The Avengers: The Tara King Collection (1968) – Imprint TV (Blu-ray)

Release Dates: UK, September 25th, 1968 - UK, May 17th 1969
Directors: James Hill, Robert Fuest, John Hough, Paul Dickson, Roy Ward Baker, Cyril Frankel, Charles Crichton, Ray Austin, Don Chaffey, Peter Sykes,  Don Sharp, Cliff Owen, Leslie Norman,
Created By: Sydney Newman
Cast: Patrick Macnee, Linda Thorson, Patrick Newell 

Release Date: November 29th, 2023
Approximate running time: 52 Minutes Each Episode (33 Episodes)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: PG (Australia)
Sound: LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: AUD$159.95 (Australia)

"John Steed fights crime and diabolical masterminds in his own inimitable manner with nonchalant efficiency, sophistication, and charm. With the departure of Mrs. Peel (Diana Rigg), Steed (Patrick Macnee) has acquired a new assistant, Tara King (Linda Thorson), who relies less on judo and more on feminine guile to dispatch her assailants. Miss King will use a coo or a kiss rather than a karate chop, not to mention an occasional brick-in-the-handbag technique! Emotional, earthy, cunning, Tara is thoroughly emancipated, while remaining essentially feminine. This is her real distinction and it makes her devastating!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.75/5 (The Avengers Series 6), 4.5 (Mister Jerico)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfers, "1080p high-definition presentation from the original 35mm elements".

The Forget-Me-Knot, Invasion of the Earthmen, and The Curious Case of the Countless Clues come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray disc.

Disc Size: 45.1 GB

Feature: 9.2 GB (The Forget-Me-Knot), 9.9 GB (Invasion of the Earthmen), 10 GB (The Curious Case of the Countless Clues)

Split!, Get-a-Way!, Have Guns — Will Haggle, and Look — (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) — But There Were These Two Fellers... come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray disc.

Disc Size: 45.8 GB

Feature: 9.2 GB (Split!), 9.3 GB (Get-a-Way!), 9.4 GB(Have Guns — Will Haggle), 9.3 GB (Look — (Stop Me If You've Heard This One))

My Wildest Dream, Whoever Shot Poor George Oblique Stroke XR40?, You'll Catch Your Death, and All Done with Mirrors come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray disc.

Disc Size: 42.5 GB

Feature: 9.2 GB (My Wildest Dream), 10 GB (Whoever Shot Poor George Oblique Stroke XR40?), 9.2 GB (You'll Catch Your Death), 9.2 GB (All Done with Mirrors)

Super Secret Cypher Snatch, Game, False Witness, and Noon Doomsday come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray disc.

Disc Size: 42.7 GB

Feature: 9.3 GB (Super Secret Cypher Snatch), 9.2 GB (Game), 11.2 GB (False Witness), 9.4 GB (Noon Doomsday)

Legacy of Death, They Keep Killing Steed, Wish You Were Here, and Killer come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray disc.

Disc Size: 45.5 GB

Feature: 9.4 GB (Legacy of Death), 9.3 GB (They Keep Killing Steed) 9.4 GB (Wish You Were Here), 9.5 GB Killer

The Rotters, The Interrogators, and The Morning After come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray disc.

Disc Size: 39.9 GB

Feature: 9.4 GB (The Rotters), 9.4 GB (The Interrogators), 9.5 GB (The Morning After)

Love All, Take Me to Your Leader, Stay Tuned, and Fog come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray disc.

Disc Size: 45.8 GB

Feature: 10.2 GB (Love All), 9.4 GB (Take Me to Your Leader), 9.4 GB (Stay Tuned), 9.5 GB (Fog)

Who Was That Man I Saw You With?, Pandora, Thingumajig, and Homicide and Old Lace come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray disc.

Disc Size: 45.5 GB

Feature: 9.3 GB (Who Was That Man I Saw You With?), 9.3 GB (Pandora), 9.3 GB (Thingumajig), 10.2 GB (Homicide and Old Lace)

Requiem, Take-Over, and Bizarre come on a 50 GB dual-layer Blu ray disc.

Disc Size: 44.3 GB

Feature: 9.3 GB (Requiem), 9.3 GB (Take-Over), 10.2 GB (Bizarre)

Hot Snow, Girl on the Trapeze, The Frighteners, Bullseye, and Mandrake come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray disc.

