Editing The Avengers (TV series) (section)

==Premise==
{{more citations needed|section|date=September 2018}}
''The Avengers'' was marked by different eras as co-stars came and went. The only constant was John Steed, played by Patrick Macnee.

===Series 1 (1961)===
[[ABC Weekend TV]] produced a single series of ''[[Police Surgeon (UK)|Police Surgeon]]'', in which [[Ian Hendry]] played police surgeon Geoffrey Brent, from September through December 1960.<ref name="screenonline.org.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/550338/ |title=BFI Screenonline: Police Surgeon (1960) |publisher=Screenonline.org.uk |date=3 December 1960 }}</ref> While ''Police Surgeon'' did not last long, viewers praised Ian Hendry, and ABC Television cast him in its new series ''The Avengers'', which replaced ''Police Surgeon'' in January 1961.

''The Avengers'' began with the episode "[[Hot Snow (The Avengers)|Hot Snow]]", in which medical doctor David H. Keel (Hendry) investigates the murder of his fiancée, office receptionist Peggy, by a drug ring. A stranger named John Steed who was also investigating the ring appears, and together Dr. Keel and Steed set out to avenge Peggy's death in the first two episodes. Steed asks Dr. Keel to partner with him, as needed, to solve crimes. Ian Hendry was considered the star of the new series, receiving top billing over Patrick Macnee, and Steed did not appear in two of the series' episodes.

As the first series of ''The Avengers'' progressed, Steed's importance increased, and he carried the final episode solo. While Steed and Dr. Keel used wit while discussing crimes and dangers, the series also depicted the interplay—and often tension—between Dr. Keel's idealism and Steed's professionalism. As seen in one of the three surviving episodes from the first series, "[[The Frighteners (The Avengers)|The Frighteners]]", Steed also had informants among the general population to aid his investigations, similar to the "[[Baker Street Irregulars]]" of [[Sherlock Holmes]].

The other regular in the first series was Carol Wilson ([[Ingrid Hafner]]), the nurse and receptionist who replaced the slain Peggy. Carol assisted Dr. Keel and Steed in cases, and in at least one episode ("[[Girl on the Trapeze]]") was very much in the thick of the action, but without being part of Steed's inner circle. Ingrid Hafner had played opposite Ian Hendry as a nurse in one episode of ''Police Surgeon''.<ref name="screenonline.org.uk"/> The role of Carol Wilson was initially offered to Jan Watson, who turned it down for another film.<ref>Clemens, Samuel. "Jan Watson", ''[[Classic Images]]''. November 2022</ref>

The series was shot on [[405-line television system|405-line]] videotape using a [[multicamera setup]]. There was little provision for editing and virtually no location footage was shot (although the first shot of the first episode consisted of location footage). As was standard practice at the time, videotapes of early episodes of ''The Avengers'' were [[Lost television broadcast|reused]]. At present, only three complete Series 1 episodes are known to exist and are held in archives as [[16 mm film|16-mm film]] [[kinescope|telerecordings]]: "Girl on the Trapeze" (which does not feature Steed), "The Frighteners" and "[[Tunnel of Fear]]".<ref name="TOF"/> Additionally, the first 15 minutes of the first episode, "Hot Snow", also exist as a telerecording; the extant footage ends at the conclusion of the first act, prior to the introduction of John Steed.

The missing television episodes were recreated for audio by [[Big Finish Productions]] under the title of ''The Avengers&nbsp;&ndash; The Lost Episodes''<ref name="bigfinish.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/v/the-avengers|title=The Avengers – Steed and Keel|website=Bigfinish.com}}</ref> and star [[Julian Wadham]] as Steed, [[Anthony Howell (actor)|Anthony Howell]] as Dr Keel and Lucy Briggs-Owen as Carol Wilson.

