 |
The CLOSED Avengers International Fan Forum
WE HAVE MOVED!
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
mousemeat
Diabolical Mastermind
Joined: 04 Sep 2008
Posts: 6312
Location: Elvis Central, U.S.A.
|
 Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 4:51 pm Post subject: Patrick / Steed |
 |
|
To say that Patrick made the character of Steed his own, would be a understatement...Compare the character from it's humble beginnings, to the final season with Linda Thorson, and there will never be another character as loved..question being, how much of Patrick was in Steed, and vice versa..
Patrick was a great actor, at home on stage, movie set, or doing a TV series..and he never failed to disappoint me... |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Frankymole
Diabolical Mastermind
Joined: 01 Sep 2008
Posts: 5671
Location: Carmadoc Research Establishment
|
| Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 5:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I think you mean he never failed to NOT disappoint you 
Anyway, clearly he added a lot to Steed as he and the producers worked to beef up the character and make him more interesting than just a shadowy intelligence man in a mackintosh coat. I know that both Macnee and Ian Hendry reworked their dialogue in brainstorming sessions after receiving each script, improving the interaction and making the characters more "real" and adding more depth and interest to the performances. Indeed Macnee called Hendry "the fountainhead, the genius" of making the show more than another cookie-cutter thriller, treating the writers as hacks which made them angry enough to up their game. Everyone was young and hungry for success.
As well as cosmetic touches like the clothes, stylish with nods to the Edwardian era, and gimmicks like the umbrella that later came loaded with gadgets (a parody of Danger Man and, later, James Bond films), Macnee at first made Steed a somewhat louche lounge-lizard character, even perhaps a little sleazy, but who could drop the act and become a steely-eyed killer when up against it.
He then softened some of the rough edges to emerge as a charmer and, in later years, an almost avuncular figure to younger agents. But as he reminded Purdey, gentlemen can still get young ladies in trouble!
So Macnee borrowed elements of his father, Ralph Richardson in Q Planes, and other famous eccentric dandies, but the mixture is all his own and the performance rightly celebrated. An irreplaceable character made by an irreplaceable man. Accept no substitute!
_________________
Last watched: "The Medicine Men" |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
mousemeat
Diabolical Mastermind
Joined: 04 Sep 2008
Posts: 6312
Location: Elvis Central, U.S.A.
|
| Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:34 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Frankymole wrote: | I think you mean he never failed to NOT disappoint you
Anyway, clearly he added a lot to Steed as he and the producers worked to beef up the character and make him more interesting than just a shadowy intelligence man in a mackintosh coat. I know that both Macnee and Ian Hendry reworked their dialogue in brainstorming sessions after receiving each script, improving the interaction and making the characters more "real" and adding more depth and interest to the performances. Indeed Macnee called Hendry "the fountainhead, the genius" of making the show more than another cookie-cutter thriller, treating the writers as hacks which made them angry enough to up their game. Everyone was young and hungry for success.
As well as cosmetic touches like the clothes, stylish with nods to the Edwardian era, and gimmicks like the umbrella that later came loaded with gadgets (a
parody of Danger Man and, later, James Bond films), Macnee at first made Steed a somewhat louche lounge-lizard character, even perhaps a little sleazy, but who could drop the act and become a steely-eyed killer when up against it.
He then softened some of the rough edges to emerge as a charmer and, in later years, an almost avuncular figure to younger agents. But as he reminded Purdey, gentlemen can still get young ladies in trouble!
So Macnee borrowed elements of his father, Ralph Richardson in Q Planes, and other famous eccentric dandies, but the mixture is all his own and the performance rightly celebrated. An irreplaceable character made by an irreplaceable man. Accept no substitute! |
Franky, how right you are....you nailed the essence of the question..and I couldn't stated it..any better.... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
