The original Avengers was fun, in a fluffy Saturday-afternoon kind of way. What's not to like about the suave John Steed, with his three-piece suit, bowler hat, and umbrella, partnered with the take-no-prisoners Emma Peel, taking on challenging spy missions? Indeed, The Avengers had a long and fruitful run from 1961-1969; although I haven't seen any of the episodes in years, I'm willing to bet the show holds up reasonably well. The same can't really be said for The New Avengers, which attempts to jump-start the franchise with a new set of younger characters, namely Gambit (Gareth Hunt) and Purdey (Joanna Lumley). Steed is still around and participating in the stories, but you can just tell that the filmmakers are trying to get us attached to "New" part of the Avengers title.

The resulting series isn't awful, but neither is it anything to write home about. The New Avengers isn't quite cheesy or dated enough to be fun in a retro-fluff way, but it is just dated enough to look rather shop-worn. Seeing the wardrobes of Gareth and Purdey is a reminder that Steed's elegant suit is actually quite timeless... and it's certainly clear from Purdey that the 1970s were prime time for the wearing of heavy mascara.

The stories themselves are run-of-the-mill spy adventures, in which the New Avengers track down spies of all stripes, but particularly Russian ones (this is Cold War-era material, after all), and with a particular fondness for Canadian locations (the new series having Canadian funding). The writing is neither particularly awful nor particularly good; we get a mix of tepid character interaction among the Avengers, teeth-gnashing villainy from the bad guys, and gung-ho action scenes that showcase the karate talents of the younger set. The plots are straightforward and the action scenes are not particularly exciting, although it's nice to see that the writers have made Purdey into a fairly self-sufficient character, who can snap out some nifty kung-fu moves to disable her opponents when need be.

Patrick Macnee seems to be mildly amused throughout the series; he could probably play Steed in his sleep at this point, and certainly nothing here requires him to do more than phone in his part. Even so, he's the only noteworthy aspect of a series that is otherwise truly generic. I'm not really sure what the point of watching The New Avengers is, at this late date. If it's a nostalgic fondness for The Avengers, there's plenty of the original series to watch, with Macnee on center stage instead of on the sidelines; if it's an interest in a fun action-adventure spy series, it's best to look for a fresher show, since The New Avengers really doesn't serve up anything more than a generic and fairly tired set of stories.

The DVD

The New Avengers '77 is a four-DVD set, with each disc in its own plastic keepcase inside a glossy paperboard slipcase. The set contains all 13 episodes from the series' second season.

Video

The New Avengers '77 looks passable in its DVD transfer. The image, which is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, shows its age but not excessively so. The picture tends to be soft and a bit faded, but colors come through reasonably well, as do skin tones. A fairly large amount of grain appears, which along with some edge enhancement tends to reduce the sharpness of the image. Some print flaws appear, but not all that many.

Audio

The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack handles the episodes competently, presenting the dialogue clearly and in a natural manner. The overall sound could be a bit crisper, and the main body of the soundtrack tends to be a little too low compared to the more aggressive music of the credits, but all around it's a reasonable audio treatment.

Extras

The only special features are photo galleries on each disc.

Final thoughts

While The New Avengers '77 isn't terrible, neither does it offer anything that makes it worth seeking out: it doesn't have the nostalgic charm of the original Avengers, its storytelling is ho-hum, and it's dated enough to look cheesy without going into the realm of so-cheesy-it's-fun. All in all, I'll suggest The New Avengers '77 as a rental for those who are hankering for a fix of retro spy action, or who are inordinately fond of Patrick Macnee as John Steed. Rent it.