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''The Protectors'' is a British action thriller television series created by
Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist, who is known for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s production ...
. It starred
Robert Vaughn Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theater spanned nearly six decades and who was best known for his role as secret agent Nap ...
as Harry Rule,
Nyree Dawn Porter Nyree Dawn Porter OBE (born Ngaire Dawn Porter; 22 January 1936 – 10 April 2001) was a New Zealand–British actress. She started performing on stage in New Zealand, moving to the UK in 1958. She is best known for her role as Irene in the BBC ...
as the Contessa Caroline di Contini, and Tony Anholt as Paul Buchet. It was Anderson's second television series to exclusively use live actors as opposed to marionettes following ''
UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...
'', and his second to be firmly set in contemporary times post ''
The Secret Service ''The Secret Service'' is a 1969 British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company, Century 21, for ITC Entertainment. It follows the exploits of Father Stanley Unwin, a ...
''. It was also the only Gerry Anderson–produced television series that was not of the fantasy or
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 ...
genres. 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. Despite not featuring marionettes or any real science fiction elements, ''The Protectors'' became one of Anderson's most popular productions, easily winning a renewal for a second series. A third series was in the planning stages when the show's major sponsor, Brut, ended its funding which forced the series' cancellation. ''The Protectors'' was first broadcast in 1972 and 1973, and ran to 52 episodes over two series, each 25 minutes long—making it one of the last series of this type to be produced in a half-hour format.


Premise

Three inexplicably affluent international
private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigat ...
s/ troubleshooters are charged with ensuring the protection of innocents. They belong to an organisation called The Protectors, based in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Harry Rule leads the group. The Contessa lives in Italy, when she is not working with Harry. She runs her own detective agency, which specialises in exposing art frauds and recovering stolen art. Paul Buchet works out of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and is the group's researcher and gadget specialist. Adventures range from simple kidnapping to convoluted cases of international intrigue. These characters are all very wealthy and drive exotic cars of the era, such as the
Citroën SM The Citroën SM is a high-performance coupé produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1970 to 1975. The SM placed third in the 1971 European Car of the Year contest, trailing its stablemate Citroën GS, and won the 1972 Motor Trend Car ...
and Jensen Interceptor. The show was parodied in two episodes of the 1996
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
comedy series ''Fab TV'': "The Preventers" and "The Return of the Preventers".


Production

According to co-producer
Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist, who is known for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s production ...
, the show's format was outlined in a brief note that
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 ...
gave him, and he was then given a free hand to develop it, although Grade ultimately cast two of the main actors himself. The format of the series allowed for occasional episodes in which not all of the main actors appeared, including two in which Vaughn's character was absent. Like ''
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 ...
'', a similar series also produced by ITC that aired around the same time, ''The Protectors'' was shot on location at numerous locations throughout Europe, such as
Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
,
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
,
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
and
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. In order to offset the cost of location filming, and also perhaps because the equipment was more portable, the series was shot on
16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, ...
film rather than the usual 35mm. The episodes aimed at fast-paced action set against an international background, incorporating elements from both private-eye detective shows and espionage shows, but within a half-hour format. The lack of screen time, compared with the 50-minute timeslot used by shows like ''The Persuaders!'' or '' Department S'', resulted in plots that were rather simplistic, with motivation and characterisation sacrificed for action, owing to the writers having to cram as much as possible into a 25-minute timeslot and still produce gripping television. Accordingly, the series suffered from most of the same drawbacks that beset '' The Adventurer'', another half-hour ITC show that aired at the same time. The theme tune of the series, "
Avenues and Alleyways "Avenues and Alleyways" is a 1973 single recorded by Tony Christie as the theme song for the television series ''The Protectors''. It was written and produced by Mitch Murray and Peter Callander, who were also responsible for Christie's "Las Ve ...
" was performed by singer
Tony Christie Anthony Fitzgerald (born 25 April 1943), known professionally as Tony Christie, is an English musician and singer. He is best known for his recording of " (Is This the Way to) Amarillo", a double UK chart success. Career 1960s to 1970s Bor ...
. This was the first Anderson series not to feature music composed by
Barry Gray Barry Gray (born John Livesey Eccles; 18 July 1908 – 26 April 1984) was a British musician and composer best known for his collaborations with television and film producer Gerry Anderson. Life and career Born into a musical family in Blackbur ...
. Courtfield Mews, London SW5 was used as the filming location for ''The Protectors'' headquarters. In Germany the series was known as ''Kein Pardon für Schutzengel'' (meaning "No Mercy for Guardian Angels") and in France as '' Poigne de fer et séduction'' ("Iron Fist and Seduction"). This highlights another snag which bedevilled the show: its English title, ''The Protectors'', could imply that
Robert Vaughn Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theater spanned nearly six decades and who was best known for his role as secret agent Nap ...
was playing a bodyguard, in a more serious version of the 1980s ITV show ''
Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...
''. In South Africa, the series was dubbed into Afrikaans as ''Die Beskermers'' (the literal translation of The Protectors) and was broadcast on the
South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...
. As was the case for most of Anderson's series, in the United States the series was not broadcast on
network television A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or, in the United ...
, but aired instead in
first-run syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...
. This made it more difficult for the show to make any impact in America, despite its popular American star, and this hurt its overseas sales.


