The Champions (season 2)
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''The Champions'' is a British
espionage thriller Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intellig ...
,
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
and
occult detective fiction Occult detective fiction is a subgenre of detective fiction that combines the trope (literature), tropes of the main genre with those of supernatural fiction, supernatural, fantasy fiction, fantasy and/or horror fiction. Unlike the traditional ...
adventure television series. It was produced by
Lew Grade Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a Ukrainian-born British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production ...
's
ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in the production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme C ...
production company and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...
during 1968–1969. The series was broadcast in the US on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
, starting in summer 1968.


Plot

Agents Craig Stirling, Sharron Macready and Richard Barrett work for a
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
law enforcement organisation called 'Nemesis', based in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
. Barrett is a codebreaker, Stirling a pilot and Macready a recently widowed scientist and doctor. In the pilot episode, the team is escaping by air from a spying mission in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Their stolen plane, damaged by gunfire during the getaway, crashes in the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
. They are rescued by the residents of
Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place in Tibet's Kunlun Mountains, Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by the British author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently ...
, an advanced civilisation living secretly in the mountains of
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
, who save their lives, granting them enhanced abilities, including extrasensory powers to communicate with one another over distances (telepathy) and to foresee events (precognition), enhanced versions of the ordinary five senses, and intellectual and physical abilities reaching the fullest extent of human capabilities. Many stories feature unusual villains, such as fascist regimes from unspecified South American countries, Nazis (a common theme of ITC 1960s and 1970s TV, in part owing to both the writers and the domestic audience having been of the war generation) or the Chinese. The villains' schemes often threaten world peace; Nemesis' brief is international, so the agents deal with threats transcending national interests. The main characters have to learn the use of their new powers as they go along, keeping what they discover secret from friend and foe alike. Each episode begins with a
close-up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, s ...
shot of a map, showing the region in which the story is to take place, followed by a teaser sometimes prefaced by
stock footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...
; this is followed by the title sequence. Immediately following that is a post-title
vignette Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...
, in which one or more of the Champions demonstrates exceptional mental or physical abilities, often astonishing or humiliating others. In one example, Stirling participates in a
sharpshooting A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with "marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" i ...
contest. In another, Macready's car is blocked in, two laughing passing drunks try to lift it out but she goes round to the other side and pulls it out of the parking space one-handed. Paradoxically, the narration during these often-public demonstrations usually mentions the need to keep the powers a secret. The narration involved in these particular scenes is spoken by American-born actor David Bauer, who also appeared as a foreign-accented villain in the episode "The Experiment". The only other series regular is the Champions' boss, Tremayne. He does not know that his agents have special abilities, although he does ask innocent questions about just how on their missions they managed to carry out certain tasks about which their reports were vague.


Cast


Main cast

*
Stuart Damon Stuart Damon (born Stuart Michael Zonis; February 5, 1937 June 29, 2021) was an American actor and singer. He was best known for his 30-year portrayal of Dr. Alan Quartermaine on the American soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he won a ...
as Craig Stirling *
Alexandra Bastedo Alexandra Lendon Bastedo (9 March 1946 – 12 January 2014) was a British actress, best known for her role as the secret agent Sharron Macready in the 1968 British espionage/science fiction adventure series ''The Champions''. Bastedo was a veg ...
as Sharron Macready *
William Gaunt William Charles Anthony Gaunt (born 3 April 1937 in Pudsey, West Riding of Yorkshire) is an English actor. He became widely known for television roles such as Richard Barrett in ''The Champions'' (1968–1969), Arthur Crabtree in '' No Place ...
as Richard Barrett * Anthony Nicholls as W.L. Tremayne.


Guests

*
George Murcell Arthur George Murcell (30 October 1925 – 3 December 1998) was a British character actor. Life and career Born in Italy, he made his film debut in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's '' The Battle of the River Plate'' (1956), Murcell wen ...
as El Gaudillo *
Eric Pohlmann Eric Pohlmann (; born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913 – 25 July 1979) was an Austrian theatre, film and television character actor who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. He is known for voicing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the primary antagonist of t ...
as Barka *
Joseph Fürst Joseph Fürst (13 February 1916 – 29 November 2005) was an Austrian-born international film and television actor known for his English language roles in Britain and Australia, after first appearing on the Canadian stage. Career Fürst was ...
as Chislenkan * David Lodge as Filmer *
Ric Young Eric Wing Wah Yung ( zh, t=容榮華, p=Róng Róng-huá born 1944), better known as Ric Young, is a retired Malaysian actor. He appeared in over 100 films and television programmes from his debut in 1958, mainly in the United Kingdom and lat ...
as Burmese Police Captain *
Michael Mellinger Michael Andreas Mellinger (30 May 1929 – 17 March 2004) was a German actor in film, television, theatre and radio. He was best known for his appearances on the West End and supporting role in the film '' Goldfinger'' (1964). Biography Born ...
as Embassy Official *
Edward Brayshaw Edward John Brayshaw (18 October 1933 – 28 December 1990) was an Australian actor who worked in Australia and England. Australian career He was a Melbourne-based actor in the 1950s and 1960s and often appeared on television and stage. He le ...
as Del Marco *
Peter Wyngarde Peter Paul Wyngarde (born Cyril Goldbert, 23 August 1927 – 15 January 2018) was a British actor. He was best known for portraying the character Jason King, a bestselling novelist turned sleuth, in two television series: '' Department S'' (19 ...
as Dr. John Hallam *
Reg Lye Reginald Thomas Lye (13 October 1912 – 23 March 1987), was an Australian actor who worked extensively in Australia and England. Career Lye was one of the busiest Australian actors of the 1950s, appearing in the majority of locally shot featu ...
as Curtis.


