The Avengers: Why only Series 1 affected?

[Mark Lloyd]

Hi, forum newbie here so apologies if there is already a post that answers this question.  I did search, but although I found Avengers-related posts, I couldn't see an answer.

Is there a specific reason why only the first series of The Avengers is affected (or should that be afflicted) with missing episodes? Was there ever a time when other series had missing episodes, but which have since been recovered?  I know some of the Series 1 episodes were transmitted live, but was there a change in policy/practice regarding telerecording or keeping transmission tapes after Series 1?

[John Brew]

Jul 22, 2013 20:33:44 GMT Mark Lloyd said:

Hi, forum newbie here so apologies if there is already a post that answers this question.  I did search, but although I found Avengers-related posts, I couldn't see an answer.

Is there a specific reason why only the first series of The Avengers is affected (or should that be afflicted) with missing episodes? Was there ever a time when other series had missing episodes, but which have since been recovered?  I know some of the Series 1 episodes were transmitted live, but was there a change in policy/practice regarding telerecording or keeping transmission tapes after Series 1?

Hi Mark. Welcome aboard.

I remember a point a number of years ago where Series 2 & 3 were said to be missing with the exception of Death of a Great Dane. Then suddenly they found all of the negatives except for The Golden Fleece which only existed as a positive. I don't really understand how the whole positive/negative thing works, but that's my recollection. At the time, I wasn't really too interested in the recovery efforts, I was just glad that they found them. Now you've made me wonder about how they were all found and I'll have to do some poking around and see if I can find anything on it.  

[Mark Lloyd]

Thanks John

It did strike me as odd that it was almost a clean break, so to speak. Hence my wondering

[RWels]

It happens.
Adam Adamant: series one, 16 out of 17 exist; series two, 2 out of 13.
The Frost Report: The entire first series is still with us, the second series is totally lost except for episode 2.

Perhaps the first series of The Avengers was not sold in as many countries. I've also heard that episodes were simply junked shelf by shelf.

[Richard Marple]

I did read somewhere that the 3rd series of The Avengers was the first to be exported, not sure how true that it is.

[Mark Lloyd]

I did wonder if ITV had a similar process to the BBC whereby things were kept for 18 months/2 years and that this, combined with Honor Blackman's subsequently being in Goldfinger made series 2&3 more commercially viable.

Now that I think of it The Liver Birds is another series with a missing first series. So perhaps not so odd after all

Still, I'd be interested to know if there was some special circumstance in The Avengers' case.

[Ken Griffin]

Series two and three were sold abroad and were telerecorded. ABC subsequently archived the telerecording masters. Series one wasn't and nobody even knows if the entire series was telerecorded to start with.

[Mark Lloyd]

Thanks for that, Ken. As with all these shows, it's such a shame to have lost them, most likely forever.

... and those 2 and a bit episodes don't half pique my interest for more!

[Alan Hayes]

Hadn't seen this thread before now. Series 1 wasn't sold overseas, whereas Series 2 and 3 were. To make matters worse, Series 1 wasn't even seen complete in most ITV regions (only ABC Midlands and ABC North showed the lot). Some transmitted as few as four.

There was also the perception that they were "rubbish", a criticism that has been perpetuated in later years by the likes of Brian Clemens. I would suggest that once Leonard White left as producer to go to fulfil the same role on Armchair Theatre the incoming team of John Bryce and Richard Bates considered that first year to be a false start, and therefore not particularly exploitable. 'The Frighteners' appears to have been kept as an example (clips from it appeared in Ian Hendry's This is Your Life in 1978 and the film Quadrophenia in 1979) and it is very likely that by that point it was the sole survivor in the archive.

Further details and speculation in the book The Strange Case of the Missing Episodes (see Out of the Archive section for details).

[Deleted]

Do you know if there's any good reason why the Blackman series 2/3 t/rs managed to escape destruction whereas many other ABC series were junked completely after loss of franchise, Alan? I know they were sold abroad but so (presumably) were other ABC shows which don't exist at all now. I suppose I'm really asking what factor decided which ABC t/rs managed to survive destruction up to the present day (leaving aside the smaller number which were taken by bodies such as the BFI at the time, of course).

