Even in its very early days with Ian Hendry as the main star, there was something a little different about this show, although it was not until it went onto film for the first Diana Rigg series, that the truly bizarre qualities of this high class show took control. From then on it also had one of the most wonderful opening sequences and theme tune of any television show ever, in the history of ever!

Prudence Fairweather owes a great deal to the Avengers, because this was the show that launched clever, sexy, kick ass heroines onto an unsuspecting world for the first time. There was the great actress Honour Blackman who played Kathy Gale and still looks wonderful forty eight years later! As a teenager I was head over heals in love with Emma Peel played by Diana Rigg. She was the ultimate Amazon, and until recently, little on television had portrayed such a strong and sexy lady.

The other great television series for me perhaps did not do quite so much to liberate women. Although one character in the show, returns to play that same character again, years after she first appeared and then got her own spin off show, so maybe I am being a little unfair.

The show is of course Doctor Who and is a truly great and innovative show, in which we have now seen ten very different incarnations of the time lord in question.

All these different versions of the Doctor have travelled the universe, in what appears to be a London police telephone box, which is famously larger on the inside than the out. After a long gap, the show was re-launched in 2005 under the brilliant guidance of Russell T. Davis and is in my opinion better than it has ever been. The current Doctor, played by Scottish actor David Tennent is arguably one of the best ever, and Billy Piper captured the hearts of a nation, with her portrayal of Rose Tyler.

I watched the show from the beginning in 1963 and became hooked during the first ever Dalek story. Having read no spoilers back in those happy spoiler free days, I remember how shaken I was when William Hartnell collapsed onto the floor of the Tardis, and slowly changed into the amazing Patrick Troughton, another of my favourite Doctors. I enjoyed the Unit years having always preferred earth based adventures (which made last years ‘Impossible Planet’ even more brilliant), I have not disliked any of the Doctors, however, Peter Cushing’s film version was not too good. Like many people, I will probably always consider Tom Baker to be just brilliant in the role although the latest incarnation also takes a lot of beating.

During the years it was off TV, I enjoyed reading the novels and was thrilled when Big Finish started producing the audio adventures which are still going and in my opinion, getting better and better. If you have not listened to any of these I urge you to check them out. My own particular favourites are the Paul McGann ones, but all the Doctors used by Big Finish have had some fantastic stories. The new television series, used one of the of the Big Finish stories, ‘Jubilee’ as the basis of the brilliant episode Dalek.

Prudence Fairweather has quite a lot of time lord influences. She is not your average girl next door and her friends and crew are totally loyal to her, despite her sometimes thoughtless, even childish ways. Nobody ever calls her Captain. In the end she is a good person, who had the choice to turn her back on the world but didn’t. Like Doctor Who, the stories are meant to be a bit scary. There are monsters and ghosts and coming soon an alien world or two. But there is also lots of love and humour and heart in the chronicles. Above all, it is the struggle of good against evil.

Although the Avengers and Doctor Who will always have pride of place in my cult TV collection, (I also have all the Richard Green Robin Hood, DVDs, The complete Saint, Australian edition, etc.), there are a couple of shows in particular that deserve a mention from over the water.

Without Buffy the Vampire Slayer, we probably wouldn’t have modern Doctor Who. It was an inspired series, which in my opinion only went off for a while in the penultimate season, made up for by the cliff hanger ending to the twenty first episode, when Willow had gone seriously bad witch.

I was one of the few people I know who had watched and enjoyed the movie. There were lots of great moments in Buffy, such as ‘Graduation Day’, ‘Hush’ and ‘Once More with Feeling’. I still think a musical Doctor Who episode would be good, although Billy would have to come back for it.

I cannot talk about cult TV without a mention of the other great sexy kick ass heroine, Xena. Now I should mention here that I do like Amazons with swords in sword and sorcery type stories. This was mostly a comic thing, until the beautiful Lucy Lawless breathed life into Xena Warrior Princess.

Prudence, although only half English, has had a much more English upbringing than Xena. Prudence is not searching for redemption for her evil past like the warrior princess. There is no denying however, that they are both very clever, both good looking, and both sword wielding warriors. There is nothing wrong with that.

Xena was the first truly independent heroine without a male side-kick to protect her for a long time, and despite all the years that have gone by since Honour Blackman first donned leather, there is still simply not enough feisty heroines. Prudence goes a little way towards redressing the balance.