===Series 2–3 (1962–1964)===
[[File:CathyGale.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Patrick Macnee as [[John Steed]] and [[Honor Blackman]] as [[Cathy Gale]]]]
Production of the first series was cut short by a strike. By the time production could begin on the second series, Ian Hendry had quit to pursue a film career. Patrick Macnee was promoted to star, and Steed became the focus of the series, initially working with a rotation of three different partners. Dr Martin King ([[Jon Rollason]]), a thinly disguised recreation of the Dr. Keel character, saw action in only three episodes, which were produced from scripts written for the first series. Dr. King was intended to be a transitional character between Dr. Keel and Steed's two new female partners, but while the Dr. King episodes were shot first, they were shown out of production order in the middle of the season. The character was thereafter quickly and quietly dropped.

[[Nightclub singer]] Venus Smith ([[Julie Stevens (English actress)|Julie Stevens]]) appeared in six episodes. She was a complete "amateur", meaning that she did not have any professional crime-fighting skills as did the two doctors. She was excited to be participating in a spy adventure alongside secret agent Steed (although some episodes—"The Removal Men", "[[The Decapod]]"—indicate she is not always enthusiastic). Nonetheless, she appears to be attracted to him, and their relationship is somewhat similar to that later portrayed between Steed and [[Tara King]]. Her episodes featured live musical portions showcasing her singing performances. The character of Venus underwent some revision during her run, adopting more youthful demeanour and dress.

The first episode broadcast in the second series introduced the partner who would change the show into the format for which it is most remembered. [[Honor Blackman]] played Mrs. [[Cathy Gale]], a self-assured, quick-witted anthropologist who was skilled in [[judo]] and had a passion for [[leather]] clothes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://deadline.theavengers.tv/tvt200963.htm |title=''TV Times'' issue 412, 20 September 1963, page 4, Inside Story Of The Avengers: Brief For Murder!, Crime Reporter, England |publisher=Deadline.theavengers.tv |date=20 September 1963 }}</ref> Widowed during the [[Mau Mau rebellion]] years in [[Kenya]], she was the "talented amateur" who provided her aid to Steed's cases as a service to her nation. She was said to have been born on 5 October 1930 at midnight, and was reared in Africa. Mrs. Catherine Gale was in her early-to-mid 30s during her tenure, in contrast to female characters in similar series who tended to be younger.

Catherine Gale was unlike any female character seen before on British TV, and she became a household name. Reportedly, part of her charm was because her earliest appearances were episodes in which dialogue written for Keel was simply transferred to her. Series scriptwriter [[Dennis Spooner]] described about this detail: "There's the famous story of how Honor Blackman played Ian Hendry's part, which is why they stuck her in leather and such—it was so much cheaper than changing the lines!"<ref name="PeelJohnEmmaLastYearp46">Peel, John. "Dennis Spooner Interview". ''The Avengers Files: Emma's Last Year''. Psi Fi Movie Press, Inc. Canoga Park, CA, 1985, p 46.</ref> In "Conspiracy of Silence", she holds her own in a vociferous tactical disagreement with her partner.

Venus Smith did not return for the third series, and Cathy Gale became Steed's only regular partner. The series established a level of [[sexual tension]] between Steed and Cathy Gale, but the writers were not allowed to go beyond [[flirting]] and [[innuendo]]. Despite this, the relationship between Steed and Catherine Gale was progressive for 1962–63. In "The Golden Eggs," it is revealed that Cathy Gale lived in Steed's flat; according to Steed, her rent was to keep the refrigerator well-stocked and to cook for him (she appears to do neither). However, this was said to be a temporary arrangement while Catherine Gale looked for a new home, and Steed was sleeping at a hotel.

During the first series, there were hints that Steed worked for a branch of British Intelligence, and this was expanded in the second series. Steed initially received orders from different superiors, including someone referred to as "Charles", and "One-Ten" ([[Douglas Muir (actor)|Douglas Muir]]). By the third series, the delivery of Steed's orders was not depicted on screen or explained. The secret organisation to which Steed belongs is shown in "The Nutshell", and it is Cathy Gale's first visit to their headquarters.

