The Return Of The Saint - The Complete Series (Box Set) (DVD)

According to the novels Simon Templar is a bit of an enigma, little is known about the character as to his past, but little is known about who he actually is. All that can be assumed from the novels by Leslie Charteris is that the character is a Robin Hood that stands for the good of justice but will take on a vigilante role if necessary. After the success of Roger Moore as Simon Templar, it was going to be difficult to top that with a new TV series ...
.../> In 1977, Producer of the original series, Robert S. Baker approached Sir Lew Grade to propose the return to TV of a well known character to the ITV schedules and later that year it was announced that a new series was indeed in production and would be broadcast across the ITV network during the autumn of 1978. The main question was who was going to play The Saint as Roger Moore had now become the new James Bond and would be unwilling to come back ... more

According to the novels Simon Templar is a bit of an enigma, little is known about the character as to his past, but little is known about who he actually is. All that can be assumed from the novels by Leslie Charteris is that the character is a Robin Hood that stands for the good of justice but will take on a vigilante role if necessary. After the success of Roger Moore as Simon Templar, it was going to be difficult to top that with a new TV series featuring the character known as The Saint.

In 1977, Producer of the original series, Robert S. Baker approached Sir Lew Grade to propose the return to TV of a well known character to the ITV schedules and later that year it was announced that a new series was indeed in production and would be broadcast across the ITV network during the autumn of 1978. The main question was who was going to play The Saint as Roger Moore had now become the new James Bond and would be unwilling to come back to a smaller television role compared to that of cinema. Thirty four year old actor Ian Ogilvy, best known at the time for his role as Laurence Kirkbridge in Upstairs Downstairs won the part of Simon Templar.
Looks wise Ogilvy was perfect for the role as Templar; he was 6 feet tall with a crisp English accent. He knew immediately that comparisons would be held and this would be a tough job to take on.

The structure of the episodes would remain loyal to the successful formula of the sixties so that the layout would be something the audience were already familiar with, the bottom line being that the actor playing Templar would be different and the surroundings update to modern day as well. One suggestion was that this could be the next generation of Templar's and that Ogilvy would play Simon Templar Jr, with the series being called Son of the Saint. Interestingly this would leave the door open for Roger Moore to potentially return in a number of stories and to hand the baton over to his Son in an attempt to bridge the gap between Father and Son, but this was dismissed as it was felt that there were far too many coincidences between Moore's and Ogilvy's characters that couldn't easily be explained under a relationship banner. So Return of the Saint was defined as the 1970's version of Templar. Some say that Ogilvy does remind them of the younger Roger Moore in the early original episodes; personally I cannot see this in Ogilvy's appearance.

Well known trademarks from the original series were transferred over, for example Templar giving the opening narration at the beginning of the pre-title sequences and the famous Halo appears over Templar's head before the titles kick in. The difference here is that the scene was frozen at a specific point, usually after Templar's name was mention for the first time, then the Halo and title music kicked in.

The theme tune was definitely 70's with a mix of electric guitar and full orchestra, the theme only ending to include a nice little solo of the 60's theme tune. It was this music that the series was remembered for as it played over an impressive title sequence. This was the age of the title sequence as well, recently in programs like Lost the title sequence lasts for about 15 seconds with the actor's names shown on screen as the story opens. Here in 1978 it was much better than that and here we have a full blown opening title sequence with specially shot scenes that give us a little story to watch whilst introducing us to the actors in the episode with the main intention that it got us ready for the episode to properly begin.

The quality of the production of the series far exceeded the original, gone were the surroundings of Elstree. As all the location work was done by visiting the proper locations rather than a Studio set made to look like Africa or the Caribbean. Everything was done properly; a number of the episodes weren't even set in the United Kingdom as they were based in Italy or France. This gave the program a truly international feel to it and meant that the audience had a far greater scope in the what was seem as part of the storyline than ever before. The stories themselves can be a bit of a mixed bag and watching the whole season you do get the idea that the budget was saved for the more expensive episodes that were set abroad rather than the ones set in the UK. Some of the plots revolved around Simon's friendship with others including some characters that are linked to the original series, as they would come to him to ask for his assistance. At other times he would just be in the wrong place at the wrong time and witness a murder or a wrong doing that would straight away involve some kind of chase on foot or by car.

