Like what I've said in the headline, it's an excellent show, I really liked it, I actually got hooked up in the first viewing.
The pairing of Moore and Curtis really worked, they have great chemistry, which is rare (not many on screen pairings really clicked and have great chemistry, especially the modern ones these days).
John Barry's score has some intrigue and mystery, sound a bit like a modern crime thriller, it's magnificent.
Ken Thorne's contribution also were a hidden gems, I really liked those soundtracks in this show, why those composers nowadays don't make like those anymore? It's the soundtrack I can listen even without watching the show, I really liked those soundtracks, it's full of good vibes, so Barry + Thorne = and you have an excellent piece of music and sound!
Their acting were also great (Moore,Curtis and Naismith as Judge Fulton), they're all great.
I'm also giving some extra points for Tony Curtis doing his own stunts here, despite of his age, it's really obvious that he had put a lot more effort into this show, also as Moore said in some interviews that Curtis didn't liked to follow some of the scripts much, so I think it also helped a bit? I think so. He's really inventive and it's really evident in this show, the man had talents, I've watched him in films like Some Like It Hot and I think he's a bit of method actor who can embody every character that he's playing, and he proved it again here.
Of course that's not to ignore Sir Roger Moore, he oozed a lot of charisma in here, he's so handsome and a bit cute (it's said that he gained a bit weight here by drinking real champagne) and I don't see any problem with that, nor it does made him looked bad, it's not, in fact he's still good looking, and also like Curtis, some of his lines were also ad-libbed too.
As a pair, they really looked cute together (their banters and etc.), their bromance really got me.
As to the plots, some of them needs some suspension of disbelief, well, it's still a comedy, so it's just pure fun and escapism from the harshness of reality.
Lord Brett Sinclair and Danny Wilde are both male fantasies, wish fulfillments, they're exactly the types of what men wanted to be, men wanted to be them, being a jet setter playboy, living their life in the fast lanes, non stop adventures, women, gambling, luxuries, driving fast cars, that's what men wanted, and these two characters gave it to them!
Is it dated? Yes, not much in Sinclair, I think Sinclair was a lot more gentleman than Wilde, watching those episodes many times, I'm really noticing some of Wilde's comments towards/regards women, I don't know if this was an intention from Curtis' part or it's naturally a part of the character's attitude (since he came from Slums with no proper education or breeding, I suppose, I mean Lord Brett Sinclair had proper breeding and very educated compared to Wilde), I don't know, but it's just some of his comments about women or maybe the way he acted towards them are a bit dated, but it's very much of its time, and it's the fun that overshadowed it, so I don't mind it that much, it doesn't matter, it's fun and there's the essence of friendship between the two leads, so I don't mind it.
So we're now going down to the cons, again like what's written in the headline, it could have been so much better, there's a lot of potential in this show, and with some little bit more polishing and some additions, it could have been one of the best shows of the 70's.
Okay, let's start with Danny Wilde himself, since I've talked about him, is it me or he's not given a lot more to do in this show? Because it's seemed like all of the big time plots were all about Sinclair, half of the episodes in the Persuaders where it's all about Sinclair being in danger and Danny needs to save him, I think it's a bit unfair, think of those episodes like "Someone Like Me", "Greensleeves" "A Death In The Family", "The Morning After", "That's Me Over There" and "Somebody's Waiting" those episodes where the main focus is Sinclair.
When it comes to those episodes where the focus is Wilde, it's still Sinclair overshadowing him, that's why I liked "Angie, Angie" because it's where Wilde had been given his due, we learned more about him, and the episode "Element of Risk" where again, he's given a lot more to do than just to act as Brett's typical partner, maybe "A Home of One's Own" too, but I looked at that episode as focused on both of them.
And those episodes are very few, as in very few, those episodes that's mainly focused on Wilde was so very few.
Also, poor Danny Wilde, when it comes to the plots that's focused on him, it's all about him being mistaken for a wrong man or identity.
And one thing that overshadowed Danny Wilde, again, is in the locations, sure, there were several shots in Europe, but also half of them where the plot was shot in England, so it's Danny Wilde who would comes off as 'fish out of the water' in that country, since Sinclair was a native Englishman, so in some cases, Danny Wilde tends to act like a bit ignorant and fool because he didn't came from that country, again, a bit unfair.
