Totally disagree.the_demolished_man wrote: I'm not saying that Patrick Macnee needed replacing because his Steed wasn't good - it was excellent - but in remaining in the role throughout the entirity of the series, it was then incredibly difficult to recast when it was needed. There was no precedent - Macnee WAS Steed. And frankly it needed recasting - first with Tara and especially with Purdey.
And I'm a huge Moore fan too - have all the Saints, Persuaders!, Bonds, his autobiography etc... but he simply isn't Steed.
Maybe Patrick Troughton could have played Steed, but he could have played anyone... and often did. Patrick Allen might have been good too - charm, looks great in a bowler hat, steel...