The Avengers Return to DVD in America!

Here's the news American spy fans have been longing to hear for years! After way too long out of print (and commanding super-steep prices in the second-hand market), the greatest spy show ever, The Avengers, is returning to DVD in Region 1. Well, some of it anyway. On October 8, A&E will reissue their Complete Emma Peel Megaset. While the 16 discs themselves appear to be identical to the previous incarnation of this set, the packaging is substantially slimmer (a major plus on any shelf buckling under the weight of too many spy shows) and the retail price substantially more affordable. According to TV Shows On DVD, the new release containing all 51 Avengers episodes featuring Diana Rigg will cost just $49.98. (The out of print edition currently goes for as much as ten times that price!) So that's the good news, and it's very good news indeed. Now for the inevitable gripes.

I had hoped that when The Avengers was eventually re-released Stateside, American fans might be treated to the same stellar remastered picture and fantastic extras that graced Optimum's Region 2 UK releases (though ideally without all the glitches that plagued those sets). While this set does indeed co-opt Optimum's attractive cover scheme (albeit slightly altered), it doesn't appear to port over the wonderful bonus features. Since the article makes no mention of bonus content at all, I suppose it's possible that I could be wrong (and in this case I'd be delighted to be proven so!), but basic math indicates otherwise. The two Optimum Emma Peel sets added up to a total of 14 discs (and didn't include Rigg's swan song, "The Forget Me Knot," which appeared on the R2 Tara King set), and this A&E set promises 16 discs, the same as were in the previous R1 Emma Peel Megaset. So I'd say it's likely that this is simply a repackaging of that collection. Still, it's excellent news that any seasons of The Avengers will be back in print in the USA! Hopefully this release will sell well and pave the way for a Complete Cathy Gale Megaset (incorporating what survives of the earlier material as well) and a Complete Tara King Collection and eventually a Complete New Avengers Megaset... and maybe even some Blu-rays down the road. (A&E reissued the same DVD set of The Prisoner in new packaging when they put out the feature-laden Blu-rays of that show, but in that case Network had already paved the high-def path in Britain.) Fingers crossed, anyway!