense of duty and loyalty. In the hour long episodes, while good stories abound, the series is a bit less even, a bit too British for its own good, with slower pacing, with a more dour and downbeat John Drake. Towards the series end you can really sense his disillusionment and lack of respect for his superiors. Of course, that feeds in well to the notion that Drake and No. 6 are one and the same.

'The Saint' is truly Roger Moore's finest role and he fit the role splendidly. It's plainly obvious to me now that as 007 in the 70'-mid 80's he was basically reprising his role as Simon Templar, which he felt most comfortable with. Templar is a dapper gentleman, Bond is basically a ruthless, unfeeling assassin and Moore was simply not right for this role. Interestingly enough, I've found that the earlier B/W episodes of the Saint (for which the first 28 of 71 have seen a release) hold up better than the later 47 color episodes, similar to what we witness with the Bond franchise (Connery/Lazenby vs. Moore/Dalton/Brosnan).

I have to make brief mention of a British spy series available on DVD which, seldom seen and discussed has become my favorite series of all: 'Man in A Suitcase', starring American actor Richard Bradford as McGill as a discredited and dejected ex-CIA agent forced to eke out a living by plying his trade and helping people in need for a fee. The series, made by ITC with many of the 'Danger Man' writers and production staff lasted but one season (30 episodes) and was shot color in 1966-67. One season only, but what a season it was! This is my most coveted DVD box set, bar none and the quality of acting, writing, stunt work, etc. has to be seen to be believed!
 

michael_ks

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I'm glad to see so many fans of the British 60's spy/adventure tv series. It's interesting to note that not only did 'Danger Man' preceed James Bond, but so did 'The Avengers' and 'The Saint' (by a couple of weeks to be sure, but it still came first).

I was never much a fan of 'The Avengers' since it so often dabbled in satire/science fiction, however both 'Danger Man' and 'The Saint' are firm favorites. I have a preference for the first season of 'Danger Man' where that series is concerned--it's tautly written, well paced and the character of John Drake is upbeat and has a strong sense of duty and loyalty. In the hour long episodes, while good stories abound, the series is a bit less even, a bit too British for its own good, with slower pacing, with a more dour and downbeat John Drake. Towards the series end you can really sense his disillusionment and lack of respect for his superiors. Of course, that feeds in well to the notion that Drake and No. 6 are one and the same.

'The Saint' is truly Roger Moore's finest role and he fit into it seamlessly. It's plainly obvious to me now that as 007 in the 70'-mid 80's he was basically reprising his role as Simon Templar, which he felt most comfortable with. Templar is a dapper gentleman, Bond is basically a ruthless, unfeeling assassin and Moore was simply not right for this part. Interestingly enough, I've found that the earlier B/W episodes of the Saint (for which the first 28 of 71 have seen a release) hold up better than the later 47 color episodes, similar to what we witness with the Bond franchise (Connery/Lazenby vs. Moore/Dalton/Brosnan).

I have to make brief mention of a British spy series available on DVD which, seldom seen and discussed has become my favorite series of all: 'Man in A Suitcase', starring American actor Richard Bradford as McGill as a discredited and dejected ex-CIA agent forced to eke out a living by plying his trade and helping people in need for a fee. The series, made by ITC with many of the 'Danger Man' writers and production staff lasted but one season (30 episodes) and was shot color in 1966-67. One season only, but what a season it was! This is my most coveted DVD box set, bar none and the quality of acting, writing, stunt work, etc. has to be seen to be believed.
 

Bob Hug

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I assume the DVD set to which you are referring is Region 2, as I'm unaware of any Region 1 release in the US. That said, I haven't seen "Man in a Suitcase" since its original syndication run in the US in the 1960s. I was too young at the time to really appreciate it and would love to see it again. I can't remember seeing Richard Bradford in anything after this series other than a turn as a US Army commander in "More American Graffiti" in the late 1970s. I'm sure he's done other things, but that's the only other thing that I remember seeing him in. And, as I can best recall, McGill never had a first name, unlike John Drake or Simon Templar.
 

