Avengers TV v Marvel Avengers - What's in a Name?
I have often wondered if someone connected with Marvel had heard of or seen The Avengers in UK and got the idea of the name from there! That is just my personal conspiracy theory! Hee hee! After all, the Honor Blackman series was shown in Canada, so someone in US could have seen the series there or knew someone who had. Plus US writers/producers etc. were often coming to Britain in the '60s eiher for a holiday or for business. They often took back many ideas from these trips, just as their UK counterparts did from visits to US. (It still happens today, although the internet means you don't have to travel to find out about something!) There is a well known photo of Sam Rolfe-writer/producer of "The Man from Uncle" posing with a Dalek at the BBC, on a visit to UK . Who knows if he became part of the negotiations with Terry Nation to launch the Daleks in US in their own series..
My theory might not actually be as far-fetched as it sounds. It is known that in 1963, US film producer Louis de Rochemont and US Theatre producer Cheryl Crawford both wanted to adapt The Avengers- into a film and musical play respectively. So the series was obviously known to US Entertainment Indusrty people, even though the series itself was not being broadcast in the US at this time. It is also known that US TV Producer Aaron Spelling came to UK on a holiday and saw Honor Blackman in an episode of The Avengers. He was so impressed that immediately upon returning to US he set about trying to mount a US version of the series. It is unknown whether he tried to buy the rights for it, but he did buy the rights to "Honey West" , a set of novels featuring a female private detective. He then made this into a TV series, and incorporated many elements of The Avengers. He had the heroine use judo, wear a black outfit and drive a sports car ala Cathy Gale. Apparently, he even offered the part to Honor Blackman, who declined as she had just signed a 5 year film contract-Goldfinger being the first film.
Honey West was shown by ABC Network in US before they began showing The Avengers so many Americans mistakenly believed she/it influenced The Avengers, rather than the other way around!
My theory might not actually be as far-fetched as it sounds. It is known that in 1963, US film producer Louis de Rochemont and US Theatre producer Cheryl Crawford both wanted to adapt The Avengers- into a film and musical play respectively. So the series was obviously known to US Entertainment Indusrty people, even though the series itself was not being broadcast in the US at this time. It is also known that US TV Producer Aaron Spelling came to UK on a holiday and saw Honor Blackman in an episode of The Avengers. He was so impressed that immediately upon returning to US he set about trying to mount a US version of the series. It is unknown whether he tried to buy the rights for it, but he did buy the rights to "Honey West" , a set of novels featuring a female private detective. He then made this into a TV series, and incorporated many elements of The Avengers. He had the heroine use judo, wear a black outfit and drive a sports car ala Cathy Gale. Apparently, he even offered the part to Honor Blackman, who declined as she had just signed a 5 year film contract-Goldfinger being the first film.
Honey West was shown by ABC Network in US before they began showing The Avengers so many Americans mistakenly believed she/it influenced The Avengers, rather than the other way around!
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Re: Avengers TV v Marvel Avengers - What's in a Name?
yeah, there seems at times, a tad bit of confusion ..concerning the Avengers...the series, vs the films...heck, back in what, late 1965, ABC TV in the states, announced a mid season replacement TV series...the AVENGERS...as a kid, I thought it was a show about the comic book Avengers, which at the time, I was a huge fan via Marvel comics....(huge ant man fan here) but it turned out it was this stylish UK series..which I ended up being a huge fan, and having a crush on Mrs. Peel....