I really don’t know what to say. I checked “The Avengers Forever” this morning, just for a minute, and I have to admit I felt a sense of foreboding. Somehow I knew it wouldn’t be good news. I promptly went up to one of the library study rooms and had a good cry. In some ways I feel like an idiot—I never actually met Gareth, never was in the same time zone, let alone the same continent. It makes it harder, somehow—harder to accept that he’s gone when, unlike family, one isn’t going to notice his absence at the next family gathering. But I can’t help it. I loved the character of Mike Gambit. He made “The New Avengers” what it was, brought a whole new dimension to the Steed character, and with Purdey cultivated a teasing, very genuine, relationship. I owe Gambit, and Gareth, a lot. When I first saw “The New Avengers,” I was going through a very difficult time in many ways, and the show, running on “Bravo,” was pretty much all I had to hang onto at that point. I was on the brink of giving up on the whole series—I had finished the Emma Peel seasons, and what I had seen of Tara convinced me there was nothing else worth pursuing. But I watched TNA, with none-too-high hopes, after reading some reviews. I don’t know when, exactly, Gambit caught my interest. All I remember from that episode, “Dead Men are Dangerous,” was him jumping on the back of the car, wondering if he made a habit of this sort of thing. But as I went on, I quickly grew to the love the character. He had mystery, was the consummate professional, and yet there was an underdog quality that made me want to root for him—he always seemed to end up with the short end of the stick, and he took it with good humour. I wanted him to succeed, to make it with Purdey, to step out of Steed’s shadow. And I think, above all, that he would be a good friend, someone who would be there for you when you needed him. And I was at that age where things, including characters, make a huge impression on you, something you’ll never forget all those years later. I think Gambit was my first crush and, with “The New Avengers,” he opened up a lot for me, and I shall always be grateful to him for it. I’m not under any delusions about the realities of life. I’m well aware that Mike Gambit was fictional, hasn’t existed for the past 30 years since TNA went off the air in 1977, and that Gareth, and indeed all the Avengers, don’t look the way they used to. But there was something comforting about the fact that, when I did get to Britain, there was always a chance to run into him, just for a second, and perhaps let him know that he created a well-loved character. Whenever I read interviews, or heard recounts from people who had met him, he came across as a thoroughly decent sort, upbeat and kind. That possibility is gone. We have been exceedingly lucky in our fandom. No one has been lost since Ian Hendry, Patrick Newell, and Ingrid Hafner, but this was long before I knew about the show. Patrick Macnee is still motoring along at 85. I always knew at some point that one of them would depart on my watch. I always assumed it would be Patrick, who has enjoyed a long life. Gareth, at 64, was much too young. Rest in peace. And Gareth? Thanks. J. Ferguson a.k.a. Timeless A-Peel, March 14, 2007
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