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The Avengers Return - Steed and Peel are back

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Ginandtonic

Ginandtonic

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A preview of a new mini series is being made in a bid to bring the Avengers back to the small screen.

''It is a contemporary update of the original series 'The Avengers'. The new series will feature the characters of John Steed and Emma Peel working together, and will also see the return of 'Mother'. There will also be glimpses of previous partners in some episodes.''

Below is the link to the website, which has links to the facebook and twitter feed.

http://www.ginandtonicproductions.co.uk/theavengersreturn.html
 
They should drop "Mother". The character played a very minor role in the Steed/Peel era and was more to fill in because Linda Thorston's character wasn't working well so they need to pad things out.
 
Let's not get our hopes up. This is apparently a small production company that's only made short films to date, and this project is only "in development," which is several steps away from actually getting produced. The majority of "in development" projects never get out of development.
 
Maybe a small company, but it's got a few aces up its sleeve, and this adapatation is already out of development, and into pre-production, following a very carefully planned schedule to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the original series.

Don't knock it yet. As some of the fans have put it on other forums, 'Sit back relax and judge it when it's released'.

This is just the starting block to bring a mini series of The Avengers back to the small screen.

The 8 minute preview that is being worked on will be a taster of what's to be expected from this new series. This will be released online to see how old and new fans respond to it before the pitch is placed to Canal Plus.

A pilot episode will be produced, and all things being well we hope this will be followed by 3 episodes.

Information is on a slow release, one of the reasons for this is that with the 98' film still fresh in people's minds, there is even more pressure to get it right this time. This becomes a very slow and painful process and to quote a fan's post last week -

''What a delicate balancing act you are undertaking:
It needs to...
be funny, but without being Austin Powers.
be faithful to the original, but with values that will appeal to a modern audience.
be set in the modern day, but with a healthy sixties aesthetic.
be cool, but intelligent.
have a genuine rapport between the two leads, without resorting to smut.
appeal to fans of the original series', but to bring millions of viewers on-board who have never watched an old episode.
have a healthy dose of surrealism, but not so as to confuse.
have gadgets!
and a red phone box!
and a Lotus! And a Bentley!
NOT be the '98 movie, The New Avengers, Spooks... ''

:) One of my favourite posts so far but so indicative of the mammoth task ahead.
 
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Why was the thread moved here?

Can I point out this is neither a fan production, nor related to Star Trek, but a professional pitch to make mini TV-series with a professional cast and crew, to revive the The Avengers TV series, much the same way Sherlock Holmes was revived on BBC television earlier this year.

Perhaps TV and Media would have been more appropriate?
 
Can a moderator please respond to our question, as this thread has been moved to an unsuitable category without any explanation.

We started the thread in Science Fiction and Fantasy, as it appeared any news feeds regarding films and TV shows that were not Star Trek related, were going there.

This was a thread pertaining to the news that a professional production was beginning on a pilot episode to revive 'The Avengers' TV series, in a similar format to the 'Sherlock' series of this year, as 3-4 episode mini series.

This isn't a fan production, the preview maybe released online but the actual episodes will be pitched for television.

Regards

G&T
 
I don't want to speak for the moderator, but the title of this section is "Fan Productions" and has occasionally featured information on independent productions of other sci-fi shows, which I think makes room for "The Avengers." I know in my reviews in the Fan Film Friday thread, I do several Trek features but I've also dabbled into fan films of Doctor Who, Quantum Leap and other series.

And to be honest, I was happy to hear that someone is making an homage to the Avengers with the hope that it will be better than that awful movie with Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman made a few years ago.
 
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The tribute episode airs online on March 18th.

As to when and where the actual new 'TV' episodes air, depends on whether CANAL+ is interested in the pitch to revive the show.
 
Pardon my asking, but does this group actually have the rights to do this? Or does Canal+? Because if the TV and/or web rights have been granted to any other group this cannot happen as a commercial venture.
 
I don't want to be picky but does anyone actually read the website, it clearly states we're in the process of approaching CANAL+ to licence an official pilot episode.

What we're making currently is a tribute (10 minute) webisode that is non-commercial, and non-profit, which will be part of the pitch taken to CANAL+.

We do know what we're doing; sorry to snap everyone, but spent nearly 5 months explaining this over and over again despite the website being very clear of our intentions, and illustrating that we're not infringing the copyright.
 
^^^Pardon my saying so, but that information isn't exactly up-front. It's in your FAQ, and also appears to be only on the page SUBJECT: <FILE/CLASSIFIED> TRIBUTE AND PROPOSED EPISODES, which I only found by Googling "canal site:www.ginandtonicproductions.co.uk". I can't find a link to that page otherwise.

Expecting people to burrow through a website for basic information like "is this official or not" isn't exactly "being very clear of [your] intentions". That information should be on the ABOUT page.
 
Help us reach 1000 followers before we release 2 new exclusive clips of 'The Avengers Return'.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-A...7#!/pages/The-Avengers-Return/169396586408777


227211_223888624292906_169396586408777_1072114_2683695_n.jpg
 
We've had a number of production difficulties to work through which meant we missed our deadline... however this was probably for the best as we eventually recast the role of Mrs Peel, which appears to have met with better response with the fans, so the delays may have played to our advantage.

Co-incidently, prior to the original deadline, we managed to speak with Brian Clemens from the original Avengers, who oddly enough advised us not to rush it.

All of the production difficulties have now been resolved, many of these were associated with the shooting locations.

Despite the delay interest has picked up in the tribute, and is building, which is just what we need.

Of note it's ironic that 'The Avengers Return had to recast Emma Peel, not unlike it's predecessor which recast Elizabeth Shepherd with Diana Rigg.

The trouble with this project is we need to ensure the end result is right the first time, as delving into an Avengers revival is like stepping on egg shells, so you make it carefully.

We have two video clips due for release in about two weeks, prior to the tribute, which will give everyone their first glimpse of the new Steed and Mrs Peel.
 
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