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The Saint: The Talented Husband (1.1, ITC, 1962)

"It's very simple. I don't like being a cog in the machine: being one of the millions of ants that devours the dragon is all very noble - but it's not half as much fun as being Saint George, is it?"

"With the sword in the hand and the foot on the neck of the dragon, eh?"

"And an arm around the fair maid."

#the saint #the talented husband #1962 #itc #Michael Truman #leslie charteris #jack sanders #roger moore #derek farr #shirley eaton #Patricia roc #donald churchill #george roderick #norman mitchell #john kelland #howard douglas #clemence bettany #I'm not entirely sure what's tempted me to revisit The Saint; i know it's currently being shown on tptv but the hankering actually began a #little before that announcement (perhaps when i sorted my tv shelves and fpund the dvds..). i have complicated feelings about the show #i watched all the bw eps in college and kind of loved it but kind of hated Simon Templer: he is undeniably an asshole‚ and more often than #not a chauvinist (if not downright misogynist). i mean even for 60s tv‚ he can be a douche. but the show has that early 60s comforting #predictability and familiar raft of british telly staples. and as often as he's an ass‚ Templer can be weirdly charming too. so yeah i #might rewatch some and maybe make a few ep posts..we'll see. this opener is classic early Saint‚ in that he inserts himself into a fairly #standard crime mystery (the series was some years from becoming outlandish). Moore is immediately Templar (unsurprising; he'd long wanted #to make the show and actually tried to buy the rights from Charteris himself) altho it's interesting that his accent varies in one or two #conversational scenes; almost as if Moore hasn't yet decided how upper class he wants to play it. Eaton is a welcome presence as the first #saint girl (much like bond girls‚ most eps have a lady love interest who disappears by the next ep) bc she actually gets to be fairly #competent and to have her own life and profession outside of her attachment to Simon (doesn't stop him being a dick a few times)#Farr is a good first villain too‚ tho the twist is rather obvious (especially with dvd quality picture..). fun to see Donald Churchill pop #in as a deeply impatient doctor who doesn't even attempt to hide his loathing for Farr. fun enough but iirc the show does grow legs from

Doomwatch: The Logicians (2.12, BBC, 1971)

"Our syllabus is completely comprehensive."

"Yes, but it cannot be adjusted to each individual - a computer can only deal with a mass. Whatever the problem, each child reacts in a different way. A computer isn't capable of recognising this."

"Doctor, we do have teaching staff as well, and we've already proven to us the value of our system. The children's behaviour patterns are excellent."

"A receptive child's mind, Mrs. Grantz, without any ethical guidance, has a terrifying potential. And what worries me, as director of Doomwatch, is that you don't seem to be aware of this."

#Doomwatch #The Logicians #Bbc #1971 #Classic tv #John Paul #Simon oates #Jean trend #john nolan #Joby blanshard #Irene prador #George selway #John kelland #Peter duncan #Stanley lebor #Michael gover #Robin davies #Stuart knee #Noel johnson #Dennis spooner #David proudfoot #Good old Denny Spoons provides a script which typically for him concentrates more on the espionage adventure aspects of the series #But mixed in with that is an interesting critique of the new approaches to the sociology of education which were #Being discussed in the late 60s and early 70s. Schools were changing and approaches to education were changing with them #This was the era in which the work of Carl Rogers and Bloom and Piaget was really taking hold and the move away from behaviorism was in #Full swing. The best works on technology in education wouldn't be written for another decade or so (once again Doomwatch is ahead of the #Curve) but Spooner seems to have researched his field and in particular the influence of Summerhill School (the experimental private school #Which offered greater autonomy to students by treating them as colleagues rather than pupils and which was in the public eye in the #60s and 70s) is felt here. For all that groundwork it isn't the most exciting episode but it's solid and interesting enough. The end twist #Around the lead student having framed his father as insurance strategy is particularly mean but effective with it

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