[Alan Hayes]

Hi Laurence. I assume that its standing as a continuing series at the time of the franchise change-over might have had an effect (not that that worked for Callan or Public Eye), but it's difficult to tell. There's no evidence that any of the Series 2+3 telerecordings were recovered from overseas; it appears that they were simply retained. It's a question we've not been able to answer definitively.

[TSWSTV]

Aug 9, 2013 23:52:09 GMT Alan Hayes said:

Hi Laurence. I assume that its standing as a continuing series at the time of the franchise change-over might have had an effect (not that that worked for Callan or Public Eye), but it's difficult to tell. There's no evidence that any of the Series 2+3 telerecordings were recovered from overseas; it appears that they were simply retained. It's a question we've not been able to answer definitively.

Due to the franchise change would overseas broadcasters know where to send the tapes back to? Could something be lurking in Royal Mail's vast undelivered archive?

[Deleted]

Aug 9, 2013 23:52:09 GMT Alan Hayes said:

Hi Laurence. I assume that its standing as a continuing series at the time of the franchise change-over might have had an effect (not that that worked for Callan or Public Eye), but it's difficult to tell. There's no evidence that any of the Series 2+3 telerecordings were recovered from overseas; it appears that they were simply retained. It's a question we've not been able to answer definitively.

Thanks Alan. Did ABC have more than one archive at the time of franchise loss, do you know? As they had not only Teddington studios but broadcast and production facilities in both Birmingham and the north west, they must have had their programmes scattered across three locations at that point (which were later gathered in one place?). I can imagine that material was junked because of this situation.

[Patrick Coles]

Re the posting above about season one being seen as a 'false start' - maybe the later producers did think that but I don't think it was really accurate if so

my Grandfather loved watching the essentially crime busting Ian Hendry / Patrick Macnee (all male team ) Avengers show  & got us to watch it too getting my family hooked early on - it was a show appreciated by the public in 1961 which was duly commisioned for a second season but that was delayed by the actors strike (that saw John Paul axed from 'Probation Officer' per Patrick Macnee)

Thus after the delay when the show returned Ian Hendry had left - apparently not wanting to be type cast & he made a successful film during that period (so I've read) - they initially got in Jon Rollason as Dr. Martin King (he's in three season two episodes, the first three to be made) thus the idea of an 'all male' Avengers team of with Steed & a Doctor was at first mooted as being the way to continue, but after the idea of a female 'Co-Avenger' was made, with both Honor Blackman & Julie Stevens alternating as Steed's 'Co-Avenger' in season two they found that was very popular thus kept with it (Julie Stevens later leaving as she was pregnant & Honor Blackman proved the most popular Avenger girl)

Later when Honor quit they again initially opted to keep the SAME established premise (as earlier re Steed & a male Doctor) by having a blonde 'Co-Avenger' casting Elizabeth Shepherd as blonde Emma Peel before Brian Clemens brought in young Diana Rigg as Emma...

but the Ian Hendry/Patrick Macnee first season was popular with viewers hence it was recommissioned for a further season and a fair bit of Ian Hendry's 'talented amateur' Co-Avenger who often goes it alone on a lead...and kept Steed's excesses in check was retained as it was later passed onto the respective  'Avenger girls'

As there was no 'Avenger girl' in that first season (besides Keel's secretary Carole played by Ingrid Hafner) & most episodes (so far at least) are missing the later Avengers Documentaries tend to 'skip over' and unjustly ignore that first essentially crime busting Avengers season (which, prophetically ended with 'Dragonsfield' just featuring Steed & was a more sci fi themed episode)

The Ian Hendry / Patrick Macnee 'Original' Avengers deserve to be acknowledged & remembered alongside the later better known teams of Steed & his Lovely ladies

[Mark Lloyd]

Aug 9, 2013 23:17:47 GMT Alan Hayes said:

Further details and speculation in the book The Strange Case of the Missing Episodes (see Out of the Archive section for details).

Hi Alan, as it happens, I've ordered a copy just this week