Sadly not no.
I want my daddy here too cook me supper

Philippa wrote:Sadly not no.
I want my daddy here too cook me supper

Too bad he can't beam it in from France, eh?

Timeless A-Peel wrote:

Philippa wrote:(actually the drinking age is 18 )

But yes, she was my age when she was cast. I'd be scared, too.

Really? I thought it was 21 for some reason. It is in the US. It's 19 here in Canada.

It is 18 in the UK today, but may well have been 21 in 1967 when Linda was cast. I don't remember to be honest.

I think Purdey does seem very young - she's a bit 'Cathy', a bit 'Emma' and a bit 'Tara' as we know - and the 'Tara' bit is her youthful joie de vivre. Brian Clemens said in an interview that Purdey wasn't a virgin, but she seems very chaste around Gambit.

Avengerdan wrote:

Timeless A-Peel wrote:

Philippa wrote:(actually the drinking age is 18 )

But yes, she was my age when she was cast. I'd be scared, too.

Really? I thought it was 21 for some reason. It is in the US. It's 19 here in Canada.

It is 18 in the UK today, but may well have been 21 in 1967 when Linda was cast. I don't remember to be honest.

I think Purdey does seem very young - she's a bit 'Cathy', a bit 'Emma' and a bit 'Tara' as we know - and the 'Tara' bit is her youthful joie de vivre. Brian Clemens said in an interview that Purdey wasn't a virgin, but she seems very chaste around Gambit.

I always peg Purdey at around 28. Part of this is probably due to her engagement to Larry in 1970--she seems very, very young there, maybe 21-22, and very bright-eyed, idealistic, and naive. Part of it may be the way Clemens wrote her--she's got a lot of childlike glee and rambling thought processes: "No, it's only the way they do the maps. [Scotland] only looks as though it's going to tip over." She's also inevitably the one in the team who has to have certain parts of the job explained to her (making her the "junior member" so to speak), and also the one who often runs off impulsively on her own. Part of it probably comes over in the way Joanna plays her.

To me, Purdey always seems the most Cathy, just with a sense of humour (which I suppose would be the "Emma bit"), and a little younger and more feminine (the Tara piece), but still very much in the Galeb/blonde ice-queen/motorcycle riding girl. It's pretty clear that Purdey was sleeping with Larry--they were sharing a bed and a flat--but the Purdey of 1976/77 seems to spend an awful lot of time flirting with most of the Ministry's boys, and very little actually following through on it. Joanna Lumley says that Purdey didn't like men. I don't think that's quite true. I don't think she trusts men, at least not where her heart is concerned. She was clearly profoundly affected by her failed engagement to Larry, and it's left her unwilling to put herself in a position where she could get hurt. The way she spurnsGambit’s advances is a direct manifestation of that—she doesn’t want to give him too much encouragement because he’s already gung-ho as it is. At the same time, she’s quite possessive of Gambit, really—she makes her displeasure known if there’s ever an indication he has something going on with another woman. I’ve read people who say that if they were in any other line of work, Purdey and Gambit would be lovers. I think the job might be half a deterrent—remember that Purdey lost her father in the same line of work—but I think the only real obstacle is Larry Doomer. So they’re caught in a sort of limbo between what could happen, and Purdey’s reservations about getting involved with someone again. What she’s doing with other people is anyone’s guess. I know a lot of people point to Steed, but he always seems a bit uncomfortable with her advances. There are a few hints she’s been up to a few things with Larry from The Three-Handed Game. But it all seems to keep coming back to Gambit, their mutual jealousy, and lots of old married couple arguments.

Very well put.

I don't care for Obession and I've put Larry Doomer at the back of my mind, so I didn't remember their bedroom proclivities.

Yes I think Purdey was a bit of all the Avenger girls. I think Brian Clemens thought that after Cathy and her tough leather image, Emma and her more flip attitude and Tara's vulnerablity and bit of all three was required. The only other way they might have gone was to go back to the start - and in a way, the way you explain it, they did that too.

I'm glad a lot of the actors managed to put 'themselves' in their roles. I think that's what was missing from the movie - no time to create something new.

