Brian Clemens, Lead Writer of The Avengers, Passes Away
Sorry, if the headline caused any unnecessary alarm for fans of Marvel’s Avengers but fandom can happen anywhere and I for one am saddened to hear of the passing of Brian Clemens at age 83.
Brian Clemens wrote the pilot episode of the British spy show The Avengers (1961-1969) and acted as main scriptwriter, script editor, and associate producer for the entire nine year run of the series. He was largely responsible for the unique, quirky feel of the show. Although The Avengers started as fairly standard whodunit fare, under Clemens guidance it developed a tongue-in-cheek style that often poked fun at its own genre and incorporated science fiction and fantasy elements.
Patrick Macnee and Ian Hendry in The Avengers episode Hot Snow.
Originally The Avengers starred Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel who solved crimes with the help of mysterious agent John Steed. The character of Steed, as played by Patrick Macnee, grew in importance during that first season. When Hendry choose not to return for the second season, Macnee became the lead of the show. Steed was given a new partner in Dr. Catherine Gale. As portrayed by Honor Blackman, Gale was a different type of female character from what television audiences were familiar with. Gale was self-assured, tough, stood her own with the men, and had a penchant for wearing leather. Legend has it that Gale’s character developed in this direction because, for the first couple episodes, they simply gave her all the lines written for Ian Hendry’s character.
Publicity Still of Macnee and Blackman
After two seasons, Honor Blackman left the show to take on the role of Pussy Galore in the James Bond film Goldfinger. This lead to a long search for Steed’s next partner that culminated in Clemens hiring Diana Rigg for the role of Emma Peel. Mrs. Peel shared some of Dr. Gale’s fashion sense and her ability to look after herself. It was during the Diana Rigg era that fantastical elements really began to dominate the show. Episodes included run-ins with robots trained in karate (“The Cybernauts”), a man eating plant from outer space (“Man-Eater of Surrey Green”), a murderous automated house (“The House That Jack Built”), and a costumed supervillain (“The Winged Avenger”).
Mrs. Peel, we’re needed!
Mrs. Peel would also only last two seasons. In the opening for season six, her long lost husband returned and she left the glamour of the spy world to be with him. Linda Thorson as Tara King was sent as a replacement by the mysterious organization that employed Steed. Initially studio executives decided to move away from the surreal story lines for what would be the final season. Brian Clemens and his fellow co-producer Albert Fennell were replaced with this goal in mind. Problems during production, however, resulted in Clemens and Fennell being brought back on board at which point they strived to make the final season the weirdest yet.
Macnee and Thorson as John Steed and Tara King
Clemens was a prolific writer. In addition to The Avengers he wrote for numerous British thrillers including The Invisible Man, Danger Man, and The Protectors. For North American television he provided scripts for numerous mystery shows such as Father Dowling Mysteries, Remington Steele, and Diagnosis Murder. Clemens also scripted, produced, and/or directed films for Hammer Productions and co-wrote the Ray Harryhausen film The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. In 1976 he created The New Avengers in which John Steed (still portrayed by Patrick Macnee) mentored a new team of Avengers. The show ran for 26 episodes.
The New Avengers – with Joanna Lumley, best known for Absolutely Fabulous, as Purdey.
Clemens, who was appointed the Order of the British Empire in 2010 for services to broadcasting and drama, had been working with his sons on a horror film at the time of his passing. According to his son Samuel, Clemens’ final act was to watch an episode of The Avengers. His last words as he watched the episode were, “I did quite a good job.”
