If not Linda, then who?

cyberrich · Post by **cyberrich** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:02 am

Poor Linda Thorson comes in for a lot of criticism from Avengers fans. I actually really liked her as Tara King. She was obviously too young and inexperienced but this only showed in the first 10 episodes or so. By the summer of '68 when she'd turned 21 she actually started to give a very mature and assured performance. Not in the same league as Diana Rigg, but then who is? So, if not Linda then who should they have picked, and why? CHARLOTTE RAMPLING would be my choice. She was great in Superlative seven. She had the looks, athleticism and the right amount of flippant wit which was vital in keeping Steed in check.

kim · Post by **kim** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:09 am

I always find it difficult to picture different actors in roles that the originals had made their own. Linda Thorson was Tara King, Patrick Macnee was Steed, Diana Rigg was Emma Peel, etc. I just can't picture anyone else taking on those characters. Which is probably why I'm so reluctant to see the movie.

Once Linda had a grasp on the character and had developed her she was fantastic.

Dandy Forsdyke · Post by **Dandy Forsdyke** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:17 am

Charlotte Rampling was a bit 'cold' for me. I would have liked to have seen Gabrielle Drake in the role (not as 'Tara King' obviously)

She auditioned for both The Avengers and The New Avengers and played Angora in The Hidden Tiger (Avengers) and Penny in Dead Men Are Dangerous (New Avengers)...

DiVicenzo · Post by **DiVicenzo** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:36 am

I think Charlotte Rampling or Gabrielle Drake would have been super but when Linda isn't going all dew-eyed over Steed I like her. Like Kim it's hard for me now to see anyone else in the role. Anyone who took over from Diana would have come in for some stick. Even she did to a certain extent when she took over from Honor.
If George Lazenby had carried on as 007 the public would have accepted him as I think he *was* Bond - sexy, tall, dark and handsome and tough and this time he actually had deep feelings for *the* woman!
Can anyone else see Brigitte Bardot play Contessa Teresa DiVicenzo now - because, I believe she was the first choice for the part?

darren · Post by **darren** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 3:22 pm

Whilst personally having no complaints about Linda Thorson, I always thought that Catherine Schell would have made a good Avengers girl. That gorgeous smile, she could do that tongue in cheek stuff well.

Artanis · Post by **Artanis** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 3:22 pm

kim wrote:I always find it difficult to picture different actors in roles that the originals had made their own. Linda Thorson was Tara King, Patrick Macnee was Steed, Diana Rigg was Emma Peel, etc. I just can't picture anyone else taking on those characters. Which is probably why I'm so reluctant to see the movie.

I agree, Kim. I don't think Linda was the best choice to be Steed's new partner because she was too inexperienced but I can't image anyone else playing Tara King. Her first few episodes aren't that bad and she got better as the season went on. It would have been interesting if The Avengers lasted one more season and we saw more of Tara. Maybe opinions about her would be different. Look at Honor/Cathy, to me, her character got better during her second season.

DiVicenzo · Post by **DiVicenzo** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 4:00 pm

Darren wrote:Whilst personally having no complaints about Linda Thorson, I always thought that Catherine Schell would have made a good Avengers girl. That gorgeous smile, she could do that tongue in cheek stuff well.

Yes, Catherine Schell is another goodie. She was in OHMSS too

cyberrich · Post by **cyberrich** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 4:33 pm

I hadn't given Catherine Schell a thought. She's have made a great Avenger. She was terrific in return of the Pink Panther.

Post by **Allard** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 4:50 pm

The problem was not Linda Thorson, it was Tara King, or not even that her age. They should have never made a twenty year old partner for steed.

If I see Linda in the Laurent Perrier commercial or even a photo of her a five or seven years later, I see a real Avengers woman.

That's her tragedy, she got a role which always stuck to here, but which she could have done brilliantly if she had been a bit older and more experienced.

And if not Linda, Caroline Blakiston, I liked in the Positve-Negative Man and the actress who played in The Girl from Auntie and the 50.000 Pound Breakfast could have been a good partner for Steed.

Rodney · Post by **Rodney** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 5:35 pm

I liked the lady who took the part of Lady Forbes-Blakeney in the holiday episode for Thorson, Jennifer Croxton. Gabriella Drake would have been great but Charlotte Rampling would have been a little frosty, perhaps.