It interests me that Brian Clemens once said that, if Patrick had not visibly aged, he would have cast Joanna as Emma Peel. I wonder how that would have worked?

I'm glad they didn't btw ...

I think we're all in agreement here. If Purdey disliked men then her seemingly flirtatiousness would be a bit worrying!

I agree with the things that've been mentioned here. I too think that Purdey is just cautious with men, she certainly doesn't dislike them, otherwise she wouldn't flirt.

As for the idea of Joanna playing the role of Emma Peel, I'm glad they didn't go for that. And not just because of the way Diana played her, which was brilliant in my opinion. It's just that roles that are taken over by other people usually don't work, I dare say that 99% of the time it's just not (as) good. The whole concept of the series wouldn't have worked either. You're not really "reviving" it if you just bring back the same characters. Of course, Patrick played Steed again, but without Steed there is no Avengers as far as I'm concerned. Avenger women are replacable, so I'm glad they did that, and created the character of Purdey, instead of rehashing some old ideas.

Avengerdan wrote:Very well put.

I don't care for Obession and I've put Larry Doomer at the back of my mind, so I didn't remember their bedroom proclivities.

Yes I think Purdey was a bit of all the Avenger girls. I think Brian Clemens thought that after Cathy and her tough leather image, Emma and her more flip attitude and Tara's vulnerablity and bit of all three was required. The only other way they might have gone was to go back to the start - and in a way, the way you explain it, they did that too.

I'm glad a lot of the actors managed to put 'themselves' in their roles. I think that's what was missing from the movie - no time to create something new.

It interests me that Brian Clemens once said that, if Patrick had not visibly aged, he would have cast Joanna as Emma Peel. I wonder how that would have worked?

I'm glad they didn't btw ...

Thanks!

In Obsession, Purdey wakes up to find the crumpled telegram in the bed beside her, where Larry should be, so they're clearly sleeping together.

To me, Purdey and Gambit's relationship, like TNA itself, is a cross between the Emma and Cathy years. There's a lot of verbal sparring, but they also share a sense of humour, and it's clear they actually like each other. I never feel that with Steed and Cathy. They actually hang around with each other in their off hours, too, despite having their own lives, and there's more to them than just the little dance about if/when they'll end up sleeping together. What makes me think more Cathy and less Emma for purdey is that, despite her sense of humour (Emma had one, Cathy less so), Purdey's sense of humour is much more cutting--she tosses off barbs, not quips, for the most part. But there are bits and pieces of all the ladies in there, I'll agree. The eccentricity is all Purdey, though.

Pretty much every Avengers character has a lot of the actor in it. Joanna said she tried to put as much of herself in Purdey as possible, just to make it easier continuitywise. Gareth always wanted more humour in Gambit because he was funny, but of course bits about him in the Navy and such were mined from his background.

I find that Clemens quotation a little puzzling. The Avengers was all about moving forward, and Clemens said as much. I can't believe he'd ever try to recast Emma Peel. Create another character that was similar, yes. But plop another actress in and call her Emma? That doesn't sound right at all, and certainly wouldn't have been successful. Joanna is lovely, but she's not Diana Rigg, and I don't think she could ever play Emma quite the same way. Joanna's Avengers girl is a Purdey. Diana's is an Emma. They're too different women, and Iwouldn't want to see the other subbing in. I respected the series for not only writing different Avengers girls, but casting very different looking women. It was the way to go.

Mara wrote:I don't really agree with Joanna that she doesn't like men, because there is definitely a lot of flirting going on. It just doesn't seem to mean more than that, probably because she doesn't trust people so easily indeed. In that respect, Emma isn't much different really, because we always know she's most attached to Steed in the end. I can see so much of Steed and Emma in Purdey and Gambit, both couples are so flirtatious in their own way.

Philippa wrote:I agree with the things that've been mentioned here. I too think that Purdey is just cautious with men, she certainly doesn't dislike them, otherwise she wouldn't flirt.

I think Purdey's leery of men. I think she likes them better than women in some ways, but at the same time she knows they can do a good deal of damage if given the chance. So she never gives them a chance.

