Mrs. Peel, We're Needed
Say the title “The Avengers” and what would you suspect most people today see in their minds? A team of comic book superheroes? Mention that title to me, and I see in my head two people. A marvelously sexy woman in a leather cat suit, and a dashing man in an bowler hat, with an umbrella. This would be the other set of Avengers, those of the 1960s British television series “The Avengers”, a show which happens to be one of my favorites. The high point, and most memorable part of the series run, comes from the middle three seasons—the Emma Peel era. Before I get to that, let me give you a brief overlook at the series. The series began in the UK in 1961, it was a proto spy series, with the first season centered around a doctor and his friend—John Steed, as played by Patrick MacNee—avenging the death of his wife. As the second season roll around, the doctor was gone and Steed had a female partner, Cathy Gale. A role played by Honor Blackman, best to know for playing Pussy Galore in ...