Tuesday, February 20, 2007

The Avengers

On Sunday night, CK invited some friends over for dinner and a marathon of Avengers watching. CK is a more devoted Avengers fan than I because she values the Tara King (Linda Thorson) episodes almost as much as the Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) ones. I'm all about Diana Rigg and only Diana Rigg. I'm so enamored of Diana Rigg that when I was in London for a college trip in the late 1980's I went to see Follies (a Sondheim musical) just because she was in it. She was great, of course. To this day, if she's in it, I'll watch it.



The Avengers is one of those things, like Born Yesterday, that I can't bear interrogating. I just love it. And I also can't stand sniping. I didn't realize that until Sunday night when Kat, one of CK's friends, made many disparaging, unappreciative comments about the show. She didn't mean anything by it particularly, but her criticism, as mild as it was, irked me. It also made me inclined to dislike Kat.

If you aren't familiar with The Avengers, let me tell you what I like about it (not necessarily in this order):
  1. Diana Rigg.
  2. Diana Rigg's outfits, particularly the black boots and the blue jumpsuit.
  3. Diana Rigg's hair.
  4. Some (but not all) of the byplay between Mrs. Peel (Diana Rigg) and Mr. Steed.
  5. The entertaining plots.
  6. The low, low production values.
  7. The way Mrs. Peel kicks ass--literally.
  8. Mrs. Peel is as likely to rescue Mr. Steed as he is to rescue her.
  9. Mrs. Peel's Lotus Elan.


When I was a teenager in Seattle, episodes used to come on at 1:00am. Many a night I found myself staying up an extra hour or half hour to watch the show. I recruited both Amanda and Audrey to watch with me and I like to think they shared my enthusiasm, though neither were as obsessed as I.

You may recall my mod phase--an obsession with Emma Peel went hand and hand with that. She was my female mod ideal. Strong, independent, smart and stylish. My hero!

When I was in grad school, a boy who I dated a few times gave me a box set of Avengers videos. I was so touched I couldn't speak for a minute. We were both poor but he spent some real money and got me the perfect gift.

Last, the Seattle band, The Allies, got some radio play with their song Emma Peel. I used to have it on a tape of Seattle bands--a tape I loaned to a friend who never returned it. Too bad.



Grateful for: Mrs. Peel.

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