Emma Peel To Tara King Convertee

[Allard]

Diana Rigg does seem less interested in the colour ones, at least until the last 8 when she got the pay rise she wanted and already knew she was leaving. It's not surprising, when they didn't treat her very well, and she was also doing two jobs, with theatre acting in the evenings (with associated travel demands) after very early starts for filming. In the monochromes she was making her name and it was all more fresh and adventurous. Luckily Linda Thorson was just round the corner and she'd have the same initial-season adventure ahead of her!

I've thought this as well, but I'm now more of the opinion that she grew in to her role and Mrs Peel went from a well of intelligent sidekick for Steed to a self assured modern woman with a teasing, playful personality, especially towards Steed. The nonchalance is part of the formula and it is indeed kind of peak-Avengers.

[Frankymole]

I always saw her as an equal partner, never a sidekick...

[mousemeat]

I always saw her as an equal partner, never a sidekick...

true...it was a tough act following Rigg, and making her debut in the forget me knot...and yeah, she literally grew into the role...bottom line, your character, etc...is ONLY as good as the scripts that are provided...look at the difference between the Rigg monochrome & color episodes

[Frankymole]

I thought Allard was talking about Mrs Peel, not Tara King. Tara certainly had a character arc of growth, which is why her episodes are best watched in production order (except The Forget-Me-Knot, of course)... Whereas for me Emma Peel was in command of her destiny and equal in status to Steed from the start. She supplied the ying to his yang, they each had strengths to add to the partnership. She didn't need a learning curve like newly-qualified agent Tara. Though Tara proved more able than anyone else in the Department, most of whom seem to end up dead, or become traitors, or both...

[J.Mac3]

I think it worthwhile to mention the difference in ages between Diana and Linda, not in regard to their acting experience when both joined the Avengers but in their character's relationship to Steed. I seem to remember reading in several places that scriptwriters had to be careful when portraying Steed's relationship with Tara to avoid making him out as a dirty old man chasing a young "girl." Had Linda been approximately Diana's age, I wonder if Tara's relationship with Steed would have all been allowed to be one of playful, flirty, and strong equals, as it was between Emma and Steed. Linda was (and is) a fine actress and if she'd been able to play her character that way, perhaps even fanatic Emma fans would have been won over.

[Frankymole]

You have to salute them for trying something different though. Just trying to bring in yet another widow who was equal in status to Steed would've made them vulnerable to accusations of running on the spot, staleness, repetition, etc.

Arguably Liz Shepherd was too similar to Honor Blackman, and it's good they recast the part and went for a very different relationship between the partners. They recognised Diana Rigg's strengths and started writing for them.

It also allowed Macnee to show different aspects of Steed - going from the slightly sleazy spiv type to a charming elegant gentleman (but still with an inner steel and an undercurrent of danger). With Tara he could take this further, showing a protectiveness to an (initial) ingenue with a crush on him, and in The New Avengers he gets to be a father figure to Purdey (and also his resolve to keep a gentlemanly distance is sorely tested when Purdey, perhaps teasingly, flirts with him!).

Amusingly they got round the "dirty old man chasing a young girl" thing by having her chase him. Though arguably this fits in with the famous Avengers kinkiness.

[Allard]

I thought Allard was talking about Mrs Peel, not Tara King. Tara certainly had a character arc of growth, which is why her episodes are best watched in production order (except The Forget-Me-Knot, of course)... Whereas for me Emma Peel was in command of her destiny and equal in status to Steed from the start. She supplied the ying to his yang, they each had strengths to add to the partnership. She didn't need a learning curve like newly-qualified agent Tara. Though Tara proved more able than anyone else in the Department, most of whom seem to end up dead, or become traitors, or both...

I was. I think you all have put a little more meaning in my words than I intended with them. I was merely pointing out the Emma Peel character went from a more formal relationship with Steed to a much more playful one.

[mousemeat]

You have to salute them for trying something different though. Just trying to bring in yet another widow who was equal in status to Steed would've made them vulnerable to accusations of running on the spot, staleness, repetition, etc.

Arguably Liz Shepherd was too similar to Honor Blackman, and it's good they recast the part and went for a very different relationship between the partners. They recognised Diana Rigg's strengths and started writing for them.

It also allowed Macnee to show different aspects of Steed - going from the slightly sleazy spiv type to a charming elegant gentleman (but still with an inner steel and an undercurrent of danger). With Tara he could take this further, showing a protectiveness to an (initial) ingenue with a crush on him, and in The New Avengers he gets to be a father figure to Purdey (and also his resolve to keep a gentlemanly distance is sorely tested when Purdey, perhaps teasingly, flirts with him!).

Amusingly they got round the "dirty old man chasing a young girl" thing by having her chase him. Though arguably this fits in with the famous Avengers kinkiness.

yeah, I would agree about Shepard being too similar to Gale, plus there wasn't no spark with her..the camera didn't seem to like her...but that's just my opinion...and yeah, the age difference between Steed and Tara, was a stumbling bloc at first, until the script writers were able to sort it out

[Frankymole]

I was. I think you all have put a little more meaning in my words than I intended with them. I was merely pointing out the Emma Peel character went from a more formal relationship with Steed to a much more playful one.

I think that happened during the monochrome era though, quite quickly. It's only in the first couple of filmed episodes that she seems disapproving of Steed. Quite soon they're playing indoor golf and tubas together. And certainly by the end of it she's patting his bum after they spent all night partying.

One (wo)man's playful is another (wo)man's seemingly-bored, I guess...

[J.Mac3]

You have to salute them for trying something different though. Just trying to bring in yet another widow who was equal in status to Steed would've made them vulnerable to accusations of running on the spot, staleness, repetition, etc.

Arguably Liz Shepherd was too similar to Honor Blackman, and it's good they recast the part and went for a very different relationship between the partners. They recognised Diana Rigg's strengths and started writing for them.

It also allowed Macnee to show different aspects of Steed - going from the slightly sleazy spiv type to a charming elegant gentleman (but still with an inner steel and an undercurrent of danger). With Tara he could take this further, showing a protectiveness to an (initial) ingenue with a crush on him, and in The New Avengers he gets to be a father figure to Purdey (and also his resolve to keep a gentlemanly distance is sorely tested when Purdey, perhaps teasingly, flirts with him!).

Amusingly they got round the "dirty old man chasing a young girl" thing by having her chase him. Though arguably this fits in with the famous Avengers kinkiness.

Good points, Frankymole! I almost edited my post to acknowledge that, had the producers/writers made Tara too similar to Emma, it wouldn't have worked. And your point regarding Steed being able to show a gentle, protective side hadn't occurred to me. Maybe in the long run, it worked out for the best. As a Peel fan, I confess that what I most missed was the character of the relationship between Steed and Peel. As this thread suggests, maybe I should learn to see the Steed-Tara relationship just as interesting but different. And Brian Clemens is on record for saying he felt the best scripts were written during Tara's series. Someone of his stature and history with the show can't be easily dismissed.