Small references to Steed's background were occasionally made. In the Series 3 episode "Death of a Batman," it was said that Steed was with [[I Corps (United Kingdom)|I Corps]] in the [[World War II|Second World War]], and in [[Munich]] in 1945. In the Series 4 episode "The Hour That Never Was," Steed attends a reunion of his [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] squadron. Since the ties he wears are either cavalry or old school, it is apparent that he has attended a number of leading [[Public school (UK)|public school]]s.

A theatrical film version of the series was in its initial planning stages by late 1963, after Series 3 was completed. An early story proposal paired Steed and Catherine Gale with a male and female duo of American agents, to make the movie appeal to the American market. Before the project could gain momentum, Honor Blackman was cast opposite [[Sean Connery]] in ''[[Goldfinger (film)|Goldfinger]]'', requiring her to leave the series.

====Series transformation====
During the Gale era, Steed was transformed from a rugged trenchcoat-wearing agent into the stereotypical English gentleman, complete with [[Savile Row tailoring|Savile Row]] suit, [[bowler hat]] and umbrella, with clothes later designed by [[Pierre Cardin]]. (Steed had first donned bowler and carried his distinctive umbrella during the first series, as "The Frighteners" depicts.) The bowler and umbrella were soon revealed to be full of tricks, including a sword hidden within the umbrella handle and a steel plate concealed in the hat. These items were referred to in the French, German and Polish titles of the series, ''Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir'' ("Bowler hat and leather boots"), ''Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone'' ("With Umbrella, Charm and Bowler Hat") and ''Rewolwer i melonik'' ("A Revolver and a Bowler Hat"), respectively. With his impeccable manners, old-world sophistication and vintage car, Steed came to represent the traditional Englishman of an earlier era.

By contrast, Steed's partners were youthful, forward-looking and always attired in the latest mod fashions. Catherine Gale's innovative leather outfits suited her many athletic fight scenes. Honor Blackman became a star in Britain with her black leather outfits and boots (nicknamed "[[boot fetishism|kinky boots]]") and her judo-based fighting style. Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman even released a novelty song called "[[Kinky Boots (song)|Kinky Boots]]". Honor Blackman also carried a pistol in "Killer Whale". Some of the clothes seen in ''The Avengers'' were designed at the studio of [[John Sutcliffe (designer)|John Sutcliffe]], who published the ''[[AtomAge]]'' [[fetish magazine]].

Series scriptwriter Dennis Spooner said that the series would frequently feature Steed visiting busy public places such as the main airport in London without anyone else present in the scene: "'Can't you afford extras?' they'd ask. Well, it wasn't like that. It's just that Steed had to be alone to be accepted. Put him in a crowd and he sticks out like a sore thumb! Let's face it, with normal people he's ''weird''. The trick to making him acceptable is never to show him in a normal world, just fighting villains who are odder than he is!"<ref name="PeelJohnEmmaLastYearp46" />

===Series 4–5 (1965–1967)===
The show was sold to the [[American Broadcasting Company]] (ABC) in 1965, and ''The Avengers'' became one of the first British series to be aired on [[Prime time|prime-time]] US television. The US ABC network paid the then-unheard-of sum of $2 million for the first 26 episodes. The average budget for each episode was reportedly £56,000, which was high for the British industry. The fourth series aired in the US from March to the beginning of September 1966. Each episode still finished with the logo of ABC Weekend TV.

The US deal meant that the producers could afford to start shooting the series on [[35 mm movie film|35mm film]], with production transferring from ABC's [[Teddington Studios|television studios in Teddington]] to the [[Associated British Studios|Associated British film studios]] in Elstree. The use of film, rather than the videotape of the earlier episodes, was essential, because British 405-line video was technically incompatible with the US [[NTSC]] videotape format. Filmed productions were standard on US prime-time television at the time. ''The Avengers'' continued to be produced in black-and-white.

