The lowdown: 'The Champions' is yet another British action/adventure series from the prolific stable of ITC Entertainment,
with 30 episodes produced and aired on ITV1 between 25 September 1968 and 23 April 1969. The focus of the series is 
three agents for a United Nations organisation called Nemesis, who are given a number of enhanced abilities by an advanced
civilisation after their plane crashes in the Himalayas. The series starred Stuart Damon as Craig Stirling, Alexandra Bastedo
as Sharron Macready and William Gaunt as Richard Barrett. Their "superhuman" powers include telepathy, enhanced strength
and heightened senses such as sight and hearing. The opening credits describe them as the 'Champions of law, order and
justice', and each episode sees them sent on a (typically) dangerous assignment by their boss, Tremayne, who is not aware
of their special abilities. It is important to note that their special abilities do not make them superhuman, and they can be killed
just like anyone else.

'The Experiment' was the fourth episode of the season, and was first broadcast on 16 October 1968. Nemesis is called in to
investigate when a commando is captured while breaking into the Ministry of Technology's Research Unit, and is found to have
the mind of a child. The investigation leads the Champions to a training facility where Major Cranmore is trying to develop agents
with special abilities that are superior to those of the Champions themselves (strange how so many people seem to know
all about their powers, except their own boss...) McCready participates in a series of tests along with four of Cranmore's people 
who have enhanced abilities (they are each from a different intelligence agency), and discovers that the experiment is part of a
plan by mad scientist Dr Glind to develop agents who can kill the Champions. Unfortunately the process that Glind uses to
enhance his subjects' abilities has a rather nasty side effect - it eventually destroys their minds. When the four intelligence agents
learn of this, they turn on Glind and kill him, before themselves regressing to the intelligence of young children. Nicholas Courtney
has a brief role as Dr Farley, who is treating the unfortunate commando.

Trivia: Roger Delgado appeared in a later episode, called 'Desert Journey'.

Video Clip:  Doctor Farley  (6.9mb)
 
 


 

 
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