Was There Always Only One Steed?
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Tara King Steed (1968-1969)

Hmmm... a hard time if ever there was one. The Tara King era began in circumstances which were quite unfortunate - the incoming production team were deemed unfit to run the show and were fired, leaving the new series of The Avengers in a terrible state. The problems, at least at this point, were clear.

In the first place, Patrick Macnee wasn't in the least bit excited to be working with his new and very young leading lady, Linda Thorson. This conflict manifested itself in the initial episodes and, for the first time, we saw a Steed who apparently lacked an intimate rapport with his partner: a far cry from the recent chemistry between the Peel-Steed duo. Steed now preferred to carry out his assignments alone, causing Tara to struggle to find her place in the series.

Things were soon to change, however, with the return of the Fennell-Clemens duo as producers, and a change in Patrick's disposition towards Linda, taking her "under his wing". The nuts and bolts of the series seemed to tighten up somewhat... and the series began to regain its equilibrium.

Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of the Tara Steed—that which conditioned most of his behavior and makes him the most peculiar Steed—is the never fully accepted presence of "Mother", the Head of the Ministry, played by the obese actor Patrick Newell. This new character wasn't warmly welcomed by Patrick Macnee. "When we suddenly got 'Mother' in the Linda Thorson shows"—says Patrick in his book "The Avengers and Me"—"I thought it became very boring having Steed report to this man, just to be sent off on his mission... We grew very fond of each other [he and Newell] during those eighteen months, but Mother bored the pants off me."

Although Mother appeared in many episodes, he did not in fact show up in all of them. However, he played a key role in deciding Tara's future (in her first episode "The Forget-Me-Knot"), as she was an inexperienced Ministry agent under his ruling guidance. Unlike her "amateur" status predecessors, Mrs. Gale and Mrs. Peel, Tara was the first of Steed's partners to be a professional, trained at the "Ministry" under strict security norms. When the time arrived to find a replacement for Mrs. Peel, it was obvious that Mother's selection would be made in favor of this professional novice —as Mother knew Steed's tastes.

With the manifest adoration Tara showed towards Steed, he was, for the first time in the whole series, raised to the status of an idol not only to her, but also to his loyal. The Steed of this series comes across not only as an extremely protective character, but also as the man who takes control of situations. Patrick is very explicit in his book "The Avengers and Me" about this topic: "As our plots became increasingly mad, I felt that Steed must become more human—a man who liked to think his way out of trouble, a man who preferred the thought to violence. The relationship he shared with Tara was much lighter than before, so I became more tender towards my partner and tougher on the villains." Indeed. It is almost incredible to see Steed's fury when he knocks down a supposedly traitorous colleague in "False Witness," or the lack of concern with which he treats his handcuffed opponent in "The Morning After." On many occasions, however, Steed seemed not to entirely trust Tara, and perhaps he wasn't too wrong, since in a good number of episodes Tara was caught by the baddie in some manner, and Steed always had to go to rescue her... only to receive a kiss and a warm hug from her (something that neither Cathy nor Emma openly did).

As had happened in previous years, several sixth season episodes were solo outings for our heroes. Tara was the absolute lead in three ("All Done With Mirrors," "Wish You Were Here," and "Pandora"). On the other hand, just like in "The Girl from Auntie", there was an episode, "Killer," almost completely filmed with another actress—in this case the slim blonde Jennifer Croxton. On all these occasions, the 'missing' regular performer was away enjoying a vacation-a benefit that the stars of the series were treated to very infrequently.

Even so, there were still a variety of episodes focusing on Steed even when Linda was not on holiday. In "Split!," "Get-A-Way," "Thingumajig" and "Take Over," Tara's role is watered down. In these episodes she almost seems to have taken Venus Smith's place (without the singing, of course!). She makes inquiries on Steed's behalf, but does not have any sort of decisive role in the story—in these, she is more Steed's assistant than his partner. In "The Morning After," Tara slumbers through almost the entire episode after falling victim to a sleep-inducing gas (a topic later revisited in "The New Avengers" episode, "Sleeper"), while Steed works by himself. Luckily the roles are reversed—and with a vengeance—in "Noon Doomsday." Tara takes the bull by the horns in this show, and, struggling to save an injured and convalescent Steed, she has the gall to smash a bottle of champagne over his recalcitrant head, keeping him from interfering with her rescue plans. Bravo, Tara!

Nevertheless, the pair works wonderfully, and in fact it shines in first class episodes such as "Game" (again featuring the actor behind many incomparable Avengers villains, Peter Jeffrey), "The Super-Secret Cypher Snatch" and "Love All." Two other excellent productions also stand out: "Stay Tuned," with a strong performance from Patrick, and that one with the long title, "Look... (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers," which features unforgettable performances from all who take part in it. As an anecdotal account, it's worth noting that during this season Patrick suffered his only serious filming accident. It happened in "Love All," when Steed runs towards the window from which an infatuated Tara is about to fall. "For some ridiculous reason I raced to the window and cracked three or four ribs, yet still managed to pull her [Tara] back into the room. It was trying to make the scene as realistic as possible." Patrick's selfless act was, however, not quite so heroic in real life—Linda's feet hung only about 40 cm above the floor, a distance that the insurance company would never have allowed them to increase.

As for the vehicles used in this season, the first episode ("Invasion of the Earthmen," orchestrated by the quickly-dismissed John Bryce) amazingly catches Steed driving a Maroon AC Cobra. Bryce's successors, Fennell and Clemens, did not welcome the sight of Steed in a modern sport car, and immediately assigned him two "new" vintage Rolls Royce cars (made in 1923 and 1927 respectively), leaving the Cobra to Tara. Fennell and Clemens were seemingly happy with this change, but clearly Macnee was not particularly impressed with trading in the Bentley for the Rolls: "It was pretentious, whereas the Bentley was in keeping with Steed's character—his correctness. He wouldn't have been so ostentatious as to have had a Rolls."

The Tara King Steed had many sides to his character: he would dabble in a caustic sense of humor, could be on one hand serious and cautious, while on the other overtly lighthearted and hilarious. He was capable of dressing more like a hippie than an English gentleman, particularly in the tag scenes where he would often sport over-colored long-sleeve shirts. The Tara King Steed also engenders a decided fascination. This is a much more experienced, more mature Steed, to such an extent that it is clear he has been there, done that. Above all, this is a Steed who most likely would not have cared if he were caught going to bed with Tara. Not at least since in this season he also had many doubles around, and what's more, he was able to camouflage himself like a chameleon until merged into the background.