Actors - Mother

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"Mother" is the codename given to the wheelchair-bound male British government official who gives orders to John Steed and Tara King in the last season of the British TV series The Avengers. Following this tradition and based on the series, the 1998 film also titled The Avengers includes the same character, again giving orders to Steed, this time with Emma Peel as a partner, a former partner of Steed's in the series (before Tara King). In the television series, the character of "Mother" is portrayed by Patrick Newell; in the movie, he is portrayed by Jim Broadbent.

"Mother"'s position is reminiscent of that of M in the James Bond movies: He is the spider at the center of the web of intrigue, supervising and coordinating the activities of Steed and other agents. In spite of his disability, he is characteristically mobile, continuously moving his headquarters from such traditional locations as a stately home to more eccentric locales such as a double-decker bus or under water. This compulsion to present a moving target is more than mere whimsy; the plots of many of the episodes revolve around attempts to kill "Mother," so his position is obviously a hazardous one.

There is a school of thought in Avengers fandom that identifies "Mother" as Sir George Collins, a sometime Minister of the Crown and close relative of the Attorney General, who appeared in an earlier episode of the series (Something Nasty in the Nursery). This speculation is largely based on the rather tenuous evidence that both Collins and "Mother" were portrayed by the same actor (Patrick Newell). Although Sir George Collins would fit the profile of "Mother"'s otherwise mysterious background, the main counterargument is that he is not disabled. However, it is possible that "Mother" received his disabling injury after his appearance as Sir George; some remarks in both the television series (episode The Forget-Me Knot) and the film suggest that the accident that paralyzed him happened in the relatively recent past.

The humor of "Mother" as a codename for a man is further exploited by placing him opposite a blind female British government official, second to him in rank, called "Father".

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Actors - Mother

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