[.ca] Avengers: The Complete Emma Peel Mega-Set (Full Screen) ...

I'm in love with Diana Rigg:
Sorry, but I just had to get that out of the way. Dame Di spent her teen years in my home town of Leeds in the UK. Swoon. Emma Peel was an incredibly important female role model at a time when blond bimboes were pouting, being dumb and twisting their ankles while being led by the heroes as they fled from the bad guys. Emma Peel, warrior woman, took on the bad guys, and usually won. Xena: Warrior Princess, played so masterfully by Lucy Lawless - also 5'10", owes a great deal to Mrs. Peel, who was immortalized by the insanely talented, classically-trained actress, Diana Rigg. I actually loved the black and white episodes - apart from the stories themselves being intriguing, they have an Art House quality about them. Likewise, the color episodes, which are of superior quality, are just as magical in their own way. The Avengers, even down to the score by Laurie Johnson and unmistakable indidental music, was just flawless, with Macnee and Rigg beng every bit as magical and compelling a screen couple as Bogie and Bacall. Absolutely wonderful to have these as a single package. If I recall, the name Emma Peel came from the time when they were trying to develop a female character who would have Man Appeal or M-Appeal... hence Emma Peel. Whatever the reality, in Diana Rigg's Emma Peel, they succeeded mightily. Possibly the most perfect woman who ever walked the Earth. Did I say 'possibly'? Tsk tsk.

Another woman's opinion:
Since the bell has been chimed for, er, middle-aged women to stand up, I'll put in my two cents. This is an extraordinary series for having been so very ahead of its time for young girl viewers. The Avengers, in reruns in the '70s, was the ultimate series for my sister and me when we were elementary-school-aged. We weren't head over heels with Patrick Macnee -- we were too young for that -- but we adored the tangible chemistry between Steed and Mrs. Peel. The most important element for us was the empowerment we felt from Diana Rigg's character. In an age when action heroines on tv tended to be ditzy, wimpily behaving Charlie's Angels or Wonder Woman types, we found Mrs. Peel: an icon for budding feminists. She might have looked like fantasy material for boys because of her looks and fashion sense (and there's nothing wrong with those great outfits!), but trust me... she was also fantasy material for girls who were desperate for a role model that was portrayed as strong, witty, stylish, smart and always internally powerful. Even though the show made it clear that Mrs. Peel is a "talented amateur" next to Steed's professional training, the episodes also made it equally clear that she could beat Steed in the IQ department without batting an eyelash (I love the scene where it's revealed Mrs. Peel wrote Steed's test for him that admits him into a Mensa-like brainclub) -- and that he admired her for it. What a wonderful message to young girls to say that the female hero could be stronger than the male hero in some arenas, and that the man never felt threatened... both characters enjoyed each other's strengths and played off them. We could feel that sizzle of strength and camaraderie between the two even at the ages of under-10. What I love best about this series as an adult -- and especially the Emma Peel years -- is how well the episodes have stood the test of time. Mrs. Peel is still an empowering icon; she exudes self-confidence, humor and emotional strength. She is sexy without being passively feminine. Yes, her martial arts moves now look a tad flimsy -- they do not equal the punch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- but Emma Peel was the first -- in my lifetime -- to represent a powerhouse hero for girls, and she remains untainted by time.

Not Too British, Not Too American, Just Right!:
The Avengers episodes with Diana Rigg rank up there with The Twilight Zone and Star Trek as being among my all-time favorite programs to ever appear on the small screen. A right touch of mystery and a surprising amount of science fiction were often woven together to create episodes that were conceptually fascinating. For instance, A Surfeit of H2O showed how dry ice could be used to create precipitation, but it also, though in a far-fetched manner, revealed how this instance of meteorological tampering could be practiced for evil purposes of flooding out isolated sections and persons of a particular region. A little insight into botany was also gained from watching Man-Eater of Surrey Green; in this episode, it was pointed out that propionic acid, which is commonly identified as an antifungal for skin treatment and as a mold inhibitor in perfumes, could also be used as an effective herbicidal additive. Though often characterized by its quirky dialogue, The Avengers, I believe, served an educational purpose. With the aforementioned examples concerning the science fiction, The Avengers covered several different topics, ranging from biology to agriculture to the then-Cold War technological ideas and innovations, many of which are just starting to come to fruition. In its own way, the series showed that knowledge is powerful, and with this exposition, it also affirmed that though the work of one machine could do the work of several ordinary men and women, several of this same kind of machine might not be capable of replacing one extraordinary individual. As added props for educating us viewers, history lessons were also prevalent. In what is perhaps my favorite episode, which was the tabooed (and banned from U.S. television) A Touch of Brimstone, it was brought up that there was an eighteenth-century English group called the Hellfire Club, an organized mob consisting of those who tried to use intimidating tactics and secret meetings so that their hedonistic personal and political purposes might be met. Initially, I thought that this tidbit was idealized fiction, since American and European history narrators rarely seem to associate any factions of western society in the 1700s and 1800s directly with pagan practices and rituals of ancient Rome. As it turns out, such a group did exist but under a different name. Though shocking, it was still not as surprising as the out-of-control behavior displayed by the villains encountered by Steed and Peel (even Steed and Peel, themselves, were on the fringe of getting totally in the mix) or the display of Mrs. Peel in the sexy Queen of Sin outfit. All in all, the format of the several productions and layouts of these episodes fostered this viewer's desire to learn various subjects. Where many universities can make what is otherwise fascinating to learn seem too dreadful to even deal with, The Avengers does the exact opposite. On a parallel note, for you young baby boomers out there, didn't these shows and the cartoon, Jonny Quest, also do the same thing for you? Or were you too mesmerized by the appearance of the lovely Diana Rigg? LOL.

Incredible:
I am a HUGE fan of this series, specifically the Emma Peel years, I find all of the Avengers good but when Diana Rigg did the show it became a classic. In this set is the complete set. Worth EVERY penny and any Avengers fan shouldnt live without this amazing set. The picture quality is simply stunning the dvds themselves are packed quite nicely also. I won't try to be all witty like some cheesballs do.....but simply, Buy this it is WELL worth it!

A whole lotta Emma!!!:
This wonderful 16 DVD set contains the all of the Avengers episodes with Emma Peel(Dame Diana Rigg)and John Steed(Patrick Macnee). A & E did a top notch job with this set!! Many,many,many, hours of Avengers entertainment!!! And the picture and sound quality is superb!!! Great for Avengers fans!!! Five stars for the episodes and five stars for the DVD's!!! Two thumbs up!!! A+