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===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 – 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.
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