Voting for Villains:

Hank Davis: baenette@webspan.net While John Cartney (played by Peter Wyngarde) is my favorite Avengers evil bad buy too, for second place, I nominate the deranged silent movie maker, Z.Z. von Schnerk grom EPIC (my second all time favorite Avengers episode, after THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT).

Brad Smith: How about Needle (I forget his first name) from the episode "You have just been murdered" ? The needle in a haystack tie in was a classic.

Pat Smith: lamballe@ix.netcom.com I thought the mind invaders of Too Many Christmas Trees were extremely inventive for the time. Also Ian McNab of Castle De'Ath. Miss Peagram in The Fifty Thousand Pound Breakfast was no lightweight, either. One of my favorites is Dr. Voss, of The Fear Merchants; all the villains in that episode were superb.

John Hanlon: jhanlon@ripco.com writes: "Favorite Villain: Basil and Lola from "Who's Who?" played by Patrick Macnee & Diana Rigg! It's the only time I recall that they got to play the bad guys in their own show. "A man capable of biting the end off of a cigar is capable of anything!" (Steed) I also think that Donald Sutherland should get an honorable mention in "The Superlative Seven" with the double cross of the "major power."

David Smith:dsmith@pti-nj.com...anyway, of your list of villains, I vote for Max Prendergast. Definitely the most fiendish of the lot. Here are some others that are favorites of mine for your consideration: Fitch from "Dial a Deadly Number." This fellow is so creepy he gives me the willies and John Keller from "The House that Jack Built" (even though he's dead).

Other Comments:

Diabolical's Website Manager, Jackie Lane: My other passion, besides The Avengers, is playing the Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer. The woman responsible for bringing this beautiful, traditional American folk instrument out of obscurity is Jean Ritchie, musician, singer, folklorist, teacher and general all-out legend in our time. I was thrilled (and amused) to receive this e-mail from her son, Jon Pickow, after I e-mailed her at Greenhays Recordings inquiring about the availability of one of her books:

Jon Pickow Great page! We've been fans for years. I remember watching the Avengers with my mother (Jean) when we were kids. Whenever Emma would show up in the black leather jump-suit, mom would say: "look out, Emma's got her fightin' clothes on!"

To learn more about Jean Ritchie and her music and work, visit the Jean Ritche Web Page.

Al Samujh on The Avengers and Me: (The book signing) was in Birmingham at Dillons bookstore on Friday May 23rd. Pat was very much the gentleman, as I had expected. The only thing that fazed him a little was the fact that some fans had turned up with old photos for him to sign, rather than the book. He took it in his stride though and politely pointed out that the store had nothing to do with their photos/autograph books and that they were there to sign his book. I think everyone took this in the spirit in which it was intended though. He was whizzing through the autographs so that he could ensure that everyone got one.

Did I like the book ? I LOVED the book. An interesting and personal slant on one of my favourite TV shows. The only downer would be that the picture quality on some shots is not as clear as it might have been. The printing for the UK edition was done in Italy - I don't know if that explains it or not.

Simon Turner on The Avengers and Me: I am in Manchester in the UK, so Pat Macnee and Dave Rogers were in M'cr city centre signing books last Wednesday. I thought I would be able to roll up, chat to the great man and get my various Avengers stuff signed and have a photo taken. Imagine my surprise when I saw a queue of over 100 people and had to wait 20 minutes. Pat and Dave did sign my book(s) including his new one. Pat has tried to be honest in the book, so he is quite candid about John Bryce taking the show down the plughole in the Tara series. Of interest, is the rather self effacing way, Pat assumes little link between his own performances and the success of the series as a whole.

Louis F Liporace: I've been an Avengers fan from the first airing in the U.S.. I have all the "Peel, Mrs Emma Peel", shows, several of Tara's, and a few of Miss Gales. This web page is the topping on the cake. I thought I was alone with my Avenger collection. Once again, great page.

Jay: What I find most incredible about 'The Avengers' is that most of the epiosdes can be seen at any era (the 70s, the 80s, etc) without looking 'old'. To my mind, it is the stamp of any excellent, cult-following series.

Jim Showen: Just wanted to say thanks for the great page on The Avengers. I have always thought this was the greatest show ever on TV. When A&E ran the episodes, I was finally able to get some of the shows I didn't already have taped. You have a most excellent page! Keep up the good work and rest assured I will be a regular visitor.

Victoria Dunn: I've just discovered your brilliant Avengers pages. I am 14, living in the UK. I realy love the Avengers and the humourous chemistry between all the characters. My favourite sidekick for Steed was of course Emma Peel, but I also thought Joanna Lumley was very good in the New Avengers. I have bought the Ultimate Avengers by Dave Rogers and I was not aware there were so many other fans.

Greg Ogarrio: In November 1993, my wife-to-be and I journeyed to little Aldbury Village, north of London, to see if it still looked like Little-Storping-in-the-Swuft, aka Murdersville. Voila! After much trial and error and wrong turns, we pulled into the Village. There before us was the exact image from the episodes "Murdersville" and "Dead Man's Treasure": the pond, the village, everything preserved perfectly. The only thing missing was the plank that Mrs. Peel was dunked with. On our way back, we stopped in at Bovingdon, a former RAF stie where "The Hour That Never Was" was filmed. I hopped the locked gate and ran out onto the old runways, trying to pinpoint the spot where Diana and Patrick strolled across. What fun! Highly worth a trip to the UK!

Pat R.:imzadi@erinet.com Yes, I love the Avengers too! For many years it seemed like I was the only one who remembered the show. Finally I started seeing the books on the market (Dave Rogers, mostly) and I was really surprised at how comprehensive it was. My childhood idol was definitely Emma Peel. She was really the only woman on tv at the time that could take care of herself. She was a strong, competent woman that anyone could admire.

Jean: jthivier@total.net I must compliment you on your 1)Avengers site and on 2)your sense of humour! I really enjoyed seeing those images from the series. I am an Avengers fan from way back in 1967. I can remember seeing my first Avengers episode. I was living in Brooklyn, N.Y. at the time. It was 10PM and all of a sudden I heard this FANTASTIC MUSIC! It was the theme to the Avengers. I found the music throughout the episode to be perfectly matched to each scene and movement on the episode. The episode in question was " Death At Bargain Prices". I've been hooked ever since.

Bill Cotter: Greetings! Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your pages. The treasure hunt photos made me want to head back to England this afternoon (I think I'll wait until the weather improves there!).

Tony McKay: I'm impressed with your Avengers pages, I certainly like the style - refined I think I'd call it. The character biographies are very interesting. Will you be adding anything about Dr. Martin King and my favourite B&W Avengers girl Venus Smith? (I'm working on it, Tony!)

To add your own comments to Views from the Bentley, contact me at jglane@atl.mindspring.com. Your e-mail address will not be used unless you want to correspond with other Avengers enthusiasts and ask me to include it.

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