Pages

Thursday, 8 September 2016

"We're finally able to say it! 'Mrs. Peel, we're needed!'"

I freakin love the sixties! Well, most of it, I think we could have done without the Missile Crisis, the world at its own throat, and the countless amount of influential figures that dropped like flies. But the culture, the music, the achievements the human race accomplished.... and then we get to 60s TV. Doctor Who, Star Trek, Blue Peter, The Prisoner, the Gerry Anderson shows, Sherlock Holmes, The Saint, I could go on and on and on and, you get the idea. But in amongst all of them was a little gem, created by the same man who made Doctor Who, about a doctor avenging the murder of his wife, with the help of a dashing secret agent. From the next series onwards, this dashing agent and his  "alternating brothel of hot crumpets" became the focus of the series and the world was never the same again. It became a lot more groovy....

THE AVENGERS: THE COMIC STRIP ADAPTATIONS
STEED AND MRS PEEL: VOLUME 1
By Jack Ryan

BEWARE: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK



What need I say about the original Avengers that hasn't already been said? Apart from the fact that I have only discovered it now, when I should have started watching this about ten years ago? One of the greatest cult series of all time, The Avengers follows the exploits of Intelligence Ministry secret agent John Steed, played by the late Patrick Macnee. And whilst he wasn't the main focus of the first, and sadly, lost series, Steed and his female counterparts, Cathy Gale, Tara King and the like, became the centre of the show's attention from series two onwards, Then came series five and the arrival of the stunning and unforgettable Diana Rigg as Emma Peel, whose appeal with the audience and chemistry with Macnee on screen cemented the series popularity. Hi-tech yet outlandish, dramatic yet campy, The Avengers was a such a hit that later on it graced the popular world of TV comics.

+++URGENT - MESSAGE BEGINS+++
THIS IS AN URGENT MESSAGE FOR MINISTRY AGENT JOHN STEED.
MOTHER, MINISTRY HEAD, HAS REQUESTED YOUR EXPERTISE AND ASSISTANCE WITH CERTAIN OPEN CASES. CASES THAT WILL REQUIRE AN AGENT OF SUCH CALIBRE, DEDICATION, DETERMINATION AND EXPERTISE.
AND AS MR BOND IS UNDER MI6 BOOKS, YOUR NAME WAS NEXT ON THE LIST. MISERLY MEGALOMANIACS, DASTARDLY DRESSMAKERS, VICIOUS VIKINGS AND PERNICIOUS PIPERS ARE THE VILLAINS YOU AND YOUR ACCOMPLICE, DR EMMA PEEL, WILL FACE TO SECURE THE FUTURE OF NOT ONLY BRITAIN, BUT THE WORLD.
ALL I CAN SAY STILL IS, GOOD LUCK, STEED AND MRS PEEL.
+++MESSAGE ENDS+++

As I have said, this is my introduction to the Avengers, outside of that embarrassment of a movie, and from what I have heard, it is a pure and utter delight. Of course, what helps is that Big Finish already have some slight experience with the series, due to the current rights-owners of The Avengers, StudioCanal (one of the greatest film/TV studios ever) allowing BF to recreate the mostly missing first series on audio.So it seemed the logical jump to do more adaptations, so as to get a hang on knowing the other characters, rather than jumping into completely original stories..... which I really want to see happen! Mr Bently!! PLEASE!!!!!

The first two tales of this boxset are adapted by the duo of  Simon Barnard and Paul Morris. The first, Return To Castle De'Ath, sees Steed and Peel return to the infamous castle, only to find they not only have a princely visitor, but someone wants him stuffed on the castle mantlepiece. The Miser begins like Corrie's 50th; a great big whopping train crash, and someone known only as the Miser is behind it, and the only lead is an old friend of Steed's who seems a bit different that John remembers. Paul Magrs' The Golden Dresses follows, where many influential politicians are being axed off and the only connection are their wives, who are all customers of a Madame Zingara and her newest creation, a dress made from real gold. Finishing the boxset is John Dorney's The Norse Code, which sees the dynamic duo take on..... Vikings? In Britain? And there's no sign of a flying blue box? This might mean trouble.... The four stories presented here are brilliantly written and despite being adaptations, each writer brings their own strengths to each story, like Dorney taking a bizzare concept and running with it to perfection.




But good stories are only one element of The Avengers; we cannot forget about the colourful host of characters and villains for our dynamic duo to interact with. And this set does not disappoint, with the star quality of Shelia Reid, John Banks, Simon Greenall, Jeremy Clyde and the glorious Jacqueline Pearce as just some of the voices of these delightful tales. But, of course, the main point - the dynamic duo of John Steed and Emma Peel, and they are perfect. Julian Wadham returns from The Lost Episodes as Steed, giving a performance akin to Mark Elstob in The Prisoner, where you hear the tones of Macnee, but Wadham still makes the role his own. The same can be said of Olivia Poulet as Peel, but as she didn't do research onto the voice and style of Diana Rigg, she gives herself a lot more creative freedom with how Peel acts, and yet, you'd still swear you're listening to Macnee and Rigg.

Taking on the responsibility of the sound design and the music are Alistair Lock and Steve Foxton, who succeed in perfectly capturing the whimsical yet dramatic essence of the original series and make everything sound realistic, ftom the roaring winds of Castle De'Ath to the bellowing battle cries of the Viking hordes. Add to that a fantastic recreation of one of the most iconic TV theme tunes of all time and you've got yourself something wonderful.

After proving themselves with the Lost Episodes, Big Finish have made lightning not only strike twice with this set, but resurrected a phenomenal double act of British culture that shouldn't be leaving soon. Well they have a second set still to release, after all...

VERDICT: 5/5 Pure, unaltered sixties delight."Mrs Peel, we're needed!" ;D

No comments:

Post a Comment