The character, the literary creation of Leslie Charteris, has a somewhat nebulous origin. It is said that Simon Templar, motivated by his own sense of justice, took whatever action he deemed necessary, to correct what he perceived were injustices in the world. This usually involved one of the "ungodly" being robbed, or somehow taught a lesson. Somewhere the victim would usually find a note, containing a short message warning them to learn their lesson. Instead of a signature, there would be a drawing of a stick man figure with a halo, the familiar finger pointing "Saint" logo. While Templar was suspected of committing these acts, his guilt was apparently never proved. In eluding his victims and all manner of law enforcement, he achieved a notorious reputation, and the nickname of "The Saint".

"The Saint's" image was cleaned up for television, where he appeared as basically a virtuous character. While his questionable past is often alluded to, specific reference to any criminal activity was avoided. He is presented as a noble figure, to whom committing a criminal act for mere personal financial gain would be simply unthinkable. And crime must not be seen to pay.

"The Saint" does not fit nicely into any particular category, blending the qualities of an adventurer, a detective, and a secret agent. Without a fixed setting, or any regular supporting cast, it falls squarely on Roger Moore to capture and hold the viewers' interest. And he comes through with flying colors, almost single handedly carrying each episode, and maintaining the continuity of the character, no matter what the location, or the situation he finds himself in. This is actually quite an achievement, and one that is easy to overlook, because Moore does it so smoothly.

DVD Set 1 contains the program's first color episodes, supposedly presented in the order they were originally broadcast. This collection is a good representation of typical "Saintly" adventures. We find Simon Templar cavorting throughout Europe, and also appearing in Latin America. Being such an adaptable fellow, he becomes involved in adventure in a variety of ways. Part of the fun, is trying to figure out exactly what kind of trouble old Simon has gotten himself into this time.

Favorite episodes from Set 1, are "The Russian Prisoner", with Simon involved in intrigue, matching wits with the KGB. Then "The Queen"s Ransom" where "The Saint" must keep one step ahead of thieves chasing the royal jewels. And "The Convenient Monster", where "Nessie" figures in the conclusion of a story of involving murder and deception.

If you are not familiar with this series, you may not find it to be your cup of tea, for "The Saint", like "The Avengers", is something of an acquired taste. If you are a fan, then this set and Set 2, should be part of your collection. While they may not the best "Saint" episodes, they are the first available on DVD. Picture quality is excellent, colors are true to the original quality, and the images are sharp. A TV series set in a different location each week presents special challenges, and production values are pretty good considering this. The difference between location and studio shots are obvious, but typical for the times. The audio level however, could stand to be cranked up a bit, to match the music level.

One negative is the lack of substantial bonus materials. No printed matter, not even a booklet with a detailed series retrospective. All you get are episode previews, and a few stills. Not much, considering the premium price. This is basically the same minimalist treatment given to "The Avengers". Lacking extensive bonus material, I wish A&E would maximize the medium and package at least four episodes per disc, instead of just three. The studios should remember that the predominant audience for these collections, are the dedicated fans of the program. This is often a niche market, and the faithful really do deserve their best effort.

Finally, one oddity is that actor Ivor Dean, who was wonderful as "Inspector Teal", is listed as being part of the "regular cast", but does not appear in any of the episodes. Hope to see old "Claude Eustace" in future releases.


Wonderful   September 6, 2001
 6 out of 8 found this review helpful

I always loved the old james bond films with moore in them so when i heard about this series being much like bond i had to try it out.
well i loved it...wonderful time and if you liked him as bond then you will love this since he feels even more at home here.
you get six episodes from the show on two disks.
i give this a 4 out of 5 since the dvd itself is lacking, like there are no subtitles or CC and since my tv hook up in mono i lose a ton of sound and relay on that subtilte feature many times..
well here we don;t have it so i can't hear it well with too much noise around me....
but other then that it;s great and has a nice little Bio about moore that is worth reading plus the TV trailers for each episode (amazing seeing how old this is).


The one and only   July 26, 2001
Roger Moore is The Saint to me, and these beautiful A&E DVD's are a great addition to my collection. Watching Roger race around in his gleaming white Volvo 1800 is a joy to behold!


The one and only   July 25, 2001
 2 out of 5 found this review helpful

Roger Moore is The Saint to me, and these beautiful A&E VHS tapes are a great addition to my collection. Watching Roger race around in his gleaming white Volvo 1800 is a joy to behold!


A & E Launches the Colour Episodes   June 22, 2001
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

When A&E started their series of The Avengers TV Show, they started with the colour Diana Rigg episodes. Then they worked backwards to the black and white Rigg shows, and then the second seaon of Honor Blackman episodes.

Although the colour Saint episodes are better known, I prefer the original black and white shows that were available in syndication. When NBC got involved with showing The Saint as a midseaon replacement show, the budget was upped to make them in colour.

The Saint is a durable character who has survived many incarnations, including radio. As a dubious reviewer remarked, in films George Sanders did not originate the character, but he certainly defined it in some half dozen films - and real Saint fans all know it.

Although others have their opinions, I feel Roger Moore fits the character of The Saint much better than he ever did James Bond. And if Bond fans are buying this series because of Moore, they will be happy to see a lot of supporting players from the Bond films as guest stars - including Lois Maxwell (Bond's Miss Moneypenny). The episodes included here, and in Set 2, had previously been available from Columbia House's Subscription library, but it will be good to see them on DVD.

And here's hoping the black and white episodes are soon to follow.