I'm afraid you are right. I don't think it could be played as well today. Even if they took the same scripts and found really good actors to play it, it wouldn't have the same look and style. It is a piece of magic from a time when TV was being much braver than it had before. I'm not going to go all gaga about the 60s being this golden age because you can list the ways it wasn't, but in this TV series, they captured a sense of delight that it is hard not to feel nostalgic about. It was a breaking through the more sober affairs that had gone before. It wasn't exactly a comedy but it wasn't exactly a drama either. They existed in this twilight mirror universe where wit and playfulness would not be diminished by the most dire of threats; where flirting could exist in the full knowledge on all parts that it would never go further than flirting. It's not reality but despite the way corpses piled up, you kind of wish it was.
There have always been a small number of actresses who, without making any fuss about it, have such an easy control over their surroundings. In scene after scene, Diana Rigg as Emma Peel engages in a manner which is gracious and feminine but always having a certain mastery of her surroundings. When modern writers, with the best will in the world, try to write 'powerful women' they just make them snarky and unlikeable as if the only way a woman could be powerful would be to lose any sign of femininity and grace (I think you see this in the recent lamentable Indiana Jones film). In Emma Peel, you have the perfect example of a tough heroine who never loses her femininity. I don't want to see another attempt to do a modern version of 'The Avengers' but I do wish that writers and actors would sit down and watch this series just to see how it's done. And, yes, I know she often gets tied up but even under duress, she never really loses her cool.
It's amazing to think of Mrs. Peel would someday play Lady Tyrell!! I was 13 when Emma Peel drove me and my buddy Rich crazy...and we are eternally grateful !! LOL. RIP Lady Rigg.
I love her delivery of that line. Some like their films and TV shows gritty and peppered with realism. The Avengers is always letting us know that this is a great game to enjoy and yet never at the expense of the story working its magic.
I always prefer black and white shows shot on film to those shot in colour or on video. The light and shadow just plays so well. Colour suits the movies, especially those big epic sweep movies. But TV always seemed best suited to monochrome. It's probably just a personal thing or even a nostalgia thing... But these shows look so great.
Diana Rigg as Emma was the total package of perfect " femininety " ! Watched the first time the Avengers was broadcasted on America's ABC N.Y.C. viewing area in b & w. in 1966 then the following year in color with Emma 's new non-leather cripelene material stretch , colorful jumpsuits/ stretch stirrup pants ( like Bogner's stirrup ski pants ).@@dreamsofprojectedlight
Oddly this was one of the episodes held by censors "The Avengers" episodes not released in the US until around 1990. The only thing I could figure was the fact that she was tied up offended them. There were much steamier episodes. This is still one of my favorite shows of all time. Diana Rigg was beautiful and witty. She played the strong but feminine heroine years before Hollywood made a mess of strong now woke women. I prefer to remember her in her 20's than in her 70's!
Strength is silent. Weakness is loud. I think the problem with some of the more modern films which put women in the central action role is that they keep saying it. I heard that an actress in one of these female led franchise action films said she was the first woman to play an action heroine. What do these people learn at school?
It is pretty obvious not much, we do have some gifted intelligent actors, but they seem to keep to themselves. It's like that old saying "a hollow gourd makes the most noise"@@dreamsofprojectedlight
Very true. I grew up with the 625-line black and white TVs... But the thing is, at the time, it looked amazing because we didn't have anything to compare it to. I'm so glad they shot this series on film.
@@dreamsofprojectedlight I grew up with 405 Television sets they were about to try 625 lines sets happy and more simple times when bin men use to go around your back garden empty your bin and still have time for a chat when they brought the bin back.......All gone
The fantastic Emma Peel in "A Surfeit of H²O". Love this episode. Emma Peel looks fantastic in her Leather Catsuit. My first Love. The old shows are the best on TV what i have seen until today. The perils are always great and Steed is coming always in time for rescue. To be Steed must be great.
Yes. The perils must be great because we know that salvation will come but must still feel excited at how close a shave it might be. And yes, Emma Peel was such an iconic character. They always said of Bond that men wanted to be him and women wanted to sleep with him. I think Emma Peel is one of the few heroines that women wanted to be and men wanted to sleep with, knowing of course that she was ever faithful to the missing Mr Peel and that if she wasn't it would be Steed first.
