The Avengers Forever: Site Milestones

	Foreword Page 1 of 6

This online "living encyclopædia" is an 800-pound gorilla of a tribute to the British television classic, The Avengers. Regulars will note that rarely a month passes without some form of update. Which may lead some to rightfully ask, "Why invest so much time and effort chronicling a forty-odd-year-old TV program from Great Britain?"

Good question. It is perhaps difficult to understand the indelible affection for what amounts to an inconsequential blip in television history. But, considering how many billions of humans are busy doing whatever, a few of us appear to have the time to devote to old, obscure bits of entertainment. Indeed, I am not alone in my adulation of The Avengers: Dave Rogers, for example, has published several books on the subject. While Mr. Rogers has described himself as the "ultimate fan," I believe there may be room for more than one.

Within the realm of this "hobby," my mission is to collect, organize and publish as much information as is feasible because I am willing, I am able, and it is fun, as odd as that may seem to some (certainly there are far stranger and less constructive hobbies).

It is not, however, as simple a task as it may appear on the surface. Information, unfortunately, is almost infinitely malleable—that is, history is what historians make of it, not what history actually was. Since the information I provide is all more or less regurgitated from other sources, I am much more of an arbiter than historian.

It is worth noting that some heretofore well-established "facts" regarding The Avengers have been found to be incorrect, and also that there are still a number of substantial holes in the series' history. But by collecting, sifting, analyzing, and organizing all available information—which continues to be unearthed, even today (witness the recent rediscovery of "Hot Snow," for example)—I believe a fairly clear and complete picture of the series can be presented.

Admittedly there are more important things over which to toil than a website devoted to an old TV show. But fans and television historians have been the beneficiaries of my labor for over a decade. I hope you'll find your visit here worthwhile.

Eee-urp!

—David K. Smith