Let me introduce...Simon Templar
by Gord Lacey (All reviews) |
5/12/2002 |
Simon Templar made his first appearance in a book, not on TV as I had originally thought. In 1928 Leslie Charteris released his novel, "The Saint Meets The Tiger". This character would appear in over 100 novels and stories, 9 movies from RKO, radio dramatizations on the BBC, a movie staring Val Kilmer and, of course, a TV series lasting 118 episodes with Roger Moore as the title character.
I've always liked Roger Moore as James Bond and I've known that Sean Connery was the second choice (behind Moore) to start the series of movies, but it was rather interesting to find out that it was Moore who was the second choice to play The Saint. If Patrick McGoohan hadn't turned down the role it would have changed the feel of this series as well as the entire Bond franchise.
This set features the following episodes:
The Queen's Ransom
Monte Carlo - when Simon foils an assassination plot, he finds himself on the run through Europe with a Queen and her crown jewels.
Interlude in Venice
Venice - the kidnapping of a promiscuous American Heiress reveals a dark tale of Mafia revenge.
The Russian Prisoner
Geneva - the KGB will go to any length to stop the Saint from aiding a defecting Russian scientist.
The Reluctant Revolution
San Paulo, Brazil - righting an old wrong, Simon becomes involved in the overthrow of an evil dictator...
The Helpful Pirate
Hamburg - a con runs out of control when the mark is a leading laser scientist; Simon is sent in to solve the riddle of the Helpful Pirate.
The Convenient Monster
Scotland - the Loch Ness monster conveniently covers a viper's nest of dark secrets.
Video
As with their other "Cult TV" releases, A&E have done a nice job with the video. The colors in the video appear nice and bright and rich with color. The print contains dust and some minor flaws and the odd glitch here and there, but overall it's a nice transfer. The episodes of "The Saint" take place around the world and stock footage is shown for these locations. Unfortunately these are lower quality prints and contain quite a bit of dust and grain. Audio
A mono audio track from the 60s isn't anything to jump up and down about, but it serves it's purpose. The audio is nice and clear and without any major problems. While a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is great for a show like "Thunderbirds", I'm quite happy with a mono track. Extras - How we rate extras
Trailers
There are trailers for each episode in the set which last 1 min each.
Photo Gallery
There are 16 photos on the first disc and 12 on the second featuring scenes from the 6 episodes.
Roger Moore Biography
5 still frames with information on Roger Moore.
Roger Moore Filmography
6 still frames with Roger Moore's filmography. Summary
While I prefer the James Bond character over The Saint, this show is fun to watch. My only complaint is A&E has started with the first color season and not released the show in order. Keep an eye on the lookout for Lois Maxwell in "Interlude In Venice". Maxwell played Miss Moneypenny in most of the James Bond movies. |
