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The Avengers (TV Series 1961–1969)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 5:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________________________________________________

Episode 5 of season 5 had the usual cute opening with Steed dropping in on Mrs. Peel to deliver the traditional written summons in a clever manner.

"We're needed!"

Here's a clip of that scene.


____ The Avengers | The Bird Who Knew Too Much


___________


While watching it today I quickly recognized a young John Wood, who later played the computer genius — Professor Falken — in War Games (1983), and he appeared again in the horrible 1998 movie version of The Avengers!

Wow! Who knew?
Shocked
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tmlindsey
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 8:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I used to watch this late at night, after work when I worked a horrible night shift job in my youth.

I usually enjoyed the Emma Peel episodes, which were the earliest ones shown, but as the tone of the show got sillier, I stopped watching.

The less said about the steaming heap of garbage that was the movie, the better.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 12:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________________________________________________

I watched the show in the 1960s from time to time, and I enjoyed them, but I was not really a big fan.

Tim, your comment leads me to believe that I made a mistake when I recently started watching the series at season 5 and skipped the black & white episodes. Sad

Knowing now that the earlier episode have a different flavor will allow me to appreciate them better.

Thanks! Cool

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tmlindsey
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 1:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know if you made a mistake, different strokes for different folks and all that, the later ones were just not my cup of tea (old bean).

What I remember is one of the later, bizarrely weird episodes had Steed and Tara King do a "comic" dance out of frame after defeating the bad guys, and I just said "Nope" and didn't watch any further episodes until the re-run cycle started again with Mrs. Peel.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2022 3:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________________________________________________

Well, I was wondering if I should bother with the post-Mrs. Peel episodes, because the relationship between her and Steed is so much a part of what makes the show fun.

Linda Thorson is a lovely lady (with a fuller figure than Miss Rigg, something I prefer), but that's not a reason important enough for me to throw over Diana and step out with Linda (so to speak) Cool

I didn't know how many more color episodes with Mrs. Peel I had to enjoy, so I looked it up on IMDB.

The first episode of season 7 is the introduction of Linda Thorson as Agent 69 ("Oh, Baby, be—HAVE!" Twisted Evil ) and the departure of Diana Rigg (she goes off to be with her missing husband, who reappears suddenly). Confused

There's 24 episodes in season five (6 of which I've watched in the last few days), and only only 7 episodes in Season six. Counting the first episode of season seven (Diana's last one), that means I've only got 26 episodes left to enjoy the devise Mrs. Peel! Sad

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Pow
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2022 7:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Something odd I found about the Tara King character was her lack of any hand-to-hand combat training.

Tara followed Cathy Gale & Emma Peel on the series. Gale & Peel were both "Talented Amateurs," but not secret agents who were recruited by agent Steed.

So now we have Tara, who is a secret agent as is Steed, and she's battling the villains with her purse, or anything she can find handy to hit 'em with and knock them unconscious.

Wouldn't you think that of all people, a secret agent working for the British spy agency would have had far more extensive training? I guess that after having skilled martial artists like Cathy & Emma on the series, the producers felt it was time for a change with the Tara King character in regards to her fighting abilities. So they did not have her be the third female to work with John Steed that also was a skilled fighter. However, it comes off as illogical that any field agent would have zero fighting skills. I know the Avengers was supposed to be fun and a spoof of espionage TV shows, but sometimes you can go too far and spoof just devolves into foolish.
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scotpens
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2022 10:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

tmlindsey wrote:
. . . I usually enjoyed the Emma Peel episodes, which were the earliest ones shown, but as the tone of the show got sillier, I stopped watching.

I never warmed to the Tara King character (honestly, who could replace Diana Rigg?) but I think the black-and-white Emma Peel season was the best. Some of the later color episodes with Diana Rigg just went way over-the-top with stories involving secret underground cities, shrink rays, body-switching -- total fantasy stuff.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2022 12:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Wouldn't you think that of all people, a secret agent working for the British spy agency would have had far more extensive training?

I know the Avengers was supposed to be fun and a spoof of espionage TV shows, but sometimes you can go too far and spoof just devolves into foolish.

Right on, Agent Mike Powers! (Brother of Austin, but that's top secret, of course.)

Your comment made me wonder why this "spoof" of spy craze didn't have Miss King possess skills similar to Jackie Chan's — that amazing ability of his to invent fighting maneuvers which used objects around him in surprising and effective ways.

Imagine the attractive Tara King (Linda Thorson), entering a foreign embassy to rescue John Steed, and she uses wild acrobatics like Mr. Chan does in this scene.


_ Rush Hour - Lee Forces His Way To The Chancellor


___________


She would have been an instant sensation among spy movie fans because of her sexy appearance and her "improvised martial arts".



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Oct 01, 2022 1:55 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 01, 2022 1:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

____________________________________________

I watched episode 7 of season 5 today, which featured a rather long (but poorly done) fight scene between Mrs. Peel and two husky guards before escaping from her cell. She tossed them around her cell like they were half-starve fashion models, then she knocked them both out with karate chops too weak to fluff a pillow! Rolling Eyes

Then she rushed to save Steed from a firing squad that was about to execute him, but she was waylaid for several minutes by a female guard in the large underground complex where this story took place.

This fight too was choreographed poorly, I'm forced to say.

I'm not sure if Diana Rigg just wasn't very good at faking martial arts, or the BBC was watering down the action to keep this series from being criticized for having too much violence.

Ironically, after finally immobilizing the lady guard, Mrs. Peel took the woman's machine gun and rushed to Steed's rescue just as he was about to be executed.

I was expecting her to jump out and shout, "Stop right there! Drop your weapons!"

But did that happen? Nope.

She mowed 'em all down while wearing a charming smile, then she sauntered over to Steed, took off his blindfold, and received a kiss on each check in gratitude. Cool

I couldn't help thinking about my suggestion above, concerning Linda Thorson's character demonstrating martial arts skills like Jackie Chan.

Ah well. 'Tis not to be, I suppose. Sad

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 01, 2022 5:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

scotpens wrote:
I never warmed to the Tara King character (honestly, who could replace Diana Rigg?) but I think the black-and-white Emma Peel season was the best. Some of the later color episodes with Diana Rigg just went way over-the-top with stories involving secret underground cities, shrink rays, body-switching — total fantasy stuff.

Well, today I watched another episode from season 5, and I was appalled by the silliness of the story!

The villains were placing electronic devices on the collars of ordinary house cats and turning them into vicious beast who (somehow) killed their terrified owners!

Sound silly? Damn right! Shocked

What I hated most was the fact that we never actually see these lovable little pets claw their owners to death.

We simply see POV shots of the victims screaming at the camera during the attacks! It was such an obvious "cheat" on the part of the producers that by the fourth so-called "attack", my eyeballs got soar from all the eye-rolling I was doing. Rolling Eyes

After each of these bogus attacks Steed and Peel would show up to examine the bodies. The clothes were ripped to shreds . . . but not a drop of blood was ever in sight!

By the fifth scene of these alleged attacks I had to resist the urge to throw my remote at the TV while screaming, "For God's sake, just grab the damn cat by the throat and throttle the worthless little bastard!"

Scot is right. This series started sliding downhill faster than a German bobsled steam!

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~ The Space Children (1958)
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Pow
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PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2023 2:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In late 1963, I.T.V. devised a plan to bring awareness of The Avengers to an American audience (The Avengers wasn't aired in the U.S. at this time).

A feature film, whereby the two main characters --- John Steed and Cath Gale --- would team up with two C.I.A. agents in a James Bond-like adventure. The project never managed to get off the ground.
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