Month: February 2019

In Australia: Thursdays, Seven
In the UK: Not yet acquired, but’ll probably end up on Alibi, Netflix or both

Susan Faludi’s Backlash postulated a ‘sort of two steps forward, one step back’ feminist advancement in society. Feminists would achieve successes and push the envelope of what was acceptable in society – and society would then push back in some way. Everything would move a bit further along in the end, but not through slow and steady advancement.

Oddly, as we learned way back in the depths of the time when TMINE contemplated coming up with an actual list of its best ever TV characters, the 1960s TV show The Avengers provided a nice little example with the slow descent from Cathy Gale to Tara King. Originally, The Avengers had been about two men – surgeon and compassionate amateur sleuth David Keel (Ian Hendry) and ruthless professional spy John Steed (Patrick Macnee).

But when Hendry left to seek his fortune in the movies, the writers had to find a replacement. They trialled three characters, including another doctor Martin King (Jon Rollason) and nightclub singer Venus Smith (Julie Stevens), but it was anthropologist Dr Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), her ‘kinky boots’ and her very real judo, who proved to be the standout hit that turned The Avengers from a successful show into a phenomenon.

Of course, eventually it was Blackman’s turn to leave and become Pussy Galore on the Bond movie Goldfinger, so the writers looked for a new replacement. One that could still do all that fighting, albeit faux kung fu rather than judo. But one who was a bit less strident. A bit less abrasive and confrontational. One with a bit more fashion sense. One with – dare one say it? – ‘man appeal’. Hmm. M Appeal. That sounds handy.

And thus Mrs ‘Emma Peel’ (Diana Rigg) was born. Ultimately, Bond movies beckoned for Rigg, too, with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and she in turn was replaced by Tara King (Linda Thorson), a young secret agent trainee besotted with Steed and thus even less confrontational and whose fighting style was a little less scary, a bit more feminine, a little bit more hair-pully. The descent was complete.

And so was the show’s. Because ultimately, what had made it popular was female strength and King didn’t really have it, thanks to the male writers’ own backlash against what they had created. Thorson? Never got a Bond movie.

Ms Fisher’s Backlash

Why do I mention all this in a review of Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, a spin-off from massively popular Australia crime drama Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, in which a sophisticated, smart woman solved crimes using her brain and skills.

No reason. Not all. Apart from the fact it’s set in the 1960s and has its heroine paired with someone with the name ‘J Steed’. Why? Did you think I was maybe suggesting something? Actually, you might be right…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvFDswqhy6o

Continue reading “Review: Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries 1×1 (Australia: Seven)”