Review of Protectors, The: Vol. 2 Series 1, Episodes 9 to 18

Introduction

Okay, everybody remembers Tony Christie warbling the end title music of this `seventies thriller series. (All together now - "...where the soul of a man is easy to buy. Ev`ry body`s wheelin`, ev`rybody`s dealin`..."). Some of us were grossed out by Robert Vaughn spoon-feeding his Irish wolfhound a boiled egg in the titles. But does anybody actually recall what the show was about?

The Protectors was Gerry Anderson`s second foray into live-action television after his ground-breaking UFO. According to Anderson`s memoir on the subject ("What Made Thunderbirds Go?"), he and his partners wife Sylvia and Reg Hill, were steamrollered into the production by ATV boss Lew Grade. The series, about an international team of freelance crimefighters led by Robert Vaughan as Harry Rule, was financed by Grade`s ITC and Faberge and was rushed into production. Two series of twenty-six, half-hour episodes were made with excellent pedigrees - directors such as Charles Crichton, Don Chaffey, John Hough and Cyril Frankel and writers such as Terence Feely, Brian Clemens, John Goldsmith and Tony Barwick. Unfortunately, and in spite of popular support from Nyree Dawn Porter as the Contessa and Tony Anholt as Paul Buchet, Robert Vaughn`s disenchantment with the project (The money was good) shows through. A third season was discussed but not commissioned.

Video

I wasn`t looking forward to watching the discs after seeing reruns of some episodes of the series on Granada Plus. Luckily, the material has been completely remastered for the DVD releases and bears little if any resemblance to episodes currently available in other formats. The transfers are business-like, packing eight half-hour episodes on to a disc. There are some compression artefacts visible, but this is probably due to the graininess of the source material. The image is typical of early 1970`s filmed shows - slightly out-of-focus, distinctly grainy and showing signs of repeated handling. The colours, however, have been boosted with the result that the episodes are considerably more gaudy that they would have been initially. Having said that, the end result is more acceptable than some other transfers of tv shows of that era.

Audio

It is only recently - i.e. within the last ten years - that sound has become an important consideration on drama programming. Anything older, and especially of this vintage, cannot be expected to have anything remarkable about its soundtrack - other than perhaps outstanding incidental music. For this series, the trademark was Tony Christie`s end title vocals, for which the series is mostly remembered. The sound is in mono, carried as a Dolby Digital 2.0 signal.

Features

There is a stills gallery and "character biographies", and as with many ITC releases full English hard-of-hearing subtitles (well done, Carlton.) Otherwise this is a strictly extras-lite edition.

Conclusion

The Protectors was a disappointing show. The short running time stopped it being a major tv series, but the characters proved popular enough with the public to warrant a second series. That the first season was ever completed is a miracle if one reads Gerry Anderson`s account, which comes across as the televisual production equivalent of the Bay of Pigs. It is, however, a brilliant example of 70`s kitsch and should be in every Gerry Anderson, ITC or crap-tv-fan`s collection.