The transfer to film meant that episodes would be shot using the [[single-camera setup]], giving the production greater flexibility. The use of film production and the single-camera production style allowed more sophisticated visuals and camera angles, and more outdoor location shots, all of which greatly improved the look of the series. As was standard on British television filmed production through the 1960s, all location work on Series 4 was shot mute, with the soundtrack created in post-production. Dialogue scenes were filmed in the studio, leading to some jumps between location and studio footage.

[[File:Emma-Peel Avengers-Intro.jpg|thumb|left|227px|Diana Rigg as Mrs [[Emma Peel]]]]
New female partner Mrs. [[Emma Peel]] ([[Diana Rigg]]) debuted in October 1965. The name of the character derived from a comment by writers, during development, that they wanted a character with "man appeal". In an early attempt to incorporate this concept into the character's name, she was called "Samantha Peel", shortened to the awkward "Mantha Peel". Eventually, the writers began referring to the idea by the verbal shorthand "M. Appeal", which gave rise to the character's ultimate name.<ref>{{cite book
|title=The Complete Avengers: The Full Story of Britain's Smash Crime-Fighting Team!
|author=Dave Rogers
|publisher=Boxtree Ltd
|date=1989
|page=87
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KSNQpAU5z80C&pg=PA87
|isbn=9780312031879
}}</ref>

After more than 60 actresses had been auditioned, the first choice to play the role was [[Elizabeth Shepherd]]. However, after filming one and a half episodes (the pilot, "The Town of No Return", and part of "The Murder Market"), Elizabeth Shepherd was released. Her on-screen personality was deemed less interesting than that of Honor Blackman's Catherine Gale, and it was decided that she was not right for the role. Another 20 actresses were auditioned before the show's casting director, [[Dodo Watts]], suggested that producers [[Brian Clemens]] and [[Albert Fennell]] check out a televised drama featuring the relatively unknown Diana Rigg. (She had earlier guested in an episode of ''[[The Sentimental Agent]]'' that Brian Clemens had written.) Diana Rigg's screen test with Patrick Macnee showed that the two immediately worked well together.

A prologue was added to the beginning of all the fourth-series episodes for the American broadcasts. This was to clarify some initial confusion audiences had regarding the characters and their mission. In the opener, a waiter holding a champagne bottle falls dead onto a human-sized chessboard, a dagger protruding from a target on his back. Steed and Mrs. Emma Peel (dressed in her trademark leather catsuit) walk up to the body as the voice-over explains: "Extraordinary crimes against the people, and the state, have to be avenged by agents extraordinary. Two such people are John Steed, top professional, and his partner Emma Peel, talented amateur. Otherwise known as The Avengers". During this voice-over, Steed pours two drinks from the wine bottle and Mrs. Peel replaces her gun in her boot. They clink glasses and depart together as the screen fades to black and the opening titles begin.

[[File:Avengersplate.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Film location plate presented by ABC Weekend TV to the [[Stapleford Miniature Railway]], which is still in use today]]
In contrast to the Gale episodes, there is a lighter, comic touch in Steed's and Mrs. Emma Peel's interactions with each other and their reactions to other characters and situations. Earlier series had a harder tone, with the Gale era including some quite serious espionage dramas. This almost completely disappeared as Steed and Mrs. Emma Peel visibly enjoy topping each other's witticisms. The layer of conflict with Catherine Gale—who on occasion openly resented being used by Steed, often without her permission—is absent from Steed's interaction with Emma Peel. Also, the sexual tension between Steed and Catherine Gale is quite different from the tension between Steed and Emma Peel. In both cases, the exact relationship between the partners is left ambiguous, although they seemed to have ''carte blanche'' to visit each other's homes whenever they please, and it is not uncommon for scenes to suggest that Steed had spent the night at Catherine Gale's or Emma Peel's home, or vice versa. Although nothing "improper" is displayed, the close chemistry between Steed and Mrs. Emma Peel constantly suggests intimacy between the two.

