Subversive Champagne: Beyond Genre in The Avengers

by Rodney Marshall

In an updated edition, now exploring the entire Emma Peel era (the first two filmed seasons), Marshall argues that it represents TV drama at its most exciting in terms of revolutionary and innovative content, offering us an entertaining but unsettling experience. Episodes covered in detail are: The Town of No Return; The Murder Market; Dial A Deadly Number; Death at Bargain Prices; Too Many Christmas Trees; The Cybernauts; The Gravediggers; Silent Dust; The Hour that Never Was; The Danger Makers; Honey for the Prince; Epic, Something Nasty in the Nursery, The Joker, Death's Door and Murdersville. Was The Avengers mild eccentricity or genuinely experimental? Entertaining froth or groundbreaking art? Rediscover the most iconic show in television history.

164 pages, Paperback

First published February 8, 2013

Reviews

[Frank Shailes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting insight into the first two filmed series of the cult 1960s spy-spoof television series with emphasis on its surrealism, humour and disturbing edge. There is reference to the chameleonic nature of the series, which started out as a videotaped hard-boiled detective series and ended as an often jokey send-up. But the middle seasons were arguably the most inventive and Marshall (son of one of the screenwriters on the series) highlights the attractive aspects of the series with great efficiency.

I'd love a similar book on the videotaped era and The New Avengers. One is promised for the final 1960s episodes.