The Fantasy Game (4 Episodes of 7 Total) 1972
The Avengers was a British television series featuring secret agents in 1960s Britain. The programes were made by TV company Associated British Corporation, and created by its Head of Drama Sydney Newman. It was an early example of the spy-fi genre, combining secret agent story-lines with science fiction elements. Running from 1961 to 1969, it is the longest running espionage series produced for English-language television, though the American series Mission: Impossible had more episodes. The Avengers was a successor (but not, as sometimes stated, a direct sequel) to Hendry's earlier series Police Surgeon, in which he played Police Surgeon Geoffrey Brent. While Police Surgeon did not last long, viewer letters had praised Hendry's work in it. Hendry was considered the star of the new series, receiving top billing over Macnee, and Steed did not even appear in two of the episodes. Because of the practice in the British television industry (followed until the 1970s) of junking and deleting episodes of old programes deemed no longer of commercial value, most episodes of the first series are considered lost, save for two complete episodes recently located and the first 15 minutes or so of the premiere episode. In the first series broadcast in 1961, Steed began as a secondary character, the protagonist being Keel; as the series progressed, Steed began to be established as a co-star, carrying the final episode solo. While the two stars used wry wit while discussing the crimes and dangers, the series benefited from the interplay — and, often, the tension — between Keel's idealism and Steed's hard professionalism. As seen in the surviving episode The Frighteners, Steed also had a group of helpers scattered among the general population who provided information, not unlike the "Baker Street Irregulars" of Sherlock Holmes.
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