Sam Favate

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I'd recommend the Danger Man first season set to start (those 30 min episodes are great), followed by Secret Agent (the mega-set is cool) and The Prisoner. For the Avengers, the Emma box is the way to go. Worst thing about A&E is, with the exception of Danger Man season 1, their DVDs take up too much space. Most discs have only 3 episodes (The Prisoner has only 2/disc) and the sets could be a lot more compact.
 

michael_ks

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Bob,

MIAS is an all region release, by Umbrella Entertainment. I took a huge chance on a series I never saw, paying a small fortune for shipping from Australia! The set is absolutely loaded with extras--easily the most comprehensive and attractive set I own. But what an investment! Nearly 100 bucks.

It's true, Bradford's career did not amount to much following 'Suitcase' which is sadly ironic given the exceptional effort he put forth for the McGill character. He was slated to become the next Marlon Brando and it's easy to see why. The fight scenes in the series are incredible by the way, handled with superb conviction on Bradford's part. Yes, you're right...like Paladin, we never learn McGill's first name.
 

Jeff Willis

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I have the Secret Agent Megaset and I love it :emoji_thumbsup: I'm still going through the set with about 1/2 left to view. I grew up watching this series in the states with my Dad. I also loved the "Johnny Rivers" US intro :emoji_thumbsup: I've never seen any of the 30-min "Danger Man" eps.

I also have both season's of the New Avengers. I love that series as well. Now this will astound some here, but I don't own the original Avengers sets and haven't seen them in many years. I probably need to revisit a few eps but for some reason I seemed to prefer the New Avengers to the original. Strange, I know :crazy:
 

Harry-N

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Since my post above over a year ago, I've gotten all of the SECRET AGENT episodes and have really enjoyed them. I think there's still a few odd episodes I haven't watched, but that's the danger of skipping around, I suppose.

I went out and bought the whole DANGER MAN first season of half-hour episodes, and must say that they are very good - better than I expected. Somehow I thought they'd be murky, mushy black and white transfers, but these are pristine, and quite enjoyable. The half-hour format demands quick entrances into the stories, and while sometimes they feel a bit rushed, more often than not they're right on target.

I continue to hold THE PRISONER in the highest of regards and still enjoy watching those 17 episodes after all these years.

Just recently, I began looking at a few of THE AVENGERS that I have. I bought all of the Diana Rigg episodes, both color and black & white. Those stories are often intriguing while always putting a smile on my face.

Harry
 

Jeff#

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The hour-long "Secret Agent" was really Danger Man revived. Only here in the U.S. did it originally play with the Secret Agent title. We are treated to both themes properly on A & E's video releases. The 2nd and 3rd seasons were produced from 1964 to 1966. The only color story filmed in Japan was released as a feature film "Kiroshi". It would have been the 4th season opener, but a 4th season never happened. McGoohan was tired of Danger Man, and at that point he devised and put The Prisoner into production.

The series was a half-hour at first, and from my first seeing that on videotape dubs in the 1980s I enjoyed it. Secret Agent I saw before that, so it's interesting to note that although the copyright dates are very tiny I noticed that the pilot "Handcuffed" (a.k.a. "Manacled") was filmed in 1959. So that means the first year was 1959-1960, although I'm not certain how many were shot in the 1959 part of that season.

There was a 4 year gap in production with Danger Man, 1 year with The Avengers (1964-65), and 1 year off for The Saint (1965-66, during which time Roger Moore worked in America on an episode of Peter Falk's TV series "The Trials of O' Brien")!
 

Sam Favate

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I'm still working on watching the mega sets of Secret Agent and the Emma-Avengers. Both are great, in different ways of course. The Avengers is more satirical, Secret Agent more realistic, but both shows have an abundance of charm.

BTW, I think this summer's movie The Island owes a debt to The Prisoner.
 

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