"The New Avengers"was my introduction to the "Avengers" world and I thought Patrick Macnee was great as John Steed,the perfect English gentleman,with bowler hat and umbrella and his charm,in no way making him less able to defend his country. Joanna Lumley was excellent as high kicking Purdey,she holds her own against Mrs Peel,she is very funny when telling Steed,he doesn't need to be so protective to women "as we're liberated now!". I liked Gareth Hunt,his presence is often treated as an interloper by "Avengers" fans but the fact is if it had just been Steed and Purdey,with Steed doing the stunts(or a very obvious stand in as in the Emma Peel/Tara King eras when Macnee's stand in for fights,was clearly seen)it would have looked bizarre. The rapport between Purdey and Gambit is spot on,I love the way they chatter or bicker away in the middle of an action scene,there were changes in the 2nd season after Patrick Macnee complained and poor old Gambit is put on the back burner,in the 2nd season,in the last ever episode,in Canada(the one about the secret base)the closing shot doesn't even feature Gambit. the stories themselves do vary in story quality,the first series started with "Nest Of Eagles"about Nazi's alive and well in Scotland all three New Avengers work great together,Purdey's high kicking,beauty and great humour working great with Macnee's charm and Gambit's 70s gritty edge. Other stories include "House of Cards"about an enemy agent faking his death,it features a humorous scene of a lady guest of Steed's looking at pictures of Cathy Gale,Emma Peel and Tara King. As the lady asks about each Avenger,Steed describes them as excellent or"faithful,reliable" then on Tara King,he says she had a "real kick in her"and he had to have her shot,it turns out,Steed thought she was asking about his three favourite horses! The first series comes across well with varied stories a man whose touch can kill,the dreaded Cybernauts return in one of the best stories,a man who can control birds by music,the first season ends with "Dirtier By The Dozen" about crazed mercenaries,the closing shot of Purdey rescued from a minefield by helicopter by Steed,on a rope ladder,drinking champagne,is one ofthe times,we see some of the old Avengers magic. The second series is more varied,Emma Peel makes an appearance in "K Is For Killing"(using old footage of Diana Rigg and a voice dub) when an old case comes tolight again as enemy soldiers are reanimated,its a good story and the Paris scene really give the series so much needed glamour. The Paris stories work well,the last four episodes of "The New Avengers" are set in Canada,one of them "Complex" about a crazed computer is one of the better ones,"Gladiators" about super powered assassins is good too,the real dull on is "Emily",its like a really bad "Charlie's Angels" episode and is a real turkey. I'll always have a soft spot for The New Avengers",the three leads are excellent,(I met Gareth Hunt,a few years ago,what a nice guy)Joanna Lumley is superb,Patrick Macnee is excellent as ever,Gareth Hunt is a welcome and necessary character,there were mistakes made,like not showing Steed driving his classic cars anymore,too much attention on car chases and violence(but it was the 70s)if maybe more writers from "The Avengers" had been involved maybe it would have been better liked by "Avengers" fans but I like it and I'm glad it was made.

It saddened me to hear Patrick Macnee in a recent television interview dismissing 'The New Avengers' as 'awful'. I hate to disagree with the great man, but I thought it a cracking show, and a worthy successor to the original. Five years after 'The Avengers' ended, Macnee was reunited with Linda Thorson for a French television commercial for champagne. It led to finance being found for a brand new series. Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell knew the show had to move with the times. It would have been foolish pretending it was still the '60's. The '70's flavour of 'The New Avengers' is what die-hard fans most object to. But it is a different '70's to the one most of us remember. This is 'Avengerland' '70's style. Joanna Lumley's high-kicking 'Purdey' was easily the best 'Avengers' girl since Diana Rigg's 'Mrs.Peel'. Her haircut caused a sensation at the time. Former 'Upstairs, Downstairs' star Gareth Hunt was brought on board to play 'Mike Gambit', a Bondish action man. He was good in the role, and one hopes that had a third season been made his character would have been developed. Gambit fancied Purdey ( and who can blame him? ) but she chose to stay clear of an out-and-out affair with him.Steed became more of a 'Mother' figure, but even so was still recognisably the star of the show. 'Dead Men Are Dangerous' shined a light on his mysterious past, reintroducing an old enemy from his Eton days.Brian Clemens, Terence Feely and Dennis Spooner wrote some fine scripts. 'Target', 'Dirtier By The Dozen', 'Sleeper', 'Last Of The Cybernauts?' and 'Angels Of Death' are on my list of all-time favourite 'Avengers' episodes. When the first episode ( 'The Eagle's Nest' ) went out, Peter Phillips, television critic of 'The Sun', tore the new show to shreds, and invited readers to send in their views. Four out of the five letters printed the following week agreed with him. The one dissenting letter said: "I found 'The New Avengers' a refreshing change from sickening violence of the sort to be found in such shows as 'The Sweeney'". The correspondent was bang on the money. Public tastes had changed, this was the era of 'Starsky & Hutch' and 'Kojak'. Furthermore, I.T.V. sabotaged its chances of success by denying it a network slot ( though they allocated one to the horrendous 'Charlie's Angels'. Funny old world, isn't it? ).Some of the later episodes, such as 'K Is For Kill' and 'Complex' were filmed abroad, and while noticeably different in quality to those shot in England, managed to be stylish and entertaining.After two seasons, it disappeared for good. A 'Sunday People' article in 1979 claimed that a U.S. network had agreed to fund a third series, provoking the amusing image of Steed in stetson and six-guns, but sadly it turned out to be another false dawn.Whatever the show's faults, it was marvellous to have Pat Macnee back as Steed - even if only for a short time. There have been far worse 'comeback' series, check out 'C15: The New Professionals' if you do not believe me.

The idea of The New Avengers was to combine the idiosyncrasies of the old show, yet update it to compete with the then current cop show genre. Thereby capture the audience of middle America.Ultimately it failed commercially and where The Avengers, with Steed and Emma Peel, led The New Avengers followed. The strengths were some cracking stories and performances from the three lead actors (special mention to Joanna Lumley - a worthy successor to Emma Peel). Weaknesses were some rushed and hurried plots and a continued lack of funding.By following the trends of the 1970s it became far more dated than it's more stylish predecessor.

THE NEW AVENGERS Is the sequel series to THE AVENGERS, and for new viewers sees John Steed still as a top secret agent, this time teamed up with the unruffled Purdey, and the dangerous but kind-hearted Mike Gambit. THE NEW AVENGERS Is slightly different to the sixties original, since It takes a polished and lavish look, and makes It tougher and grittier (like a cop show). It Is very difficult to say what kind of AVENGERS fans will like this, but It should satisfy most people.