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Pandora
Season 6, Episode 31
Miss King finds herself in a time warp while visiting an antique shop waking up in the room apparently 50 years earlier and addressed as Pandora. John Laurie (Dad's Army) guest stars, with Linda Thorson and Patrick Macnee
Detective/Thriller
Movie/Drama
Cast & Crew
Patrick Macnee
(Actor)
.. John Steed
Linda Thorson
(Actor)
.. Tara King
Patrick Newell
(Actor)
.. Mother
John Laurie
(Actor)
.. Simon Henry Juniper
Robert Fuest
(Director)
More Information
Did You Know..
Patrick Macnee
(Actor)
.. John Steed
Born:
February 06, 1922
in
London
Best Known For:
Playing John Steed in The Avengers.
Early-life:
Born Daniel Patrick Macnee on February 6, 1922, in London. His father was a successful racehorse trainer who gambled away his fortune and emigrated to India. His mother then divorced her husband and moved in with her lesbian lover in Wiltshire. Macnee attended Summer Fields prep school before enrolling at Eton. He made his film debut in 1938's Pygmalion, but his acting career was curtailed by a spell in the Navy during the Second World War.
Career:
On his return from service, Macnee studied at the Webber Douglas School of Dramatic Art. Small roles in several films followed but, frustrated at the lack of opportunity in Britain, he emigrated to Canada, then moved to the US. He appeared in numerous TV plays and films before returning to the UK in 1959. Producing Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years brought him to the attention of TV bosses who, to his surprise, offered him the role of John Steed in The Avengers in 1961. He stayed with the popular series until it ended in 1969, but returned to the role in The New Avengers in 1976. Macnee also appeared in such movies as A View to a Kill, This Is Spinal Tap and The Sea Wolves. He died on June 25, 2015.
Quote:
"I haven't really accomplished anything. The most accomplished thing I've done is to have lived this long."
Trivia:
Macnee became a US citizen in 1959.
Linda Thorson
(Actor)
.. Tara King
Born:
June 18, 1947
in
Ontario, Canada
Best Known For:
The Avengers.
Early-life:
Born Linda Robinson on June 18, 1947, in Ontario, Canada, the second of four children. Her father was a teacher. She knew she wanted to be a performer from a young age, and began studying dance. At 18, she won a place at Rada, where she excelled in dance and voice. She was expected to begin her professional career on the stage and work up to leading roles, but her career took an unexpected twist.
Career:
At the tender age of 20, Thorson was chosen out of 200 actresses to replace Diana Rigg as Patrick Macnee's sidekick in The Avengers. Sadly, her character, Tara King, wasn't widely liked and falling ratings meant the show was axed in 1969. The actress then concentrated on theatre roles, and built a respected career on stage, appearing in the likes of Noises Off, Steaming, Shirley Valentine and Amy's View. She also appeared on TV and film in St Elsewhere, Sweet Liberty, Moonlighting, Dynasty, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Silent Witness. Since 2006, she has played scheming Rosemary King in Emmerdale.
Quote:
"I am dedicated to acting. I have a drive which sometimes I wish I didn't have."
Trivia:
Thorson is bidialectal, speaking in her native Canadian accent when she is in North America, and a British accent when she is in the United Kingdom.
Patrick Newell
(Actor)
.. Mother
John Laurie
(Actor)
.. Simon Henry Juniper
Born:
March 25, 1897
in
Dumfries
Best Known For:
Playing Private James Frazer in Dad's Army.
Early-life:
John Paton Laurie was born in Dumfries on March 25, 1897 to William and Jessie. After serving in the First World War, John trained to become an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London and landed his first stage role in 1921. Between 1922 and 1939, he played a number of Shakespearean parts at the Old Vic or Stratford-upon-Avon. During the Second World War, he served in the Home Guard.
Career:
Laurie made guest appearances in a number of TV shows during the 1950s, 60s and 70s, including The Scarlet Pimpernel, Kidnapped, The Citadel, Steptoe and Son, Z Cars, Emergency Ward 10 and The Avengers. In his best known role, he played pessimistic undertaker and Home Guard soldier Private James Frazer in the hugely popular BBC sitcom Dad's Army. The show ran from 1968 until 1977 and remains popular today with modern audiences. His film credits include Henry V (1944), Treasure Island (1950), Richard III (1955), Dad's Army (1971), One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing (1975) and The Prisoner of Zenda (1979). He died from emphysema at the age of 83 on June 23, 1980. His ashes were scattered at sea.
Quote:
"We're doomed, I tell ye!"
Trivia:
Laurie was one of the storytellers on BBC children's series Jackanory.
Robert Fuest
(Director)
