Return of the Saint

Infobox television
show_name = Return of the Saint


caption = Reprint of an early Saint novel published as a tie-in with the series
format = Action adventure
runtime = 60 min.
creator = Leslie Charteris
starring = Ian Ogilvy
country = UK
network = ITV
first_aired = September 10, 1978
last_aired = March 11, 1979
num_episodes = 24

"Return of the Saint" was a British action-adventure television series that aired for one season in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and ran for 24 episodes.

The series starred Ian Ogilvy as Simon Templar, an independently wealthy, somewhat mysterious "do-gooder" known as "The Saint" who was created in 1928 by Leslie Charteris and featured in a long-running series of novels and novellas. The series itself is a revival of "The Saint", a long-running 1960s series that starred Roger Moore as Templar. One major difference between the two series is that the original was mostly filmed in British studios and locations, while many episodes of "Return" were filmed on location throughout Europe.

Jaguar did seize promotional opportunities with Return of the Saint. A decade and a half before, Jaguar had turned down the producers of the earlier "Saint" series when approached about the E-type; the producers had instead used a Volvo P1800. This time around Simon Templar drives an early XJ-S with the number plate "ST 1". Miniature versions were made by Corgi and proved popular.

According to Burl Barer in his history of "The Saint", the series was originally conceived as "Son of the Saint", with Ogilvy's character identified as the offspring of Simon Templar. As production neared, it was decided to drop the relative angle and make the series about the original character, albeit updated to the late 1970s.

The premise of the series is identical to that of the 1960s TV series, and the later instalments in the Charteris canon; Templar is shown travelling around Britain and Europe, helping out the people he encounters, though he is also often summoned by past acquaintances.

The series borrowed a few storytelling elements from its predecessor. Once again, each episode began with Simon narrating an introduction to set the scene for viewers, and each pre-credit sequence ended with an animated halo appearing above Templar's head as he was identified. The series also made a recurring reference to the 1930s-40s film series. as well as the 1940s radio series that starred Vincent Price as Templar: as the halo appears over Simon's head and just before the opening credits begin, a short phrase of music is heard; this is not actually part of the specially composed theme music for the "Return of the Saint" series, but is in fact the signature theme of the Saint from film and radio.

Ogilvy became very popular in Britain and Europe because of the series, and in the early 1980s was considered a major contender for replacing Moore as James Bond. Ogilvy never got the role, but did record a series of popular audio book adaptations of the Bond novels in the late 1970s and played a Bond-like character for a 1980s TV commercial.

Unlike the earlier series, "Return of the Saint" did not adapt any Leslie Charteris stories, however several teleplays (such as "The Imprudent Professor" and "Collision Course") were adapted as novels that were credited to Charteris but written by others. A number of Saint books were reprinted with covers depicting Ogilvy as Templar as a tie-in with the series; these collectable volumes carried the "Return of the Saint" title. The adaptation of "Collision Course", retitled "Salvage for the Saint" was published in 1983 (several years after the series ended) and was the 50th and final Saint book to be published in a series of publications dating back to the 1920s. The two episodes of "Collision Course" were also edited together to form the syndicated TV-movie, "The Saint and the Brave Goose".

Broadcasts of the series on CBS, which lasted into 1980, sparked a revival of interest in Moore's original series.

Robert S. Baker, who developed and produced the earlier "The Saint" series for Roger Moore, performed the same duties with "Return of the Saint". Years later, Baker would also serve as executive producer of the 1997 Saint film starring Val Kilmer as Templar.

Charteris cameo

Saint creator Leslie Charteris makes an Alfred Hitchcock-style walk-on cameo appearance in the "Collision Course" two-parter.

Episodes

External links

*imdb title|id=0077069|title=Return of the Saint
* [http://www.saint.org/sttv.htm Episode guide to The Saint on TV on saint.org]