[[Science fiction]] and [[fantasy]] elements (a style later known as [[Spy-Fi (subgenre)|Spy-Fi]]) also began to emerge in storylines. The duo encounters killer robots ("The Cybernauts"), telepaths ("Too Many Christmas Trees") and giant alien carnivorous plants ("The Man-Eater of Surrey Green").

In her fourth episode, "Death at Bargain Prices," Mrs. Emma Peel takes an undercover job at a department store. Her uniform for promoting space-age toys is an elaborate leather [[catsuit]] plus silver boots, sash and welder's gloves. The suit (minus the silver accessories) became her signature outfit, which she wore primarily for fight scenes in early episodes and in the titles. Some episodes contain a [[fetish fashion|fetishistic]] undercurrent. In "[[A Touch of Brimstone]]", Mrs. Peel dresses in a [[dominatrix]] outfit of corset, laced boots and spiked collar to become the "Queen of Sin".

[[File:1965 John Bates for Jean Varon mindress 01.jpg|thumb|left|upright|John Bates minidress, 1965. Based on a design for Emma Peel in ''The Avengers''.<ref name=bates38/>]]
Emma Peel's avant-garde fashions, featuring bold accents and high-contrast geometric patterns, emphasise her youthful, contemporary personality. For the 1965 season, some of her most memorable outfits were designed by [[John Bates (designer)|John Bates]], including graphic black-and-white [[Op art]] mini-coats and accessories, and a silver ensemble comprising a bra bodice, low-slung trousers and jacket.<ref name=bates38>{{cite book |last1=Lester |first1=Richard |title=John Bates : fashion designer |date=2008 |publisher=ACC Editions |location=Woodbridge, Suffolk |isbn=9781851495702 |pages=38, 43}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110107204028/http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/fashion/object_stories/marit_allen/index.html Garments worn by Marit Allen] at the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]], London. Accessed 15 March 2010</ref> She represents [[Swinging Sixties|the modern England of the Sixties]]&nbsp;– just as Steed, with his vintage style and mannerisms, personifies Edwardian-era nostalgia. According to Patrick Macnee in his book ''The Avengers and Me,'' Diana Rigg disliked wearing leather and insisted on a new line of fabric athletic wear for the fifth series. Alun Hughes, who had designed clothing for Diana Rigg's personal wardrobe, was suggested by the actress to design Emma Peel's "softer" new wardrobe. [[Pierre Cardin]] was brought in to design a new wardrobe for Macnee. In the US, ''[[TV Guide]]'' ran a four-page photo spread on Diana Rigg's new "Emmapeeler" outfits (10–16 June 1967). Eight tight-fitting jumpsuits were created, in a variety of bright colours and made of the stretch fabric [[crimplene]].

====Move to colour====
After one filmed series (of 26 episodes) in black and white, ''The Avengers'' began filming in colour for the fifth series in 1966. It was three years before Britain's ITV network began full colour broadcasting. The first 16 episodes of this series were broadcast concurrently in the US, in colour, and the UK, in black and white, from January to May 1967. Eight further episodes were broadcast in the UK beginning in late September, while these episodes were withheld in the US until early 1968, where they would be immediately succeeded by the first batch of episodes featuring Diana Rigg's replacement, [[Linda Thorson]]. The American prologue of the fourth series was modified for the colour episodes. The show opened with the caption ''The Avengers in Color'' (required by the US [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] for colour series at that time), followed by Steed unwrapping the foil from a [[Champagne|champagne bottle]] and Emma Peel shooting the cork away. Unlike the "chessboard" opening of the previous series, this new prologue had no narrative voice-over, and the scene was also included in UK broadcasts of the series. At the end of the closing credits, all previous series had ended with the ABC Weekend TV logo, but the fifth and sixth series — now made by ABC's sister company A.B.C. Television Films — instead featured an animation where the letters "ABC" were revealed to stand for "Associated British Corporation", a name apparently invented for ABC shows exported to the US to avoid confusion with the US ABC network.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beaumont |first1=Ian |title=The Avengers |url=http://abcatlarge.co.uk/the-avengers-2/ |website=ABC at large |date=11 January 2001 |publisher=Transdiffusion Broadcasting System |access-date=16 May 2022}}</ref> (The legal name of ABC Weekend TV was originally "Associated British Cinemas (Television) Ltd",<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sendall |first1=Bernard |title=Independent Television: Present and future policy on development |journal=[[Kinematograph Weekly]] |date=29 September 1955 |volume=462 |issue=2518 |page=xi |url=https://www.transdiffusion.org/2022/02/14/independent-television-present-and-future-policy-on-development |access-date=17 May 2022 |series=Studio Review |publisher=Odhams |issn=0023-155X |oclc=1127175701}}</ref> later shortened to "A.B.C. Television Ltd".)

