The Mirror Room
John Steed - Patrick Macnee
Page 5 of 5

Epilogue

After analyzing thoroughly the similarities and differences between Steed and Macnee, one ends up with the conviction that this constitutes one of the juiciest evaluations to be carried out. Still we're sure Patrick would be able to add much more.

Due to Steed's personality, the brilliance of his colleagues and the superb writing of the Avenger stories, we enjoyed, though for too short a time, one of the most fascinating and refreshing characters ever created by British television. Such was the success of the show and of Steed that "The Avengers" has been seen in more than 130 countries around the world, and today John Steed's name resonates among the most famed television secret agents.

Steed is an unquestionable classic, reserved only for the small screen and for one man—Patrick Macnee. We could not possibly finish this article without giving the last word to the man himself, defining the essence of his most durable character maybe better than he could define himself:

"What must be remembered about Steed is that he was not an aristocrat. Indeed, despite his clothes, he is actually an anti-establishment figure. Steed's Englishness is more about the kind of person who has been part of England throughout all the generations. He is a quirky individualist, a man who is, on the outside, deeply eccentric, but on the inside very much in control. A man who is not cynical but at the same time, a man who can be hard-headed in the lightest, jokiest way." (Interview with Patrick Macnee, published in "The Daily Telegraph," 23 May 1998).

And that is the man so many of us love!

My deepest gratitude to Mona in the first place, and also to many other Steedophiles in the United States and other parts of the world, because a good part of the reflections exposed here are based on innumerable debates via email we've been maintaining for nearly a year.

Terylene, April 2001