It's amazing just how many people did. They were always giving scenes to interesting character actors. One of the reason there is rarely a dull moment.
I was born in the wrong decade I should have 60's or 70's my love of the leather and pvc clothing like jumpsuit/catsuit which I wear now and my taste of music, btw I was a 80's baby
I think many are. She had a quality that was so unusual. She exuded a kind of confidence in every scene and yet never once feels that she's being snarky in any way. She is always polite and thoughtful however dire the situation or however eccentric a character she is playing with. That's the quality she really shares with Macnee. It is not surprising that the two got on so well.
Sexy scenes...FUNNY, for a woman in a state of distress &having been captured...she was Not tied, bound.... Still a fave episode of a timeless show never to be repeated...tho twas tried.
Yes. It really was a one off. The tone would be almost impossible to replicate today or at any other time. I can imagine someone trying and play it too obviously for laughs or feel they were above the material and make it obvious that this was the case. The Avengers was so perfectly fine-tuned and unique in its quality and appeal.
Wonderful, wonderful. Such witty dialogue. There will never be another Emma Peel and John Steed.
I'm afraid you are right. I don't think it could be played as well today. Even if they took the same scripts and found really good actors to play it, it wouldn't have the same look and style. It is a piece of magic from a time when TV was being much braver than it had before. I'm not going to go all gaga about the 60s being this golden age because you can list the ways it wasn't, but in this TV series, they captured a sense of delight that it is hard not to feel nostalgic about. It was a breaking through the more sober affairs that had gone before. It wasn't exactly a comedy but it wasn't exactly a drama either. They existed in this twilight mirror universe where wit and playfulness would not be diminished by the most dire of threats; where flirting could exist in the full knowledge on all parts that it would never go further than flirting. It's not reality but despite the way corpses piled up, you kind of wish it was.
100 % correct ; truly unique & the best actors combo ever !
I love The Avengers. It was "girl power" before the term came into being lingo. And the clothes, that leather catsuit and PVC outfit are to die for.
There have always been a small number of actresses who, without making any fuss about it, have such an easy control over their surroundings. In scene after scene, Diana Rigg as Emma Peel engages in a manner which is gracious and feminine but always having a certain mastery of her surroundings. When modern writers, with the best will in the world, try to write 'powerful women' they just make them snarky and unlikeable as if the only way a woman could be powerful would be to lose any sign of femininity and grace (I think you see this in the recent lamentable Indiana Jones film). In Emma Peel, you have the perfect example of a tough heroine who never loses her femininity. I don't want to see another attempt to do a modern version of 'The Avengers' but I do wish that writers and actors would sit down and watch this series just to see how it's done. And, yes, I know she often gets tied up but even under duress, she never really loses her cool.
It's amazing to think of Mrs. Peel would someday play Lady Tyrell!! I was 13 when Emma Peel drove me and my buddy Rich crazy...and we are eternally grateful !! LOL. RIP Lady Rigg.
The B&W image on the blu-ray release is extremely good. :-)
Shouldve included the first moment shes in the leather catsuit when smythe gets her in this episode.
Yes. I can only use the smallest moments in these videos but there is always so much wonderful stuff to choose from.
She was my favorite actress ever since the first time I saw her in the Avengers. Also like Patrick Macnee.
"you diabolical mastermind you" Love it!!!
I love her delivery of that line. Some like their films and TV shows gritty and peppered with realism. The Avengers is always letting us know that this is a great game to enjoy and yet never at the expense of the story working its magic.
Maybe Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh could have been near of this chemical.
These early black n whites were the best...God bless Emma.....
I always prefer black and white shows shot on film to those shot in colour or on video. The light and shadow just plays so well. Colour suits the movies, especially those big epic sweep movies. But TV always seemed best suited to monochrome. It's probably just a personal thing or even a nostalgia thing... But these shows look so great.
