Spy shows have always proved popular over the years but very few of them have actually been worth watching ( at least that's what I think ). Monty Berman and Dennis Spooner's 1968 show 'The Champions', made by ITC, was a spy show with a difference - its characters possessed superhuman powers! Unlike earlier spy shows such as 'Callan', 'The Champions' was not so much dark drama, more fantasy.
The three main protagonists are pilot Craig Stirling ( Stuart Damon ), code-breaker Richard Barrett ( William Gaunt ) and doctor Sharron Macready ( the late Alexandra Bastedo ), all of whom are agents for NEMESIS - a united nations law enforcement group based in Geneva, where their boss is Tremayne ( Anthony Nichols ). On their first mission, the three are sent to China to obtain lethal bacterium specimens, only to have their plane shot down by the Red Chinese army, which then crashes in The Himalayas.
As their barely alive bodies lay amidst the debris and wreckage of their plane in the snowy wasteland of The Himalayas, a strange looking old man who belongs to an ancient Tibetian civilisation race thought to be long dead walks by and not only cures their injuries but also gives them superhuman powers such as telepathy, precognition and super-fast reflexes to name but several.
Their superhuman abilities soon becomes their weapon of defence against ordeals such as being left to die in a desert, being subjected to electrical torture or even being locked up in a freezer. Tremayne, alas, never learns of this.
The scripts were often beautifully written, with lines that crackled like logs on a fire which were delivered with such relish by an outstanding cast. Gorgeous Alexandra Bastedo's Macready served as the brains and eye candy whilst William Gaunt and Stuart Damon made a magnificent pairing as tough guys Barrett and Stirling. The late Anthony Nicolls also was perfectly cast as the gruff voiced Tremayne. One wonders if the show had carried on into a second series whether or not he would have found out about the Champions' abilities.
The wonderful theme tune was supplied by Tony Hatch, Robert Farns and Albert Elms. Edwin Astley ( who later wrote the excellent theme for 'Randall & Hopkirk ( Deceased )', another ITC show ) provided the show's incidental music. 'The Champions' was screened over in the States but sadly did not gel with American audiences as the network unwisely chose to screen first the edition 'To Trap A Rat' rather than 'The Beginning', which would have caused great confusion amongst viewers.
Thankfully, it is all out on DVD now, thus enabling it the chance to reach a new audience. For those who have not yet seen it, I must warn you that it is pretty slow moving so don't just give up on it after the first episode. Give it time to establish itself. Trust me, the rewards are well worth it. My favourite episode? 'The Invisible Man', for a wonderful performance from Peter Wyngarde, the future Jason King of 'Department S'.
The three main protagonists are pilot Craig Stirling ( Stuart Damon ), code-breaker Richard Barrett ( William Gaunt ) and doctor Sharron Macready ( the late Alexandra Bastedo ), all of whom are agents for NEMESIS - a united nations law enforcement group based in Geneva, where their boss is Tremayne ( Anthony Nichols ). On their first mission, the three are sent to China to obtain lethal bacterium specimens, only to have their plane shot down by the Red Chinese army, which then crashes in The Himalayas.
As their barely alive bodies lay amidst the debris and wreckage of their plane in the snowy wasteland of The Himalayas, a strange looking old man who belongs to an ancient Tibetian civilisation race thought to be long dead walks by and not only cures their injuries but also gives them superhuman powers such as telepathy, precognition and super-fast reflexes to name but several.
Their superhuman abilities soon becomes their weapon of defence against ordeals such as being left to die in a desert, being subjected to electrical torture or even being locked up in a freezer. Tremayne, alas, never learns of this.
The scripts were often beautifully written, with lines that crackled like logs on a fire which were delivered with such relish by an outstanding cast. Gorgeous Alexandra Bastedo's Macready served as the brains and eye candy whilst William Gaunt and Stuart Damon made a magnificent pairing as tough guys Barrett and Stirling. The late Anthony Nicolls also was perfectly cast as the gruff voiced Tremayne. One wonders if the show had carried on into a second series whether or not he would have found out about the Champions' abilities.
The wonderful theme tune was supplied by Tony Hatch, Robert Farns and Albert Elms. Edwin Astley ( who later wrote the excellent theme for 'Randall & Hopkirk ( Deceased )', another ITC show ) provided the show's incidental music. 'The Champions' was screened over in the States but sadly did not gel with American audiences as the network unwisely chose to screen first the edition 'To Trap A Rat' rather than 'The Beginning', which would have caused great confusion amongst viewers.
Thankfully, it is all out on DVD now, thus enabling it the chance to reach a new audience. For those who have not yet seen it, I must warn you that it is pretty slow moving so don't just give up on it after the first episode. Give it time to establish itself. Trust me, the rewards are well worth it. My favourite episode? 'The Invisible Man', for a wonderful performance from Peter Wyngarde, the future Jason King of 'Department S'.