Disc Size: 44.2 GB

Feature: 3.9  GB (Hot Snow), 4.3 GB (Girl on the Trapeze), 4.7 GB (The Frighteners), 6 GB (Bullseye), 6.1 GB (Mandrake)

The sources used for Series 6 episodes are in excellent shape. There is no source-related damage. The transfers for these episodes are on par with Series 5, which was also shot in color. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid. That said, this release from Imprint TV is easily the best these episodes have looked on any home video format. 

Here’s the information provided about Mister Jerico's transfer, "1080p high-definition presentation of a 2023, 2K scan from the original camera negative by Imprint, with grading by award-winning colorist Jonathan Wood."

Mister Jerico comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray disc.

Disc Size: 46.1 GB

Feature: 21.9 GB (1.66:1 Aspect Ratio), 20 GB (1.33:1 Aspect Ratio)

Audio: 4.5/5 (The Avengers Series 6), 4.25/5 (Mister Jerico)

The 33 episodes that feature Tara King all come with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English, and included are removable English SDH subtitles. All of the audio tracks are in great shape; the dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Range-wise, these audio tracks sound very good; ambient sounds are well-represented, and the scores sound appropriately robust.

Mister Jerico comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio is in great shape. Dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise things sound very good.

Extras:

Extras on disc one include an audio commentary for The Forget-Me-Knot with filmmakers Samuel Clemens and George Clemens, an audio commentary for Invasion of the Earthmen with writer/film critic Kim Newman and screenwriter/author Robert Shearma, introducing Linda Thorson promotional trailer (2 minutes 53 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), a vintage promotional short film about Linda Thorson titled Girl About Town, optional audio commentary with actress Linda Thorson and Paul O’Grady (8 minutes 6 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Artists Screen Tests – vault film of various actresses auditioning to be the new “Avengers Girl”, optional audio commentary with Jaz Wiseman (79 minutes 38 seconds, no sound), The Forget-Me-Knot variant end titles (1 minute 10 seconds, LPCM mono), Invasion of the Earthmen U.S. end credits (1 minute 10 seconds, LPCM mono), Granada Plus Points for The Forget-Me-Knot featuring Patrick Macnee (1 minute 13 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), and photo galleries for The Forget-Me-Knot (70 mages), Invasion of the Earthmen (66 images), and The Curious Case of the Countless Clues (19 images).

Extras on disc two include an audio commentary for Split! with writer/producer Brian Clemens and director Roy Ward Baker, an audio commentary for Look — (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) — But There Were These Two Fellers… with filmmakers Samuel Clemens and George Clemens, Series 6 textless closing credits with theme music (1 minute 11 seconds, LPCM mono), “Mit Schirm, Charme Und Melone” – German opening titles / closing credits (1 minute 33 seconds, LPCM mono with German text, no subtitles), an audio recollection with actor Peter Bowles for the episode Get-a-Way! (1 minute 24 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), The Avengers at 50 interview with director and stunt coordinator Ray Austin (57 minutes 12 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), and photo galleries for Split! (78 images), Get-a-Way! (80 images), Have Guns — Will Haggle (46 images), and Look — (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) — But There Were These Two Fellers…(77 images).

Extras on disc three include an audio commentary for All Done With Mirrors with Linda Thorson and Paul O’Grady, a video commentary for All Done With Mirrors with Linda Thorson, Raymond Austin, composer Howard Blake, and producer Brian Clemens,  an introduction to Whoever Shot Poor George Oblique Stroke XR40? by director Cyril Frankel (2 minutes 53 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), U.S. ABC network commercial break bumpers (20 seconds, LPCM mono), and photo galleries for My Wildest Dream (48 images), Whoever Shot Poor George Oblique Stroke XR40? (64 images), You'll Catch Your Death (56 images), and All Done With Mirrors (73 images).

Extras on disc four include an audio commentary for Game with director Robert Fuest, an audio commentary for Noon Doomsday with Linda Thorson and Paul O’Grady, an audio commentary for Noon Doomsday with stuntwoman Cyd Child, an audio commentary for Noon Doomsday with filmmakers Samuel Clemens and George Clemens, The Avengers at 50 interview titled The Two Sides of Tara King with Linda Thorson and stuntwoman Cyd Child (15 minutes 31 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), and photo galleries for Super Secret Cypher Snatch (53 images), Game (50 images), False Witness (76 images), and Noon Doomsday (64 images).

Extras on disc five include an audio commentary for Killer with actress Jennifer Croxton, episode of the ITC action series Return of the Saint with Linda Thorson titled Return of the Saint: The Roman Touch (51 minutes 19 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), and photo galleries for Legacy of Death (73 images), They Keep Killing Steed (55 images), Wish You Were Here (18 images), and Killer (59 images).

