You took the words right out of my mouth. When I think quintessential Avengers, I think Death at Bargain Prices. (Ironically, all the other common fan favourites, Cybernauts, A Touch of Brimstone, The Hour that Never Was, and Too Many Christmas Trees wouldn't come anywhere near my top five). But Bargain just is Avengers from start to finish--fun and sinister in all the right places, and the Steed/Emma banter is perfect.BitShifter wrote:"Death At Bargain Prices" has a little bit of everything that the average Joe on the street identifies with "The Avengers":
1. Eccentric characters
2. Outrageous plot
3. Steed being charming
4. Sexual tension (and occasional risque humor)
5. Emma in leather
6. Emma in bondage (or other subtle kinkiness)
7. Emma fighting (with those edgy "finger snaps", no less)
8. Steed and Emma working both together and separately
Not necessarily the best or most satisfying episode, nor my favorite, but perhaps the most demonstrative of all of the elements that are typically associated with The Avengers.
Otherwise, I'd have to say The Wringer or The Nutshell for the Gales. Both quite dark, Steed's loyalty is thrown into question, Cathy proves herself to be an equal in every respect (our only Avenger girl to get shot until Purdey, folks!), and wonderfully moody atmospheres.
Throw in Honey for the Prince for Emma as well.
Game does a good job of summing up some of the best bits of the Tara era. So does Fog (I love Take-Over, but it's not really reprsentative of the rest of the season). Who Was That Man I Saw You With? is good if you're thinking later in the season when Tara's character benefited from better writing.
TNA: It has to be Target or Faces doesn't it? Best Purdey/Gambit banter, a real sense of peril, wonderful relationship sketches between the trio. But Obsession and Dead Men deserve a mention for exploiting TNA's habit of taking its characters and making them that much more real. Avengerland is rebooted every time Steed and co. saunter off into the sunset. TNA doesn't reboot--everything doesn't always wrap up as neatly.