Frequently Asked Questions
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How many episodes were made? 161 original series episodes; 137.3 are still known to exist (yes, that weird number is correct—READ MORE) and 26 New Avengers episodes, all still intact.

Are there any missing or lost episodes? If one takes this question to mean episodes that no longer exist, 23.6 first season episodes are unaccounted for (yes, that weird number is correct—READ MORE). If one takes this question to mean episodes that never aired, then the answer is four: "The Town of No Return" and "The Murder Market" were originally filmed with Elizabeth Shepherd, who was signed to play Emma Peel, and later re-filmed with Diana Rigg; and two Tara King episodes, "Invitation To A Killing" and "The Great Great Britain Crime," were reworked to become "Have Guns - Will Haggle" and "Homicide and Old Lace," respectively—READ MORE. No information is available as to the fate of any of the unaired materials.

Does any of the Elizabeth Shepherd footage still exist? Several years ago, Canal+ claimed they had the original versions of "The Town of No Return" and "The Murder Market" with Elizabeth Shepherd in their vaults, and many fans remember this and cling to the hope they were right. Later Canal+ retracted this claim. It is most likely Canal+ were mistaken, and that it's safe to assume the film is long lost.

I'm new to the series. Which episodes should I watch first? This is a little tricky to answer because it relies heavily on matters of personal taste. Some fans, for example, prefer Cathy Gale over Emma Peel; others champion Tara King. But when favorites are averaged across the entire fan base, Emma comes out the clear winner. A good start would be "Dial a Deadly Number," "Death at Bargain Prices" and "The Cybernauts." If one of these doesn't hook you, then the series might not be right for you. But if they do, you can continue with "The Gravediggers," "Too Many Christmas Trees" and "A Touch of Brimstone," and on from there. The first color season has some real charmers as well: "The Hidden Tiger," "The Correct Way to Kill" and "Death's Door" provide a good start. Once you have completed the Emma Peel era, you'll have some choices to continue: Tara King, who is a very different kind of partner, or Cathy Gale, who is part of a time when the series itself was quite, quite different. And there's always The New Avengers when you've finished with everything else...

What's this I hear about a banned episode? Owing to the provocative costume worn by Diana Rigg, as well as some risqué subject matter, "A Touch of Brimstone" was banned from American airwaves during the series' initial run, although it is rumored that ABC execs would gather in hotel rooms to watch the episode privately. It aired later when the series was re-run by local stations. "The Gladiators" (The New Avengers) was actually another banned episode; it was not broadcast in some regions of the UK owing to its violence.

What is "The Strange Case of the Missing Corpse"? It is a short promotional piece that was produced at the end of the Emma Peel monochrome season. Filmed in color as a test, it was sent to ABC in America to promote the color series internally to network affiliates. ABC used excerpts to create a one-minute advertisement which they broadcast to alert viewers to the upcoming season. The original version was recently recovered and appears as an extra on some DVDs.

Why was the "Tara Tickle Torture" scene deleted? It wasn't. For those fans frantically trying to locate a scene in "Legacy of Death" wherein Tara is tickled with feathers in order to obtain information, you can cool your jets—it wasn't edited out of the video because it never existed in the first place. Everyone still talks about it as though it was a long lost scene only because of Dave Rogers' books: his synopses are based on shooting scripts, studio memos and press releases, which can sometimes be far removed from what makes it onto the screen. In this case, the "Tara Tickle Torture" scene was changed to a water torture, and later the tables are turned as Tara tickles an antagonist.

Why isn't "The Forget-Me-Knot" listed as the last Emma Peel episode? Some fans adamantly insist that "The Forget-Me-Knot" belongs in the Emma Peel episodes list. Please be aware that the episode lists at this website are in production order, and unfortunately, no matter how the point might be argued, the fact remains it was the third Tara King episode completed, shot four months after Diana Rigg had left the series.

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Page last modified: 5 May 2017.

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