I LOVE books such as this. This is the nerd's eye view of the Avengers: not a strange bunch of chaps who dress up in lycra to prove their manhood, but a British light espionage series televised in the late sixties and then, revived a decade, or so later. Every episode has its own section, listing the personae dramatis, giving brief story line and those really nerdy extras that allow one to bore the average viewer into a terminal coma.

I will not pretend to have read this book from cover to cover, but rather, it drew me to re-watch some recordings and, with each episode, I have read it up firstly. There are also short biographies of the main actors, writers and an interesting section about the development of the series. As actors left, the show took twists and turns that had never been previously considered. The first series revolved around two male agents but, for the second series one of them was replaced by a woman (and what a woman....er, sorry!) Honor Blackman became Cathy Gale. The USP of the Avengers was that Cathy did not throw up her hands and scream for a big strong man to come and protect her: she fought as well/better than the men. As a red blooded male just entering his teens, I really don't think I need to draw a picture of the effect that this had upon me!

They say that nostalgia is not what it used to be: in this instance, I must disagree - it's GREAT!!!!!!!! ( )