I used to love THE AVENGERS,the EMMA PEEL era episodes were repeated often when I was a kid but when they were shown again in the 1990s I did not like them so much,too many episodes have similar plots,
But the best episodes are great so I will buy the PEEL era episodes.
But what about the CATHY GALE era?
Some of these were shown on the BBC a few years ago and seemed to be filmed with a tiny budget in a tiny studio.
You really must give a chance to the Cathy Gale episodes , to me they are actually superior to the Emma Peel ones in every possible way , of course it will be for you to judge .
BTW the fact that you pointed out the undisputable truth that too many Peel episodes were pretty much the same convinces me further that you have to try the Cathy Gale ones since every one of those is unique when it comes to the unpredictable solutions of the plots , the much wider gallery of enemies and their respective motivations and particularly the fact that the scripts are able to show just a single murder or mysterious event before the title appears and then go on without neeeding to repeat the same scene countless times for half the episode . Sure they are not always made out of the same old formula like the Peel ones are .
And of course Honor Blackman is the main reason to watch it . Cathy Gale is one of the most fantastic and important characters in tv history .
The eps were made with a small budget of course and every episode is basically shot just in a few rooms but that doesn't change much since the main focus in those years was on the clever dialogue , good acting and solidity of the stories and the magic of live television actually played a crucial role in building the right atmosphere and suspense . Also despite the low production values all the action sequences were actually superior due to Honor's ability at performing her convincing fight scenes and due to the fact that abysmal stunts arranger Ray Austin had yet to come on board .Also by the third season techniques had improved BTW and all the fight scenes were actually pre-recorded so to avoid any further possibility of having some televised goofs . And that actually coincided with the decision of the writers to make bigger and more climatic fight scenes a basic component to the show so that Honor could be allowed to display her athletic skills .
The combination of drama and brilliant humour is also at its best in season two and particularly season 3 IMO .
THEY ARE ALL WORTH WATCHING! (No one will read all of this--it's too long!)
Let me expand both pre- and post-Emma as well as during. I won't use season numbers because they change, depending on the source/sites you're referencing.
I also won't bother with "I think, I believe, In my opinion" phrases, since this is all my opinion.
Since this is all subjective, you may agree or totally disagree, and we're both correct!!!
Patrick Macnee was always present, so I'll just refer to his costars.
I can't say I liked one star more than another or one timeframe better than another; I liked them all. Each brought something unique to the series.
As a side note, a few years ago I watched all the episodes, in order--start to finish. That was the first time I'd seen most of them. Took a while to finish, but it was interesting and fun.
IAN HENDRY
In the beginning, there was Ian Hendry (he was the star, not Patrick). Only 2 1/3 of those episodes are known to exist (included in the Emma Peel megaset, at least in the US. They used to record the show, play it, erase the tape, and record the next one . . . thus, we're lucky to have even 2 1/3).
I would have enjoyed watching those. He had really good presence and was a good actor. The stories were probably average for that time period. Girl on the Trapeze would be my favorite episode (not that there's a lot to choose from).
HONOR BLACKMAN
Cathy Gale looked down on Steed, but that slowly changed to mutual respect and friendship across the episodes.
Honor didn't allow them to rewrite the Hendry scripts to accommodate a female. Speaking as a martial artist, some of those blows and throws must have hurt--Honor et al played it far more real than most.
There was quite a variety of story lines. There was a spectrum of good to bad writing, mostly on the good side. My favorite episode was "Brief for Murder" because it was clever. A few of the episodes started employing the offbeat, tongue-in-cheek (which became common with the last two stars), but did it sparingly.
I understand for that time period she was attractive. She certainly could have been hailed as a strong role model for women's rights and equality, which was an issue back then. They allowed her to be strong, equal, smart, and still be a woman (rather than make her weak, or make her "a man" to fit into "a man's" world).
The visual and audio quality of these are low (at least the ones we have access to here in the states). Also, they were basically filmed like a play--they started at the beginning and went to the end--no editing. Lots of mistakes and problems (like a fly sitting on the lens while they were filming.)
DIANA RIGG
Because the US started pouring money into the show during her association with it, these episodes were far more polished in terms of visual and audio quality.
The colored ones are the most commonly shown in the US. Rigg is most remembered because she was the star when they were originally broadcasted in the states.
They are all good. The genesis of these can be found in the Honor timeframe, but they hit their formula and stride with these. Initially they appeared to try to make Emma like Cathy--a mistake they fortunately realized they were making.
