The
lowdown: Only one season of 'The Persuaders' was made, with
24 episodes in total. It was broadcast on ITV1
between September 1971 and
February 1972, and starred Roger Moore as Lord Brett Sinclair and Tony
Curtis as
Danny Wilde. They are both
wealthy playboys, who work with Judge Fulton to investigate crimes that
the police have
not been able to solve.
Their adventures take them all over the world, and feature a mix of action,
drama and humour.
Very much in the style of
'The Avengers' but without such a cult following. Unfortunately, 'The Persuaders'
has not really
stood the test of time,
and looks rather dated now, although fans of the genre will still enjoy
it, and it is interesting to
see Roger Moore before he
became James Bond.
'The Old, the New, and the
Deadly' was the 9th episode of the series, and was first broadcast on UK
television on 12
November 1971. Patrick Troughton
starred as an ageing Nazi called Count Marceau, who has been seeking a
German
Eagle statuette for many
years and is willing to kill in order to obtain it. Due to a case of mistaken
identity, he thinks
Danny Wilde posseses the
statue. He hires a hitman to kill Danny and recover the statue, but Danny
and Brett have
other plans. When the hitman
is killed, Marceau then hires another killer, who is reputed to be the
best at his job. The
importance of the statue
is revealed at the end of the episode. Patrick Troughton is brilliant in
this episode, and makes
a very convincing fanatic
who still dreams of the Third Reich and an era that is long gone.
Trivia:
The
writing team for 'The Persuaders' included Terry Nation, while this episode
was written by Brian Clemens, who is
well-known
in the world of British television writing and production. Michael Pertwee,
the brother of the Third Doctor,
also
wrote several episodes.
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