Some episodes, such as "Iris", broke away from the formula and had Templar address the audience for the entire pre-credit sequence and referring to himself by name, setting up the story that followed. The stick figure sometimes appeared in episodes to represent the Saint. The scene then switched to the title card, which featured a haloed stick figure. The pre-credit sequence usually ended with someone referring to (and/or addressing) the Saint by name – "Simon Templar" at this point, an animated halo appeared above Templar's head as the Saint looked at the camera (or directly at the halo). With the switch to colour, this was replaced by simple narration. The early episodes are distinguished by Moore breaking the fourth wall and speaking to the audience in character at the start of every episode. It also made a well-publicised switch from black-and-white to colour production midway through its run. The Saint began as a straightforward mystery series, but over the years adopted more secret agent and fantasy-style plots. In all, Inspector Teal featured in 26 episodes and Colonel Latignant in six. Unlike Teal, Latignant did not appear in Charteris's novels. Latignant is depicted as being even less competent than Teal, and is even keener than Teal to find Templar guilty, though Templar repeatedly helps him solve the case. When in France, Templar had a similar relationship with Colonel Latignant ( Arnold Diamond). Teal's relationship with Templar was broadly similar to that depicted in the novels, but in the series, he is often depicted as bungling, rather than merely Charteris's characterisation of him as an officious, unimaginative policeman. In three early episodes, Teal had been played by Campbell Singer, Norman Pitt, and Wensley Pithey Dean featured from the episode "Iris" (7 November 1963) onward. Moore had a few recurring co-stars, especially Ivor Dean, who played Templar's nemesis, Inspector Teal. (Coincidentally this episode also features David Hedison who appeared alongside Moore in the Bond film Live and Let Die.) Moore was eventually in a position to accept the role as Bond in 1973 after filming ITC's The Persuaders! with Tony Curtis. In one early episode of the series (titled "Luella"), another character actually mistakes Templar for Bond. He was reportedly offered the role of James Bond at least twice during the run of the series, but he had to turn it down both times due to his television commitments. Most of the wardrobe Moore wore in the series was his own. Baker when the show moved to colour and the production credit became Bamore Productions. Moore eventually became co-owner of the show with Robert S. Roger Moore had earlier tried to buy the production rights to the Saint books himself, and was delighted to be able to play the part. As with The Avengers, the colour episodes were originally broadcast in the UK in black and white before the advent of colour transmissions on ITV. With almost 120 episodes, the programme is exceeded only by The Avengers as the most productive show of its genre produced in the UK. It also proved popular beyond the UK and US, eventually airing in over 60 countries, and made a profit in excess of £350m for ITC. The programme, therefore, ended its run with both trans-Atlantic primetime scheduling and colour episodes. NBC picked up the show as a summer replacement in its evening schedule in 1966 because of the strong performance in the United States of the first two series in first-run syndication. Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal is his nominal nemesis who considers Templar a common criminal, but often grudgingly tolerates his actions for the greater good. Templar helps those whom conventional agencies are powerless or unwilling to protect, often using methods that skirt the law. In the television series, Templar was played by Roger Moore. It was based on the literary character Simon Templar created by Leslie Charteris in the 1920s and featured in many novels over the years. The Saint is a British mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the United Kingdom on ITV between 19.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |