AVENGERS & ADVENTURERS

The Avengers (A&E)

Few television series, in the U.K. or in the U.S., have proved as enduringly influential as "The Avengers." To watch the entire series, in fact, is to witness not only the evolution of a true television phenomenon but to witness the evolution of television itself. With the exception of the very first non-espionage-themed season, in which Patrick Macnee was paired with a male colleague on a detective-like quest for the murderer's of the other man's wife, the entire series can be had on thirty-two DVDs, not including the special double-disc set "The Best of the Original Avengers," which extracts only a handful of the best episodes for more conservative buffs.

The first twelve cover the 1963 to 1964 period when it was Macnee and Honor Blackman nabbing the bad guys, fighting their way through sometimes hideous black-and-white photography and videography. The caliber of these shows, which are three to a disc, improves dramatically every few episodes until the 1965-1967 set of 16 discs featuring the now legendary pairing of Macnee with Diana Rigg as the immortal Mrs. Emma Peel. These episodes, which can be bought in a special monster boxed set, are especially noteworthy as they are the uncensored original cuts, restored from the edited versions of a few which were deemed too suggestive to broadcast on American TV at the time.

The last half of these episodes, from the doubled-up 1967 season, bring the series technical evolution full circle with gorgeous color cinematography that continues in the final 1968 season when the charming but ditzy Linda Thorson became Macnee's final partner. One advantage to the "Best of" boxed set is that it features some new introductions from Macnee. Otherwise, fans are best off getting together the cash and collecting the entire set. It's well worth every penny.

Doctor Who (BBC Video)

One has to be either a masochist or a true fan to take the jump into collecting "Doctor Who" on DVD. To bring the complete series to DVD will likely take at least as many decades as it took to broadcast them, by which time a new format will undoubtedly have arrived. In the meanwhile, "Who" fans will thoroughly appreciate the selections that BBC Video has chosen for its inaugural "Who" releases. Selecting three feature-length adventures from three different periods of "Who" lore, BBC Video has sought to appease fans of the time and space traveling science fiction icon who still argue of which of the many actors to portray the Doctor is really the best.

"Spearhead from Space" is an adventure from the Jon Pertwee years, the most technically challenged of the lot but a thrilling adventure nonetheless that features commentary by actors Nicholas Courtney and Caroline John and fun trivia notes in an optional "pop-up production notes" option. The much beloved Tom Baker anchors "The Robots of Death," an alien world adventure featuring commentary by producer Philip Hinchcliffe and writer Chris Boucher that also features some rare test footage of miniatures and models. And finally, there's the classic anniversary show "The Five Doctors," from the Peter Davison period of the early-mid-1980s, which brings together a host of previous doctors in a bizarre reunion to fight an unseen enemy that is kidnapping the various doctors from their respective periods.

Davison and writer Terrance dicks supply the commentary for this disc which also includes a half-hour of soundtrack music. All of these new discs, however, bode well for future releases -audio for each has been meticulously and expertly remastered while video quality far surpasses what was originally broadcast. The Tom Baker material is especially impressive, far more colorful and detailed than what passed through the airwaves in the '70s and early ‘80s. Fans who buy the discs also get to mail in the enclosed business reply card to vote for which of their favorite episodes they would like to see released next. High vote getters will presumably be given priority by the BBC folks.

Hammer House of Horror (A&E)

In 1980 the legendary name that produced so many great British horror movies in the ‘60s and ‘70s returned, only this time for television. "Hammer House of Horror" was a short-lived but exceedingly well-made anthology series of thirteen episodes, presented in its entirety as one four-disc DVD boxed set. An essay on the history of Hammer and a complete Hammer filmography are just some of the extras that supplement these creepy tales which bring together old Hammer veterans like Peter Cushing with young future stars like Pierce Brosnan and veteran directors like the reliable Tom Clegg. The Cushing episode, "The Silent Scream," is one of the best and features a fine supporting performance from another excellent veteran, the fine character actor Brian Cox.

The Prisoner (A&E)

For a show that lasted only 17 episodes, "The Prisoner" has proved religiously influential. Conceived by star Patrick McGoohan, the popular science fiction series centers on a former British intelligence agent known only as "Number Six," kidnapped on the day of his unexplained resignation and placed on an island, in a community known only as "The Village" where people with too much knowledge are kept captive. It's a bizarre, often allegorical society in the Village which takes some predictably weird twists and turns over the course of the 17 episodes. Some are better than others but all are fascinating and utterly original. It's a paean to individualism far more rooted in Cold War politics than even the James Bond series that speaks to McGoohan's own personal views. And fan after fan, for more than thirty years, has responded to it with passionate devotion.