The first 16 episodes of the fifth series begin with Emma Peel receiving a call-to-duty message from Steed: "Mrs. Peel, we're needed". Emma Peel would be conducting her normal activities when she unexpectedly received a message on a calling card or within a delivered gift, at which point Steed suddenly appeared (usually in her apartment). 
The series also introduced a comic [[tagline]] caption to the episode title, using the format of "Steed [does this], Emma [does that]". For example, "The Joker" had the opening caption: "Steed trumps an ace, Emma plays a lone hand". "The Joker" was to a large extent a rewrite of "Don't Look Behind You", a black-and-white Cathy Gale episode. Three other colour Emma Peel episodes were rewrites of Cathy Gale episodes.

The "Mrs Peel, we're needed" scenes and the alternate taglines were dropped after the first 16 episodes, after a break in production, for financial reasons. They were deemed by the UK networks as disposable if ''The Avengers'' was to return to ITV screens (Dave Rogers' book ''The Avengers Anew'' lists a set for every Steed/Emma Peel episode except "The Forget-Me-Knot").

Stories were increasingly characterised by a futuristic, science-fiction bent, with [[mad scientists]] and their creations wreaking havoc. The duo dealt with being shrunk to doll size ("Mission... Highly Improbable"), pet cats being electrically altered to become ferocious and lethal "miniature tigers" ("The Hidden Tiger"), killer automata ("Return of The Cybernauts"), mind-transferring machines ("Who's Who???") and invisible foes ("The See-Through Man").

The series parodied its American contemporaries with episodes such as "The Girl From AUNTIE", "Mission... Highly Improbable" and "The Winged Avenger" (spoofing ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'', ''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission: Impossible]]'' and ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'', respectively). The show still carried the basic format: Steed and his associate were charged with solving the problem in the space of a 50-minute episode, thus preserving the safety of 1960s Britain.

Humour was evident in the names and acronyms of the organisations. For example, in "The Living Dead," two rival groups examine reported ghost sightings: FOG (Friends of Ghosts) and SMOG (Scientific Measurement of Ghosts). "The Hidden Tiger" features the Philanthropic Union for Rescue, Relief and Recuperation of Cats—PURRR—led by characters named Cheshire, Manx and Angora.

The series also occasionally adopted a [[metafiction]]al tone, coming close to breaking the [[fourth wall]]. In the Series 5 episode "Something Nasty in the Nursery", Emma Peel directly refers to the series' storytelling convention of having potentially helpful sources of information killed off just before she or Steed arrive. This then occurs a few minutes later. In the tag scene for the same episode, Steed and Emma Peel tell viewers—indirectly—to tune in next week.

Diana Rigg's stunt double was stuntwoman Cyd Child, though stuntman Peter Elliot doubled for Diana Rigg in a stunt dive in "The Bird Who Knew Too Much".

====Diana Rigg's departure====
Diana Rigg was initially unhappy with the way she was treated by the show's producers. During her first series, she learned that she was being paid less than the cameraman. She demanded a raise to put her more on a par with her co-star, or she would leave the show. The producers gave in, thanks to the show's great popularity in the US.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tracy|first=Kathleen|title=Diana Rigg: The Biography|publisher=BenBella Books|year=2004|page=83|isbn=1-932100-27-X}}</ref> At the end of the fifth series in 1967, Diana Rigg left to pursue other projects. This included following Honor Blackman to play a leading role in a James Bond film, ''[[On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)|On Her Majesty's Secret Service]]'', as James Bond's wife [[Tracy Bond]].

