The Avengers (TV Series) - Reception in North America

Reception in North America

Although kinescopes of the second and third series were seen in Canada as early as 1965, the first three series of The Avengers were not broadcast on television in the United States. These series were shot in the studio on 405-line video using a multicamera setup. Episodes were often performed live to tape on the day they were to be transmitted and there was little provision for retakes. Seven episodes of the first series were actually performed live. With few retakes, these early episodes were fraught with technical errors. The episode "Immortal Clay" features a visible camera shake. In "School for Traitors" Julie Stevens stumbles over her dialogue when introducing Steed to someone, prompting Macnee to ad lib a joke to cover the error.

In contrast 1960s US prime time drama television productions were shot on film using the single camera method. Retakes allowed obvious errors to be corrected in these productions. As they were originated on film, the editing techniques were far superior to those available for 405-line videotape. The 1965 sale of The Avengers to United States television prompted a change in production style to the single camera shooting method, originated on 35 mm film.

The more relaxed standards of British media would have required some moments to be censored in the U.S. In "Mr Teddy Bear" Steed strips down to his underwear for decontamination. In "Death Dispatch" Gale is seen wearing a black-lace brassiere.

The series' stunt man and stunt arranger Ray Austin expressed the opinion that the show's violence ultimately harmed its popular success in the United States. There The Avengers was given a late timeslot due to its violence. "They did that with the first Avengers here, with Diana Rigg. They put us on at 11.30 pm on CBS, because it was too violent." Austin goes on to explain that U.S. television follows a "different code". Austin said that on The Avengers "we were determined to do the show our way, the English way, and no one was going to stop us! And, indeed, no one did stop us. We never, never got to prime time. And it was our own faults, because we would not comply to the Midwest. That's where the money comes from in this country, nowhere else. Forget Los Angeles, forget New York — you have to aim for the Midwest. If the Midwest watches your show, you've made it." In fact the first and second series of Emma Peel episodes mainly aired at 10.00 pm on ABC. The final Rigg episodes and all the Linda Thorson episodes mainly ran at 7.30 pm, also on ABC.

American censors objected to some content, in particular the episode "A Touch of Brimstone" which featured a modern day version of the Hellfire Club and climaxed with Emma being dressed in a skimpy corset costume with spiked collar and high heel boots to become the Queen of Sin, and being attacked with a whip by guest star Peter Wyngarde. The American broadcast network refused to air it. In total five episodes from the first Emma Peel series were not initially broadcast by ABC. These were: "A Surfeit of H2O", "Silent Dust" (which featured Emma being attacked with a horsewhip), "Quick-Quick Slow Death", "A Touch of Brimstone" and "Honey for the Prince" (in which Emma performed the dance of the seven veils), although they were seen in later syndicated repeats.

Earlier Cathy Gale and Venus Smith episodes had aired in Canada before the arrival of Mrs. Peel. U.S. audiences saw the 1962-1964 Gale and Smith episodes of the series for the first time in the early 1990s when they were broadcast on the A&E Network. No Keel episode of the series repeatedly was ever broadcast outside Britain, and even in the UK, only an episode "The Frighteners" (as part of a run of classic episodes on Channel 4 in early 1993, otherwise mostly consisting of Gale episodes).