Emma Peel

From Freepedia

Emma Peel was a fictional television spy played by Diana Rigg on the 1960s British series The Avengers. Mrs. Peel was the partner of John Steed, and their pairing is considered by most viewers to showcase the definitive episodes of the series. She replaced Cathy Gale, played by actress Honor Blackman who left the series to co-star in the James Bond film Goldfinger. Prior to Diana Rigg accepting the role, actress Elizabeth Shepherd was originally cast, but backed out of the role shortly after filming commenced.

Mrs. Peel's character was notable for a number of characteristics. She is a feminist heroine, eschewing traditional "damsel-in-distress" portrayals of women (she is rarely bested in any fight and rescues Steed as often as he rescues her). She's a master of martial arts and a formidable fencer. A certified genius, she specializes in chemistry and other sciences. In one episode, viewers even see her painting.

Her mod style of dress typified the period, and the character is still a paragon of style. Fashionwise, she's best-remembered for the leather catsuit she often wore in her first season. She drove a convertible Lotus Elan coupe at high speeds, and convincingly portrayed any series of undercover roles, from nurse to nanny. Her favorite guise was perhaps that of a women's magazine reporter, trying to interview big business tycoons and rich playboys.

Mrs. Peel's interactions with Steed range from the witty to the sexy. Both actors played the sexual tension aspect of their partnership so skillfully that it was perhaps not equalled until the pairing of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Unlike that later pairing, however, the tension was never broken except for a chaste peck on the cheek Emma gives Steed at the end of her final episode.

Mrs. Peel's husband, Peter Peel, was a test pilot and was lost on a mission. In Rigg's final episode on the show, "The Forget Me Knot", Mrs. Peel learns that her husband (who looks suspiciously like Steed from a distance) has returned, and she leaves Steed and her spy career behind. She was replaced by the much younger agent Tara King played by actress Linda Thorson.

The character appeared one last time in an episode of The New Avengers entitled "K is for Kill". Rigg had declined an offer to appear on the series, so stock footage of her from an Avengers episode was used instead.

Moreover, the character was rehashed in a 1998 film version of the show, with Uma Thurman playing the role of Mrs. Peel and Ralph Fiennes playing Steed. Neither Her portrayal nor the film itself received critical or popular acclaim.

Emma Peel in videogames

The character of Emma Peel seems to be the inspiration for the videogame character Cate Archer in the first-person shooter game No One Lives Forever.

Emma Peel Avengers Episodes (in chronological order)

The Murder Market
The Master Minds
Dial a Deadly Number
Death at Bargain Prices
Too Many Christmas Trees
The Cybernauts
The Gravediggers
Room Without a View
A Surfeit of H2O
Two's a Crowd
Man-Eater of Surrey Green
Silent Dust
The Hour That Never Was
The Town of No Return
Castle De'ath
The Thirteenth Hole
Small Game for Big Hunters
The Girl from Auntie
Quick-Quick Slow Death
The Danger Makers
A Touch of Brimstone
What the Butler Saw
The House That Jack Built
A Sense of History
How To Succeed....At Murder
Honey for the Prince
The Fear Merchants (This episode saw The Avengers change from b/w into colour)
Escape in Time
The Bird Who Knew Too Much
From Venus With Love
The See-Through Man
The Winged Avenger
The Living Dead
The Hidden Tiger
The Correct Way to Kill
Never, Never Say Die
Epic
The Superlative Seven
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station
Something Nasty in the Nursery
The Joker
Who's Who???
Death's Door
Return of the Cybernauts
Dead Man's Treasure
The £50,000 Breakfast
You Have Just Been Murdered
Murdersville
The Positive Negative Man
Mission...Highly Improbable