Excellent but underrated film

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

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.

Loved the 60's version a real mind trip and lots of fun with Steed and Emma...the only reason I viewed The New Avengers was to watch the resourceful, witty, beautiful and ultra-feminine Purdey played by Joanna Lumley, plain and simple.

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.

Knock me over with a feather! At first I was not sure what I was watching on late night Detroit or Windsor television -- then it dawned. I made it my business every Friday night after the news to catch THE NEW AVENGERS, but probably saw little more than half.No, it was not the old time religion, because the old chemistry would be impossible to create. This programme stood on its own, suffering in comparison only if one wanted the more of same. THE NEW AVENGERS was "bigger" (which does not make it better), less wacky, and to employ the amorphous, less artistic. The budgets of the 1960s were no doubt modest, forcing more creativity.None the less, it was well cast with Steed as more of an elder statesman -- not "old" at 54 as another commentator was unkind enough to allege. Purdy was not Rigg or Blackman, but then she created her own viable character as a woman, much distinguished from the "youth market" Tara of 1968-9.I make no comment upon individual episodes, because it would not be fair given the time elapsed, for me 1980 at latest. Having no cable television, nor being a videophile, I have not seen THE NEW AVENGERS since.