The Saint - Vol. 2 - Careful Terrorist / Covetous Heads / Loaded Tourist / Pearls Of Peace

Starring: Roger Moore Director: David Greene, Jeremy Summers, John Ainsworth, Michael Truman Original UK Premiere: 1962 Dvd Release: 12th February, 2001 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: Black & White, PAL, Region 2 Encoding

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The Saint was a long-running British action adventure television series that aired on ITV stations between 1962 & 1969 & in the mid-late 1960s on an American network. 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. The Saint starred Roger Moore as Simon Templar, the fictional detective created by Leslie Charteris in the 1920s & featured in many novels & novellas over the years. Moores portrayal of Templar was considered a training ground for his later work as James Bond & 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 mistakens Templar for James Bond. Although Moore had a few recurring costars, most notably Ivor Dean as Templars nemesis, Inspector Teal, he was the only constant performer for the entire run of the series.

When director Guy Hamilton took the helm of the film Goldfinger in 1964 he is reputed to have said he didnt want to make a Bond film so much as a "Super Saint" episode. Its easy to see why; the first two Bond films, & indeed the books that series is derived from, are spactacularly humourless affairs when compared with Leslie Charteriss halo-wearing hero Simon Templar. Roger Moore, Fleming & Broccolis original choice for the role of Bond, simply shines as the witty, debonair & sophisticated Simon Templar. In the first series he carries a mid-transatlantic accent that did not last for the shows seven-year run, but otherwise he is the smooth urbane Templar to a T. There are differences between Moores Saint & the character of the books -- unlike Charteriss hero, & those of earlier impersonators such as George Sanders & Louis Hayward, Moores Saint wont stoop to the occasional murder . The episodes of this first series are drawn from a series of short stories written by Charteris between the 1930s & the 50s. They have barely even been updated in most cases, & show the authors preoccupation with natural justice, pretty woman & the good things in life. Later on, the series would move away from Charteriss stories & his conception of the character. These early episodes are really modern morality tales, spiced with adventure & humour. In some of them the Saint is little more than an observer, while others are full-blown two-fisted adventures. One of the joys of the series first-time around was not knowing what you were going to get from week to week. Although the TV seriess weekly format seems a little dated now, it was fresh & daring in the 1960s. Its not surprising Hamilton felt inspired by it. Its pity that few home-grown TV adventure series are made in the UK now, but at least these DVDs afford us a glimpse of what was. Despite slight extras , these DVDs are well worth the money for Saint fans & budding TV historians.

Sir Roger George Moore is an English actor known for his suave & witty demeanor. He is best known for playing two fictional British detectives -- the cinematic James Bond from 1973 to 1985 & the TV sleuth Simon Templar in The Saint from 1962 to 1969. Born in Stockwell, London, the son of a policeman. He attended Dr Challoners Grammar School in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. He served in the military during World War II in the entertainment branch above such luminaries as Spike Milligan. He first got into films in the nineteen forties as an extra & then as a leading man later most notably on TV,Moore appeared in the TV series Ivanhoe, Maverick, The Saint & The Persuaders. Posters Of Roger Moore

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David Greene is a National Football League quarterback with the Seattle Seahawks. At South Gwinett High School in Snellville, Georgia, David Greene was a two-sport standout as a quarterback in football & as a right fielder in baseball. As a senior, he completed 134 passes out of 227 pass attempts for 2,102 yards & 19 touchdowns, earning USA Today All-USA honorable mention, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super 11 honors, Super Southern 100 honors, Top 75 in Georgia honors,Class AAAA All-State honors, Georgia Sports Writers Association AAAA All-State, Gwinnett County co-Offensive Player of the Year, Atlanta touchdown club quarterback of the year, Gwinnett touchdown club All-Star quarterback & Atlanta Club Quarterback of the Year. He also played in the Georgia-Florida All-Star game & led his team to the playoffs as a junior & as a senior. Greene played quarterback at the University of Georgia in college. He began his career as a redshirt freshman in 2001, being named the starter before the season. His most notable freshman game occurred at Tennessee, known as the hobnail boot game. Posters Of Blondie

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