Cathy had a raw sexuality and rough edges, that accompanied her well controlled persona; Emma was eloquent, accepted her place as an equal to men without trying to prove it, and was above the average person without snobbery (by design).
My favorite was The Girl from Auntie, which did not have much of Rigg in it. It had the touch that carried the show, but at the same time was quite different. I really liked the actress' character and have wondered if they were considering her to replace Rigg, since Rigg did not like doing the show. We'll never know, but my vote would have been yes.
BTW, I hated the ludicrous fight scenes in these and in the Thorson timeframe.
LINDA THORSON
The best writing was done during this timeframe. Unfortunately, the worse character combination existed during this timeframe.
Historically we did not know who Steed worked for, if he was one of a kind or part of an organization, how assignments were picked, etc. Yes, there were some hints, but still the mystery was fundamentally held. Now we have Mother--a character I'd have happily done without (and his side-kick) and other "inside the organization" staff. The mystic was gone.
Why did they get someone much younger, never acted, wasn't British, and an agent instead of an associate that could walk away, have their own life, etc. and then, despite the age difference and being co-workers, they were romantically involved. (Dumb . . . stupid.)
Granted, Thorson rarely slipped with her accent, and she caught on fast, but it was an English show and there are plenty of good actors in England. (I lived there for a couple years, there's a playhouse in even the smallest of towns!) Having said that, I grew to like Tara quite a bit.
Linda was cute (I like cute), she wore short skirts (as a guy, you don't hear me complaining), and she was given good scripts. It wasn't until I watched through all the episodes that I even knew about this timeframe of The Avengers. (A show called Rowan and Martin killed everyone in ratings in their time slot: The Avengers being one of the shows they killed).
My favorite Thorson was False Witness.
Note that The Forget-Me-Knot episode is included in the Rigg set. As a transition, last of Rigg, and first of Thorson, they could have done better.
THE NEW AVENGERS
This was in the 70s with one episode in the Rigg set (it had her in it--cut from when she did The Avengers. It was also part 1 of 2, interesting marketing?). I watched the second part later.
Although I liked the actors, and even the characters for the most part, the magic of The Avengers was gone and could never be resurrected, especially in the 70s.
THE AVENGERS (movie)
Don't even get me started. Let's all pretend it never happened (it disappeared so fast, maybe it never really did happen!).
THE END
No one will read something this long, but it'll be interesting to see counter opinions.
Just watch them all and enjoy.
Cathy Gale looked down on Steed, but that slowly changed to mutual respect and friendship across the episodes.
Emma was eloquent, accepted her place as an equal to men without trying to prove it, and was above the average person without snobbery (by design).
My favorite was The Girl from Auntie, which did not have much of Rigg in it. It had the touch that carried the show, but at the same time was quite different. I really liked the actress' character and have wondered if they were considering her to replace Rigg, since Rigg did not like doing the show. We'll never know, but my vote would have been yes.
BTW, I hated the ludicrous fight scenes in these and in the Thorson timeframe.
Since this is for the original poster, ib011f9545i, let me point out a couple things and then address the response I got from ednablackadder.
Dr. David Keel (Ian Hendry) and Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) had the most interesting characters, with the most depth (IMO, obviously). A good reason you should see the Cathy Gale episodes (and contract it to the Peel ones).
It's obvious that ednablackadder is an Avenger expert and I am an Avenger enthusiast. I've seen all of the Avenger episodes at least once, and I rewatch as the mood hits me. If ednablackadder is English, there may be things I miss, or misunderstand, in the series due to cultural (and historical) differences that he/she is catching.
Now to respond.
Honor Blackman said that her character hated Steed and frowned upon his methods etc., in an interview. I heard that about the time I saw an episode with a character named Tara King (having only seen episodes from the color season of Diana Rigg up to that point, I had no idea there was anything but color Diana Rigg episodes). This combination is what started me watching all the series in DVD order, from Hendry to Thorson. I like them all, but for distinct reasons per era.
I went in with the perception Ms Blackman planted in my head. What you, ednablackadder, said rang true, although I think "reality" is somewhere between the two (about disrespecting/disliking Steed). Something for ib011f9545i to discover for theirself, as we both agree strongly on one thing--ib011f9545i really should give them a chance.
Now the other point, about the episodes being out of filming order helped. I do remember that conversation and it did confuse me--I kept waiting for something (anything) to be said to resolve my confusion--which never came.
