W Is For Wyngarde

Peter Wyngarde plays Oberon, King of the Fairies*, in a 1964 ITV production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.  Never quite the crass, commercial machine the BBC made them out to be, ITV had a fine tradition of drama and the arts, although putting Benny Hill’s name above the title (he was playing Bottom, using his Fred Scuttle voice) and the rest of the cast underneath was, in the words of one contemporary commentator, ‘putting the arse before the court’. 

* Pack it in.

W Is For Wyngarde

Here’s a familiar face in a 1968 episode of ‘The Champions’, yes, well spotted, it’s Peter Wyngarde! Our Peter plays a roguish villain called Hallam and takes the opportunity to run the Wyngarde gamut: he prowls, he purrs, he dresses up, he has a comedy fight and pulls some faces. I usually find ‘The Champions’ a bit dull, but Peter - as ever- makes this episode a joy.

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W Is For Wyngarde

 

‘Epic’ is in many ways an atypical ‘Avengers’ episode: Steed isn’t in it much, and it has a small cast, rather than the usual cavalcade of familiar faces in small roles. If pushed to illustrate the freewheeling surrealism and gently experimental feel of the best of the programme, however, I would cite this episode as a perfect example. Full of striking visuals and with its tongue firmly in its cheek, it also gives a plum role for the genius of Peter Wyngarde to take flight.

The story is fairly negligible, but, for what it’s worth, Emma is kidnapped by a film director called Z.Z vom Schnerck who wants her to star in his magnum opus ‘The Destruction Of Emma Peel’. The film also stars two drunken, washed-up actors called Stewart Kirby (Wyngarde) and Damita Syn, who are more than willing to help von Shnerck abduct and murder if it revives their long dormant careers. Emma is not initially informed that she is in the film or, indeed, that the production will climax with her actual death onscreen.

Structurally and visually, the episode sometimes seems a precursor for both ‘The Girl Who Was Death’ and the UFO episode ‘Timelash’, both excellent episodes of sometimes variable shows. The studio setting gives plenty of scope to the production, not least the opportunity to parody a number of genres and stock characters.

Wyngarde is called upon to play, amongst others, a gunslinger, a 'red indian', Alexander the Great, a gangster and a machine gun toting German in a spiked helmet (another image prefiguring ‘The Girl Who Was Death’) , all of which are an absolute hoot (a thick slice of ham is part of the characterisation, of course – this is Peter Wyngarde doing Stewart Kirby doing the parts). We get to see Wyngarde’s superb facility for getting beaten up and pulling amusing faces, as well as hearing him do a variety of accents. He even gets to play the Dane, reciting the ‘To Be Or Not To Be’ soliloquy from the play that must not be named because it’s unlucky or something.

He’s brilliant, and terribly funny. I love him very much. Do you hear me, Peter, I LOVE YOU!

More Of The Many Moods Of Jason King

More Of The Many Moods Of Jason King



W Is For Wyngarde

Peter Wyngarde could have been Doctor Who, you know. He has presence, authority and eccentricity. He is obviously intelligent, and looks fantastic in Edwardian costume. I can imagine that he would have been acerbic, snappy, sometimes cruel - fond of eloquent speeches, merciless in his contempt for evil, camp as hell. That never came to pass, unfortunately, but in 1984 he did finally turn up in the programme as Timanov, the religious leader of a group of people called the Sarns who live on a volcanic 'Planet Of Fire'. i.e. Lanzarote.  

To be honest, 1984 is two years beyond my cut off date* for Doctor Who, so I only remember this story from seeing a bit with a young woman in a bikini (pervy fan fave Peri)and thinking 'well, she's a bit better looking than Adric'. Having watched it again in its entirety for this post, I have little to add to my earlier assessment.  Not a good or even coherent story, the tedium / confusion is relieved by Mr. Wyngarde, of course, who isn't onscreen much but still gives a typically assured performance, even though he has a load of rubbish to work with. The thing is that Peter is a proper actor, so it doesn't matter whether he's wearing a keffiyeh, a pirate hat or a gorilla suit - you're always going to get a performance out of him. He's a Genius.  

* I stopped watching the show in 1982 for several reasons, not least because the BBC had moved it to twice a week (on Tuesdays and Wednesday evenings) and I was doing other stuff (girls, riding my bike, riding my bike to girls) and I just lost track. My defection coincided with a particularly poor period for the show (although it would get much worse) and a new Doctor (Peter Davison) I didn't in any way dislike but just couldn't quite believe or get excited about. The passage of time has not changed my mind.  

More Of The Many Moods Of Jason King

W Is For Wyngarde

Peter Wyngarde runs the gamut from light-hearted cynicism to utter revulsion as German newspaper editor Werner Loder in the 1962 Armchair Theatre production 'Night Conspirators'. He gives an powerful, serious performance, as might befit a drama about the unexpected and, in Werner Loder's case, desperately unwanted, return of an aged Adolf Hitler to Germany.   

It bears repeating: Peter Wyngarde was a very fine actor, and he should be as well known for that as his moustache, cuban heels, perm and private life. The Island would be a much duller place without him.  

More Of The Many Moods Of Jason King

More Of The Many Moods Of Jason King