The Avengers: Season 5 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The Avengers: Season 5 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 11, 2014

When The Avengers started being broadcast in the United States in the mid-sixties, many viewers probably assumed it was just the latest in the so-called spy craze that had arisen in the wake of the phenomenal success of the James Bond franchise, but the fact is The Avengers had debuted on British television in 1961, many months before the first James Bond feature film, Dr. No, showed up in theaters in October 1962 (The Avengers was actually well into its second season, or “series” as the Brits call it, by that time). While it may seem odd that the first domestic Blu-ray release of this beloved series should be the show’s fifth season, there are a number of reasons for it, including incompatibility between British videotaping protocols and American NTSC standards for the first several seasons, not to mention the fact that evidently many of the first couple of years’ episodes are no longer extant. When The Avengers entered into its then incredibly lucrative licensing deal with ABC, the series started filming its episodes, but even then the show was still being done in black and white. This fifth season was the series’ first foray into color, proudly announced in a pre-credits title card for what was then in the United States the new standard for television series. This season also marked the show’s foray into a somewhat cheekier style that included more frankly whimsical elements than had been featured in earlier seasons, and perhaps not so coincidentally, this season was an unqualified success on both sides of the Atlantic, raising the pop cultural profiles of natty agent John Steed (Patrick Macnee) and his “talented amateur” sidekick, the extremely elegant Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), to new heights.

Truth be told, The Avengers is one of those well remembered shows whose excellence may frankly reside more in memory than in reality. At this point the general zeitgeist of television’s spies was moving away from (relative) realism into more camp territory, as a result of the overwhelming success of The Avengers’ ABC sibling Batman. With The Avengers having already exploited a somewhat whimsical quality to begin with, that left little additional room for building traditional suspense or making any episode’s villain much more than that week’s cartoon figure.

The Avengers had developed its style completely by this point, and this season’s episodes never stray very far from the formula. In the opening several episodes, Mrs. Peel receives an “invitation” of sorts from Steed, informing her that the pair is needed. Usually the cases are patently outlandish, featuring a lot of gimmicky quasi-science fiction or fantasy elements. Typically Steed and Mrs. Peel go their separate ways on separate tracks in their investigation, something that just as typically temporarily puts Emma in danger, so that Steed can burst in at the last minute to save her. There are certainly exceptions to this general rule, but this is a template that The Avengers follows almost absolutely through these episodes.

The charm here is in the interplay between Steed and Mrs. Peel, and in that regard, The Avengers provides panache and a fair degree of wit at times (at least for mid to late sixties episodic television). Macnee’s elegantly patrician but still accessible demeanor makes Steed the very model of a modern undercover agent, and Rigg’s ineffable glamour and poise, not to mention her occasional martial arts moves, make Emma a force to be reckoned with. The fashions of the show of course became one of its true calling cards, and Steed’s natty suits and bowler hats, and Emma’s succession of form fitting pantsuits create a very mod ambience for the show that places it securely in the Flower Power era.

The Avengers never pretended to be anything more than lightweight entertainment, and it certainly succeeds in that regard. There’s a playfulness to most of the episodes that suggests everyone was in on how patently absurd most of the stories were. While there’s never really any sense of danger or even much suspense as to who the bad guys (and/or gals) are, The Avengers coasts rather amiably on a really inordinate amount of charm. It’s not every secret agent who can disarm a nasty villain with an umbrella (and a quip).

The Avengers: Season 5 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Avengers: Season Five is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.34:1. There's been quite a bit of internet dialogue (meaning of course controversy) about this release since Lionsgate has offered 25 episodes spread across only three dual layer Blu-ray discs. This has been deemed especially problematic given the fact that other regions are evidently going to be getting Blu-ray releases of the series spread across several more discs than merely three. There's no denying that bitrates on these three discs are fairly anemic, even by episodic television standards, tending to reside fairly comfortably in the 10 - 20 Mbps range, with more streaming toward the low to middle area of that range. That said, it's important to remember there are black pillar boxes on all episodes and that this single camera series never really exploited a lot of fancy camera moves or even over the top action that might require more bandwidth. From a color perspective, this release is fantastically vivid most of the time, with deeply saturated hues that are for the most part very accurate and lifelike looking. There are a couple of exceptions, with one or two episodes looking slightly yellow when compared to the rest, but for the most part, it's probably the color that will most impress longtime fans of the series. Clarity and sharpness are very good, but detail is somewhat mitigated perhaps due in part to bitrates, but probably at least as much due to apparent high frequency filtering that has smoothed the image out. There is grain in this presentation, but it's rather light and not especially organic looking. Coupled with this issue are occasional signs of digital sharpening which can add slight but observable halos to objects. This is certainly a more than watchable release, and from a color saturation perspective at least is miles ahead of previous DVD versions. The digital manipulation and low bitrates may prove to be bugaboos for at least some videophiles, and so a thorough parsing of the screenshots accompanying this review is recommended, especially for wary potential consumers.

The Avengers: Season 5 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Perhaps in an effort to stuff as much content as possible on three discs, Lionsgate has included only lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 audio on all these episodes, certainly a letdown for those who would have preferred not only lossless audio, but a rendering of the series' original mono soundtrack. The episodes all have a slight but noticeable pitch raise (whether or not this is so-called PAL speed-up is unclear), resulting in just a little less than a semitone (half step) rise in pitch, so that Laurie Johnson's inimitable opening theme is no longer in C, but close to C#. This is not a deal killer (or at least it wasn't for me), as voices sound reasonably realistic (the speed up rate is evidently around 4%, which for normal dialogue won't make anyone sound like the latest member of The Chipmunks). The biggest issue here is in the 5.1 rendering, which creates a quasi-phased quality at times, especially with regard to the music. Surround activity is spotty at best, with isolated sound effects occasionally popping out of side or rear channels, but with dialogue resolutely anchored forward. Dialogue is clear, and Johnson's wonderful score sounds bright as well. The ironic thing is, there actually was at least a little room on all three discs. The first two are at around 39.6 GB, while the third (which has one extra episode) is about 44.5 GB. Audiophiles (and indeed videophiles) will probably wonder what adding even one more disc to this set could have provided in terms of at least lossless audio, if not manifestly better video.

The Avengers: Season 5 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements on any of the three discs in this set.

The Avengers: Season 5 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Avengers may not offer much in the way of actual thrills, but it's resolutely entertaining, due in no small part to the obvious camaraderie between Macnee and Rigg. Watching an entire season at one time makes it more than abundantly clear how formulaic the show tended to be, but it has a rather high degree of wit and an obvious sense of style that helps it to overcome its inherent shortcomings. There are issues with both the video and audio here that may present insurmountable problems for some fans. I personally found nothing to be an absolute deal killer, but at the same time it's apparent this is a less than perfect release. With caveats duly noted, The Avengers comes Recommended.