It also doesn't help that okay, I know Tony Curtis was great comedian, but here, he's the one who's doing foolish things, he's the one being played for comic relief, Sinclair at least had a bit of seriousness to him, I think both of them should be comic, because they're duo, they're supposed to be equals in all aspects, but here, it's like they've made Danny Wilde a bit of a joke or played for laughs, I know this is a bit of comedy show, but I wished they've also gave Sinclair some comic or funny moments, it looked like they've only gave Sinclair some comic moments in the "Overture" episode, but the rest of the shows was him being semi-serious, with all of the comic moments going to Wilde, again that's why I liked "Angie, Angie" because that episode gave Wilde at least a bit of seriousness other than being as a comic relief, I liked to see more of that from Danny Wilde (and from Tony Curtis in general).
It's seemed like the most favored one in this show was Sinclair.
We've learned about the background of Sinclair a lot, but not hearing much on Wilde, especially his Oil Business, I'm wondering if he's still minding it? It looked like that he'd already left his business in US, I wish there's a plot where it's aimed at Wilde's business (maybe have a villain who have a plan of taking over Danny Wilde's business).
And I also liked to see Lord Brett Sinclair being a 'fish out of the water' in America, like how Danny does in England, I think it would give fairness to both, like have also Sinclair act a bit ignorant while he's in America because of different culture and life, it would have been so much interesting.
No doubt the show performed poorly in America at the time, because the show didn't gave them enough due.
Had they gave America a bit exposure (location wise), it would've likely to garner higher ratings.
That issue (being unfair to Wilde in some cases) led to me giving the show 9 stars instead of 10.
The show is great, rewatchable, enjoyable, and fun, it's a shame that this show ended up so prematurely, with only 24 episodes, it's too soon for this show to die that early.
I think this show had a lot of stories to tell, but not able to tell them all, because American audiences already killed them off, which I also couldn't blame, given that it's more British-centric show.
Also there's Moore accepting the Bond role, which is unfortunately, because to be honest, I enjoyed him here in this show more than as he was Bond, so I prefer this a bit to his Bond.
There's some talks at the time that they're going to replace him with Noel Harrison, I wished they stuck with that decision instead of killing this show off, I think it could still work given maybe that Tony Curtis was still continuing to the role, so I think Tony Curtis could've handled him, he's still one of those who have carried the show, so I'm a bit interested on how a Tony Curtis - Noel Harrison pairing would've worked out, it's a shame really, it's a shame.
I don't think a modern reboot or a remake of this would've worked, I don't think any of the modern actors of today could've pull a chemistry and banter like what Curtis and Moore had shown.
The pairing of Moore and Curtis really worked, they have great chemistry, which is rare (not many on screen pairings really clicked and have great chemistry, especially the modern ones these days).
John Barry's score has some intrigue and mystery, sound a bit like a modern crime thriller, it's magnificent.
Ken Thorne's contribution also were a hidden gems, I really liked those soundtracks in this show, why those composers nowadays don't make like those anymore? It's the soundtrack I can listen even without watching the show, I really liked those soundtracks, it's full of good vibes, so Barry + Thorne = and you have an excellent piece of music and sound!
Their acting were also great (Moore,Curtis and Naismith as Judge Fulton), they're all great.
I'm also giving some extra points for Tony Curtis doing his own stunts here, despite of his age, it's really obvious that he had put a lot more effort into this show, also as Moore said in some interviews that Curtis didn't liked to follow some of the scripts much, so I think it also helped a bit? I think so. He's really inventive and it's really evident in this show, the man had talents, I've watched him in films like Some Like It Hot and I think he's a bit of method actor who can embody every character that he's playing, and he proved it again here.
Of course that's not to ignore Sir Roger Moore, he oozed a lot of charisma in here, he's so handsome and a bit cute (it's said that he gained a bit weight here by drinking real champagne) and I don't see any problem with that, nor it does made him looked bad, it's not, in fact he's still good looking, and also like Curtis, some of his lines were also ad-libbed too.
As a pair, they really looked cute together (their banters and etc.), their bromance really got me.
As to the plots, some of them needs some suspension of disbelief, well, it's still a comedy, so it's just pure fun and escapism from the harshness of reality.
Lord Brett Sinclair and Danny Wilde are both male fantasies, wish fulfillments, they're exactly the types of what men wanted to be, men wanted to be them, being a jet setter playboy, living their life in the fast lanes, non stop adventures, women, gambling, luxuries, driving fast cars, that's what men wanted, and these two characters gave it to them!