In many ways Purdey has to tread a fine line that none of the other girls had to, in that she has two male colleagues, so she needs to play one of the boys and still be able to step back and be the woman with the different perspective on the job, the one who has to set them straight when they go off on the wrong track. In some ways I don't think she sees them the same way as other men--they've gone through too much together. They're friends in the most intimate way possible. It almost as though they've skipped over the sex part completely and gone beyond that. Because of that, I think Purdey almost forgets sometimes that other people can see that Gambit's attractive, too, and that puts her guard up.

Agreed. I think Purdey's just very easy around men like Steed and Gambit, because she knows they won't try it on with her. Because of that, she can let her guard down and relax. Apart from being colleagues, they are really close friends as well, which is why they work so well together. They're very tuned in to one another.

Philippa wrote:Agreed. I think Purdey's just very easy around men like Steed and Gambit, because she knows they won't try it on with her. Because of that, she can let her guard down and relax. Apart from being colleagues, they are really close friends as well, which is why they work so well together. They're very tuned in to one another.

Exactly. At the same time, I think it makes her take Gambit for granted a little, so when he does show interest in someone else, it comes as a bit of a shock. So he can't win. If he shows his interest in her, he gets turned down. If he tries it with anyone else, she gets mad. But she flirts with other men right in front of him, just to annoy him. So really it all comes back to her inability to let herself be vulnerable again. It's that aspect of their relationship that makes it very "real" and slightly bittersweet, a human dimension that didn't show up as much in the original series. It's brilliant.

Timeless A-Peel wrote:

Philippa wrote:Agreed. I think Purdey's just very easy around men like Steed and Gambit, because she knows they won't try it on with her. Because of that, she can let her guard down and relax. Apart from being colleagues, they are really close friends as well, which is why they work so well together. They're very tuned in to one another.

Exactly. At the same time, I think it makes her take Gambit for granted a little, so when he does show interest in someone else, it comes as a bit of a shock. So he can't win. If he shows his interest in her, he gets turned down. If he tries it with anyone else, she gets mad. But she flirts with other men right in front of him, just to annoy him. So really it all comes back to her inability to let herself be vulnerable again. It's that aspect of their relationship that makes it very "real" and slightly bittersweet, a human dimension that didn't show up as much in the original series. It's brilliant.

Definitey! It shows much more of a human side to the characters than the original show does. Purdey gets jealous when Gambit so much as thinks of taking interest in another woman. But at the same time she flirts openly with men, and if Gambit were to say something about that (which he never does), she'd tell him to mind his own business, since they're not together or anything. So you're right, whatever Gambit does, he can't win. Poor sod

Philippa wrote:

Timeless A-Peel wrote:

Philippa wrote:Agreed. I think Purdey's just very easy around men like Steed and Gambit, because she knows they won't try it on with her. Because of that, she can let her guard down and relax. Apart from being colleagues, they are really close friends as well, which is why they work so well together. They're very tuned in to one another.

Exactly. At the same time, I think it makes her take Gambit for granted a little, so when he does show interest in someone else, it comes as a bit of a shock. So he can't win. If he shows his interest in her, he gets turned down. If he tries it with anyone else, she gets mad. But she flirts with other men right in front of him, just to annoy him. So really it all comes back to her inability to let herself be vulnerable again. It's that aspect of their relationship that makes it very "real" and slightly bittersweet, a human dimension that didn't show up as much in the original series. It's brilliant.

Definitey! It shows much more of a human side to the characters than the original show does. Purdey gets jealous when Gambit so much as thinks of taking interest in another woman. But at the same time she flirts openly with men, and if Gambit were to say something about that (which he never does), she'd tell him to mind his own business, since they're not together or anything. So you're right, whatever Gambit does, he can't win. Poor sod

It's no wonder he's frustrated all the time--she won't let him be with her or anyone else, while he sits there and watched every Ministry man within 10 miles try their luck. This is part of the reason I love Gambit--he's an underdog with saint-like patience and a willingness to just be her friend, no matter how painful or exasperating it might be.

Mara wrote:

Timeless A-Peel wrote:This is part of the reason I love Gambit--he's an underdog with saint-like patience and a willingness to just be her friend, no matter how painful or exasperating it might be.

