It might go all horribly wrong, what with a potential lack of wifi and battery power, but I'm game to give it a go.
The Avengers 50th Anniversary Celebration
University of Chichester
25th to 26th June 2011
To access the live blog and to discover just a soupçon of what's happening this weekend...
Interviewers and Panel Members
Paul O’Grady (Special Guest Host), Dick Fiddy (BFI), Jaz Wiseman (who produced all the recent DVD re-releases of The Avengers for Studio Canal/Optimum), Marcus Hearn (author of the recent book, The Avengers: A Celebration), Henry Holland (Production Assistant on The Avengers DVD re-releases) Alwyn W. Turner (writer of ‘The Man Who Invented the Daleks: The Strange Worlds of Terry Nation’) and Dr Adam Locks (senior lecturer in Media Studies at the University of Chichester).
Leonard White - Producer Series 1 & 2, Brian Clemens - Scriptwriter series 1 to 6, and producer on series 4 to 6, Honor Blackman - Actress:'Cathy Gale', Linda Thorson - Actress: 'Tara King', Julie Stevens - Actress: 'Venus Smith' in series 2, John Hough - Second unit director, John Carson - Actor: 'Marten Halvarssen' Anneke Wills - Actress: 'Judy / Pussy Cat, Jane Wentworth', Robert Fuest - Director series 6, Raymond Austin - Stunt arranger & director series 4 to 6, Richard Bates - Script editor series 2 and 3, Richard Harris - Scriptwriter on series 1, 5 and 6, Robert Banks Stewart - Scriptwriter on series 4, Jeremy Burnham - Actor in 4 episodes and writer of 7 episodes, Cyd Child - Diana Rigg and Linda Thorson stunt double series 5 and 6, Howard Blake - Composer on series 6
The event will also be screening new & exclusive video contributions from Patrick Macnee, Laurie Johnson and Joanna Lumley, Gerry O’Hara, Don Leaver and Roger Marshall.
As you can see from that line up you've not only got the core actors, writers and directors who brought The Avengers to life but pretty much the key individuals that worked in British television in the 1960s and 1970s on numerous highly regarded shows from Public Eye to Doctor Who. This is an event not to be missed by any fan of archive British telly.
The event, organised by Adam Locks, his colleague Michael Holley and Optimum’s DVD producer, Jaz Wiseman, is fully supported by Optimum/Studio Canal (who are supplying DVD box sets for weekend prizes) and have many of their screenings provided by both them and the BFI. Click on the links to read my reviews of the Series One/Two, Series Three, Series Four and Five DVD releases.
Thanks to Adam Locks and his team at University of Chichester. THE AVENGERS is Copyright © STUDIOCANAL and CANAL+IMAGE UK Ltd and respective licence holders. No attempt to infringe this copyright is intended.
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Finally, something about the Avengers I know and not some crew of superheroes that although invented in my country of origin I have no idea about.
Though that Captain America is quite, uh ... well, you know.
Steed and Peel, though ... they had humour (with a U) and cunning and ... and, frankly, unlike comic books and American TV, The Avengers felt like it was all mine b/c none of the kids at school had any idea about it.
And so thanks, for this and having me remember that.