Is it dated? Yes, not much in Sinclair, I think Sinclair was a lot more gentleman than Wilde, watching those episodes many times, I'm really noticing some of Wilde's comments towards/regards women, I don't know if this was an intention from Curtis' part or it's naturally a part of the character's attitude (since he came from Slums with no proper education or breeding, I suppose, I mean Lord Brett Sinclair had proper breeding and very educated compared to Wilde), I don't know, but it's just some of his comments about women or maybe the way he acted towards them are a bit dated, but it's very much of its time, and it's the fun that overshadowed it, so I don't mind it that much, it doesn't matter, it's fun and there's the essence of friendship between the two leads, so I don't mind it.
So we're now going down to the cons, again like what's written in the headline, it could have been so much better, there's a lot of potential in this show, and with some little bit more polishing and some additions, it could have been one of the best shows of the 70's.
Okay, let's start with Danny Wilde himself, since I've talked about him, is it me or he's not given a lot more to do in this show? Because it's seemed like all of the big time plots were all about Sinclair, half of the episodes in the Persuaders where it's all about Sinclair being in danger and Danny needs to save him, I think it's a bit unfair, think of those episodes like "Someone Like Me", "Greensleeves" "A Death In The Family", "The Morning After", "That's Me Over There" and "Somebody's Waiting" those episodes where the main focus is Sinclair.
When it comes to those episodes where the focus is Wilde, it's still Sinclair overshadowing him, that's why I liked "Angie, Angie" because it's where Wilde had been given his due, we learned more about him, and the episode "Element of Risk" where again, he's given a lot more to do than just to act as Brett's typical partner, maybe "A Home of One's Own" too, but I looked at that episode as focused on both of them.
And those episodes are very few, as in very few, those episodes that's mainly focused on Wilde was so very few.
Also, poor Danny Wilde, when it comes to the plots that's focused on him, it's all about him being mistaken for a wrong man or identity.
And one thing that overshadowed Danny Wilde, again, is in the locations, sure, there were several shots in Europe, but also half of them where the plot was shot in England, so it's Danny Wilde who would comes off as 'fish out of the water' in that country, since Sinclair was a native Englishman, so in some cases, Danny Wilde tends to act like a bit ignorant and fool because he didn't came from that country, again, a bit unfair.
It also doesn't help that okay, I know Tony Curtis was great comedian, but here, he's the one who's doing foolish things, he's the one being played for comic relief, Sinclair at least had a bit of seriousness to him, I think both of them should be comic, because they're duo, they're supposed to be equals in all aspects, but here, it's like they've made Danny Wilde a bit of a joke or played for laughs, I know this is a bit of comedy show, but I wished they've also gave Sinclair some comic or funny moments, it looked like they've only gave Sinclair some comic moments in the "Overture" episode, but the rest of the shows was him being semi-serious, with all of the comic moments going to Wilde, again that's why I liked "Angie, Angie" because that episode gave Wilde at least a bit of seriousness other than being as a comic relief, I liked to see more of that from Danny Wilde (and from Tony Curtis in general).
It's seemed like the most favored one in this show was Sinclair.
We've learned about the background of Sinclair a lot, but not hearing much on Wilde, especially his Oil Business, I'm wondering if he's still minding it? It looked like that he'd already left his business in US, I wish there's a plot where it's aimed at Wilde's business (maybe have a villain who have a plan of taking over Danny Wilde's business).
And I also liked to see Lord Brett Sinclair being a 'fish out of the water' in America, like how Danny does in England, I think it would give fairness to both, like have also Sinclair act a bit ignorant while he's in America because of different culture and life, it would have been so much interesting.
No doubt the show performed poorly in America at the time, because the show didn't gave them enough due.
Had they gave America a bit exposure (location wise), it would've likely to garner higher ratings.
That issue (being unfair to Wilde in some cases) led to me giving the show 9 stars instead of 10.
The show is great, rewatchable, enjoyable, and fun, it's a shame that this show ended up so prematurely, with only 24 episodes, it's too soon for this show to die that early.
I think this show had a lot of stories to tell, but not able to tell them all, because American audiences already killed them off, which I also couldn't blame, given that it's more British-centric show.
Also there's Moore accepting the Bond role, which is unfortunately, because to be honest, I enjoyed him here in this show more than as he was Bond, so I prefer this a bit to his Bond.
There's some talks at the time that they're going to replace him with Noel Harrison, I wished they stuck with that decision instead of killing this show off, I think it could still work given maybe that Tony Curtis was still continuing to the role, so I think Tony Curtis could've handled him, he's still one of those who have carried the show, so I'm a bit interested on how a Tony Curtis - Noel Harrison pairing would've worked out, it's a shame really, it's a shame.
I don't think a modern reboot or a remake of this would've worked, I don't think any of the modern actors of today could've pull a chemistry and banter like what Curtis and Moore had shown.