Extras on disc six include an audio commentary for The Morning After with director John Hough,  a video introductions for The Interrogators by Linda Thorson (1 minute 8 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), The Avengers at 50 interview with John Hough (23 minutes 38 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), The Avengers at 50 interview with Robert Fuest (23 minutes 38 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), The Avengers at 50 interview with Robert Fuest (11 minutes 51 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), composer Howard Blake (12 minutes 3 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), and photo galleries for The Rotters (68 images), The Interrogators (61 images), and The Morning After (59 images).

Extras on disc seven include an audio commentary for Love All with writer Jeremy Burnham and actress Veronica Strong, an audio commentary for Fog with film historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons, a video introductions for Love All by Linda Thorson (1 minute 4 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), a video introductions for Take Me To Your Leader by Linda Thorson (40 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), In the Footsteps of Tara King an interview with Linda Thorson by Oliver Kalkofe (19 minutes 4 seconds, LPCM stereo English and German with non-removable English subtitles for German), a locations featurette titled Wish You Were Here (14 minutes 48 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), and photo galleries for Love All (60 images), Take Me To Your Leader (49 images), Stay Tuned (69 images), and Fog (48 images).

Extras on disc eight include an audio commentary for Thingumajig with film historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons, a video introductions for Pandora by Linda Thorson (54 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), a video introductions for Thingumajig by Linda Thorson (41 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), episode from the ATV series Thriller with actress Linda Thorson, written by Brian Clemens titled Thriller: Lady Killer (67 minutes, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), and photo galleries for Who Was That Man I Saw You With? (46 images), Pandora (66 images), Thingumajig (41 images), and Homicide and Old Lace (11 images).

Extras on disc nine include an audio commentary for Bizarre with television historians Dick Fiddy (of the British Film Institute) and Henry Holland, a video introductions for Requiem by Linda Thorson (45 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Avenging The Avengers (34 minutes 50 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), The Avengers at 50 titled Helicopter arrival with optional audio commentary with Linda Thorson and Paul O’Grady (3 minutes 33 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), The Avengers at 50 titled Linda Thorson introduces video message from Patrick Macnee (6 minutes 44 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), The Avengers at 50 titled Interview with Linda Thorson by Paul O’Grady (18 minutes 51 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), The Avengers at 50 panel discussion with Linda Thorson, Paul O’Grady, Raymond Austin, actor John Carson and author Alwyn Turner titled The Impact of The Avengers (39 minutes 6 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), The Avengers at 50 titled The Music of The Avengers (7 minutes 32 seconds, LPCM stereo), and photo galleries for Requiem (14 images), Take-Over (41 images), and Requiem (75 images).

Extras on disc ten include 14 Audio Reconstructions for missing Series 1 episodes: Hot Snow (25 minutes 22 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), One for the Mortuary (7 minutes 52 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), The Springers (8 minutes 12 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), The Yellow Needle (8 minutes 59 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Death on the Slipway (7 minutes, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Double Danger (18 minutes 6 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Toy Trap (15 minutes 22 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Tunnel of Fear (6 minutes 45 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), The Far Distant Dead (8 minutes 59 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Kill the King (14 minutes 30 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Dead of Winter (14 minutes 22 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), The Deadly Air (8 minutes 42 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), A Change of Bait (16 minutes 40 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles) and Dragonsfield (9 minutes 30 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), The Avengers at 50 interview with producers Leonard White and Brian Tessler, actresses Honor Blackman and Julie Stevens (42 minutes 21 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary for Hot Snow with producer Leonard White, an audio commentary for Bullseye with Honor Blackman and Paul O’Grady, and an audio commentary for Mandrake with Honor Blackman and story editor Richard Bates. 

Also, included on disc ten are these bonus episodes of The Avengers: Series 1 episode 1 Hot Snow Act 1 (20 minutes 29 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Series 1 episode 6 Girl on the Trapeze  (51 minutes 10 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Series 1 episode 15 The Frighteners  (52 minutes 56 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Series 2 episode 8 Bullseye  (51 minutes 5 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Series 3 episode 21 Mandrake (52 minutes 42 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles). 

Extras on disc eleven include a bonus feature film Mister Jerico (85 minutes 18 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio or 1.66:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono English with removable English SDH), a photo gallery, textless titles (2 minutes 19 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 40 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), a restoration featurette titled Mister Jerico’: Damage Limitation (6 minutes 54 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled The Road To ‘Mister Jerico’ in High-Definition (17 minutes 24 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), an Isolated music score by Laurie Johnson, and an audio Commentary by television historians Dick Fiddy (of the British Film Institute) and Henry Holland.

