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Protectors (The): The Complete Series (TV)
R2 - United Kingdom - Network Review written by and copyright: Paul Lewis (13th September 2010). |
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The Show
 The Protectors (ITC/Group Three, 1973-4) 
The Protectors marked producer Gerry Anderson’s first project away from the science fiction genre with which he had come to be associated following the success of his numerous marionette shows such as Stingray (AP Films/ITC, 1964-5) and Thunderbirds (AP Films/ITC, 1965-6), and Anderson’s second full live action series – after UFO (Century 21/ITC, 1969), which like The Protectors was intended for a predominantly adult audience. Famously Anderson was presented with the idea for The Protectors (on nothing more than a sheet of A4 paper) during a meeting with Lew Grade; the note Grade presented to Anderson declared that the series was ‘about this international crime fighting agency and its jet setting operatives who hire out their services to any government, business or wealthy individual that can afford them’ (Anderson, quoted in Sellers, 2006: 225). The premise of the show was little different from the brand of globetrotting adventure-espionage dramas that ITC had made its stock-in-trade since the production of the 1959 series Four Just Men (see our review of Network’s recent release of Four Just Men). However, the cultural climate of British television in the 1970s was changing: as James Chapman has noted in Saints and Avengers: British Adventure Series of the 1960s (2002), during the 1970s adventure series of the kind produced by ITC were ‘handicapped by production economies and fiscal retrenchment’ (243). Adventure shows were expensive to produce and were increasingly unprofitable: Chapman notes that during the 1960s and 1970s production costs for adventure series ballooned, and quoting Dennis Spooner he notes that ‘inflation had caught up with the cost of production and the revenue that comes back from television is limited’ (Spooner, quoted in Chapman: 244). At the same time, the glossy, escapist fantasies that formed the core of ITC’s output were becoming increasingly unfashionable with audiences; as Chapman notes, throughout the decade there was a cultural shift ‘away from the sort of gentleman adventurers who had been so prominent during the previous decade and towards a more realistic, hard-edged style of television thriller’, such as The Sweeney (Euston Films/Thames, 1974-8) and other series which were ‘characterised by their sordid realism and unglamorous settings’ (ibid.: 244). The ‘economic downturn’ during the 1970s led to a movement away from the ‘glossy, sophisticated consumerist lifestyle portrayed in The Avengers, The Saint, Jason King and The Persuaders!’, which led to a concomitant ‘shift from fantasy to realism’ (ibid.). These factors (the increased cost of producing adventure series, and the decreasing audience interest in such shows) led to ITC returning to half hour formats during the 1970s: whereas its early adventure dramas, including Four Just Men and the first series of Danger Man (ITC, 1960-8), were produced for a half hour time slot, ITC’s 1960s adventure series – such as The Saint (ITC, 1962-9), Department S (ITC, 1969-70) and later series of Danger Man – were produced in hour long episodes (ibid.: 243). Both The Protectors and The Adventurer (ITC/Scoton, 1972-3) were produced for a half hour slot; and both films attempted to maximise their appeal for international (and, particularly, American) audiences by featuring big American stars: The Adventurer starred Gene Barry, and The Protectors was produced with Robert Vaughn in the lead role of Harry Rule.  
Vaughn has claimed that he accepted the role of Harry Rule not because of any investment in the material but instead as a way of escaping from America after the turbulent late 1960s: Vaughn has asserted that ‘At that particular time in my life, I was so terribly disenchanted with the events of the sixties in America’, including the Kennedy assassinations, the murder of Martin Luther King and the war in Vietnam – which Vaughn had publicly criticised in his role as National Chairman of the antiwar group Dissenting Democrats (Vaughn, quoted in Sellers, op cit.: 225). Vaughn has claimed that he saw The Protectors ‘as a chance to continue to stay away from the United States, which I had subconsciously done since 1968, after the election of Richard Nixon’ (Vaughn, quoted in ibid.). For Vaughn, Harry Rule was nothing more than another version of Napoleon Solo, the character Vaughn had played in the hit American espionage series The Man from UNCLE (NBC, 1964-8). Vaughn has stated that he ‘didn’t see Harry Rule as anything other than a variation of The Man from UNCLE’s Napoleon Solo’ (Vaughn, quoted in Sellers: 226).  
In The Protectors, Vaughn was joined by New Zealand actress Nyree Dawn Porter, playing the wealthy widow Contessa Caroline di Contini, and the British actor Tony Anholt, playing Paul Buchet. Together, Rule, the Contessa and Buchet formed ‘The Protectors’, the organization referenced in the series’ title. From the first episode, we are shown that Rule is quick with his fists and the Contessa is an independent woman who is capable of handling herself in a fight: in fact, a couple of the episodes, including ‘Disappearing Trick’, have something approaching a proto-feminist subtext comparable to the Diana Rigg-starring episodes of The Avengers (ITC/ABC/Thames, 1961-9). All three of The Protectors seem to be independently wealthy. However, during the 52 episodes of The Protectors, almost no information is given about the organisation that Rule, the Contessa and Buchet represent. Unlike Four Just Men, for example, there is no episode detailing how this disparate trio of characters came together to form The Protectors. However, the series’ lack of definition in its depiction of The Protectors is arguably a strength, giving it flexibility and allowing for a wide variety of stories, from The Protectors being hired to track down a missing Canadian spy (in ‘One and One Makes One’) to less conventional episodes such as the comic ‘It Could Be Practically Anywhere on the Island’ (directed by Robert Vaughn), in which Rule is commissioned to find a missing dog that has eaten a microfilm. 
The Protectors is arguably constrained by its half hour format: from the first episode, it is apparent that the scripts try to cram too much narrative information into too short a programme, and most of the scripts would benefit from an hour long slot. Although not all of the three principal characters is present throughout all of the episodes (Rule is present in most, but not all, of the stories), the episodes frequently struggle to contain perspectives from the (usually two) Protectors involved in any given case, along with scenes involving the antagonists. Vaughn has been openly critical of the scripts, declaring that ‘I couldn’t understand them when I read them. I couldn’t understand them when I did them. I never understood them when I saw them on air’ (Vaughn, quoted in Sellers, op cit.: 226). However, Vaughn has also added that this ‘wasn’t really the writers’ fault so much as the fact that they only had 22 minutes of screen time, and they had three principals in the show which you had to feature, plus there had to be a story and a guest heavy’ (Vaughn, quoted in ibid.: 227-8). The Protectors made considerable use of location shooting, and although the series is shot on 16mm (rather than 35mm film), the show makes good use of its budget, avoiding the studio-bound look of many of ITC’s 1960s productions (see ibid.: 229). However, the episodes are frequently marred by the use of stock footage. James Chapman has asserted that although ‘The Protectors is more memorable than The Adventurer, […] it’s still a pale imitation of series that had gone before: the use of stock footage from feature films in the opening title, including the helicopter sequence from the Bond film From Russia with Love, emphasises the second-hand feel of the whole enterprise’ (op cit.: 243-4).  
The opening titles sequence, which is supported by an instrumental version of Tony Christie’s ‘Avenues and Alleyways’ (the vocal version of which functions as the closing theme of each episode), foregrounds the blend of action and humour that runs throughout The Protectors; under the opening titles, we are shown a shot of Big Ben, followed by shots of Rule getting out of bed before making and eating breakfast, intercut with a number of images denoting action (a car crashing and rolling across a road, a helicopter flying over a car, the explosion of a bridge). A match cut is used to link Rule (dressed in pyjamas and dressing gown and seated at his breakfast table) feeding toast to his dog, with a shot of Rule retrieving a pistol from a drawer; a further match cut is used to link this action with a shot of the Contessa, reclining in bed, picking up the receiver of a telephone (and presumably receiving a call from Rule asserting that The Protectors must go into action). The Contessa is then depicted in a series of shots showing her in a number of glamorous locations. Then, four static shots are shown: an image of Rule, standing in front of the Houses of Parliament; a shot of the Contessa in front of a typically Italian structure; a shot of Buchet walking through a (presumably French) market; and a final image, of an unidentifiable silhouetted figure in front of a house by the sea.  
