Steed and Mrs Peel, The Avengers
The Best 1960s Cult TV Show, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg
Oct 16, 2008
‘The Avengers’ should be right at the top of every list of the best TV. Made between 1961 and 1969, it quite simply epitomized London's Swinging Sixties, but without the sex. Popular in both the US and the UK, which was quite unusual for a British-made series, the show starred Patrick Macnee as John Steed and, first, Honor Blackman as Cathy Gale, and then Diana Rigg as Mrs Peel. For many, Emma Peel was the real Avenger girl. She was followed briefly by Linda Thorson who played Tara King, but the public had become enamoured of Mrs Peel and the show closed soon after Tara King took over the role of Steed’s partner in anti-crime.
Who Are The Avengers?
Steed and Peel worked for an unspecified quasi-government agency but only in a very loose way and were quite obviously people of independent means whose hobby was doing good and, one week, saving the world, and the next, a small English village from a great assortment of dastardly villains.
Cathy Gale and Mrs Peel brought a new kind of woman to TV screens, and they frequently had to rescue Steed by resorting to the kind of judo and weapons virtuosity hitherto reserved completely to the male of the species. The case for this is demonstrated by the fact that, over the many series of The Avengers, Mrs Peel was responsible for the deaths of many more villains than was Steed.
The Avengers and the Swinging Sixties
The Avengers were undoubtedly part of the Swinging Sixties and some would say that they contributed to the decade’s style. Steed always wore gentleman’s attire (almost always accompanied by a bowler hat and umbrella), while Mrs Peel demonstrated a penchant for leather cat-suits decades before Michelle Pfeiffer popularised them in Batman. Mrs Peel was, however, not averse to wearing country tweeds or Carnaby Street fashions should the assignment call for it.
The Avengers: The Show, John Steed and Mrs Peel
The show ran for 161 episodes during the 1960s (it was revived in the 1970s but never achieved its earlier cultural or production heights) and was eventually shown in 120 countries across the world. This popularity was undoubtedly down to the formula-driven plots which gave full rein to the chemistry between Steed and Peel. The series’ fan web site describes the typical plot-line thus:
“Curious events take place (usually involving murder), Steed and Emma investigate, there is a big fight, and at the end our heroes ride off into the sunset, each time via a different mode of transport. Tongue is always firmly implanted in cheek—goofy mad scientists and fiendish enemy spies abound, and their frequent plots to take over the country/world are often downright silly.”
The characters of John Steel and Mrs Peel were largely inventions of the actors playing them as, in the tradition of British TV of the time, budgets were tight and scripts were being developed as the shooting was underway.
The Avengers in the 21st Century
The Avengers continues to air on television stations across the world. Those who have never seen the show have a treat in store an should seek it out by fair means or foul. Those who have seen it almost always remain on the lookout for an episode that will greet them like an old friend and, unlike some old friends, never disappoint.
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