Little Garwood wrote:I'm a HUGE Persuaders fan!
There's so much about this show that fascinates me. I'm a big Tony Curtis fan, and I adore Roger Moore, of course, so it was VERY surprising to stumble upon this post-Saint/ pre-Bond show nine years ago. "A Home of One's Own" was the first episode I ever saw. Love the wonderfully witty banter between the two principals, the fashions(!) and the "big-budget" locations. I didn’t even know it existed until 1998, when I caught an episode (“A Home of One’s Own”) on one of the cable networks (“encore” or “Starz!”) that had a rotating theme for each day of the week, that day was mystery, IIRC.
I was born in 1971, so to see--at least thru a TV show-- how the world looked back then makes me think of the early 1970s as not quite the 1960s and not yet the seventies I remember as a little kid (Disco, Aaron Spelling shows). The early 1970s seems to be a blend of both. The Persuaders appears to me to be the bridge between the 1960s "Spy Craze" and the 1970s urban detective shows that dominated the decade. It’s interesting to see a show that took place in Roger’s post-Saint, pre-Bond career. It’s such a brief moment in history. Plus, it opened up the early 1970s for me. Regardless, watching The Persuaders is always a lot of fun.
I have to say that the show's "dated" look is part of what draws me into it in the first place. That whole "Edwardian" fashion that Roger sports as Lord Brett Sinclair as well as the safari suits, scarves as necktie, enormous belt buckles, the “chicks” with miniskirts, middle-aged men with mutton-chop sideburns, all this goes a long way with me. It doesn't explain the madness of that era, but it sure fascinates me...
What really struck me about The Persuaders was its time period. It took place in Roger’s post-Saint, pre-Bond career and it opened up the early 1970s for me.
It’s too bad the show didn’t last longer, but then maybe its appeal lies in the fact that it was just a brief moment in TV history. I’ve always wanted to write some fan fiction chronicling Lord Sinclair’s and Danny Wilde’s continuing adventures. Apparently I’m the only one, as I’ve been unable to find any such fanfic on the web.
Hi Garwood,
Excellent post Woody, thanks for sharing.
If I recall correctly, The Persuaders used a lot of the behind the scenes talent from The Saint, with that series mindset.You might argue its a Saint sequel, not much difference between Lord Brett and Simon Templar. I watched it as a kid when it first ran because of the stars, the scenery, the humor and because I had just discovered girls and Holy Smokes did they have girls on this series.
Miss Crump, Thelma Lou and Aunt Bee on the Andy Griffith Show just weren't making it anymore compared to these European babes.
Curtis and Moore had excellent chemistry and got along but Tony's constant pot smoking was enough of a headache to the Roger Moore helmed production that on balance it wasn't worth continuing the(expensive) series in between doing Bond films for the newly minted OO7 spy Moore.
So it never had the chance to jump the shark.
Garwood, it is available on Youtube where I searched it out a few weeks ago after reading your above post, and its better than I remembered for all the reasons you cited.
I read a very interesting post there concerning the series when it ran in Germany(as it still does in many countries). The German dubbed dialogue is considered superior to the original English language version, wittier in all respects.
Anyway I have just finished viewing the first 9 episodes and it's really hitting its stride now.