Rodney wrote:As in Auntie's Bloomers. I think it's good as it reassures everyone that they are spontaneous conversations. My dad misremembers John Laurie returning in Mandrake (when it was A Funny Thing Happened) and Jaz, having referred to Barbara Woodhouse on set for the Great Danes, later asks my father what it must have been like with Barbara WINDSOR there. All part of the fun, I think, and infinitely better than dear old Pat reading Dave Rogers comments from an autocue. I reckon these commentaries will be treasured by fans and my father will certainly enjoy them.
That's really interesting, because I keep making the mental mistake of thinking John Laurie is in "Mandrake" (I think it's John Le Mesurier, and I keep mixing them up when I'm not really concentrating, because of the 'Dad's Army' connection, a kind of memory short-circuit!). Le Mesurier of course crops up in the Diana Rigg monochrome series too, and these "doppelgangers" can be confusing at the best of times. Your dad can definitely be forgiven that one! Not sure about Jaz's ref to Babs Windsor
On the archive issue, I don't think anything that's digitised will ever die, so long as new generations find something of worth. The absolute joy with which subsequent generations have greeted The Avengers means it will keep being converted to new media for decades to come - look how long something like the original Sherlock Holmes stories has lasted - when you read them, the humour and wit is very close to The Avengers and it encapsulates another iconic time - the 60s is as interesting and captivating as the Victorian era always will be.
Plus, the visual arts are getting more and more moribund. In the 60s (and the 80s repeats) The Avengers was a refreshing change. These days it is an oasis of creativity in a rotten sea of remakes or incoherent misery masquerading as "drama".
