NTSC SYSTEM

At a Glance:
 

These titles all hail from the 1980s and were not so much 'unlicensed' as 'pirate' and utilised exceptionally poor source materials — off-air video recordings and poorly transferred 8mm and 16mm prints (amusingly, advertisers had the nerve to suggest that these Standard Play recordings were "high quality"). The companies that issued these videos claimed the episodes were in the public domain in the USA and as such releases were legal. The 'public domain' angle is something much abused in the States and it proved to be so with regard The Avengers. Patrick Macnee in association with Avengers historian Dave Rogers and the then owners of the series, Lumiere Pictures, went after the pirates and took them and the legitimate companies who were distributing the tapes to court.

In 1993, lawsuits for copyright violations were filed in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon against a number of retailers including Blockbuster Video, distributors including Baker & Taylor, and suppliers including Viking Entertainment and Hollywood Select Video. This successful action paved the way for official VHS releases in the USA and Europe.

The often atrocious cover artwork is presented here according to video company, where known. Titles appear to have been issued by several companies, although it seems that several of the organisations listed below are the same company under different names, possibly a smokescreen to avoid potential prosecution. The sheer volume of releases is pretty staggering when you know just how fly-by-night many of these organisations were. In order to maximise profits, the great majority of releases were of single episodes, though latterly some double-bills were issued.

THE AVENGERS — EMG VIDEO

Released: 1985 Standard cover and back cover for all episodes released

EMG Video released a staggering 55 VHS videotapes of The Avengers in 1985, each containing one episode. The releases were packaged in the above sleeve, with a sticker added to distinguish one cassette from another. The order of release was exactly copied by Showcase Productions and Hollywood Select Video in subsequent years, identifying EMG Video as being inextricably linked to those companies. Note that on their catalogue (above right) they accidentally missed out release number 12, The Hidden Tiger, when listing their releases. The list is worth reading for some wonderful title errors such as Girls from Pandora and Stayed Tuned!

THE AVENGERS — VIKING VIDEO CLASSICS
VCC 879 Released: 1986 Episode: The House That Jack Built	VCC 1027 Released: 1986 Episode: Quick-Quick Slow Death (issued as 'Quick, Quick, Slow Death')	VCC 1028 Released: 1986 Episode: False Witness
VCC 1029 Released: 1986 Episode: The Positive-Negative Man (issued as 'Positive Negative Man')	VCC 1074 Released: 1986 Episode: Game	VCC 1075 Released: 1986 Episode: Super Secret Cypher Snatch (issued as 'The Super Secret Cypher Snatch')
VCC 1076 Released: 1986 Episode: Death of a Great Dane	VCC 1077 Released: 1986 Episode: The Girl from Auntie	VCC 1116 Released: 1986 Episode: The Forget-Me-Knot
VCC 1165 Released: 1986 Episode: The Cybernauts	VCC 1166 Released: 1986 Episode: Dial A Deadly Number	VCC 1168 Released: 1986 Episode: Escape in Time
VCC 1169 Released: 1986 Episode: The Grave-Diggers	No. Unknown Released: 1986 Episode: Silent Dust	No. Unknown Released: 1986 Episode: Epic
No. Unknown Released: 1986 Episode: The Hidden Tiger (issued as 'Hidden Tiger')	No. Unknown Released: 1986 Episode: The Morning After
If you know of any more titles in this range or can provide better quality or different images, please drop me a line via the 'e' in the top right hand corner. Thank you.

THE AVENGERS — AMVEST VIDEO - TV HITS
VHS-TV15 Released: 1987 Episode: The Forget-Me-Knot	VHS-TV23 Released: 1987 Episode: The House That Jack Built
If you know of any more titles in this range or can provide better quality or different images, please drop me a line via the 'e' in the top right hand corner. Thank you.

THE AVENGERS — HOLLYWOOD SELECT VIDEO aka SHOWCASE PRODUCTIONS
HSV 1600 Released: 1987 Episode: The Bird Who Knew Too Much	HSV 1601 Released: 1987 Episode: The Cybernauts	HSV 1602 Released: 1987 Episode: Death of a Great Dane
HSV 1603 Released: 1987 Episode: Dial A Deadly Number	HSV 1604 Released: 1987 Episode: Epic	HSV 1605 Released: 1987 Episode: Escape in Time
HSV 1606 Released: 1987 Episode: False Witness	HSV 1607 Released: 1987 Episode: The Forget-Me-Knot (issued as 'Forget-Me-Knot')	HSV 1608 Released: 1987 Episode: Game
HSV 1609 Released: 1987 Episode: The Girl from Auntie	HSV 1610 Released: 1987 Episode: The Grave-Diggers (issued as 'The Grave Diggers')	HSV 1611 Released: 1987 Episode: The Hidden Tiger (issued as 'Hidden Tiger')
HSV 1612 Released: 1987 Episode: The House That Jack Built	HSV 1613 Released: 1987 Episode: The Morning After	HSV 1614 Released: 1987 Episode: The Positive-Negative Man (issued as 'Positive, Negative Man')
HSV 1615 Released: 1987 Episode: Quick-Quick Slow Death (issued as 'The Quick, Quick Slow Death')	HSV 1616 Released: 1987 Episode: Silent Dust	HSV 1617 Released: 1987 Episode: Super Secret Cypher Snatch
HSV 1618 Released: 1987 Episode: My Wildest Dream (issued as 'My Wildest Dreams')	HSV 1619 Released: 1987 Episode: Get-A-Way	HSV 1620 Released: 1987 Episode: Have Guns — Will Haggle
HSV 1621 Released: 1987 Episode: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station	HSV 1622 Released: 1987 Episode: Dead Man's Treasure	HSV 1623 Released: 1987 Episode: The £50,000 Breakfast
HSV 1624 Released: 1987 Episode: Take-Over	HSV 1625 Released: 1987 Episode: The Curious Case of the Countless Clues (issued as 'The Case of the Countless Clues')	HSV 1626 Released: 1987 Episode: A Surfeit of H2O
HSV 1627 Released: 1987 Episode: The Correct Way to Kill	HSV 1628 Released: 1987 Episode: A Sense of History
If you know of any more titles in this range or can provide better quality or different images, please drop me a line via the 'e' in the top right hand corner. Thank you.

