"The Protectors" was a British television show (ITC) back in 1972-74. It was an attempt to capture the spirit of "The Avengers" and "The Saint", and to capitalize on Robert Vaughn's fading "The Man From UNCLE" popularity.
The best part of the show was its catchy "Avenues and Alleyways" theme song played at the beginning and ending of each 24-minute episode. New viewers will find even 24 minutes too long as the low budget and lack of talent (both writing and acting) doom things from an entertainment perspective, unless you can find unintended humor in the idea of an action adventure show in which action and adventure are conspicuously absent.
Vaughn plays Harry Rule, a member of a three-person team of freelance troubleshooters based in Europe. A fair amount of each 24-minute episode is taken up by scenic "establishment" shots to make it appear that the show was produced on location in a variety of exotic European locales.
Harry appears to be the leader of the group, if only because he has the most screen time. Tony Anholt plays the gadget guy (today he would be the team nerd). He is definitely a third wheel, rarely starring in an episode and by the second season rarely even appearing.
My theory is that "The Protectors' target audience was nursing home residents with bad hearts, who wanted to see a secret agent type show but could not survive exposure to things like action, suspense, humor and hot romance.
Which is about the only way to account for the casting of Myree Dawn Porter as a character called the Contessa di Contini. Despite her exotic name, the Contessa was about as antiseptic and sterile as a wax figure. It is likely that the character was meant to be a slightly more sophisticated version of Emma Peale, but the Contessa avoids all action and contributes nothing in the humor, parody, or seduction departments.
Since the popularity of this type of show requires a fair degree of sensual energy, the nursing home explanation is the only way to account for the casting of an actress in her late 30's, especially one clearly showing a lot of mileage. She was certainly no Alexandra Bastedo ("The Champions") and the show's frequent close-ups of her face were not a good idea.
If you have nothing better to do than watch this series, watch for the absence of young attractive actresses (a staple of every Saint and UNCLE episode) as villains or heroines. Apparently Porter had a contract clause specifying that no "featured" actress could be younger than her; and they wonder why these things don't get better ratings.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
The best part of the show was its catchy "Avenues and Alleyways" theme song played at the beginning and ending of each 24-minute episode. New viewers will find even 24 minutes too long as the low budget and lack of talent (both writing and acting) doom things from an entertainment perspective, unless you can find unintended humor in the idea of an action adventure show in which action and adventure are conspicuously absent.
Vaughn plays Harry Rule, a member of a three-person team of freelance troubleshooters based in Europe. A fair amount of each 24-minute episode is taken up by scenic "establishment" shots to make it appear that the show was produced on location in a variety of exotic European locales.
Harry appears to be the leader of the group, if only because he has the most screen time. Tony Anholt plays the gadget guy (today he would be the team nerd). He is definitely a third wheel, rarely starring in an episode and by the second season rarely even appearing.
My theory is that "The Protectors' target audience was nursing home residents with bad hearts, who wanted to see a secret agent type show but could not survive exposure to things like action, suspense, humor and hot romance.
Which is about the only way to account for the casting of Myree Dawn Porter as a character called the Contessa di Contini. Despite her exotic name, the Contessa was about as antiseptic and sterile as a wax figure. It is likely that the character was meant to be a slightly more sophisticated version of Emma Peale, but the Contessa avoids all action and contributes nothing in the humor, parody, or seduction departments.
Since the popularity of this type of show requires a fair degree of sensual energy, the nursing home explanation is the only way to account for the casting of an actress in her late 30's, especially one clearly showing a lot of mileage. She was certainly no Alexandra Bastedo ("The Champions") and the show's frequent close-ups of her face were not a good idea.
If you have nothing better to do than watch this series, watch for the absence of young attractive actresses (a staple of every Saint and UNCLE episode) as villains or heroines. Apparently Porter had a contract clause specifying that no "featured" actress could be younger than her; and they wonder why these things don't get better ratings.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.