On 25 October 2015, to mark 50 years of Emma Peel, the BFI ([[British Film Institute]]) screened an episode of ''The Avengers'' followed by an onstage interview with Diana Rigg, during which she discussed her reasons for leaving the show and Patrick Macnee's reaction to her departure.<ref>[http://artandhue.com/bfi/ BFI Interview with Dame Diana Rigg] Retrieved 18 February 2016.</ref> Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg remained lifelong friends.

===Series 6 (1968–1969)===
[[File:Patrick MacNee Linda Thorson 1968.JPG|thumb|200px|Macnee and [[Linda Thorson]]]]
When Diana Rigg left the series in October 1967, the British network executives decided that the current series formula, despite resulting in popular success, could not be pursued further. Thus, they decided that a "return to realism" was appropriate for the sixth series (1968–69). Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell were replaced by [[John Bryce (producer)|John Bryce]], producer of most of the Cathy Gale-era episodes.

John Bryce had a difficult situation to handle. He had to find a replacement for Diana Rigg and shoot the first seven episodes of the new series, which were supposed to be shipped to the US together with the last eight Emma Peel colour episodes. Bryce signed his then-girlfriend, 20-year-old newcomer Linda Thorson, as the new female co-star and chose the name Tara King for her character. Linda Thorson played the role with more innocence in mind and at heart, and unlike the previous partnerships with Cathy Gale and Emma Peel, the writers allowed subtle hints of romance to blossom between Steed and Tara King. Tara King also differed from Steed's previous partners in that she was a fully fledged (albeit initially inexperienced) agent working for Steed's organisation; his previous partners had all been (in the words of the prologue used for American broadcasts of the first Rigg series) talented amateurs. Bryce wanted Tara to be blonde, so Linda Thorson's brown hair was [[Hair coloring#Hair lighteners and bleaches|bleached]]. However, the process badly damaged Linda Thorson's hair, so she had to wear wigs for the first third of her episodes, until her own hair grew back. Her natural brown hair was not seen until the episode, "All Done with Mirrors."

Production of the first seven episodes of the sixth series began, but the financial problems and internal difficulties undermined John Bryce's effort. He only managed to complete three episodes: "Invitation to a Killing" (a 90-minute episode introducing Tara King), "The Great, Great Britain Crime" (some of its original footage was reused in the 1969 episode "Homicide and Old Lace"), and "Invasion of the Earthmen" (which survived relatively intact except for the scenes in which Tara wears a brown wig).

After a [[rough cut]] screening of these episodes to studio executives, John Bryce was fired and Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell were summoned back. At their return, a fourth episode called "The Murderous Connection" was in its second day of production. After revising the script, it was renamed as "The Curious Case of the Countless Clues" and production resumed. Production of the episode "Split!", a leftover script from the Emma Peel colour series, proceeded. Two completely new episodes were also shot: "Get-A-Way", and "Look (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers".

Dennis Spooner said of the event:{{blockquote|Brian left ''The Avengers'' for about three episodes, someone took over, and when Brian came back, it was in a terrible state. He was faced with doing a rewrite on a film they'd already shot. The episode had a story error where Steed leaves for a destination. The villains then realise this and pursue him&nbsp;– yet arrive there before Steed does. It was fixed by having a character ask Steed 'What took you so long?', to which he replies 'I came the pretty way'. "You can only do that on ''The Avengers'' you see. It was just my favourite show to work on.<ref name="PeelJohnEmmaLastYearp47-8">Peel, John. "Dennis Spooner Interview". ''The Avengers Files: Emma's Last Year''. Psi Fi Movie Press, Inc. Canoga Park, CA, 1985, p 47-8.</ref>}}

Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell decided to film a new episode to introduce Tara King. This, the third episode filmed for the sixth series, was titled "[[The Forget-Me-Knot]]" and bade farewell to Emma Peel and introduced her successor, a trained but inexperienced agent named Tara King. It would be broadcast as the first episode of the sixth series. Tara debuts in dynamic style: when Steed is called to Headquarters, he is attacked and knocked down by trainee agent Tara King, who mistakes him for her training partner.

