Monday night on 28 March 1966. ABC was trying to recompose itself after a disastrous fall season in 1965 with what it called The Second Season. Leading the slate of new shows was a superhero show, Batman, which had debuted two months earlier. Other new shows were introduced at that time as well, including one import from Great Britain, The Baron, which starred American actor Steve Forrest.
That very night, ABC debuted another British show that had started its run on 7 January 1961 on ITV, a quirky spy show with comedic elements. The Avengers would debut to mixed reviews, and it would have a somewhat erratic schedule throughout 1966. However, it clearly made an impact on American viewers, and ABC was interested enough in the show to help finance its conversion to color broadcasts, which started in the US on 20 January 1967.
While John Steed (played by Patrick Macnee) and Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) may not have much of a tie-in with The FBI, both shows actually shared the same director. Robert Day, who began his career in England, and helmed Avengers episodes in 1967, would emigrate to the United States, and directed several FBI episodes in 1968 and in 1969.
While The FBI outlasted The Avengers and Batman, all of those series began their runs in what had started as a disastrous season, but which yielded these memorable shows. And before the season had ended, on daytime television, there was one more surprise waiting for television viewers: Dark Shadows, which began its run on 27 June 1966. Truly a memorable time!