I always had a hard time believing in Roger Moore as James Bond. There was nothing wrong with his interpretation of the character, but I grew up watching Sean Connery, and to me he will always be Bond. But where Bond and Connery are inseparable as far as I’m concerned, there is another inseparable pairing that DOES include Roger Moore. The pairing of Moore and Templar. Simon Templer that is… “The Saint.” The character of “The Saint” dates back to the 1920’s in the writings of Leslie Charteris. Simon Templar was a debonair ladies man, who stayed one step ahead of the law as he dispensed his own brand of justice on the bad guys.

He ended up being so popular that books were still being written about him up through the 1980’s. In the early days of radio, listeners thrilled to the exploits of “The Saint”, performed at the time by the great Vincent Price. And, in the 1930s and 1940’s, theatergoers would see George Sanders step into the role. But it wasn’t until 1962, that a suave young actor by the name of Roger Moore would indelibly make his mark in the role he was born to play.

From 1962 until 1969, Moore didn’t just play Simon Templar… he was Simon Templar. The rather light tongue and cheek way he had with his performance was perfect match for Templar, where it didn’t quite sit right (at least for me) as Bond.

I was too young when the series first aired in the U.S., but I remember watching it in syndication years later with my parents. Whenever we knew it was going to be on, we’d sit in front of the TV and wait for the all-to-familiar logo to pop up on the screen. Every episode was a treat, and what I wouldn’t give for that white Volvo P1800 he drove around in.

After the series ended, there were a couple of attempts to bring it back, once in 1979 with Ian Ogilvy in the role, but it was short-lived. Then in 1987 a pilot was shot with Andrew Clarke as Templar, but that was as far as it got. The last attempt I’m aware of was in 1989, with a series of six two-hour movies starring Simon Dutton. These were actually pretty good, but none of them really recaptured the style of the Moore series. I won’t mention the 1997 American film starring Val Kilmer… well I guess I just did. Uhh, let’s just leave it at that.

When I heard that A&E Home Video was going to release a super Megaset DVD Collection of “The Saint”, I pretty much just drooled at the thought. I read through the description of what it was going to have and pretty much knew I was going to have to get it for myself.

The 14-disc box set is simply terrific, BUT. Yes, there’s a ‘but’. The one thing I want to make clear to anyone wanting to pick up this set is that it is not the entire series. It is all 47 of the color episodes from seasons 5 and 6. Keeping that in mind, the megaset is still more than worth your time if you’re at all a fan of the series. The episodes are presented in the U.S. broadcast order, and they have all been digitally restored so it seemed to me that they actually looked better than when they originally aired.

It had been many years since I had watched the show, and as I sat down to view some of them, I started to remember more and more about it. I had forgotten how often I watched this show as a kid, and had a lot of fun re-introducing myself to it.

Of course, what kind of a Megaset would this be if there weren’t extras? There aren’t as many extras as one might expect, but considering you have hours and hours of episodes to watch, would you really want a whole lot of extras to boot? What A&E has done, however is include photo galleries and trailers for each of the episodes on all 14 discs. There’s also some information on the history of “The Saint” on two of the discs. You just get to read it, as it is not actually a documentary.

I mentioned before that this is not the entire series, only the color episodes. But I would also like to mention that it is a minor quibble. The Megaset is awesome, and with any luck, A&E will eventually release all the other 71 Black and White episodes on another Megaset. Or all 118 total episodes together on a Super Duper Ultimate Extreme Mondoset! I say, bring it on.

Episodes:
The Queen's Ransom
Interlude In Venice
The Russian Prisoner
The Reluctant Revolution
The Helpful Pirate
The Convenient Monster
The Angel's Eye
The Man Who Liked Lions
The Better Mousetrap
Little Girl Lost
Paper Chase
Locate And Destroy
Flight Plan
Escape Route
The Persistent Patriots
The Fast Women
The Death Game
The Art Collectors
To Kill A Saint
The Counterfeit Countess
Simon And Delilah
Island Of Chance
The Gadget Lovers
A Double In Diamonds
The Power Artists
When Spring Is Sprung
The Gadic Collection
The Best Laid Schemes
Invitation To Danger
Legacy For The Saint
The Desperate Diplomat
The Organisation Man
The Double Take
The Time To Die
The Master Plan
The House On Dragon's Rock
The Scales Of Justice
The Fiction-Makers, Part 1
The Fiction-Makers, Part 2
The People Importers
Where The Money Is
Vendetta For The Saint, Part 1
Vendetta For The Saint, Part 2
The Ex-King Of Diamonds
The Man Who Gambled With Life
Portrait Of Brenda
The World Beater

Starring: Roger Moore
Extras: Production Stills Gallery, Original Broadcast Trailers, Roger Moore Biography / Filmography, The History of “The Saint”
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: A&E Home Video
Release Date: 7/29/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give The Saint - Seasons 5 & 6 an A.