In 1968 Diana Rigg left "The Avengers" because of a salary dispute and some on-set alienation from the crew (but not her co-star), and also to pursue a stage and movie career. Like Honor Blackman, she appeared in Bond film shortly after leaving the show. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969) might have been a blockbuster for all concerned--its still a very good Bond film entry--but it lacked a strong leading man for Bond. Sean Connery had left the series (temporarily) and the film did less than stellar business. Although she has had a fine career in television and the stage, Dame Diana never became a film star--although she conquered the stage with numberous awards playing in everything from Euripides to Tom Stoppard. She also has done great work in British television films like "Rebecca", "Mother Love" and was a fine Lady Dedlock in the 1985 BBC TV adaptation of Charles Dickens great novel, "Bleak House".
As for "The Avengers", things went downhill a bit. American viewers were not as taken by Toronto-native Linda Thorson (pictured above) , the 20 year old long-legged brunette actress who took over as Tara King, John Steed's newest partner. The maturity and droll elan of "Mrs. Peel" was sorely missed, and the loss was compounded by the fact that NBC had a hit show called "Laugh In" that came on opposite "The Avengers" on Monday nights. Despite some good scripts and an improvement and later "toughening up" off the more frilly and vulnerable character of Miss King by the British producers, ABC stopped ordering new episodes early in 1969. The loss of American money coming into the production doomed it. Reruns of the Emma Peel shows continued after the King series was over. After six full series years and close to 200 episodes (83 seen in the USA) Patrick MacNee's charming and stylishly capable John Steed had to hang up his hat and umbrella.
"The Avengers" should have been television history after that but, like "Star Trek", it was only "the end" for a while.
(please check back for part three--coming soon to a monitor near you!)
No comments:
Post a Comment