Emma Peel always looks fantastic when dressed in pvc or leather and tied up
Emma and her outfits, especially her leather , sleek , jumpsuit with slanted , zippered frontal & rear pockets ! Emma was always my main " squeeze " !
She had a lot of wonderful qualities. That mixture of toughness and sweetness and sexiness and uprightness. An impossible act to follow.
Diana Rigg as Emma was the total package of perfect " femininety " ! Watched the first time the Avengers was broadcasted on America's ABC N.Y.C. viewing area in b & w. in 1966 then the following year in color with Emma 's new non-leather cripelene material stretch , colorful jumpsuits/ stretch stirrup pants ( like Bogner's stirrup ski pants ).@@dreamsofprojectedlight
Oddly this was one of the episodes held by censors "The Avengers" episodes not released in the US until around 1990. The only thing I could figure was the fact that she was tied up offended them. There were much steamier episodes. This is still one of my favorite shows of all time. Diana Rigg was beautiful and witty. She played the strong but feminine heroine years before Hollywood made a mess of strong now woke women. I prefer to remember her in her 20's than in her 70's!
Strength is silent. Weakness is loud. I think the problem with some of the more modern films which put women in the central action role is that they keep saying it. I heard that an actress in one of these female led franchise action films said she was the first woman to play an action heroine. What do these people learn at school?
It is pretty obvious not much, we do have some gifted intelligent actors, but they seem to keep to themselves. It's like that old saying "a hollow gourd makes the most noise"@@dreamsofprojectedlight
The image is so very sharp! It never looked this good when I was watching it on a TV screen back then.
Very true. I grew up with the 625-line black and white TVs... But the thing is, at the time, it looked amazing because we didn't have anything to compare it to. I'm so glad they shot this series on film.
@@dreamsofprojectedlight I grew up with 405 Television sets they were about to try 625 lines sets happy and more simple times when bin men use to go around your back garden empty your bin and still have time for a chat when they brought the bin back.......All gone
The fantastic Emma Peel in "A Surfeit of H²O". Love this episode. Emma Peel looks fantastic in her Leather Catsuit. My first Love. The old shows are the best on TV what i have seen until today. The perils are always great and Steed is coming always in time for rescue. To be Steed must be great.
Yes. The perils must be great because we know that salvation will come but must still feel excited at how close a shave it might be. And yes, Emma Peel was such an iconic character. They always said of Bond that men wanted to be him and women wanted to sleep with him. I think Emma Peel is one of the few heroines that women wanted to be and men wanted to sleep with, knowing of course that she was ever faithful to the missing Mr Peel and that if she wasn't it would be Steed first.
Never knew Noel Purcell made it into the Avengers.
It's amazing just how many people did. They were always giving scenes to interesting character actors. One of the reason there is rarely a dull moment.
The flood is coming
I was born in the wrong decade I should have 60's or 70's my love of the leather and pvc clothing like jumpsuit/catsuit which I wear now and my taste of music, btw I was a 80's baby
Fantastic in plastic, I just love a damsel in distress situation ❤
❤❤❤
Ich liebe sie auch heute noch ❤
Very understandable. She is timeless.
@@dreamsofprojectedlight
Yess!!👍🥂
What episode was this please??
A Surfeit of H20. Fourth Series, Eighth episode.
@@dreamsofprojectedlight many thanks 😊 much appreciated!!
Diana Rigg, la mujer más sensual y hermosa que haya visto. Siempre estaré enamorado de ella.
I think many are. She had a quality that was so unusual. She exuded a kind of confidence in every scene and yet never once feels that she's being snarky in any way. She is always polite and thoughtful however dire the situation or however eccentric a character she is playing with. That's the quality she really shares with Macnee. It is not surprising that the two got on so well.
Sexy scenes...FUNNY, for a woman in a state of distress &having been captured...she was Not tied, bound.... Still a fave episode of a timeless show never to be repeated...tho twas tried.
Yes. It really was a one off. The tone would be almost impossible to replicate today or at any other time. I can imagine someone trying and play it too obviously for laughs or feel they were above the material and make it obvious that this was the case. The Avengers was so perfectly fine-tuned and unique in its quality and appeal.