anthonywalshaw_2
Lifetime Total
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IMDb Member
18 years
Reviews
Jason King (1971)
Style over Substance
Compared to its predecessor Department S, Jason King was a generally enjoyable but sometimes uneven show which pointed to the impending decline of the ITC adventure series. Though many of the stories were good with excellent guest actors, and there was an emphasis on style, the series suffered from budgetary constraints compared to its contemporaries in 1971. These included grainy 16mm film, too much studio filming/stock footage and no matter where in the world a particular episode was set, any cars used tended to be right hand drive including in particular a recurring Vauxhall Viva that turned up in episodes set in France, Turkey and the Far East among others. Other ITC series disguised these discrepancies better.
It was also sometimes slow moving and lacking in atmosphere, concentrating on King's style, flamboyance, social graces and relationships with whichever guest actress(es) were in the particular episode, rather than other characters and the ultimate plots, which were becoming clichéd. The show may have benefited if there had been regular support actors to play with/against King in every episode.
Nevertheless, Jason King is one of the most memorable TV characters of that era, if not of all time, and the best episodes were very good indeed. Being forever identified as Jason King, and unfortunately caught up in a minor scandal, whether Peter Wyngarde could have continued to be (or wanted to be) a convincing leading man in subsequent years is debatable. He would have been excellent in lighter fare such as sitcoms and perhaps even as a Doctor Who. His relative obscurity is a loss to TV and movies.
It was also sometimes slow moving and lacking in atmosphere, concentrating on King's style, flamboyance, social graces and relationships with whichever guest actress(es) were in the particular episode, rather than other characters and the ultimate plots, which were becoming clichéd. The show may have benefited if there had been regular support actors to play with/against King in every episode.
Nevertheless, Jason King is one of the most memorable TV characters of that era, if not of all time, and the best episodes were very good indeed. Being forever identified as Jason King, and unfortunately caught up in a minor scandal, whether Peter Wyngarde could have continued to be (or wanted to be) a convincing leading man in subsequent years is debatable. He would have been excellent in lighter fare such as sitcoms and perhaps even as a Doctor Who. His relative obscurity is a loss to TV and movies.
The Adventurer (1972)
ITC enters late middle-age?
The Adventurer is one of the least remembered of the ITC filmed series, and likely little seen or heard of since the mid-1970's. Along with The Protectors, it marks the start of the wind-down of the golden era of the genre. Both series may have benefited from being in an hour-long format like their predecessors, to develop the characters and plots and dispense with the quick editing. I believe they were made half-hour long due to the requirements of the US network.
Gene Barry seems rather tired throughout, and a bit old and overweight for the role, but he does bring a likable presence to the programme as the smart lead, set against the straight-laced & impeccably-mannered Barry Morse as the ministry man. In some respects they compare to Tony Curtis/Roger Moore in The Persuaders (1971) but there is less camaraderie & chemistry between them, and Morse is more like the authoritative judge (Laurence Naismith) character in that programme, rather than the adventurous Lord played by Moore.
The Adventurer has a larger regular support cast than usual for ITC, including Catherine Schell and Garrick Hagen, and they are more energetic than Morse and Barry. Progressions from previous ITC series include much of the incidental music and the extensive location footage (including much in industrial Europe). In tandem with traditional ITC stiff upper-lip these point to the concurrent Van Der Valk and later series like The New Avengers and The Professionals.
By 1973 though, seventies realism was replacing sixties optimism and substance was superseding style. Gene Barry at over 50 years old often looked incongruous in contemporary fashions.
His character, along with the Simon Templar and Jason King-types was on the way out, we already had Van Der Valk and were waiting for the imminent arrival of The Sweeney and The Professionals. Thus The Adventurer, though more entertaining than might be expected, fell rather unsatisfactorily between earlier and later genres perhaps explaining why it languishes in relative obscurity.