In interview, Ms Blackman also said that she was basically a feminist. The show played it as "this is normal--the way it should be" and she wanted it that way. I agree those episodes showed the greatest equality. That was a miscommunication in the way I wrote it--not in the way I thought it.
Diana Rigg said (recorded in a biography) that she envisioned the liberation movement successfully concluded and now the equality was just accepted, as background to the show. Whether that came through on either of them is for the viewer to decide also. Again, it was planted in my head before I watched, so perhaps I saw something that wasn't there.
As for snobbery, again, perhaps sloppy writing. I was talking about Emma Peel, not backhanding/contrasting Cathy Gale. Cathy was certainly not a snob. She was a very complex and interesting person. Her relation with the world, and herself wasn't simple and flat. This is one of the strengths of the Gale era. Again, this plus good story lines--ib011f9545i needs to watch these.
Of course, since what is entertaining for me is different for you, I don't need to defend my favorites. IMO, the characteristic of almost the whole Rigg era is over-the-top. If I didn't like that, I couldn't watch most of that era. I think a lot of it boarderlined on ludicrous. But I like that (when in the mood.) So, for example, their not looking alike, I thought, was part of the humor, like John, Paul, George, and Fred. It all depends on how you see it, and what you like. I liked it (because it was ridiculous) and you didn't.
Oh, and thanks for answering if they were looking for a replacement.
Anyway, ib011f9545i, if we've not convinced you that even though we have quite a bit of difference in how we see and think, yet we both like Cathy Gale, and recommend you watch it, then nothing well . . .
You have really some very good points Autour , and if I got you wrong on some of them then I beg you to forgive me .
I'm a male and actually I'm Italian even if now I really divide my time almost equally between Italy and London . I consider myself quite an expert on the subject but mainly on the Cathy Gale era which I obviously like the most . Anyway my interest in that period of the show led me to buy many publications about the Avengers so I happened to learn some interesting stuff about the other seasons too . As far as the post-Cathy Gale eps are concerned I’ve seen all of them at least once but some I must admit I haven't in a very long time and consequently don't remember too well .
If Honor said in an interview that Cathy really hated Steed then I get where are you coming from . The fact is I remember her expressing her point of view on the subject in other occasions and never say anything like that .
This is for example what she said in an interview just a couple of weeks ago :
"She liked Steed , but not enough to sleep with him , so there was a lot of sexual banter and tension between them ".
I think that actually coincides with what she has mostly said through the years , that Cathy used to feel flattered by Steed's advances and to encourage him a bit but that was that , she dismissed quite clearly the possibility of a romantic link between the two characters at every occasion she had .
But interestingly enough Patrick Macnee , on the other hand , thinks this :
"The point being that getting on with a woman is something that very few people did . The Avengers had an extraordinary ability , without Honor being too butch or me being too effete , to make two people with different genital organs "communicate" . Not in a married sense , not in a "lovers" sense , but in an an androgynous sense ... well , not even androgynous , because one did feel that after the episode ended they stripped off the leather and dandy clothes and got down to a little indulgent love-making . ( At least I like to think so ! )"
So the nature of their relationship remains quite interesting ( I'm actually thinking to open a different thread about this subject ).
Anyway we know Steed and Cathy knew each other since quite a long time before teaming up again in "Death Dispatch" as the events that set up the premise for "Don't Look Behind You" happened in 1953 . In her first episode Cathy's attitude towards Steed is someway sweeter and she appears to be genuinely happy to see him again showing that clearly she doesn't have a natural dislike for him.
But maybe if she remembered a different Steed she possibly hated in some ways the man he had become , maybe that's what Honor meant .
And I'm really glad you agree with me that the Cathy Gale and Dr.Keel era had the most interesting and well rounded characters and that you understand that the fact that if the show is usually associated with the Peel era this is not necessarily indicative of superior quality . Since the Avengers became a world sensation during that phase of the show that's quite natural .
The original question was "should Blackman be watched" and the answer is absolutely. To repeat myself, I liked all the eras; each for its own reasons (the B&W Rigg and Color Rigg are two eras, IMO, as they were different).
Perhaps it was Honor saying that Cathy disliked Steel's methods and I just remember it incorrectly. Maybe she was making a joke? Whatever the case, I defer to you, your source material, and your expertise on Blackman.