The episodes are for the most part action-packed (with Vaughn reputedly performing the majority of his own stunts), revolving around tales featuring espionage and subterfuge. The half hour slot is the show’s central weakness. However, each episode should contain enough ingredients to satisfy fans of action-adventure series of this era. Disc One: Series One: '2000 ft to Die' (24:40) 'Brother Hood' (24:57) 'See No Evil' (24:44) 'Disappearing Trick' (24:56) 'Ceremony for the Dead' (24:31) 'It Was All Over in Leipzig’ (24:29) 'The Quick Brown Fox' (24:46) 'King Con' (24:49) Disc Two: ‘Thinkback’ (24:51) ‘A Kind of Wild Justice’ (24:41) ‘Balance of Terror’ (24:44) ‘Triple Cross’ (24:47) ‘The Numbers Game’ (24:56) ‘For the Rest of Your Natural…’ (24:52) ‘The Bodyguards’ (24:59) ‘A Matter of Life and Death’ (24:25) Disc Three: ‘The Big Hit’ (24:53) ‘One and One Makes One’ (24:36) ‘Talkdown’ (24:39) ‘Vocal’ (24:53) ‘… With a Little Help from My Friends’ (24:56) ‘Chase’ (24:54) ‘Your Witness’ (24:39) ‘It Could Be Practically Anywhere on the Island’ (24:12) Disc Four: ‘The First Circle’ (24:47) ‘A Case for the Right’ (24:21) Series Two: ‘Quin’ (24:20) ‘Bagman’ (24:22) ‘Fighting Fund’ (24:36) ‘The Last Frontier’ (24:51) ‘Baubles, Bangles and Beads’ (24:22) ‘Petard’ (24:33) Disc Five: ‘Goodbye George’ (24:24) ‘WAM’ (Part One) (24:33) ‘WAM’ (Part Two) (24:52) ‘Implicado’ (24:39) ‘Dragon Chase’ (24:35) ‘Decoy’ (24:35) ‘Border Line’ (24:44) ‘Zeke’s Blues’ (24:32) Disc Six: ‘Lena’ (24:36) ‘The Bridge’ (24:39) ‘Sugar and Spice’ (24:50) ‘Burning Bush’ (24:41) ‘The Tiger and the Goat’ (24:27) ‘Route 27’ (24:46) ‘Trial’ (24:44) ‘Shadbolt’ (24:39) Disc Seven: ‘A Pocketful of Posies’ (24:37) ‘Wheels’ (24:32) ‘The Insider’ (24:43) ‘Blockbuster’ (24:46) Special Features: -‘Foreign Titles’ (1:53) -Galleries: --Disc 1 (9:20) --Disc 2 (9:14) --Disc 3 (12:56) --Disc 4 (11:13) --Disc 5 (10:44) --Disc 6 (10:02) --Disc 7 (7:26) --PR and Behind the Scenes (5:41) DVD-ROM features (as PDF files): -Biographies (12 pages) -‘The Protectors’ ITC overview (16 pages) -‘The Protectors’ original press brochure (4 pages) -‘The Protectors’ press information (15 pages) -‘The Protectors’ series one synopses (66 pages) -‘The Protectors’ series two synopses (61 pages) -‘TV Action’ magazine covers featuring ‘The Protectors’ (20/01/73, 17/03/73, 12/05/73)
Video
By the 1970s, ITC productions were largely shot on 16mm film (instead of 35mm, as per the company’s 1960s series) as a way of limiting their production costs. Shot on 16mm, The Protectors has a grittier aesthetic than some of ITC’s 1960s series. The episodes are presented here in their original broadcast screen ratio of 4:3, and the image is consistent throughout all of the episodes. Colours and contrast levels are strong, and the image is clear. The Protectors certainly looks better on this DVD release than Network’s release of Jason King – another 1970s ITC production shot on 16mm in order to limit its production costs.  
Audio
Audio is presented via a two-channel mono track. This is consistently clear. However, there are no subtitles.
Extras
All of the extras are contained on the seventh disc in the set. This disc includes: ‘Foreign Titles’ (1:53) – the French titles sequence, bearing the title ‘Poigne de Fer et Seduction’ Numerous image galleries, including stills for all of the discs in the set and a separate gallery of general promotional images and images from ‘behind the scenes’. --Disc 1 (9:20) --Disc 2 (9:14) --Disc 3 (12:56) --Disc 4 (11:13) --Disc 5 (10:44) --Disc 6 (10:02) --Disc 7 (7:26) --PR and Behind the Scenes (5:41) A number of DVD-ROM features, all presented as PDF files, including: -Biographies of the cast and crew (12 pages) -‘The Protectors’ ITC overview (16 pages) -‘The Protectors’ original press brochure (4 pages) -‘The Protectors’ press information (15 pages) -‘The Protectors’ series one synopses (66 pages) -‘The Protectors’ series two synopses (61 pages) -‘TV Action’ magazine covers featuring ‘The Protectors’ (20/01/73, 17/03/73, 12/05/73)
Overall
As James Chapman has suggested, The Protectors does have a ‘second hand’ vibe to it, treading ground previously explored by stronger ITC adventure series. However, the same could be said of a number of other examples of ITC’s output. Despite Vaughn’s suggestions that he invested little of himself in the series, his performance as Harry Rule is the glue that arguably holds The Protectors together. There are some strong episodes here, and there are also some very weak episodes; and as Vaughn has suggested, the half hour format (apparently necessitated by both economic factors and a downturn of interest in ITC’s brand of glossy adventure series) constrains the show, and the scripts often seem to struggle to develop the stories that they tell. Nevertheless, despite often being seen as one of the weakest arrows in ITC’s quiver, The Protectors is still a series that is fondly-remembered. This DVD release from Network is extremely welcome; although more contextual material would have been beneficial (for example, it would have been fascinating to hear Vaughn speak about the series now), this collection of the complete series of The Protectors contains some good extra features. Fans of this brand of action television will no doubt welcome this release with open hands. References: Chapman, James, 2002: Saints and Avengers: British Adventure Series of the 1960s. I. B. Tauris Sellers, Robert, 2006: Cult TV: The Golden Age of ITC. Plexus For more information, please visit the homepage of Network DVD.
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