The Champions - Set One
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Producer: MONTY BERMANDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: NTSC
Running Time: 750 unknown-units
Published: 1968
DVD Release Date: 2003-12-15
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: A&E Home Video
DVD Reviews of The Champions - Set One
DVD Review: from Geneva, these are The Champions...
Summary: 4 Stars
Featuring characters with mysterious superpowers, The Champions (1968-69) is a bit different from most of ITC Entertainment's action/adventure series produced in the 60's. With the scope of these powers unclearly defined, watching the series is something of a learning experience, as the characters develop their powers and display new abilities.
Craig Sterling (Stuart Damon), Sharron Macready (Alexandra Bastedo), and Richard Barrett (William Gaunt) are agents working for a law enforcement agency know as Nemesis. On their first mission in Red China, the team infiltrates a military installation and steals a vital component. Attempting to escape, the team's plane is damaged by enemy fire, and crash lands somewhere in the Tibetan Himalayas. The survivors are visited by an unknown race of advanced beings, who heal their injuries, and endow them with superhuman abilities. Aided by their new powers the trio complete their mission, taking on the mantle of "The Champions of law, order and justice". Returning to their headquarters in Geneva, Commander Tremayne (Anthony Nicholls) the head of Nemesis, is most anxious to hear the details of how they managed to survive, but The Champions decide to keep what has occurred their secret.
During the early episodes the trio begin to learn more about the extraordinary abilities they possesses. Besides increased strength, and heightened senses, The Champions can communicate telepathically. Perhaps even more amazing, their remarkable recuperative abilities even allow them to cheat death. Some of the talents come naturally, while others like telepathy, require some practice to refine. With their superior strength and fighting skills, it takes a lot to get the better of even one of them.
The adventures are set around the world, and usually involve intrigue and espionage. The series has a science fiction component, mixed with cold war themes, as the operatives are often working undercover. There is also a fantasy element as characters return from the dead, read each other thoughts, and know when a partner is in trouble. Besides acting as a team, it's common for Richard to go solo, while Sharron and Craig team up. Besides various locations in Europe, The Champions find themselves in exotic places like the arctic regions, a tropical island, onboard a submarine, the Australian outback, the Caribbean, and South America.
With a moral ideal at its core, The Champions isn't particularly hip, doesn't feature a parade of young beauties, and doesn't emphasize romance or humor, except for the running gag of keeping Tremayne in the dark. Based in Geneva, the home of the Red Cross, the city's famous fountain the Jet d-Eau, is frequently featured in background shots. Created by Monty Berman (producer of The Saint and The Baron) and Dennis Spooner (Man In A Suitcase, Department S), the program is a bit goofy and idealistic at times, but is mostly quite entertaining, and fun look back at an era when the threat of Communism loomed large. The musical cues provided by Edwin Astley, sound exactly like the music he provided for The Saint for many years.
Stuart Damon and William Gaunt were already in their 30's, but Alexandra Bastedo carries herself with maturity far beyond her 22 years. Damon, an American, later went on to star as Dr. Alan Quartermaine, in the soap General Hospital for over thirty years. Gaunt continues to act, mostly in British television. While Bastedo, an avid animal lover, runs an animal sanctuary in her home in England. She also continues to act occasionally, with an appearance in Batman Begins (2007) being a recent example.
The Champions ran for just one season, producing 30 episodes. A&E's Set One contains the first 15 episodes, and includes a photo gallery as a bonus feature. The retail price of the set ($79.95) is quite high, and apparently DVD sales have not justified releasing the remaining episodes. Although certainly welcome, a Region 1 release of the remaining 15 episodes seems doubtful.
Description of The Champions - Set One
PULLED FROM THE WRECKAGE OF A PLANE CRASH BY THE MYSTERIOUS PEOPLE OF A LOST TIBETAN CIVILIZATION, THE CHAMPIONS FIND THEM SELVES TRANSFORMED INTO ULTRA AGENTS WITH FANTASTIC, SUPERHUMAN POWERS.Bestsellers in DVD
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