If you've not seen this, you might enjoy it:
THE AVENGERS Girls get a BAFTA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1J1VCwC-o0
And for the original poster, since you'll absolutely watch the Blackman episodes now, there's a couple references you'll enjoy. On Cathy's last episode Steed says something to the effect "you'll be in the Caribbean pussyfooting around the sand." (She played Pussy Galore in Goldfinder, a James Bond film.)
Later, in a Peel episode, when they're hanging Christmas cards, Steed opens a card and says something like "oh, a card from Cathy; what is she doing at Fort Knox?"
The point is, even though she was out doing James Bond (dramatic closing part of the James Bond was at Fort Knox) she was never forgotten by The Avengers.
The acting in the Cathy Gale era is better, but the scripts are (generally speaking) worse.
I couldn't disagree more . In the Cathy Gale era the stories are much more complex , every story has a really unique and original structure and obviously none of them shows the HUGE plot holes that the Peel/King episodes have .
Actually most of the Post-Cathy Gale episodes are actually made out of a TINY ideas and then stretched to the 50 minutes format by getting filled with countless scenes completely useless to the plot . Actually there are many episodes that I believe would end up being 10 mins long if you saved only the key scenes and cut all the useless ones .
Plenty of episodes are actually only written for laughs and don't even have a plot . In all these cases the plan of the villains is actually explained in 30 seconds and just to reach this moment we have to suffer through interminable galleries of comedy characters ( Quick-Quick Slow Death is just about Steed and Peel encountering a buffoonish character after another ) or through all the cracks that are related to the episode's main theme ( "The Forget-Me Knot" was no more than a pretext to make some atrocious jokes about amnesia when the real plot didn't actually make any sense ; the "Hidden Tiger"'s highest content was to help the viewer remember all the proverbs about the cats etc .. )
The Cathy Gale era had definitely the two most brilliant writers this show ever had , Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks , while the Peel/King eras were pestered by the work of Philip Levene and Tony Williamson whose artistic value can easily be deduced by looking at their filmographies .
Phil Levene is by far the worst thing could have ever happened to this show as his stories have horrible narrative structure ( sub-plots unresolved , characters introduced without any intelligent reason and suddenly forgotten , incredibly rushed conclusions ) , have infinite plot holes and many times are not even his original ideas but plagiarisms of classic horror movies ( the Man Who Changed his Mind , Day of the Trifids ) or shows from the same period ( I think the most infamous case is "The See-Through Man" where our heron just copied an episode of "Get Smart" ! )
Hulke is an unfortunate mention, as he wrote Homicide and Old Lace (probably the most detested episode ever, and yes I do know it's from the King era). Having seen his bio, he is also responsible for two graveyard episodes (while good, it doesn't seem very original to copy one's own plot).
I actually think that Roger Marshall is the best Avengers writer there is, as most of his episodes are classics.
Mind you there are a dozen or so episodes in the Cathy Gale era which can compete with the best Emma Peel episodes, but overall the lesser Peel episodes are better then the lesser Gale episodes.
Hulke is an unfortunate mention, as he wrote Homicide and Old Lace (probably the most detested episode ever, and yes I do know it's from the King era). Having seen his bio, he is also responsible for two graveyard episodes (while good, it doesn't seem very original to copy one's own plot).
I actually think that Roger Marshall is the best Avengers writer there is, as most of his episodes are classics.
Mind you there are a dozen or so episodes in the Cathy Gale era which can compete with the best Emma Peel episodes, but overall the lesser Peel episodes are better then the lesser Gale episodes.
It is obvious that we will never agree (which is quite an understatement) and that perhaps I have a more traditional taste (most people would rate the Peel era, mainly Season 4, above the Gale era).
It is pretty shocking to call some episodes in the Peel era slow & boring, as the argument is mute (most people will agree that the Gale era has the slower episodes, just due to the way it was made at the time). Somehow I feel your whole post is bit ironic (other fans will probably catch my drift).
I really don't mind you attacking the Peel era, but at least come with some arguments which hold ground. I can't do anything with arguments that do not match the screen.
Hulke is a decent writer (but still has three of the worst Avengers episodes listed to his name), but nothing more. His Doctor Who stuff (I am a fan, so I do know the reputation of the stories) is also wildly diverse in quality (only Silurians and Ambassadors are considered classics amongst fans).
Dicks is mainly a script editor, who does some writing to make an extra buck. Always comes across as a nice chap, but not a writing god by any means (though the fans love him, also because he wrote a bunch of DW books).
