h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

we're needed.

I'm just wondering whether in the course of your research you found anything to support the theory I was once told that Emma Peel had been so named because she had M(an) Appeal?

Poor old Linda Thorson. She wasn't that bad, you know, and some of that final series is inspired stuff. Well, I liked 'em, anyway.

I also think the much maligned movie might have been worth a nod. Whilst the two leads were abyssmal (and both were appalling in their treatment of the movie before and after it's release, appearing to believe they had signed up for Pride and |Prejudice or somesuch), it did have the sets right, and Mother (the wonderful Jim Broadbent), fabulous costumes (Sean Connery in a luminious teddy bear outfir was *so* Avengers I nearly wet myself laughing) and a film stealing cameo from Mr. MacNee.

Two separate (although possibly not independent) sources that I looked at corroborate that particular story, yes - and naming a character "Emma Peel" for "M(an) Appeal" is the height of subtlety compared to referring to Tara King as "Agent 69"!

H.

As far as Agent 69 goes, I suspect it may run even deeper, to John Willies Agent UR69 from his classic bondage cartoon strip 'Sweet Gwendoline'.
I certainly remember seeing MacNee interviwed at one point where he gleefully revelled in the more fetishistic aspects of the show, including the bondage 'All very jolly!', I believe were his exact words...

and another little snippet-from Honor Blackman's beauty tip book-
Patrick at a party deliberately
shocking guests by telling them
where they could get naughty nun/schoolgirl outfits
or "whatever you fancy dear lady."

The owner of my local comic shop (and sometime Shark drinking companion) met Patrick MacNee at some convention or other.
He was delighted to report that he was everything he had hoped for, and more, and was the absolule gent he came across as on television.
I think Martin had had some bad experiences when meeting 'heroes' before, but was thoroughly entranced by MacNee.

Well I guy I used to know named Barney had nothing but good words to say about him. Lovely bloke by all accounts.

H.

I know what you mean about bad experiences with 'heros'
...a certain Who actor was a bit
'full of himself'-but a superior
Who (IMHO) Tom Baker-was a much nicer person.

Macnee seems a very nice Gent-from everything anyone who has spoken to him says.

wot-no smiley...

At the very least we should have a , so that we could doff it at the ladies, don't you think?

I sort of agree on the film. I get the feeling the script was spot on. Mother was good, the sets and ideas were lovely "Macaroons for Mother" but the leads and the director must have beamed in from Planet Showbiz. Steed does not get dishevelled! Certainly not to that extent. But then I quite like the New Avengers, specifically the one where Steeds car gets blown up.

My understanding is that the character of Steed was originally written as a total cypher with no personality or distinguishing features - so Patrick Macnee basically played a version of himself!

I think he also admitted to stealing Steed's 'look' (bowler and brolly) from Ralph Richardson in the movie Q-Planes.

But a really nice article - more on the various behind the scenes shenanigans (Elizabeth Shepherd, the 'other' final season etc) would've made it utterly perfect.

The trouble for me with the film
(one of them anyway! ) is
the Mother character-I never liked that idea at all.......and
of course Macnee is The Avengers

But back to the article!
clink!

The "other" final season? What, not Tara (Ra Boom de ay) King and Steed going up in a rocket?

'other final season'

is that the proposed stories?
or have I missed something?

I'm intrigued!
clink!

The film was so weird. It was clear that the designers had seen some photos of the avengers and guessed rightly how it should look. Sadly the script was butchered by execs and then the film was recut at the last minute, making it a sprawling mess of nonsense. It is a shame they couldn't have remembered that fight scenes are ALWAYS conducted without the leads ever breaking into a sweat. Even when the fights are prolongued and frenzied, the important thing is to make it *seem* effortless.

All of the Avenger people had character names that were supposed to be short-hand for their characters:

Steed - reliable.
Cathy *Gale* - a whirlwind fighter and free spirit.
Emma Peel - the afforementioned M(an) Appeal
Tara - raboomdiay! AKA Agent 69.
Purdey - named after a gun
and of course - Gambit.

Maybe that's whiy they dropped Emma's original replacement, because aside from a regal connection, there's nothing really exciting about a character called "Elisabeth".

...

Elisabeth Shepherd was the name of the actress originally cast as Mrs Peel, they filmed a version of the first episode of season 4 using her before deciding she wasn't right for the part and recast (thankfully) using Dame Diana.

The thing about the final season... I understand that about the time Diana Rigg was leaving the producers (Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell) were kicked off the show. The replacement producers cast Linda Thorson and made several episodes with her - but they were all rubbish and most of them were junked (Have Guns Will Haggle was one survivor as was the one where Mother visits his aunties, sort of). Clemens and Fennell were hurriedly re-hired and the show resumed along the familiarly unfamiliar lines. So there were really two final seasons, the 'false start' and the genuine one.

That's all apparently true - and major blushes for forgetting Ms Shepherd. And I also read soemwhere that The Forget-Me-Knot was made WAY after Rigg left the show and after those original episodes were ditched - you can tell which of the Thorson ones used scened from episods made or planned before the switch because she's got blonde hair in them. The ones made after were when they'd allowed her to wear a brunette wig because the peroxide had made her hair brittle and it had all fallen out, or something.

Hmm... a bowler hat smiley...

Other than the intentional enuendo, perhaps the "Agent 69" came from the other popular female agent of that time period "Agent 99" on the "Get Smart" series

Linda Thorson wasn't so bad - but there was no chemistry with McNee. She made him look like a dirty old man, and he made her look like a simpering teen. The episodes which worked best, in my opinion, were those in which the two leads were separated.

The "Mother" idea didn't work for me either. In the Diana Rigg years, there was an impression that the Avengers were pretty much omnipotent. Now that they had to answer to a boss, it made them so much *smaller*.

Some of the idiosyncrasy seemed a bit forced occasionally, but the main problem was that it had lost the chemistry.

spot on about what's wrong with Mother...Am I the only one who picture searches (??) through the scenes with Newall? His 'shoutyness' really bugs me.

I think what's wrong with Linda...well Tara actually (Linda's fine) is that there's too much emphasis on character-she should have been left more natural.