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The New Avengers re-visited

7th August, 2020

Over the past few months, I have taken the opportunity to re-visit certain television shows of the past. Here are my observations on the thrill a minute series that was The New Avengers.

The Cars. The producers Albert Fennell and Brian Clemens wished to feature British products in their latest show, and so they approached BL. Chris Goffey wrote in the Christmas 1976 edition of Autocar how Leyland was especially keen to promote the Range Rover on screen. One example ‘was given the full customization treatment (just for the boss) while Mike Gambit gets a standard one’

The latter also favoured a Jaguar XJS (chassis no. 2W1075BW) while Purdey drove a Triumph TR7 and a MGB Roadster. John Steed also had access to a Rover 3500 SD1 but, alas, the unreliability of the Leyland PR vehicles entered television legend.

As a nod to tradition, there was a cameo appearance from the 1928 Bentley 3-Litre from series six of The Avengers, but the sequel is probably best remembered for a rather splendid Jaguar XJ12C
NWK 60 P was originally a factory experimental vehicle, chassis number 2G1008BW, before its despatch to Broadspeed Engineering for its transformation into a member of the John Steed fleet. The Jaguar gained an elaborate body kit with more full arches to accommodate the racing wheels and low-profile racing tyres in addition to an electric sliding roof. The result looked quite formidable, although the running gear was standard and Patrick Macnee rarely drove on screen; he was not a keen motorist. In 2015 NWK 60P was auctioned by H&H Classics for £69,750.
The chase that opened The Lion and the Unicorn was actually used as promotion for the SD1
The Guest Stars. The list of visiting actors included Peter Cushing, Clive Revill plus the poignant sight of Ian Hendry, the original leading man of The Avengers, in To Catch A Rat. There are also opportunities for spotting Pamela Stephenson, John Challis, Patrick Malahide and, in Obsession, a pre-CI5 Lewis Collins and Martin Shaw

At one point, the former suggests to the latter that they might make a “good team”.
Asides from the four-wheeled stars, The New Avengers is, in the main, total and utter rubbish. While there were sound reasons for reviving The Avengers in 1976 the scripts cannot decide on a return to Emma Peel-era surreal charm or anticipating The Professionals. As for the performances. Patrick Macnee has the vaguely distracted air of one awaiting a repair bill for a Triumph 2500S, and Joanna Lumley plays Purdey as a head prefect. Meanwhile, poor Gareth Hunt as Gambit was faced with the traditional challenges of playing the second male lead - reaction shots, lots of brooding and a very terrible wardrobe.
The especially dire French and Canadian episodes. During the second and final series, pressure from the show’s financial backers resulted in several overseas stories. Clemens moaned ‘We have made three episodes in France, and are now making another four in Canada, largely because it is the French and Canadians who are putting up the money’. The latter really should be avoided as they are on a par with Emmerdale in terms of awfulness.
And finally - the opening title sequence, with Hunt bearing an unfortunate resemble to a model from a Freeman’s catalogue…