Though I do think that many episodes in the Gale era are forgettable (can anyone remember the plot for Six Hands Across a Table or Killer Whale for instance?), I do believe that Mandrake and The Gilded Cage are two of the few gems found in the Gale era.
Well, at least I do not have a blind spot for a certain Avengers era (though I'm not a Tara King fan), as can be seen on my list of favourite Avengers episodes (as listed on another thread).
Oh, and to go out on a compliment, Cathy Gale is much better acted then Emma Peel (which does not have anything to do with the quality of the show, see Lost for instance).
It is obvious that we will never agree (which is quite an understatement) and that perhaps I have a more traditional taste (most people would rate the Peel era, mainly Season 4, above the Gale era).
It is pretty shocking to call some episodes in the Peel era slow & boring, as the argument is mute (most people will agree that the Gale era has the slower episodes, just due to the way it was made at the time). Somehow I feel your whole post is bit ironic (other fans will probably catch my drift).
I really don't mind you attacking the Peel era, but at least come with some arguments which hold ground. I can't do anything with arguments that do not match the screen.
Hulke is a decent writer (but still has three of the worst Avengers episodes listed to his name), but nothing more. His Doctor Who stuff (I am a fan, so I do know the reputation of the stories) is also wildly diverse in quality (only Silurians and Ambassadors are considered classics amongst fans).
Dicks is mainly a script editor, who does some writing to make an extra buck. Always comes across as a nice chap, but not a writing god by any means (though the fans love him, also because he wrote a bunch of DW books).
Though I do think that many episodes in the Gale era are forgettable (can anyone remember the plot for Six Hands Across a Table or Killer Whale for instance?)
Oh, and to go out on a compliment, Cathy Gale is much better acted then Emma Peel (which does not have anything to do with the quality of the show, see Lost for instance).
Well, I'm just channeling a majority opinion.
P.S. "a classic look of a girl who's spending a holiday in the country"?? LOL!!
Well, I'm just channeling a majority opinion.
P.S. "a classic look of a girl who's spending a holiday in the country"?? LOL!!
Over the years, I managed to put together most of THE AVENGERS on videotape... Purdey & Gamit from CBS (late night), Mrs. Peel & Miss King from PBS (many of them BAD prints!!) and most of seasons 2-3 from A&E (with 8-1/2 MINUTES missing from every single one they ran!!).
Of course, my first exposure (in America) was Mrs. Peel, then Tara, then Purdey, then, around 15 years later, the early episodes. I know how much A&E was cutting because at the time, exactly one Cathy Gale episode was commercially available on tape, "Death Of A Great Dane". I got a copy of it, and when it ran later on A&E, had the novel experience of running 2 versions of the same episode SIDE-BY-SIDE on 2 VCRs and 2 TVs, and watched the minute counters on the VCRs to see the difference in length. Every time they'd switch to a new scene, the "introductory" or "scene-setting" footage was MISSING, and often scenes would start with the first word of dialogue, or with some missing (this often happens in syndication, depending how shows are cut, like on the latest version os NIGHT COURT episodes I caught, which wwere edited much worse than earlier edits which had different things left in and different things missing).
Some years back I decided to watch ALL my AVENGERS episodes in sequence... including, as best I could, in production order (based on info from Dave Rogers' 3rd book). So I started with the 3 Dr. King episodes, then the 6 Venus Smiths, then the Cathy Gales. It was very interesting to watch them in that order!
Dr. King (filling in for Dr. Keel, who I've never yet seen) was a nice enough guy, but not too interesting. It stuck in my head that by his 3rd (and final) story, he was quite fed up with Steed's cavalier attitude and seeming not caring who gets hurt or killed as long as the job gets done.
Venus, though not the prettiest girl by a mile, was someone I really got to like. A couple of her stories really showed off Steed's manipulative side, as when she starts out, she has NO IDEA what he's really doing or who he's working for! As time goes on, she begins to suspect he's not all he seems, and she begins to resent the way he "USES" her. At the same time, before she left, she did seem to be getting along better with him. Maybe he was finally being more honest? (It's funny, but it was either the 2nd or 3rd time I watched her stories that i suddenly realized that, personality-wise, she reminds me a lot of Sarah Jane Smith from DOCTOR WHO!)