Production

''The Champions'' was created by
Dennis Spooner Dennis Spooner (1 December 1932 – 20 September 1986) was an English television writer and script editor, known primarily for his programmes about fictional spies and his work in children's television in the 1960s. He had long-lasting profess ...
and its episodes were written by individuals who had worked on other British spy series, including ''
The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...
'' and ''
Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again ...
''. An unfilmed script originally intended for ''Danger Man'' was used for one episode. The series was produced by
Monty Berman Nestor Montague "Monty" Berman (16 August 1913 in Whitechapel, London, England – 14 June 2006 in London, England) was a British cinematographer and film and television producer. Early career Berman began his film career as a camera assistant ...
, who had co-produced ''
The Saint The Saint may refer to: Fiction * Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations: ** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–1943), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders ...
'', ''
Gideon's Way ''Gideon's Way'' is a British television crime series that was made by ITC Entertainment and broadcast by ITV in 1964–1966, following the 1958 film, '' Gideon's Day''. The film and series are based on novels by John Creasey (writing as 'J. ...
'' and numerous
B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
s of the 1950s. Berman used many of the same writers, directors and crew on other ITC series, including '' Department S'', '' Jason King'', ''
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt (actor), Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Denn ...
'' and '' The Adventurer''. Owing to budget constraints, many sets were reused: three episodes were set on a submarine and three in the Arctic.
Stock footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...
was often used. As with other ITC productions, much of the exterior action took place in and around the studio lot – in the case of ''The Champions'', around
Associated British Studios Elstree Studios on Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire is a British film and television production centre operated by Elstree Film Studios Limited. One of several facilities historically referred to as Elstree Studios, the Shenley Road s ...
in Elstree, England. For at least one episode, "Desert Journey", foreign filming did take place, but with a
second unit A second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming s ...
, and extras standing in for the main cast. The theme music of the series was written by
Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mu ...
, with Albert Elms and
Edwin Astley Edwin Thomas "Ted" Astley (12 April 1922 – 19 May 1998) was a British composer. His best known works are British television themes and scores, most notably the main themes for '' The Saint'', ''Danger Man'' and '' The Baron''. He also successf ...
supplying incidental music.


Episodes


Broadcast

The series had three repeat runs in the UK across the ITV regions up to 1976, with additional repeats in September–October 1984 and May–August 1985. It was also regularly repeated on ITV's digital channel
ITV4 ITV4 is a British free-to-air television channel which first aired on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV plc. The channel focuses primarily on general entertainment programming targeting a male audience, including action series and films, ...
until January 2011. ''The Champions'' was broadcast on BBC2 in 1995, at about the time when Gaunt was appearing in the sitcom ''
Next of Kin A person's next of kin (NOK) may be that person's spouse A spouse is a significant other in a marriage. A female spouse is called a wife while a male spouse is called a husband. Married The legal status of a spouse, and the specific righ ...
'', and it had at least three further repeat runs after that. On 7 March 2021, the series began a rerun on
Talking Pictures TV Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage film and nostalgia television channel. It was launched on 26 May 2015 on Sky. Later it also became available on Freeview, Freesat and Virgin Media. It is on air 24 hours a day and fe ...
. The episode 'Desert Journey' was not screened in this run. From 4 May 2021, the series was being repeated again on ITV4, the first time in 10 years. It ended on 15 June, with only 27 of the 30 episodes shown (leaving out ‘Desert Journey’, ‘The Gun Runners’ and ‘Autokill’). It was repeated again on ITV4, later in the year, this time showing 29 out of 30 episodes (yet again, leaving out 'Desert Journey').


