The Baron (1 Viewer)

I picked up The Baron on dvd back in 2009. I watched it from time to time, because i like spy series and Steve Forrest was very good as john mannering. Steve Forrest role is art collector/spy. The plots were very good along with cars considering it was 1966-1967. The british did an excellent job with spy tv series and this is a good show!!

Originally Posted by younger1968
I picked up The Baron on dvd back in 2009. I watched it from time to time, because i like spy series and Steve Forrest was very good as john mannering. Steve Forrest role is art collector/spy. The plots were very good along with cars considering it was 1966-1967. The british did an excellent job with spy tv series and this is a good show!!

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It's been on my list to pick up for a while now. I've never seen it but it falls in line with some of the other british spy shows I own. I've been monitoring the prices for the UK PAL version, hoping network would have another sale. Do you own the US A&E version or the UK Network version?

Originally Posted by smithb

It's been on my list to pick up for a while now. I've never seen it but it falls in line with some of the other british spy shows I own. I've been monitoring the prices for the UK PAL version, hoping network would have another sale. Do you own the US A&E version or the UK Network version?

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My copy was purchased via amazon.ca when it was first released. The quality is fine considering the time of the show and there was no or very little re-mastering. The cars/clothes are neat in the show along with the women. Steve Forrest was quite the lady's man with his role as john mannering, which is a big switch from his character on SWAT. I hope to picked up a few of the other spy shows, like man with the suitcase and Man from Uncle. However, it will depend of pricing. I like to add to my collection, but have given up hope on shows that i have 1/2 seasons and am focusing more on completed shows. The completed shows spike my interest when i see sales for them. I get pinged periodically about shows and then i look at my budget to see if i can fit it into it.

I am hoping to purchase a muli-region dvd player down the road so i can order some shows from the UK that are not available via amazona.ca or amazon.com. The frustration for me with amazon is that they should have the ability to move inventory and/or items from their subsidiary sites. Currently, the sites work independently and in my opinion needs to change.

I have the Network release myself and it's great, on the US Amazon someone mentions an issue with the region 1 set but I guess it's not all copies as Paul's seem fine. A wonderful and underrated ITC action show and their first production not to be shot in b&w, can't recommend it highly enough.

I have never heard of this show, but it sounds like something I might like to blind buy. I saw the Amazon review complaining of "picture jitter" and am concerned about that. Is there any difference between the UK version and the US version besides the region coding? I just want to make sure I get the best version.

Originally Posted by ChrisALM
I have never heard of this show, but it sounds like something I might like to blind buy. I saw the Amazon review complaining of "picture jitter" and am concerned about that. Is there any difference between the UK version and the US version besides the region coding? I just want to make sure I get the best version.

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my copy is ok and i purchased it from amazon.ca. The show is from the late 1960s so there maybe some issues with the transfer, but no different then other shows i have purchases from that era. I have watch many episodes and there are some really good episodes. Steve Forrest does an amazing job as john mannering and likes to put on quite the show!!

I finally got around to getting The Baron from Amazon. I have to say I enjoyed this show quite a bit. I wondered initially if Steve Forrest could play a believable spy / secret agent type, but he does great with the role. Sue Lloyd is also a plus as The Baron's assistant. I also enjoyed seeing Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell during the same time frame when they each were doing their earlier Bond roles.

I am satisfied with the video quality. There are some places where the frame slightly shifts, but it happens infrequently, and I only recall one place where it lasted long enough to become annoying. I also noticed some color shifting, but this is an older show. Thanks Paul and Henry for the info on The Baron. I am glad I bought this.

ChrisALM said:

I finally got around to getting The Baron from Amazon. I have to say I enjoyed this show quite a bit. I wondered initially if Steve Forrest could play a believable spy / secret agent type, but he does great with the role. Sue Lloyd is also a plus as The Baron's assistant. I also enjoyed seeing Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell during the same time frame when they each were doing their earlier Bond roles.

I am satisfied with the video quality. There are some places where the frame slightly shifts, but it happens infrequently, and I only recall one place where it lasted long enough to become annoying. I also noticed some color shifting, but this is an older show. Thanks Paul and Henry for the info on The Baron. I am glad I bought this.

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Hey Chris,
The show is very good. I am big into spy tv series and have also bought man from uncle & get smart. I will be looking at mission impossible as well.

Originally Posted by younger1968
Hey Chris,
The show is very good. I am big into spy tv series and have also bought man from uncle & get smart. I will be looking at mission impossible as well.

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I enjoyed the plots and intrigue in The Baron, and it holds up well for today. Definitely a good show, imho.

I have The Man from UNCLE, Get Smart and Mission Impossible. I first started watching Mission Impossible back in the 60's during its second season, so I guess that is why I have always been partial to the Peter Graves, Martin Landau and Barbara Bain years. However, I like all seasons of the show. It has been a while since I went through this series, but at some point the focus changed somewhat from the team battling in the cold war to battling Mafia thugs and criminals. They were always infiltrating some country or illegal operation, working undercover and using subterfuge to carry out their mission.