No farewell scenes for Emma Peel had been shot when Diana Rigg left the series. She was recalled for "The Forget-Me-Knot", through which Emma acts as Steed's partner as usual. Diana Rigg also filmed a farewell scene for Emma that appeared as the tag scene of the episode. It was explained that Emma's husband, Peter Peel, was found alive and rescued, and she left the [[Secret Intelligence Service|British secret service]] to be with him. Emma visits Steed to say goodbye, and while leaving she passes Tara on the stairway giving the advice that "he likes his tea stirred anti-clockwise". Steed looks out of the window as a departing Emma enters the Bentley driven by Peter, who from a distance seems to resemble Steed (and was played by Steed's regular stunt double, with bowler hat and umbrella).

John Bryce's original episode introducing Tara, "Invitation to a Killing", was revised as a regular 60-minute episode named "Have Guns Will Haggle". These episodes, together with "Invasion of the Earthmen" and the last eight Emma Peel colour episodes, were shipped to the US in February 1968.

For this series the government official who gave Steed his orders was depicted on screen. [[Mother (The Avengers)|Mother]], introduced in "The Forget-Me-Knot," is a man in a wheelchair. The role was taken by [[Patrick Newell]], who had played different roles in two earlier episodes, most recently in Series 5. Mother's headquarters would shift from place to place, including one episode in which his complete office was on the top level of a [[double-decker bus]]. Several [[James Bond]] films of the 1970s would make use of a similar gimmick for Bond's briefings.

Added later as a regular was Mother's mute Amazonian assistant, Rhonda, played by uncredited actress Rhonda Parker. There was one appearance by an agency official code-named "Father", a blind older woman played by Iris Russell. (Iris Russell had appeared in the series several times previously in other roles.) In one episode, "Killer", Steed is paired with Lady Diana Forbes Blakeney ([[Jennifer Croxton]]) while King is on holiday.

Scriptwriter Dennis Spooner later reflected: "When I wrote 'Look (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers', that was definitely the last series. They were going to make no more, so in that series we went right over the top; we went ''really'' weird, because they knew there weren't going to be any more".<ref name="PeelJohnEmmaLastYearp47">Peel, John. "Dennis Spooner Interview". ''The Avengers Files: Emma's Last Year''. Psi Fi Movie Press, Inc. Canoga Park, CA, 1985, p 47.</ref>

Dennis Spooner said the series "worked because it became a parody on itself, almost. You can only do that so long." He attributes the overall success of the show to its light approach: "We spoofed everything; we took ''Mission: Impossible'', ''[[Bad Day at Black Rock]]'', ''[[High Noon]]'', ''[[The Dirty Dozen]]'', ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]''... we took them all. The film buffs used to love it. There were always lines in it that people knew what we were talking about".<ref name="PeelJohnEmmaLastYearp47" />

The revised series continued to be broadcast in the US. The episodes with Linda Thorson as Tara King proved to be highly rated in Europe and the UK. However, in the US, the ABC network chose to air it opposite the number-one show in the country at the time, ''[[Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In]]''. Steed and Tara King could not compete, and the show was cancelled in the US. Without this vital commercial backing, production could not continue in Britain either, and the series ended in May 1969. The final scene of the final episode ("Bizarre") has Steed and Tara King, [[Champagne (wine)|champagne]] glasses in hand, accidentally launching themselves into orbit aboard a rocket, as Mother breaks the [[fourth wall]] and says to the audience "They'll be back!", before adding in shock "They're unchaperoned up there!"