Gene Barry seems rather tired throughout, and a bit old and overweight for the role, but he does bring a likable presence to the programme as the smart lead, set against the straight-laced & impeccably-mannered Barry Morse as the ministry man. In some respects they compare to Tony Curtis/Roger Moore in The Persuaders (1971) but there is less camaraderie & chemistry between them, and Morse is more like the authoritative judge (Laurence Naismith) character in that programme, rather than the adventurous Lord played by Moore.
The Adventurer has a larger regular support cast than usual for ITC, including Catherine Schell and Garrick Hagen, and they are more energetic than Morse and Barry. Progressions from previous ITC series include much of the incidental music and the extensive location footage (including much in industrial Europe). In tandem with traditional ITC stiff upper-lip these point to the concurrent Van Der Valk and later series like The New Avengers and The Professionals.
By 1973 though, seventies realism was replacing sixties optimism and substance was superseding style. Gene Barry at over 50 years old often looked incongruous in contemporary fashions.
His character, along with the Simon Templar and Jason King-types was on the way out, we already had Van Der Valk and were waiting for the imminent arrival of The Sweeney and The Professionals. Thus The Adventurer, though more entertaining than might be expected, fell rather unsatisfactorily between earlier and later genres perhaps explaining why it languishes in relative obscurity.
Return of the Saint (1978)
Come in ITC, your time is up!
The Return of the Saint sits uneasily alongside both the previous ITC series and contemporary programmes of 1978, being a hybrid of the two. The location shooting and updated theme music compare with the most recent programmes, but the clichéd plots and much of the scripts/acting belong in the glory days of ITC a decade or so previously, when they were more believable to the audiences.
Staged set-pieces with buffoonish villains were now dated and improbable rather than stylish and entertaining. The same character actors involved could often be seen in such as The Sweeney and The Professionals doing fight scenes far more realistically.
There are likely several reasons why the programme did not extend beyond one series. Ian Ogilvy perhaps seemed a bit youthful compared to Roger Moore but his performances were fine and the programme was certainly popular at the time. The Grade Organisation (incorporating ATV/ITC) had not really moved on by the late-1970's, with its output still consisting of 1960's style caper/adventure movies/TV shows when almost everything else had moved towards a grittier realism. It was probably very expensive to make and worldwide sales might not have been good overall.
It is difficult to imagine ATV/ITC making shows with gratuitous violence and foul language and we should be thankful that they didn't. Their output, like the Hammer & Carry On films in the same period, had a brand quality and style particular to its maker and era. But by the late 1970's that era had gone and their empire was about to disintegrate.
That said, The Return of the Saint was not a bad way to depart being entertaining in the best tradition of ITC, with good guest actors complimenting the competent Ogilvy. Remember also that the seemingly more realistic Professionals had many ridiculous plot situations and equally has a mixed though generally favourable reaction when being assessed by critics.
Staged set-pieces with buffoonish villains were now dated and improbable rather than stylish and entertaining. The same character actors involved could often be seen in such as The Sweeney and The Professionals doing fight scenes far more realistically.
There are likely several reasons why the programme did not extend beyond one series. Ian Ogilvy perhaps seemed a bit youthful compared to Roger Moore but his performances were fine and the programme was certainly popular at the time. The Grade Organisation (incorporating ATV/ITC) had not really moved on by the late-1970's, with its output still consisting of 1960's style caper/adventure movies/TV shows when almost everything else had moved towards a grittier realism. It was probably very expensive to make and worldwide sales might not have been good overall.
It is difficult to imagine ATV/ITC making shows with gratuitous violence and foul language and we should be thankful that they didn't. Their output, like the Hammer & Carry On films in the same period, had a brand quality and style particular to its maker and era. But by the late 1970's that era had gone and their empire was about to disintegrate.
That said, The Return of the Saint was not a bad way to depart being entertaining in the best tradition of ITC, with good guest actors complimenting the competent Ogilvy. Remember also that the seemingly more realistic Professionals had many ridiculous plot situations and equally has a mixed though generally favourable reaction when being assessed by critics.