Amicalement vôtre...

I dont think i have seen Tony Curtis so happy as he appears to be in this role. Whether its 'acting' happy or not, his and Moore's relationship lights up the screen, bringing cheerful escapist television into any living room.

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!

Lord Brett Sinclair(Roger Moore) and Daniel Wilde(Tony Curtis) fighting crime all over the U.K. and Europe in the name of justice, with two flashy cars and a pair of eyes for the ladies. In a way, it was a good notion that the Producers decided to pull the plug on this series after just 24 episodes, because it adds to the uniqueness and rarity of it all. In another sense they had no choice but to quit whilst they were ahead, well in the U.K. and Europe anyway, because it was the American market that finally decided it's fate-shame really, but how do you come up against an already established cult like 'Mission Impossible' at it's peak.

'The Persuaders!' is prime-time escapism thanks to the combination of two glittering actors both at the top of their respective fields at the time. But what a strange combination, but the whole thing worked. Every series has it's own stand-out and exceptional episodes and this series was no different. The highly recommended ones come in the form of: 'Overture'(the pilot), 'Angie...Angie', 'The Gold Napoleon', 'Someone Like Me', 'Greensleeves', 'Someone Waiting', 'The Morning After' and 'The Long Goodbye'. We also have other due notable episodes like 'Take Seven' in which we see Tony Curtis deliver one of the best comedic performances of the whole series, set in a barber's shop. Finally who could forget the bronx warrior doing his fancy fight scene stunts in 'The Old, The New and The Deadly'. So, there we have some gems amongst gems in a gem of a series, with a great mixture of action and comedy. Enjoy...

"The Persuaders" is one of those rare television shows that very few people know about or talk about (because they made so few of them and they are rarely shown anywhere, especially in the United States). But this is a must-see for anyone who likes action, adventure, and comedy. Moore and Curtis are perfect and so very, very funny. And it's got one of the all-time best opening themes ever (written by the legendary John Barry). "The Persuaders" is available on video so I suggest you try to rent it. This is one heck of a great show! Don't miss it!

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.