I agree with some of the other negative comments, such as those by
TC-4. I enjoyed this series in its first U.S. run in the late 1960s when I was in high school. By that time, the awful production values of the early black-and-white episodes were replaced with slicker productions. Then, too, the incomparable Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) came on board, and they eventually shifted from B&W to color. The episodes w/Emma Peel are the best; the later ones w/Tara King (Linda Thorson) aren't quite as good; and the earliest B&W episodes are really pretty bad. I think they were produced on videotape instead of film, so the lighting and sound are pretty bad. The early plots are also not very good.
What I notice now, upon seeing this series again after 35 years, is that what originally seemed quirky, eccentric and interesting has become boring and repetitive. Also, in so many of the episodes, they obviously padded things by having the same basic thing happen two or three times to two or three different characters over the course of the hour. That's really pretty cheap.
Now, although I have watched the later episodes (w/Dianna Rigg and Linda Thorson) again on the Mystery Channel, I find myself recording them on my TiVo digital video recorder and then fast-forwarding through most of the episode, slowing down only for the last 10 minutes of the show. I am still mystified that what was entertaining 35 years ago now seems so mediocre, but I guess some shows just do not hold up well over the years.
TC-4. I enjoyed this series in its first U.S. run in the late 1960s when I was in high school. By that time, the awful production values of the early black-and-white episodes were replaced with slicker productions. Then, too, the incomparable Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) came on board, and they eventually shifted from B&W to color. The episodes w/Emma Peel are the best; the later ones w/Tara King (Linda Thorson) aren't quite as good; and the earliest B&W episodes are really pretty bad. I think they were produced on videotape instead of film, so the lighting and sound are pretty bad. The early plots are also not very good.
What I notice now, upon seeing this series again after 35 years, is that what originally seemed quirky, eccentric and interesting has become boring and repetitive. Also, in so many of the episodes, they obviously padded things by having the same basic thing happen two or three times to two or three different characters over the course of the hour. That's really pretty cheap.
Now, although I have watched the later episodes (w/Dianna Rigg and Linda Thorson) again on the Mystery Channel, I find myself recording them on my TiVo digital video recorder and then fast-forwarding through most of the episode, slowing down only for the last 10 minutes of the show. I am still mystified that what was entertaining 35 years ago now seems so mediocre, but I guess some shows just do not hold up well over the years.