The Saint (TV series)

The Saint was a long-running British action adventure television series, made by ITC, that aired on ITV stations between 1962 and 1969, and on American television as a syndicated show (1962-1967) and on NBC (1967-69). Running six seasons, the series rivals The Avengers as one of the longest-running series of its genre produced in Britain, running for 118 episodes.

Related Topics:
British - ITV - 1962 - 1969 - American - The Avengers

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The Saint starred Roger Moore as Simon Templar, the fictional detective created by Leslie Charteris in the 1920s and featured in many novels and novellas over the years. Moore's portrayal of Templar was considered a training ground for his later work as James Bond, and in fact he was offered the role of 007 at least twice during the run of the series, but had to turn it down both times due to his television commitments. In one early episode of the series, a character actually mistakes Templar for James Bond.

Related Topics:
Roger Moore - Simon Templar - Leslie Charteris - 1920s - Novella - James Bond

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Although Moore had a few recurring costars, most notably Ivor Dean as Templar's nemesis, Inspector Teal, he was the only constant performer for the entire run of the series.

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In the series, Simon usually drove a Volvo 1800.http://www.saint.org/volvo.htm

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The series began as a straightforward mystery series, but over the years adopted more secret agent and fantasy-style plots. It also made a well-publicized switch from black and white to colour production midway through its run. The early episodes are distinguished by having Moore break the fourth wall and speak to the audience (in character as Simon) at the start of every episode; with the switch to colour, this gimmick was replaced by simple narration.

Related Topics:
Secret agent - Black and white - Fourth wall

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Many episodes of the series were based upon Charteris' stories, although a higher percentage of original scripts appeared as the series progressed.

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The series has been syndicated for many years, and reruns of the program aired to high ratings on CBS in the late 1970s. The colour seasons of the series are available on DVD in North America, with release of the black and white seasons underway. A pair of two-part episodes from later seasons, Vendetta for the Saint and The Fiction Makers, were compiled into feature films which were distributed to theatres in Europe and often show up on late-night television in America.

Related Topics:
CBS - DVD - North America

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In 1978, the series was revived as Return of the Saint, starring Ian Ogilvy as Templar. Moore never played the role again after 1969, though he can be heard speaking on a car radio during the 1997 film The Saint, starring Val Kilmer as Templar.

Related Topics:
1978 - Return of the Saint - Ian Ogilvy - 1969 - 1997 - The Saint - Val Kilmer

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