Actor relationships

According to Robert Vaughn's autobiography, there were many problems between the actor and both the show's financier, Lew Grade, and its co-producer, Gerry Anderson. John Hough (who directed several episodes, and the opening title sequence of the series) had many more problems with Vaughn's business partner,
Sherwood Price Frank Sherwood Gell (April 4, 1928 – January 13, 2020) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing General J. E. B. Stuart in the American historical television series '' The Gray Ghost''. Early life He was born Frank ...
, than with Vaughn himself. Vaughn said that he felt the series was "tasteless junk", and that he could not understand the scripts either before or during shooting. In a 1972 interview with ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', he criticised the writing and casting, and said that ''The Protectors'' had failed to live up to his expectations, describing the production as "much below the American standard". He added that the series "may have the redeeming feature of any escapist entertainment, that you can sit down for 22 minutes and watch people in pretty clothes run around shooting guns and so get your mind off your personal problems. If that's redemptive, it has that quality." Vaughn was given the opportunity to direct one episode himself—number 23 in production order, "It Could Be Practically Anywhere on the Island". On this production he met actress Linda Staab; they married three years later, and remained married until his death 42 years later in 2016. Although Vaughn had a better relationship with Grade, the mogul called "It Could Be Practically Anywhere on the Island" the worst episode he had ever seen of anything.


Episodes


Series 1 (1972–73)


Series 2 (1973–74)


Home media

ITV Studios Home Entertainment released the entire series on DVD in Region 2 in 2002/2003. Network released a seven-disc Region 2 DVD set in 2010, comprising both series. In Region 1, A&E Home Entertainment, under licence from Carlton International Media Limited, released the entire 52 episodes on Region 1 DVD for the first time ever, in two complete season sets, in 2003/2004. On 10 September 2014, it was announced that VEI Entertainment had acquired the rights to the series in Region 1, and would re-release all 52 episodes on DVD on 4 November 2014.


Music

In 2009, Network released a five-disc set of music recorded for the series, featuring Tony Christie's "
Avenues and Alleyways "Avenues and Alleyways" is a 1973 single recorded by Tony Christie as the theme song for the television series ''The Protectors''. It was written and produced by Mitch Murray and Peter Callander, who were also responsible for Christie's "Las Ve ...
", library music and scores for 13 episodes composed by John Cameron, and
Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...
's rendition of " My Man's Gone Now" for the episode "A Pocketful of Posies".


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Protectors, The 1970s British drama television series 1972 British television series debuts 1974 British television series endings British action television series British detective television series British spy television series British English-language television shows Fictional private investigators First-run syndicated television programs in the United States ITV television dramas Television series by ITC Entertainment Television shows set in London Television shows shot at EMI-Elstree Studios Works by Gerry Anderson