Dos tipos audaces

In Italy "The persuaders" was called "Attenti a quei due" (it means something like "Pay attention to that two")and was an incredible success. Lord Brett and Danny Wilde were a perfect mix (Aston Martin for the first, Ferrari for the second!) and everybody was sorry this tv serie was only one year long (as well as UFO, another big score of that period). Is still possible to see some of this adventures in one of the many small italian tv, and everytime it make me happy and at the same time sad because of the lot of time has passed by; if you are young enjoy your time, as you get older world is worse!

Maybe it's out of nostalgia, maybe it's because I've grown up with the series, but whichever way I choose to look at it, I come to the conclusion that The Persuaders was and still is one of the best detective/adventure/action/what-have-you-series ever created. Because even now, as I recently bought the complete series on DVD, and has been able to watch all episodes again, including many which I missed when they were aired on TV, I can't help but being endlessly charmed and entertained by it. Even though a lot of shows that gain cult-status tend to be more out of sheer novelty value, in the case of The Persuaders, I feel it is more than well deserved. Everything, from the utterly brilliant theme music by John Barry, the kitschy but superbly entertaining fight-scenes to the great chemistry between Moore and Curtis and the general high quality of the story lines, is just top-notch. Sure, it's silly and kitschy and very 70's, but then on the other hand, that's what's so great about it.

This is pure, shameless entertainment when it's at its best.

Lord Brett Sinclair and Danny Wilde are drawn together by Judge Fulton to use there wasted talents and use them for the fight against crime. Top notch action and comedy the Persuaders were the oddest of couples that got on very well. Lord Brett Sinclair and aristocratic, suave and stylish with clothes to match was the true English Gent. Danny Wilde a millionaire with wit and a very large wallet. Cars, Girls, Guns and one liners was the best combination of this powerful suspense series hat ran for only 2 years, it is a real shame. No one has ever come close to the partnership of Moore and Curtis. Sinclairs lucky number was 7 and he drove an Austin Martin, a pre-James Bond role which made him an international success. Everyone with a thing for action and suspense must watch this.

This is a TV show in which the opening credit sequence was even better than the actual programme. To begin with, John Barry's theme music is still one of the best ever written for a TV show - a few years ago I heard it for the first time in nearly 20 years, and I absolutely stopped in my tracks, it was so evocative. Then the montage, which begins by using images to tell the respective stories of the two main characters - Lord Brett Sinclair with his inherited wealth, his City career, an English sporting gentleman, a Formula One racing driver (long zoom shot of racing cars straight from the Golden Age of Grands Prix); Danny Wilde starting in poverty on the Lower East side in New York, but soon becoming an oil magnate (newspaper shot of a ... *gasp* ... nine MILLION dollar oil deal!). Then the next sequence shows the two of them having a great time in various exotic European locations ... champagne bubbles, jewellery put round exquisite necks, gorgeous cars, water-skiing, power boat racing, beautiful women in bikinis, and a roulette wheel. Everything you need to know about the programme, including the strong friendship between the leads, is to be found in this magnificent one-minute sequence.

The modus operandus of the show was to contrast humorous and witty dialogue with tense situations. Anyway, this was never a show for worrying about what the plot was this week - it was a show for basking in the wonderful locations, the beautiful cars, the witty lines and the sexual banter. (Needless to say, both the main characters were depicted as irresistible to women).

Plots direct from Roger Moore's previous series The Saint, plus James Bond exotic locations and a huge Hollywood star in Tony Curtis, makes this an often overlooked gem. And just like Star Trek, the best episode guest stars Joan Collins!

Never before have I seen on-screen chemistry like that between Roger Moore and Tony Curtis in The Persuaders. Both actors fill their roles perfectly and more besides, whoever teamed up these guys needs credit also.

Whether they're winning improbable fight scenes, surviving hair-raising car chases, or making sense of unusual situations (e.g Sinclair finding out how he has suddenly acquired a wife, Wilde being accidentally immersed into a Soviet spy ring, or Sinclair again finding that he has been cloned!) Moore and Curtis always appear to be having a riot of a time, perhaps in some measure a result of the large quantities of champagne the cast got through on the set.

Roger Moore deploys his usual charm and dry wit, whilst the manic Curtis excels with his deadpan humour and perfect timing. The contrast between the two main characters matches that between the two actors, but its more a case of salt and vinegar than cheese and chalk, Moore and Curtis are perfect together, and together they are perfect for the show. Slightly camp 1970s comedy/action - perfect for Roger to make his indelible mark on the James Bond series, and a welcome change for Tony from his less light-hearted roles.

Brilliant series, shame it only lasted a couple of years!