The Avengers: The Lost Episodes - Volume 1

The Avengers: The Lost Episodes #1

by Ray Rigby, Brian Clemens, Richard Harris

Steed and Dr Keel return to action in these four recreations of classic lost episodes.

Adapted by John Dorney

1. Hot Snow Written by Ray Rigby
When an incomprehensible tragedy strikes on what should have been the happiest day of David Keel's life, he is left traumatised. Confronted with an apparently motiveless crime, he feels compelled to investigate and is drawn into London's seedy underworld of drug smuggling. As he digs deeper and deeper, his only hope may be a mysterious gentleman who appears to know more than he says. Together, will they be able to avenge the crime?

2. Brought to Book Written by Brian Clemens
Still on the trail of the men who wrecked his life, Dr Keel gets to know his new associate, John Steed, rather better as they infiltrate warring gangs running amok in the betting community. Lies and double crosses stack up on every side, and it's impossible to know who to trust. As the race nears its fatal finish, has Dr Keel gambled on the wrong side?

3. Square Root of Evil Written by Richard Harris
Following the death of a colleague, Steed goes undercover amongst a group of forgers. As the stakes get higher, his risk of discovery increases and Dr Keel may be his only chance to escape alive. But with the formidable thug known as the Cardinal watching their every move, could Steed be dooming them both?

4. One for the Mortuary Written by Brian Clemens
It should have been an easy day for David Keel. A short flight and a conference to attend. But John Steed’s arrival disrupts everything, as usual. Without even knowing, he finds himself at the centre of an international conspiracy. The chase is on to preserve and protect a valuable medical formula, and with an assassin on their trail, our heroes find themselves enmeshed in an intricate web of laundry, taxidermy and murder.

Anthony Howell (Dr Keel), Julian Wadham (John Steed), Lucy Briggs-Owen (Carol Wilson) Colin Baker (Dr Tredding), Camilla Power (Peggy), Tim Bentinck (Superintendent Wilson / The Cardinal), Adrian Lukis (Spicer / Johnson / Vance), Phil Mulryne (Big Man / 5), Blake Ritson (Charlie / Prentice / Tobert), Anjella Mackintosh (Stella / Mrs Simpson), Kieran Bew (Sergeant Rogers / Steve), George Rainsford (Pretty Boy / Warren), Alan Cox (Mason / Hooper), Beth Chalmers (Secretary), Sophie Aldred (Lila) Sam Clemens (Wilson), Francesca Hunt (Yvette), Nigel Carrington (Pallaine), Nicholas Briggs (Benson), Terry Molloy (Henry)

Genres: Crime, British Literature, Audiobook, Thriller

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I last watched all of The Avengers, there was only one episode available at that time. They have since discovered two more and the first act of episode 1 but that leaves a lot of stories lost ti the mists of time. Big Finish has now remade these as full audio dramas. The soundtrack is great using lovely jazz riffs and the Johnny dankworth theme (rather than the more well known Laurie Johnson one) giving it an authentic flavour. Anthony Howell is great as original avenger Dr Keel. If there's one minor niggle is that Julian Wadham didn't initially gel for me as steed. Like the missing Hancocks you'll always have a battle when actors recreate iconic characters played by iconic actors. Patrick Macnee had a very distinctive voice and style which is impissible to replicate) and I'm glad they didn't try) Wadham does a good job and has plenty of charm. Steed is a bit more tricksy in series 1-3 and certainly mellows and is more fun by the Emma peel era so it will be interesting to see how his performance translates there too. I will definatley try to check out more of these when I can.

[Les Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember watching the first episode well, not 2, 3, or 4.
Maybe a bit dated, but great anyway.

[Rebalioness · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are the adaptations of the first series from Britain. Most Americans probably only know the Steel/Peel team. These have the first partner, Dr. Keel.

These are adaptations of episodes from the 60's, so they have that era's attitude on women, immigrants, etc. Keep that in mind.

Very entertaining, esp if you haven't seen any of the non-Peel episodes.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first series of The Avengers was a very different beast than the later series -- in fact, this was a show that re-invented itself every so often. It might have finished as a go-go booted spy-fi series, but in the beginning it was exactly what it said on the tin: a series about a couple of blokes avenging -- specifically, in the beginning, Dr. Keel avenging the murder of his fiancee. After that, it settled into a series of stories in which Steed, a somewhat snarky (if callous) operative for an unnamed agency (never defined as to whether its remit was national or international) that could have been MI5 or Interplot for all we knew, would get Keel involved in operations countering criminal groups, or espionage operations.

The pairing was sometimes a bit awkward -- "The Square Root Of Crime" only squeezes Keel in because Steed needs a doctor in a hurry, and Keel makes the odd decision to follow Steed back to the criminal lair just in time to gum up the works. Later series would pair Steed off with a constant sidekick, so some of the difficulties there were eased (although the on-video production hampered even the series with Honor Blackman, and the show didn't come into its own until the colour episodes.)

These episodes work well with the audio production methods, and both Newell and Wadham acquit themselves very well. The sound design and music are perfect -- I could really believe I was listening to a beautifully remastered quartet of 1960s radio dramas. I'm looking forward to the next set.

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first season of the Avengers is nearly completely missing from the BBC archives. Big Finish has recreated these early Avengers episodes in the audio format. They have attempted to keep the early sixties flavor of these episodes. Colin Baker is heard in a supporting role.