THE AVENGERS — SHOWCASE PRODUCTIONS
SPI 1000 Released: Unknown Episode: The Bird Who Knew Too Much	SPI 1001 Released: Unknown Episode: The Cybernauts	SPI 1002 Released: Unknown Episode: Death of a Great Dane
SPI 1003 Released: Unknown Episode: Dial A Deadly Number	SPI 1004 Released: Unknown Episode: Epic	SPI 1005 Released: Unknown Episode: Escape in Time
SPI 1006 Released: Unknown Episode: False Witness	SPI 1007 Released: Unknown Episode: The Forget-Me-Knot (issued as 'Forget-Me-Knot')	SPI 1008 Released: Unknown Episode: Game
SPI 1009 Released: Unknown Episode: The Girl from Auntie	SPI 1010 Released: Unknown Episode: The Grave-Diggers	SPI 1011 Released: Unknown Episode: The Hidden Tiger (issued as 'Hidden Tiger')
SPI 1012 Released: Unknown Episode: The House That Jack Built	SPI 1013 Released: Unknown Episode: The Morning After	SPI 1014 Released: Unknown Episode: The Positive-Negative Man (issued as 'Positive, Negative Man')
SPI 1015 Released: Unknown Episode: Quick-Quick Slow Death (issued as 'The Quick, Quick Slow Death')	SPI 1016 Released: Unknown Episode: Silent Dust	SPI 1017 Released: Unknown Episode: Super Secret Cypher Snatch
SPI 1018 Released: Unknown Episode: My Wildest Dream (issued as 'My Wildest Dreams')	SPI 1019 Released: Unknown Episode: Get-A-Way	SPI 1020 Released: Unknown Episode: Have Guns — Will Haggle
SPI 1021 Released: Unknown Episode: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station	SPI 1022 Released: Unknown Episode: Dead Man's Treasure	SPI 1023 Released: Unknown Episode: The £50,000 Breakfast
SPI 1024 Released: Unknown Episode: Take-Over	SPI 1025 Released: Unknown Episode: The Curious Case of the Countless Clues (issued as 'The Case of Countless Clues')	SPI 1026 Released: Unknown Episode: A Surfeit of H2O
SPI 1027 Released: Unknown Episode: The Correct Way to Kill	SPI 1028 Released: Unknown Episode: A Sense of History
If you know of any more titles in this range or can provide better quality or different images, please drop me a line via the 'e' in the top right hand corner. Thank you.

THE AVENGERS — BRIDGESTONE MULTIMEDIA

No. 96663 / 96673 / 96683 Released: 1996 Episodes: Cassette 1: The Positive Negative Man The Girl from Auntie Cassette 2: Game Super Secret Cypher Snatch Cassette 3: Quick-Quick Slow Death False Witness

THE AVENGERS — OTHER UNLICENSED COMPANIES
Company: Bizarre Video Productions Nos. Unknown Released: 1981
Company: Video Images / Video Yesteryear No. 744 Released: 1981 Episode: Dial A Deadly Number	Company: Video 7 No. Unknown Released: Unknown Episodes: The Girl from Auntie The House That Jack Built Quick-Quick Slow Death
Company: Vintage Video Nos. 6003, 7252 — 7260 Released: 1986 Standard cover and back covers for all episodes released
Company: Video Images / Video Yesteryear Nos. 744 Released: 1987 A rejacketed reissue of Video Images' 1981 release of Dial A Deadly Number. We're not entirely sure that it's an improvement...
Company: BDS Video Nos. Unknown Released: 1989 Standard cover and back covers for all episodes released Again, note the hilarious titles, including Look There... These Fellows!
If you know of any more unidentified titles or can provide better quality or different images, please drop me a line via the 'e' in the top right hand corner. Thank you.

Compiled by Alan Hayes
with thanks to Mike Noon and Denis Kirsanov

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