RMweb Gold beast66606 Posted June 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 25, 2015 Patrick Macnee has sadly passed away today. A true avenger. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33279566 RIP Patrick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 RIP indeed. I loved The Avengers, all of them (actors and episodes). Such a long time ago now. Brit15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 One of the highlights of the week, TV-wise. There was something very haunting about many of the episodes - the script, the acting and the music all came together to create a great series. Railway-wise, remember when Mrs Peel was tied to the tracks (at the Stapleford Park miniature railway)? Or when someone got off at a long disused station (on the then recently electrified WCML electrified) by mistake and disappeared? Brilliant stuff! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 ....I had pleasure watching them too. RIP Patrick Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Market65 Posted June 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 25, 2015 What terrible news. I've just this week made my purchase of the Blu-Ray set of series 5 of The Avengers (the Emma Peel colour series). I shall now see an episode later tonight in memoriam. It is so hard to take in this very sad news. A true giant of the small screen, and someone who I will always admire. I take off my hat to you Patrick Macnee. R.I.P. The Avengers - forever John Steed. Market65. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two_sugars Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 The Avengers is on Freeview Ch 61 on weeknights at 8.00pm R.I.P. Mr Steed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I'd just finished watched the New Avengers episode with the giant rat when I saw this! I'm working my way through both series at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangor Lad Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I always enjoy the small cameo he has as the taxi driver in Oasis' 'Don't look back in anger' video. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted June 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 25, 2015 And his very brief appearance in Spinal Tap. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted June 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 25, 2015 He was also in "A View to A Kill", appearing opposite Roger Moore's facelift. Probably the worst Bond film of all time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweasel Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Sad news indeed. I always enjoyed The Avengers back in the day,especially with Diana Rig. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John M Upton Posted June 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 25, 2015 He was also in "A View to A Kill", appearing opposite Roger Moore's facelift. Probably the worst Bond film of all time. One of my favourite Bond films (and yes I do admit it was actually pretty terrible, Moore should have quit after the previous one) but only because of Patrick Macnee who seemed to basically replicating the John Steed character, Amberley Chalk Pits railways getting some pretty decent screen time and the fact my house got buzzed by the bad guy's airship as they were filming at Amberley just up the road from me (the latter earned seriously impressive cool points at school the next morning!!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted June 26, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 26, 2015 Greatly saddened that he's left us. I so enjoy the sheer entertainment of the re-runs with the wonderful and sometimes delightfully ludicrous plots. Rest peacefully Patrick. This is how I'll remember him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 wonderful and sometimes delightfully ludicrous plots. Sometimes delightfully ludicrous? I though they were all like that!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted June 26, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 26, 2015 On reflection, you're right, they are all delightfully ludicrous. That's the fun and entertainment for me! Linda Thorson was on 'Today' telling some stories about him. A thoroughly nice man in work and in private she said. It was good to know that he had all his family around him at the end. I shall watch tonight in a slightly melancholy mood I expect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 .....the wonderful and sometimes delightfully ludicrous plots.... Sometimes delightfully ludicrous? I though they were all like that!!!! On reflection, you're right, they are all delightfully ludicrous. That's the fun and entertainment for me!..... The Prisoner, a near-contemporary show, still invites debate as to the meaning of the plots or indeed the show's entire run. Nobody knows! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 There was something surreal about a lot of these types of series then. The plots and much of the technology were totally unbelievable, but they had an endearing character to them. There was a quirky Britishness about them. And did any branch of British security really have bosses like Mother? Or agents who lived in stately homes and drove customised Jaguars for that matter! The production quality of the early ones was pretty dire though, especially when compared to The Saint from around the same time, with what appeared to be cheap sets, and the obligatory fight scenes had some of the most wooden acting imaginable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 .... some of the most wooden acting imaginable. Admittedly there were more trees available back then. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 A man of his time, The Avengers was a watchable program in its day, although I admit I cringed after watching just three episodes I taped recently. R.I.P. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted June 26, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 26, 2015 He was the constant, right through the entire run of The Avengers. How many Emma Peel actresses were there? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 What I found interesting in his Obit - is that for such a profound Englishman he was actually an American citizen since 1959... RIP Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kylestrome Posted June 26, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 26, 2015 He was the constant, right through the entire run of The Avengers. How many Emma Peel actresses were there? There was only one Emma Peel. The other two female characters were Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman) and Tara King (Linda Thorson). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacific231G Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 There was something surreal about a lot of these types of series then. The plots and much of the technology were totally unbelievable, but they had an endearing character to them. There was a quirky Britishness about them. And did any branch of British security really have bosses like Mother? Or agents who lived in stately homes and drove customised Jaguars for that matter! It was never clear that Steed was an actual agent employed by some obscure branch of the security service. He seemed to be more someone with impeccable credentials brought in as a troubleshooter when needed. MI5 and possibly the others had shown an unfortunate tendency to think that any decent chap from the right sort of background and school was bound to be loyal and reliable, pity some of them were loyal and reliable for the KGB. Patrick McNee famously loathed the James Bond character and insisted on making Steed utterly different. The original Avengers series were rather poking fun at all sorts of British establishments; the mad scientists running obscure government research centres, the gentleman's club for assassins, the cat protection society training cats to kill their owners to order and of course Little Storping in the Swuff, an idyllic English village whose entire population was in the murder business. I did find the original series with just Steed and a female colleague far more engaging that the New Avengers which, though it had its moments, seemed too much like an off the production line ITV spyish action adventure series like The Persuaders, Man in a Suitcase, Department S and all the rest. Apart from K is for Kill, a two parter set in France, I can't actually remember the plot of any of the New Avengers episodes but do remember those of a number of the original Avengers series. Patrick McNee's Wiki entry and obituaries are interesting. After being expelled from Eton (good for him but it probably ensured he wouldn't be called on by British security!) his embryonic acting career was interrupted by quite a good wartime naval career where he rose from ordinary seaman to a Lieutenant serving on MTBs. He gave us all some memorable entertainment. RIP Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 ... Little Storping in the Swuff, an idyllic English village whose entire population was in the murder business.... I suddenly realise how Midbummer Murders came to be. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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