He's a good guy, and I think many tend to forget that, because his tenderness is covered by a lot of layers. There's the Mike ''show off'' Gambit, the flirtatious guy... But he has a sensible, caring side too, which he just doesn't show that often. I agree that he's a great character really: I'm sure they could have based a entire new series of TNA around P/G, if it wasn't for the plots that got a bit strange in the end.

Gambit has tons of layers. He's quite soft-hearted, really (see him with Charlie the sparrow), not to mention incredibly loyal, and hit quite hard by the deaths of fellow agents and friends. He treats his girlfriends well--you get the sense that they actually have fun together--but I also feel like he'd be more than willing to just stick with Purdey if she let him. He's often the one who has to take a hit for the team, but he's more than willing to do it. I don't think they did anywhere near enough with him--his past had great potential, and they could have spun a lot of episodes off of it. Oh well--that's why I'm here.

Patrick often said that he should have left and they should have just gone on with Purdey and Gambit. I still think they need Steed, but it would have been nice to have a couple more seasons, at the end of which Steed could pass the torch to Gambit and Purdey, and you would get the sense that they would carry on in his stead. How nice would that have been?

Mara wrote:Like everyone else, I've always loved the girls more than Steed, and I think fans might tend to forget how important he is to the series. Must not have been easy for Patrick too, creating the the''Avengers magic'' again and again with a different team.

Absolutely correct.

Mara wrote:

Timeless A-Peel wrote:Patrick often said that he should have left and they should have just gone on with Purdey and Gambit. I still think they need Steed, but it would have been nice to have a couple more seasons, at the end of which Steed could pass the torch to Gambit and Purdey, and you would get the sense that they would carry on in his stead. How nice would that have been?

I don't think they should have written Steed out of the series immediately, because they probably attracked viewers in the first place because it was called ''the Avengers'' and he was in it. I'd have loved to see Purdey and Gambit on their own mission in - let's say - Canada without Steed, but the series couldn't have done without him I think. He knows everone, he's the smart guy who figures mysteries out, and he holds the team together in a way.

Like everyone else, I've always loved the girls more than Steed, and I think fans might tend to forget how important he is to the series. Must not have been easy for Patrick too, creating the the''Avengers magic'' again and again with a different team.

I think Steed's essential to keep the series from looking like a simple follow-up with the name "Avengers" slapped on it. Yes, the girls (and Gambit for me) are the main attraction, but Steed is the constant, the underlying foundation that keeps everything together. When people ask who my favourite Avenger is, I always rule Steed out right away. He can't be compared to his partners, because he's much more than just a character--he is the show in many ways. I can only compare Steed to other iterations of himself (ruthless Gale-era Steed vs. the more classic gentleman Steed of the Emma era, for example). I can see them gradually phasing Steed out, though, using him less in each episode of TNA (I know Patrick thinks he was being pushed out of the series, but I still think it's nonsense. Steed had lots of airtime in TNA). What would have been fun would be a couple of "vacation" episodes, present in other seasons, but never TNA, where one cast memeber leaves for most of the episode. So we could have had just Steed and Gambit, just Purdey and Gambit, and just Purdey and Steed (although that last one....zzz). That would have been interesting.

Avengerdan wrote:

Mara wrote:Like everyone else, I've always loved the girls more than Steed, and I think fans might tend to forget how important he is to the series. Must not have been easy for Patrick too, creating the the''Avengers magic'' again and again with a different team.

Absolutely correct.

I agree with that too

From the week's popbitch mailout ...

Joanna Lumley has been in Uganda this week. People at
the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary said she was "very friendly".
Even when one of the managers, not twigging who she
was said "You look just like Purdey from New Avengers".

Avengerdan wrote:From the week's popbitch mailout ...

Joanna Lumley has been in Uganda this week. People at
the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary said she was "very friendly".
Even when one of the managers, not twigging who she
was said "You look just like Purdey from New Avengers".

That's great. Wonder what Joanna said?

Avengerdan wrote:From the week's popbitch mailout ...

Joanna Lumley has been in Uganda this week. People at
the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary said she was "very friendly".
Even when one of the managers, not twigging who she
was said "You look just like Purdey from New Avengers".

That's hilarious