Cathy Gale-- what an "IMPRESSIVE" woman. She's so complex, so smart, so tough, so self-reliant, so outspoken... Cathy is someone I could really see myself ADMIRING the heck out of, and feeling honored to know her as a friend. But I think I'd be AFRAID to get too close with her. Her episodes were VERY deep, complex, intelligent, varied. Something I really noticed was that by the 3rd time I watched them, they were GROWING on me. When something gets BETTER on repeated viewings, that's a GOOD THING! The 3rd season (her 2nd), the budget SHOT up noticeably, the show got slicker, more exciting, in effect, everything it could possibly be and still be studio-bound on videotape. (The 2nd season reminded me of a lot of B&W DOCTOR WHO episodes... so I was used to watching something that looked unbelievaby "cheap"! --as long as the writing and acting was good.)
Patrick Macnee & Honor Blackman were voted "most popular tv actors" for 2 years running in England. This may be why ABC in America decided to co-finance the 4th season, allowing it to be shot ON FILM and ON LOCATION. And to my eyes, looking back, the 4th season may be the show's all-time peak. As a teenager, I thought a lot of the B&W Mrs. Peel episodes were sombre and spooky and overly-talky (some of them were), but there's so many good ones. As much as I enjoy the 5th season, the 4th blows it out of the water. Still, any drop in quality when it did switch from B&W to color was NOWHERE NEAR as bad as when the same thing happened to a LOT of US shows (like THE MAN FROM UNCLE, or LOST IN SPACE-- gasp!).
It took me awhile to catch up with Tara King, mainly because ABC switched the time slot, and it was months before I found out where the show had gone!! Honestly!! I never even saw "The Forget-Me-Knot" until the show went into syndicated reruns. That goes for a lot of episodes. But while Tara was not Emma, it never bothered me as much as it apparently did a LOT of US fans, who apparently didn't like any kind of change. (These same people no doubt stopped watching DOCTOR WHO as soon as Peter Davison showed up. Or Louise Jameson!) There are, in my view, some TERRIBLE Tara episodes... but some of my all-time faves are with Tara. So clearly, it's the writers, not the actress, where any "blame" belongs.
I adored Purdey from the start, and also liked Mike Gambit tremendously. He's like a younger Steed without the pretense. During the Mrs. Peel episodes, it became too easy to believe Steed WAS what he was only pretending to be-- a "gentleman". (Just as by the late 70's, one found it too easy to forget that Lt. COLUMBO was not retarded, but really a genius PRETENDING to be dumb.) Mike was a working-class guy who admired Steed and wanted to be like him. My main problem with a few of the episodes was that some of the writers would let the audiences in on the mystery TOO EARLY-- like in "TARGET", a very clever story ruined by letting the viewers know what was happenning before the titles came up, and letting them know WHO was doing it right after. So it made the heroes LOOK DUMB since it took them the whole story to figure out what the fans already knew. BAD story structure! For the most part, I must say, watching the stories in produiction order in this case is the ONLY way to go. CBS really screwed the series over by mixing the 2 seasons together, and in one instance running 2 "similar" stories back-to-back. (They did the same thing with COLUMBO reruns, scheduling all 3 Jack Cassidy episodes over 3 consecutive weeks. idiots.)
So my advice is, if you can, watch ALL the episodes, from the beginning. You'll develop your own favorites and least-faves. And maybe be surprised at what you wind up liking... or not!
I very little about the Avengers but I was fascinated by your comments on Doctor Who.
You seem to be fond of the 3rd doctor's years. I liked him but have not seen many of his episodes. Only the first last and Terror of the Autons. I have the Siluarians,his second adventure which as you said Hulke wrote. That is considered to be one of the classics of the Pertwee era.
Robert Holmes was one of Dr Who's best writers. His best period was the early Tom Baker years after Pertwee left when Philip Hinchcliffe was producing. The later Graham Williams produced years of Baker's the less said the better. The final season with John Nathan Turner producing was a improvement.
Hi mar ,
You seem to be fond of the 3rd doctor's years. I liked him but have not seen many of his episodes. Only the first last and Terror of the Autons. I have the Siluarians,his second adventure which as you said Hulke wrote. That is considered to be one of the classics of the Pertwee era.
Robert Holmes was one of Dr Who's best writers. His best period was the early Tom Baker years after Pertwee left when Philip Hinchcliffe was producing.
The later Graham Williams produced years of Baker's the less said the better. The final season with John Nathan Turner producing was a improvement.