Home media

Episodes of this series were released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
in North America by A&E Home Entertainment (under licence from Granada International Media Limited) and in the UK, where the full series has been released twice, with the most recent edition seeing Damon, Bastedo and Gaunt reunite to provide a commentary for several episodes. (Damon's role on US series ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
'' meant that Bastedo and Gaunt had to be flown to America for it.) The series was shown in Italy in the early 1980s in syndication, under the title (Three Aces) and, more recently, in the 1990s on Canal Jimmy (Sky) but an Italian DVD collection has never been released because in that country ''The Champions'' is an almost forgotten show, remembered only by few loyal fans. In 2010, Network DVD re-released ''The Champions: The Complete Series'' as a complete DVD Region 2 box set of all episodes on nine discs (including the rare 'bookends' version of the first episode). (Additionally, it released the music from the series on three CDs.)


Adaptations


''Legend of the Champions''

In 1983, ITC edited the episodes "The Beginning" and "The Interrogation" into ''Legend of the Champions'', a feature-length film intended for overseas markets. ITC had released several such films before (notably with ''
The Persuaders! ''The Persuaders!'' is a British action comedy television series starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, produced by ITC Entertainment, and initially broadcast on ITV and ABC in 1971. The show has been called 'the last major entry in the c ...
'')! however, in this case, the two episodes were not simply joined, but substantially re-edited. "The Interrogation" formed the framing story; its original broadcast form some flashback sequences (mainly from "The Beginning") had been used. These were expanded to contain almost the whole of the earlier episode. Additionally, new credits were filmed, not using any of the original actors but instead their photographs, taken at the time of the original production. A plot change was the renaming of a character from the original version of "The Beginning" to accommodate a plot device in "The Interrogation". In "The Interrogation", Craig Stirling is ostensibly being quizzed on a character called Julius Retford, who remains unseen. For the film, the opening credits explicitly identify Retford as the character who in "The Beginning" was named Ho Ling (played by Ric Young). This allows the germ warfare theme of "The Beginning" to interlink with the sequences in "The Interrogation". Confusingly, in the end credits Young is credited as playing 'Ho Ling', a name never used in the film version. This release credited Stuart Damon as the star, with Alexandra Bastedo and William Gaunt receiving co-star credits. This was partly because Damon was a familiar face in U.S. daytime television by this time, and partly because "The Interrogation" is essentially a
two-hander A two-hander is a term for a play, film, or television programme with only two main characters. The two characters in question often display differences in social standing or experiences, differences that are explored and possibly overcome as t ...
between Damon and
Colin Blakely Colin George Edward BlakelyClarke, Frances (2009)"Blakely, Colin George Edward" ''Dictionary of Irish Biography''. Retrirved 3 October 2024. (23 September 1930 – 7 May 1987) was a Northern Irish stage and screen actor. He was nominated for a ...
, with the rest of the regular cast appearing only briefly. ''Legend of the Champions'' was released on DVD as part of the Network box-set. Note: 'Bookend' sequences were shot for the first episode "The Beginning" showing Richard Barrett (William Gaunt) recording the story on to a tape recorder in Tremayne's office; this was done so that the episode could be shown out of order on repeat runs without causing any continuity problems. Both sequences were included as extras on the Network DVD box set.


Film

In November 2007, it was reported that
Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...
would produce and write a film adaptation of ''The Champions'' for
United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
. In 2008,
Christopher McQuarrie Christopher McQuarrie (born October 25, 1968) is an American filmmaker. He received the BAFTA Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the neo-noir mystery film ''The Usual Suspects'' (1995). He made hi ...
was signed to co-write and co-produce the film. In 2021, it was announced that
Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as ''There's Something About Mary'' (1998), ' ...
would star in and direct a feature film adaptation with
Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...
co-starring. The film would be produced by
New Republic Pictures New Republic Pictures, LLC is an American production company and independent financier of feature films founded by Brian Oliver (producer), Brian Oliver in 2017. The first film co-financed and produced by the company was ''Rocketman (film), Rocket ...
,
ITV Studios America ITV Studios Limited is a British multinational television media company owned by British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcasters, and is bas ...
and Dirty Films. Ultimately, nothing came of these film projects.


Books

Paperbacks based on the TV series include: * ''The Sixth Sense is Death''. By John Garforth. London: Hodder Paperbacks, 1969 (a novelisation of the episodes "The Beginning" and "The Experiment") * ''Lavage de Cerveau''. By Pierre Salva. Paris: Presses de la Cité, 1977


Comic strip

A Champions comic strip ran in City Magazine's Joe 90 Top Secret comic from the first issue (#1, 18 January 1969) until its cancellation with #34 (6 September 1969). They also had a story in the Joe 90 Top Secret Annual 1969.


References


External links

* *
Series entry
at
BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, d ...
screenonline
Series review
at Television Heaven {{DEFAULTSORT:Champions, The 1960s British drama television series 1968 British television series debuts 1969 British television series endings 1960s British science fiction television series British superhero television series British supernatural television shows Television shows shot at Associated British Studios Television series by ITC Entertainment ITV television dramas Occult detective fiction Speculative crime and thriller fiction British spy television series