The Avengers Forever: IMHO

	IMHO: 18 May 2004 Page 13 of 28

It's been half a year since I've addressed my visitors on this page. Seems like time flies whether you're having fun or not.

Now that the worst of the cancer scare is over, I can actually turn my attention to entirely unimportant things, such as The Avengers, for brief periods. Recently, A&E announced their intention of releasing the last of the Cathy Gale episodes, which will complete the series on DVD for North America. Congratulations, and thank you, A&E!

This as a significant accomplishment, and a genuine landmark for fans. Honestly, I had my doubts on occasion that we'd live to see the day, given the changes in management at A&E, the grief Contender was facing in the UK, and the fact that many other television series had been released in their entirety over considerably shorter spans of time than The Avengers (February 1998 to July 2004). Plus I find it remarkable—and oddly somewhat distressing, in a way—that the US would beat both the country of origin and the copyright holder to the finish line.

From an entirely different perspective, I see this as thrusting The Avengers Forever into a new role, something akin to "accessory to the videos" rather than "gap-filler" for long-awaited episodes. It's a little sad to think that much of the site's uniqueness and exclusivity will be lost. At the same time, I am really glad that fans will now have access to all of the magical bits of our beloved series—even some of the mysterious David Keel era.

What will the site be like going forward? I may someday finish a complete cosmetic makeover that will be vaguely in keeping with the new home page—and this I suspect will be the last major makeover. I may someday flesh out the series history, which is presently quite sketchy. I may restore the sound files, which were removed due to a shortage of space (which has been addressed with the move to the new host). And I am sometimes asked about visitor voting, but this, sorry to say, will never be reinstated; no matter what I do, there are always jerks who insist on ruining our fun.

But with my challenging and ongoing adventures in "real life", I suspect the site's growth will continue to slow; hopefully the re-launched Forum, due in early June, will help keep interest in the series alive, that and a steady trickle of new visitors. Even to this day I receive feedback from people discovering the site or the series for the first time. Although I envy them for the newness with which things appear to them, The Avengers will for me always remain a good friend. I sincerely hope that The Avengers Forever will be likewise for fans old and new.

And that's my humble opinion.

David K. Smith, 18 May 2004