Can somebody explain me...?

ricardomartins · Post by **ricardomartins** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 7:36 pm

...why does Steed read so much Tintin books? In two or 3 Cathy Gale episodes I remember that he's reading Herge's Tintin in "The Man With Too Shadows" and "The Outside-In Man". In the color seasons I also remember him reading The Blue Lotus in french.

Was this some kind of homage to belgians? To Hergé? Were Tintin books very popular at the time? I also don't get Steed reading The Blue Lotus in french, as far as I remember he never talks in french in all Avengers seasons.

darren · Post by **darren** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:03 pm

He reads one in the tag scene to "Look stop me if you've heard this one.."

Though I don't care for them myself, it's a lovely character detail for Steed.

Rodney · Post by **Rodney** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:05 pm

he does speak in French on a number of occasions and plays the part of a gourmet reviewer in one of my father's less successful episodes in Season 4. Tintin had a huge cult following in the UK and the idea of Steed reading it in French was to add a further element of sophistication to the character. French was the language of diplomacy and chivalry, after all.

VA_Avenger · Post by **VA_Avenger** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:45 pm

French was widely used in England for quite a while . . . If I remember back that far.

ricardomartins · Post by **ricardomartins** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:17 pm

Cheers for the replies, guys. I never imagined Tintin books were popular in UK, because none of my british friends ever mentioned them as a childhood influence.

Rodney, is your father Roger Marshall, the screenwriter of some Avengers episodes? It must have been fascinating growing up in such an Avengerish home. I guess you must have met a lot of the "family", like Patrick MacNee, Honor Blackman, or Peter Hammond...

Post by **Allard** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:23 pm

Maybe it was initially a one time thing that got out of hand. I however think it fits (the early) Steed perfectly. Quirky, eccentric and a bit childish.

Rodney · Post by **Rodney** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:56 pm

Tintin suits the mid-1960s Steed who has a childish, Peter Pan streak as well as a deadly side to him. (Unfortunately I was a baby when my father stopped writing for the show but have since met directors of the show like Don Leaver and Gerry O'Hara who remain close friends of my father.)

ricardomartins · Post by **ricardomartins** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 2:08 am

Wow, Rodney, you must be proud of being a part of a family like that.

I would like very much to meet an Avengers celebrity one day. I've met some movie celebrities in my work like Bernardo Bertolucci and Catherine Deneuve, but talking to an Avengers star (my favorite show of all time) must be magical.

Do you know if there are any reunions of the old cast and crew in UK, like the festivals Star Wars fans do sometimes?

Frankymole · Post by **Frankymole** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 12:45 pm

ricardomartins wrote:Cheers for the replies, guys. I never imagined Tintin books were popular in UK, because none of my british friends ever mentioned them as a childhood influence.

Tintin is hugely popular in Britain, and indeed some books about Tintin by British authors are quite sought-after:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tintin-Complete ... 85&sr=8-46

darren · Post by **darren** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 1:58 pm

Steven Speilberg is of course due to or in the process of making a Tintin film with another film to follow directed by Peter Jackson. With a screenplay by Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat.