The Rogues

Obviously a show as deliciously witty and as sparklingly clever as this, with such a magnificent cast - David Niven, Gladys Cooper, Charles Boyer, Robert Coote, Gig Young, Larry Hagman, and John Williams - was too good for the tastes of the American public. It lasted just one season. On the other hand, the execrable "Beverly Hillbillies" - a more accurate barometer of the American public's sense of humor - marched on in glory for nine tedious years.

My brothers and I used to watch this show religiously during it's one and only season on the air. The three of us still consider it our favorite television show of all time. Does anyone even have a clue as to who one would beg to release this show onto DVD? Does it ever appear anymore on television? I consider this show to have had more top acting talent then any other show I can think of. I'm not sure there is even a close second. All three stars-- Charles Boyer, Gig Young, and David Niven were highly successful screen actors--Academy Award caliber performers. Most contemporary TV shows don't have even one established big screen star. The supporting cast alone would have made a great show.

I saw this series as a preteen and agree with the previous reviewer -- it was wonderful! With such suave men as David Niven and Gig Young, how could it fail. My mother was British, so perhaps my sense of humor was a bit perverse, but then, look at the success of Monty Python! I'd love to know where you can find this for purchase or to watch in syndication.

If you're a fan of great comedy, this is definitely the series for you. Too bad the American audience didn't see it that way. I'm pretty sure most (or all) of the primary characters are gone now, alas, so this will be a lesson for some in 'when actors were really actors.'

This was one of our favorite shows during the one brief season it was on. I've taken every opportunity to watch reruns, but they are almost never available. I would watch every episode many times over again, and hope to be able to at some time. The writing was clever and sharply witty, delivered by actors who knew exactly how to speak the lines and how to fit their expressions and actions to the words. I could take each one and say his or her performance was priceless. It's sad that it did not receive the audience in the U.S. to keep it running for many seasons.

The Rogues was one of the best comedy series ever to appear on US television, being a blend (in spirit) of a good Blake Edwards comedy film, "The Avengers," and any number of David Niven's 1950s comedies ("Bedtime Story" with Marlon Brando of course comes to mind). It's a great shame we can't have TV like this today, with actors the caliber of Charles Boyer, David Niven and Dame Gladys Cooper, supported by the fine skills of Gig Young and the always fine John Williams. The only series later to attempt a simulation of the jet-setting, witty skulduggery of "The Rogues" was perhaps "The Persuaders" (Roger Moore, Tony Curtis). It's a great disappointment that as of this revised comment (December 2005) this fine series isn't even available on VHS, let alone DVD. If you ever have a chance to see it in rerun somewhere, don't miss it.