Moore's car of choice was a Volvo P1800, grey in colour and a very elegant car to look at. Ogilvy's car is a Jaguar XJS, white in colour. Again a very elegant car to see on screen, and more than capable of looking half decent when a need for a pursuit is required which is part of the majority of the stories anyway. Interestingly on the original series Jaguar refused have one of their cars in the 60's series as they though the wrong type of person would be wanting to but one, so Volvo stepped in with the P1800. Second time around the opportunity wasn't waited for and Jaguar supplied as many as required for filming before even being asked, the three XJS 's that were supplied were of manual gear box with a powerful V12 engine. The registration number for the Jaguar as well as the Volvo is ST1. In fact the XJS is still going today and is owned by a collector in Scotland.

The main difference as well with Return of the Saint is that Templar seems a lot more grounded in this version with the character being fleshed out more, for the first time you get to see where he lives. His Flat is listed as Eaton Mews, which is located in Belgravia, not far from Victoria Station. He also has a regular girlfriend that is seen in number of episodes throughout the season. Templar also utilises a back up vehicle and has a Silver BMW RJ100S that was used in a number of episodes, keeping with continuity the registration plate for the bike is ST2! Most notably used in the 24th and final episode where Templar follows the person who has stolen his Jaguar by use of an early type tracker/ homing device.

Naturally the changes are down to the actor playing Templar as there was a lot more room for fleshing out and evolving the character further as there are a number of angles that we see Ogilvy play as aggressive where Moore would have charmed his way out. In my mind Ogilvy played the part well and made it his own, although his accent does change in places and he does start to sound a bit like Cary Grant in some episodes. As I said at the beginning he does look the part of Templar for a new TV audience and plays Templar with less charm than Moore, but still with the characteristics of someone who is able to look after himself in some tough situations. I also felt that he was a tougher Saint than Moore in a number of ways as the series had that harder edge to it, as a number of Templar's friends were ex-Army in nature. Templar was called upon to use his brains in some situations rather than his brawn; also in some episodes he carries a gun with him under his jacket. Overall I though this was a very convincing and somewhat original portrayal of the character.

As this was an ITC production, the same company responsible for the original Saint series as well as other programs such as Space 1999, The Baron, The Champions and Jason King. It was inevitable that the same actors appear again as different characters. In Return of the Saint it is no different as you see actors such as Ian Hendry, Judy Geeson, Joss Ackland, and Geoffrey Keen who are all well known ITC actors that have appeared in numerous other programs from this company. Also known to TV audiences at the time were guest stars such as Diane Keen, Britt Ekland, and George Cole, film star Mel Ferrer and even Rula Lenska appeared in various stories, some of the actors playing the villain or the damsel that Templar teams up with throughout the story to address the issues the plot has thrown into the mix.

The TV series ran for 24 episodes which at the time was equivalent to one season, originally being broadcast on London Weekend Television at 7.15pm on Sunday 10th September 1978. Unfortunately a second season was not renewed due to lower than expected viewing figures, so sadly this is all we have for the program. Although people still treasured Moore as Templar, the audiences by the end of the run were beginning to accept Ogilvy and the figures were starting to increase, unfortunately this was too late for the networks and the plug was pulled. It's a shame really as this was a higher standard of action. Adventure, I still believe that if they had gone ahead with a second season then Return of the Saint would have been a bigger success. This also marked the last series that ITC would produce as the times in the world of TV Land were changing, yet this still easily manages to get cult status for a TV program of this type.

Although some of the episodes had been previously released on VHS, nothing was released on DVD until 2007 when the entire series was available in one box set. It's worth taking a look oat these as these are still enjoyable to watch even 30 years after they were made, also the majority of the episodes of Return of the Saint are still miles better when compared to the 1997 film version with Val Kilmer. 

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