The complete series can be had as one ten-disc DVD set with some wonderful extras: a bonus "Video Companion" program, a rare alternate version of "The Chimes of Big Ben," footage of the title sequence "file cabinet" shot in different languages for foreign versions of the series, trailers, galleries, trivia and a fun interactive map of the village (for anyone who might get disoriented and lost). The final disc, which contains the Video Companion, also features a brand new interview with Bernie Williams, production manager for the show, laid over the only remaining "behind-the-scenes" footage of "The Prisoner," shot on location in 1966 at the Portmeirion location.

The Saint (A&E)

Those who still marvel at how Roger Moore could have been selected to succeed Sean Connery as James Bond need only turn to the show that made Moore a contender - "The Saint," based on Leslie Charteris' popular creation of the 1920s. Unlike the earlier George Sanders movies and Vincent Price radio shows or the later Ian Ogilvy series (not to mention the horrendous Val Kilmer movie), the original Roger Moore series, which ran from 1963 to 1969, is most faithful to Charteris' vision of the debonair rogue who travels the world, repeatedly getting into trouble before bringing the bad guys to justice.

As with their releases of "The Avengers," A&E is selectively releasing episodes of the series out-of-sequence with their original airdates, beginning roughly mid-way through the series' run with full-color episodes from 1966 and 1967. Eight discs, organized into two-disc volumes with three episodes on each disc, are presently available and, like the color episodes of "The Avengers" and "The Prisoner," they are a delight to behold - saturated with bold, velvety colors such as most fans have likely never seen on television.

Extras include only the original broadcast trailers, stills and some text info on Moore, but the discs are still a resolute delight. Much like "I, Spy" from the American side, these represent the best of a golden age of television when shows really did travel the globe, seeking out exotic locations, usually throughout Europe, to bolster their already fine writing and direction. And Moore is always a class-act as Templar, a role that suits him far more comfortably than even the Bond parts for which he is now best remembered.

The Sandbaggers (BFS Video)

While shows like "The Avengers" and "The Prisoner" are better known, die-hard espionage devotees often express a preference for the short-lived "The Sandbaggers," a 20-episode series that ran during the peak Cold War year of 1978. Visually, the show is nothing to speak of - like many British shows of the period it features poorly filmed exteriors and videotaped interiors - but the quality of the writing and the acting is beyond reproach. Unlike the pulpier shows, this is cerebral, highly literate stuff centering on the work of an elite intelligence team known as the Sandbaggers who do the dirty work while their boss, Neil Burnside, deals with the red tape. Six of the episodes are presently on DVD, adequately transferred by distributor BFS. Extras are more workmanlike than endearing - an essential glossary of abbreviations. Many are obvious - FBI, CIA, KGB - but the rest, of which there are many, can be confusing if one isn't already up to speed.

Secret Agent (A&E)

A series generally know more for its American theme than for its content, "Secret Agent" is nonetheless quite a lot of fun. For star Patrick McGoohan it was an essential stepping stone to doing the superior "The Prisoner," a chance to cut his teeth in the television spy genre which "The Prisoner" would later savagely reinvent. As with "The Saint" and "The Avengers," A&E has released later episodes of the series first, sidestepping the earlier half-hour shows in which McGoohan's John Drake was a NATO agent.

The initial DVD release - two discs with three hourlong black-and-white episodes apiece from 1964-1965 - features Drake as an operative of English intelligence, an odd anti-violent type who refuses to carry a gun. He is, in essence, the anti-Bond, the brains in answer to the brawn, more gentleman than womanizer. These episodes are presented with the original English opening, though the snazzy U.S. opening featuring the hit Johnny Rivers song is included among the extras. Quality of the transfers is first-rate in keeping with A&E's typically high standards on comparable releases.

Sharpe (BFS Video)

Between 1994 and 1997 veteran director Tom Clegg made a total of 14 movies detailing the adventures of novelist Bernard Cornwell's popular Richard Sharpe, a British officer in Wellington's army fighting Napoleon. Though not particularly handsome to look at - the films can be desaturated and grainy - they are spectacularly well-executed and dramatically as involving as anything produced for English television. Sean Bean rose to stardom as Sharpe, ferociously piecing a private and military life together as the movies, each about 100 minutes, tread along. It's an engaging adventure that gets better with the later movies, often giving viewers glimpses of major English stars before the headlines grabbed them. Elizabeth Hurley is particularly good in the third film, "Sharpe's Enemy." Other noteworthy entries include the first, "Sharpe's Rifles," and the last three: "Sharpe's Waterloo," "Sharpe's Revenge" and "Sharpe's Justice."

Space 1999 (A&E)

It's probably not a reach to say that Gerry Anderson is to British television what Gene Roddenberry is to American television. From "U.F.O." to "The Thunderbirds" to his most popular creation, "Space 1999," Anderson and wife Sylvia pushed narrative and visual effects limits to the breaking point, making their mark with a unique style of show that few others have ever matched. As of this writing, the first of "Space 1999"'s two seasons is available on DVD in four two-disc sets, three episodes on each disc for a total of 24. Featuring some sensational effects work from Oscar-winner Brian Johnson ("The Empire Strikes Back" and "Alien"), the show centered around the occupants of Moonbase Alpha (borrowed from "2001"'s Clavius) who find themselves adrift in the universe after an explosion of nuclear waste on the far side of the satellite blows it out of the Earth's orbit.

A peculiar, even far-fetched premise, to be sure, but one which enabled Anderson to do a "Star Trek" kind of show without appearing to have directly copied "Star Trek." Most fans of the show agree that the 1975 first season is the better one - sharper theme music, groovier and weirder episodes and fewer of the bug-eyed, hairy creatures with which nearly every second-season episode seemed filled. At the same time, there's no disputing that the first season is less commercial - the stories are sometimes less science fiction than existential meditations that often make the end of "2001" seem comprehensible by comparison. Still, thanks to dazzling production values and the casting of Americans and former "Mission: Impossible" stars Martin Landau and his then-wife Barbara Bain as Commander Koenig and Doctor Russell, it has proved to be every bit as enduring popular as American fare like "Star Trek" and "Battlestar Galactica." The first season includes a number of noteworthy guest spots as well - Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Catherine Schell, who would herself join the crew the second year as the shape-shifting alien Maya.

Extras are limited to production stills with the exception of an added gallery of first-season trailers on disc eight. It should be noted, too, that the episodes look markedly better on DVD than they ever did on television when initial broadcasts, mostly on PBS stations, delivered seriously degraded picture quality. Those who watch "Space 1999" on DVD may very well discover a whole new dimension to the landmark show.

Thunderbirds (A&E)

If "Space 1999" is Gerry Anderson's greatest achievement, "Thunderbirds," first aired in 1965, is easily his most ambitious. The "Super-marionation" puppetry which Anderson had pioneered in "Fireball XL-5" found a new level in "Firebirds," the story of the Tracy family, custodians of International Rescue and its fleet of high-tech rocketships used to execute daring the kinds of rescues and missions that no one else is equipped to handle. Structured as old-fashioned cliffhangers, "Thunderbirds" episodes weren't anything dramatically challenging, and they didn't need to be. The fact that relatively inexpressive puppets could be made engaging as characters was, in itself, something of a feat. That, and the show's ambitious effects, made it a noteworthy pioneering effort at the time that still registers high with adults who embraced it as children.

Like other A&E releases of British television classics, "Thunderbirds" is packaged in double-disc sets, each disc featuring three hourlong adventures. The first four of these sets - eight discs and 24 episodes - leave only eight of the original 32 episodes still unreleased (not including the feature-length 1966 "Thunderbirds are GO"), which is more than enough to feed the fixations of Super-marionation fans the world over. These DVDs are distinguished by typically excellent transfers and splendid Dolby 5.1 remasters of the original mono audio tracks. Extras are limited to still galleries and a pair of sensational original featurettes on discs 1 and 3.

Ultraviolet (Palm Pictures)

Far and away the best of recent British dramatic television, "Ultraviolet" is a fascinating anomaly. A kind of UK "X-Files," writer/director Joe Ahearne's six-episode miniseries about elite government vampire hunters has a host of fascinating attributes not typically associated with English television. A horror-thriller series blending action, science fiction and wry environmental commentary (the scarcity of resources is prompting the vampires to take action to protect their own interests), "Ultraviolet" is the type of series one would have expected to first see on American television. Although initially aired stateside on "The Sci Fi Channel," an American version is, indeed, being planned to air on Fox. But the English original, with its crafty mood, solid acting and intelligent writing, is hard to beat.

All six episodes are included on Palm Pictures' double-disc DVD release which includes a glossary, character notes and a two-part audio interview with Ahearne on which he talks about many of the aforementioned issues, namely the anomalous nature of a show such as "Ultraviolet" showing up on English television at all.