The Saint / Return of The Saint (1 Viewer)

[Osato]

Is there any news on further releases of The Saint on DVD?

I have noticed that 3 box sets of the early black and white seasons have been released in Australlia and the UK. I'm toying with the idea of getting a region free player to get them if they will not be released her state side.

Return of The Saint is also available, but not here in the US.

I have all the color episodes and Set 1 and 2 of The Early Episodes (black and white).

Has anyone heard anything on US distribution of these titles?

Thanks!

 

[Michael Alden]

A&E has put out a batch of maybe the first 14 or so of the black and whites. Supposedly their deal for the ITC stuff is expiring this year so I don't know if that will let them continue with it.

 

[Osato]

Thanks for the info Michael! I appreciate it.

Hopefully the rest of the series will be released in the US.

Tim

 

[bobPON]

The sets are available at Deep Discount DVD. I picked them up 2 monts ago. They were release last year but only for a few dealers.

 

[Gary OS]

Deep Discount DVD has consistently carried these A&E releases, and now would be the time to order them. The 20% off sale will continue through this coming week and you'll likely never get them for less. My advice, act now!

Gary "I have all three sets, and have used DDD's 20% sale for each one - that's the only way these overpriced A&E releases are worth it for me" O.

 

[Jeff#]

I remember discovering the black & white (1962 to 1965) episodes of The Saint in the 1980s when WWOR -- a one-time national superstation from Secaucus, NJ used to air them sporadically late at night. WWOR only had the first 3 years and there are 71 of the B & W shows. There are 43 color episodes produced from 1966 to 1968 included two 2-parters and I first saw them on WPHL Channel 17 -- a local station from Phialdelphia, which had them in the mid 1980s on weekend afternoons and again in the summer of 1990 when they aired weekday mornings at 11.

It wouldn't be until the early 00's when I got to see some episodes of The Saint again on The Mystery Channel weeknights at 6. Unfortunately, they stopped airing the series before I bought my DVD recorder and I don't get that channel anymore. Anyone know if they plan to air it again?

 

[Jeff#]

One thing I've noticed about A & E's home video division is that some of the the wonderful classic British action drama series they've released have never aired on the A&E network! That includes The Saint, Danger Man (a.k.a. Secret Agent), and from 1970-71, Roger Moore and Tony Curtis in "The Persuaders".

With the exception of 2 volumes of Danger Man hour-long episodes and the entire set of The Prisoner, I never purchased the rest of those or even The Avengers because A & E charges way too much for so few episodes. Why is this? Other companies give you an entire season of 20 to 39 episodes for around $40 on the average. A & E charges $60 (retail price) for 6 or 7 episodes.

So are only some of the first season episodes of The Saint on DVD now here in the U.S. ? Are there 14 episodes on one set or are they on two, which is typical of A & E Video? I can't find them at Best Buy or Fry's Electronics. Even Suncoast doesn't have them. They DO have a used set of The Persuaders for $28 though, and usually used discs are are just like new. It is set # 2 of 2 (I don't have the first and neither do they), but I noticed the second set has the last 11 episodes of the series. I better go back and buy that tomorrow before it's too late!

 

[Bob Hug]

Re: A&E DVD releases

Edward R. Hamilton, Bookseller and Hamiltonbook.com are a good source of selected A&E releases at greatly discounted prices. Currently, they have a two volume release of THE SAINT for $7.95 and a four volume release of THE PERSUADERS for $19.95, plus a fair amount of Gerry Anderson series like THUNDERBIRDS, JOE 90, TERRAHAWKS, UFO, and SPACE: 1999. There's also a few miscellaneous volumes of THE AVENGERS. An easy way to check what's available is to go to their Television section and look under Notable Television Shows.

 

[Jeff#]

Thanks for sharing that info, Bob!

I never heard of Edward Hamilton, but they do have some great prices! I couldn't find any B & W Saint episodes though.

 

[Bob Hug]

You're right. They only have that 2-disc set of some of the color episodes which, at $7.95, is a good price as far as A&E releases are concerned. Hamilton is a funny company, though, in that they deal in closeouts, remainders, clearance items, etc. so you never know what's going to turn up. Earlier this year, they had the complete season 1 (half hour version) of Danger Man for $24.95, but that went pretty quickly. It pays to check Hamilton on a periodic basis.

 

[Osato]

It's been a great while, so I'm just checking to see if anyone has heard any news on the rest of this series coming to DVD.

A&E has no plans right now. I do try and contact them from time to time.
Very frustrating as I have become a big fan of the show and would like to see the rest of the episodes.

Return of the Saint would be a nice set to have as well.

 

[Michael Alden]

Don't know if A&E will continue or not. They seem to take their sweet times with releases. The final B/W Avengers have been on hold for like 3 years now but are supposed to be coming out finally. But even if they never get around to it, a company in England called Network is doing a massive issuing of ITC shows. I don't think they have done The Saint yet but I am sure it will happen.

 

[michael_ks]

As a fan of "The Saint" I'm also frustrated by the gap in the episodes and have been tempted to just go ahead and purchase the Umbrella Entertainment sets from Australia (as I did with the fabulous ITC series "Man in A Suitcase"). They are certainly much more attractive than the A&E sets and feature a wealth of extras.

A&E has released the first 28 episodes and the last 47 (which were provided first since these are all in color). I still think this was mildly insulting to "Saint" fans because it is the earlier B&W segments, based directly on the Leslie Charteris stories that are the most coveted. We're still short exactly 43 B&W episodes, which unfortunately for this fan, includes "Luella" (guest starring David Hedison) who at the time the episode was being filmed, was hounded by Irwin Allen for the role of Capt. Lee Crane.