Other extras include a 120-page booklet (limited to 1,500 copies) with an essay titled “Sock It To Me!”written by Andrew Pixley, original Series 6 publicity information, and story information for every episode taken from the original studio files, and a collectable double-sided hardbox packaging (limited to 1,500 copies).

Summary:

By the time Linda Thorson took on the role of Tara King, it was a long-running series that had already completed five series and been on the air for seven years. And when it comes to casting changes for any TV series, especially one that has been around as long as The Avengers has, it is never an enviable place for those who are brought in to replace an iconic character and beloved actress. Linda Thorson replacing Diana Rigg is not in the same league as when Diana Rigg replaced Honor Blackman. The Avengers reached their apex during the Diana Rigg years.

Throughout its run, The Avengers was a mixture of action, adventure, sci-fi, and whimsy. The characters were self-assured as they took on diabolical villains and did larger-than-life things. And though the characters often delved into the world of espionage, they were not your typical British spies in the same vein as James Bond or Harry Palmer. In fact, one of the charms of The Avengers was the chemistry between John Steed and his three female partners, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel, and Tara King.

Here is list of the 33 Tara King episodes.

The Forget-Me-Knot / Game / Super Secret Cypher Snatch / You'll Catch Your Death / Split! / Whoever Shot Poor George Oblique Stroke XR40? / False Witness / All Done with Mirrors / Legacy of Death / Noon Doomsday / Look — (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) — But There Were These Two Fellers... / Have Guns — Will Haggle / They Keep Killing Steed / The Interrogators / The Rotters / Invasion of the Earthmen / Killer / The Morning After / The Curious Case of the Countless Clues / Wish You Were Here / Love All / Stay Tuned / Take Me to Your Leader / Fog / Who Was That Man I Saw You With? / Homicide and Old Lace / Thingumajig / My Wildest Dream / Requiem / Take-Over / Pandora / Get-a-Way! / Bizarre

It is interesting how time can change your outlook on something. I first encountered The Avengers via the Emma Peel episodes, and from there, I sought out the other series before and after hers. Though I was not as impressed with the Cathy Gale and Tara King episodes, after revisiting the Tara King episodes, I have grown to enjoy them and now have a fondness for them.

Just like her predecessor, Emma Peel, Tara King would be given some episodes in which her character would be given the spotlight and John Steed would take a reduced role. Though these types of spotlight episodes worked well for me with Emma Peel, notably The House That Jack Built, I was not as convinced by the Tara King spotlight episodes. In my opinion, Tara King always shined brightest when she worked with John Steed hand in hand instead of apart.

Besides the two leads, Patrick Macnee and Linda Thorson, another area where Series 6 excels is its solid supporting cast, many of whom have appeared in previous The Avengers series’. That said, Series 6 does have another new addition to the cast: Patrick Newell in the role of 'Mother', the wheelchair-bound superior of John Steed and Tara King. Also, behind the scenes, when it comes to the scripts and the directors, this is yet another area where The Avengers Series 6 excels.

Though there were a few episodes that missed their mark, an overwhelming majority of the Tara King episodes are excellent. A few standout episodes are Super Secret Cypher Snatch, All Done with Mirrors, Look — (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) — But There Were These Two Fellers..., Wish You Were Here, Take Me to Your Leader, and Pandora. And even in the finale moments of its last episode, Bizarre: The Avengers ends with a fanfare wink at its audience.

Mister Jerico: A conman and his loyal sidekick concoct a scheme to steal the legendary Gemini diamond.

Mister Jerico started off as a pilot for a new TV series for Partick Macnee, who had just come off eight years of The Avengers. Along the way, it would be released as a one-off TV film and even be released theatrically in a few countries. Besides Partick Macnee, some of the behind-the-scenes talent like director Sidney Hayers, screenwriter Philip Levene, producer Julian Wintle, and composer Laurie Johnson all worked on The Avengers.

Though Mister Jerico has a solid production design and makes great use of locations, while watching Mister Jerico, it does feel like a film that was made for television. The story is a fairly routine crime caper that has few surprises; it is easy to see where things are heading.

Despite being a starring vehicle for Partick Macnee, the real main attraction of Mister Jerico is Connie Stevens, whose character is best described as a master of disguise. That said, it was cool seeing Patrick Macnee in a role that was nothing like John Steed. Ultimately, despite its shortcomings, Mister Jerico is a fun film whose greatest asset is its cast's enthusiastic performances.

Imprint TV's The Avengers: The Tara King Collection release is a must-have if you are a fan of The Avengers. All of the episodes are given solid audio and video presentations, and there is a wealth of informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer