Return of the Saint

I remember this being on telly on a Sunday night. I knew the theme and credits but never took an interest in watching any episodes. Cut to 2024 and I'm finally catching up with the series and it's pretty good! Roger Moore's replacement Ian Ogilvy does a great job as a tougher more sardonic Saint. He's not afraid to shoot someone if he has too, nor dangle villains over cliff edges until he gets answers. Great location filming (mainly sunny Italy and raining London), lovely ladies and good guest stars abound. Yes some of the stories are thin but a few are good with gritty ingredients (men raping girls then killing them?). This is a good show and a pity it didn't go to a second series. Ogilvy was born for the part and would have been a good 007 on the strength of this, but Roger was occupying that seat! The last of the great ITC action series.

Sorry if this offends some, but I have major problems with this series. Starting with Ian Oglivy as Simon Teplar. Now, his character name may be the same as the character played by Sir Roger Moore in the original series, but he isn't really The Saint. He is vaguely Saint-like, but is far too much a puppet of the organization for which he works.

Instead of suave and cunning, Oglivy's Templar is brash. Rather than a twinkle in his eye, this new "Saint" seems to vacillate between looking slightly embarrassed and looking just bit too smug.

True, I am one of those, "James Bond WAS Sean Connery" and "Simon Templar WAS Roger Moore" types. Perhaps that colors my perspective, but watching some of these episodes in 2008-09 hasn't done anything to change my opinion of the show back in 1978-79 when I first saw it. I have also gone back to watch several of the Roger Moore series recently. They hold up. Rather nicely, too.

The plots are paper thin and the supporting acting is sometimes painful. I would give examples, but they would end up being spoilers.

For completists out there, go for the DVD. For Ian Ogilvy fans, go for it. But, if you have warm, fuzzy memories of the original The Saint shows, don't say that one crabby old fart didn't warn you.

I watched this series when it played in the U.S. on The Friday Late Night Movie on CBS in 1978 and enjoyed it so much. I just recently purchased the 25th Anniversity Special Edition DVD set (all region) and its still great. Ian Ogilvy is simply dashing in the lead and the locations(England, France and Italy) are so beautiful. What a pity the series only lasted a year but if you own the DVD set, you will not only enjoy the episodes again but also interviews with Ian Ogilvy and executive producer John S. Baker reminisce about their favorite episodes with other behind the scenes information and stories about that fabulous white XJS. Its a must for any Saint or Ian Ogilvy fan!

I can't understand why this series is so hard to find(it does not appear to be available on video or DVD at this time). Ian Ogilvy is very good as the Saint. His 70s hairstyle is a bit dated(on viewing it today) but other than that he is suave and sophisticated.And who can forget his white Jaguar XJS!

I remember seeing this series when it was first broadcast on CBC(Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) in 1978-79 and enjoying it tremendously. One episode that comes to mind is The Armageddon Alternative which has a madman threatening to blow up London using a nuclear bomb! The story was tense and the manhunt very realistic. The great thing about this series is the fact that they shot it all over Europe. Several very good actors appeared in the series including Britt Eckland, Ian Hendry, Linda Thorson and Catherine Schell

Fans of the Saint should check it out if it ever comes back(Mystery network in Canada showed it last year but they seem to have stopped).

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.