The Avengers : The Emma Peel Seasons
d: Various, 1965 - 1967

4 December 2006

An accurate but incomplete memory of The Avengers has lingered in my mind since last seeing the show in syndication on local stations in the early 70s. The more recent A&E run did not compel my interest. Eh? The Avengers? Saw that.

Still, the DVDs tempted me, but were too expensive for idle purchase - if I bought one to pique my curiosity, I'd feel stuck not owning the rest. I did want that box of The Prisoner, though. Deep Discount DVD had a 2-for-1 sale recently that let me get both The Prisoner and The Avengers: Emma Peel Megaset for the price of one.

What I remembered of The Avengers was sexy Emma Peel, her rather bland if sometimes witty partner John Steed, and a host of eccentric British supporting characters - the red herrings and sneering, smug villains of the shows. I also recalled there being a lot of banter that I thought was clever at the time, but worried I'd find strained or forced today.

What I had forgotten or never noticed to begin with was how brilliant Patrick MacNee is as a comic actor, how deviously kinky the dialogue could be, and what a field day the supporting cast had mocking various British character types.

More about these latter things as more episodes are screened.

But first - Mrs. Peel, Emma Peel, my first MILF! I was eleven when I first ran across The Avengers on ABC in 1966 - the same season that Star Trek premiered on NBC. I'd prefer to think my view of women was not warped by barely dressed alien babes and kinky female spies in leather jumpsuits, but merely shaped by them. Whichever - there's no getting Emma Peel out of your mind once you've seen a few episodes of The Avengers. That she is not a complete character in herself is something that becomes obvious only after the fact, when you are thinking about the show and the coyly sexy flirtatious dynamic between Mrs. Peel and John Steed. While she's on screen, you just drink her in.

Everyone remembers the leather jumpsuit. But my favorite Emma Peel moments are more like this frame to the left - the sleepy-cat looks that seemed to come so naturally to the character.