ChrisALM said:

I enjoyed the plots and intrigue in The Baron, and it holds up well for today. Definitely a good show, imho. I have The Man from UNCLE, Get Smart and Mission Impossible. I first started watching Mission Impossible back in the 60's during its second season, so I guess that is why I have always been partial to the Peter Graves, Martin Landau and Barbara Bain years. However, I like all seasons of the show. It has been a while since I went through this series, but at some point the focus changed somewhat from the team battling in the cold war to battling Mafia thugs and criminals. They were always infiltrating some country or illegal operation, working undercover and using subterfuge to carry out their mission.

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Yes, the 1960s and for most part 1970s was all about the Warsaw Pact vs NATO and thus shows like man from uncle, mission impossible, etc are captivated audience with their plot lines, cars, weapons, etc. I am planning to buy mission impossible when my budget dollars free up , which will be next year. There are some other shows i like to add, such as man with suitcase or any other shows people would recommend.

Hello Paul,
You may already have it, but I believe Danger Man is probably the best spy programme out there.
Some others that might interest you include: The Champions, Mr. Palfrey of Westminster, Callan, and of course I Spy and Wild Wild West. There are many, many others as well.
Although it isn't a spy show, the first season of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was very much about Cold War tensions.

The more I watched the Baron the more I like the show. Steve Forrest role as John Mannering was well done!!

Man in a Suitcase, the one season British series (1967) made by the producers of Danger Man after McGoohan went on to The Prisoner, is also very good.

So do people think that the US Koch version is good?

Here is the open of an episode of The Baron for those who may not remember the series or have forgotten about it.

I really like the Baron, especially Steve Forrest being cast as the Spy/Art Collector. It is too bad the show never got the accolades as it was very good show!!

The Baron, reminds me of another show from that era. Anyone remember Four Just Men?

Being a huge fan of The Prisoner, Danger Man, The Avengers, and The Saint, I finally pulled the trigger on The Baron and bought a brand new factory-sealed copy of the compete series on Ebay for about $30. It's a blind buy for me but the reviews in this forum and elsewhere hooked me. Can't wait for the set to arrive so I can plunge in!

it's very loosley based on John Creasey's character from the books series

Made by the ITC team headed up by the b/w era Saint co-producer Monty Berman (The Champions, Department S , Randall & Hopkirk Deceased aka 'My Partner The Ghost') and Daleks creator Terry Nation it concerns an American version of John Mannering (Steve Forrest) who has Antique shops in London - where he is based - and Paris

he's called 'The Baron' as his family ranch in the USA was 'Baron ranch' ! but here Mannering is a sort of American Simon Templar style adventurer who is an Antiques expert with an international reputation who has previously been a man of action and is very much a ladies man but is now a International businessman - who in the pilot is seconded to help British Intelligence by Colin Gordon's character a Colonel - whom he helps in a few episodes

Mannering has an assistant Roger Marlowe (Paul Ferris I think) who briefly appears in some episodes but mostly he's assisted by a glamorous British high classed lady socialite Cordelia Winfield (-who is named 'Winthrup' in the pilot episode ) played by Sue Lloyd who is his sort of girlfriend / good friend etc

there are some surprisingly hard hitting episodes - one where a man is killing his wife re exposure to radiation ! - and a good two parter where Mannering stumbles on a plan to steal the British crown jewels (not as far fetched as it sounds - when they are being cleaned up...)

another two parter sees Mannering trying to stop a plan to disrupt a USA space shot and save the two man crew - almost a James Bond but from 1966 the year before 1967's 'You Only Live Twice' and it's a more credible story too...!

Mannering gets involved in European countries military coup attempts and revolutions, helping the righteous side, plus has UK based adventures too

Steve Forrest for once playing against all his excellent 'guest star' villainous roles we know so well, and his later more hard hitting 'SWAT' lead role makes a great 'good guy' leading man for a change as the charming , witty, and shrewd John Mannering

lots of top British guest stars, plus a few visiting American guests too make this well made ITC 1965-6 color British action/adventure series very enjoyable

back in the sixties it suffered from inevitable comparison with Roger Moore's already firmly established and much loved Saint series - which then in 1966 had just gone into color and was still going strong - so 'The Baron' was often overlooked and underrated somewhat (one script by Terry Nation was actually a color reworking of his b/w Saint script - by sheer fluke both went out on US TV one night causing some annoyed viewer outcry - but 'reworking' scripts was normal)

The Baron scripts were original enough as a rule, and it does differ from The Saint being firmly based in the world of antiques...yet set in swinging sixties London and Paris etc

I've always really enjoyed 'The Baron' and would recommend anyone thinking of buying the set to go ahead and enjoy !

Darby67 said:

Being a huge fan of The Prisoner, Danger Man, The Avengers, and The Saint, I finally pulled the trigger on The Baron and bought a brand new factory-sealed copy of the compete series on Ebay for about $30. It's a blind buy for me but the reviews in this forum and elsewhere hooked me. Can't wait for the set to arrive so I can plunge in!

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I love all four of those shows also, and would say the Baron is closest to Danger Man in tone. But if you love that 1960's ITV feel, then I think you'll really enjoy the Baron as well.