Customer Reviews:
Baron in name, but not Baron in Thrills........2007-12-22
I had never seen this show before, until one Friday Night it came on the Telly at 3am. I must say I became glued to the TV Set and instantly fell in love with The Baron- well the Show anyway. I recorded a couple of Shows over 2 weeks, but it wasn't enough to whet my appetite. When I discovered there were 30 Glorious episodes of this 60's Classic, I just had to buy the Full set. It is now one of My Favourite things and if the House catches Fire, will promptly stick it under My arm while making a hasty retreat.To sum up this Show Briefly, it has lashings of Classic Cars, Antiques, 60's Dames with Fake Eyelashes and Boofy Har-Do's, Crime and Espionage, and Skin of your Teeth escape Plots- Who could ask for more ???
The Baron An Enjoyable Series.......2006-09-28
I watched it at the time, and later, when six episodes were shown consecutively, on the Subscription Channel 'Plus'. I taped them, feeling, that they were unlikely to be shown again. It complemented 'The Saint,', which featured some feeble plots, in its series rather than being inferior.
I think, that that Steve Forrest being cast, as the lead, was for reasons of popularity, and, although, having read some of the original stories, found the number of series enjoyable. I found it superior to 'Jason King,'which was camped up, and vastly inferior to 'Department S, ' Man In a Suitcase,' whose character was morose, and 'The Persuaders,' a jokey predictable version of 'The Saint.'
Classic adventure from the surreal world of ITC, where nothing is what it seems..........2006-08-12
Hugely underrated and very rarely repeated this classic 60s ITC series stars Steve Forrest as John Mannering aka The Baron. He is an American living in London who deals with valuable art and he rarest antiques. An occupation which plunges him and his assistant Cordillia (Sue Lloyd) into a world of danger, intrigue and greed. The Baron never misses an oppurtunity for adventure.
This is an action packed adventure series from the late Lew Grade's production company ITC, who also produced other classic 60s and 70s series like: THE SAINT, THE PRISONER, DANGER MAN, THE PERSUADERS!, JASON KING, DEPARTMENT S and RANDALL AND HOPKIRK DECEASED)
Great alternative to the Saint.......2006-04-24
Think tall, loose limbed, assured and astute Texan, think Saint and you have John Mannering, cattle rancher, international antique dealer who is regularly called in by the secret service to trouble shoot dangerous problems throughout the world (well Elstree Studio actually with bought in stock footage).
Co-starred is Sue Lloyd as Cordelia Winfield, a long legged English rose, quite different to the girls in similar programs, complementing the Baron's character very well and frequently having to be rescued at the last moment by him.
Equal third star is the car, the incomparable 1966 Jensen Chrysler V8 powered "Interceptor" that precisely matched Mannering's personality and is a joy to watch whenever it appears.
The stories are the usual entertainment style thrillers of the late sixties, but there is not a single weak story.
After thirty episodes I wanted more, strongly recommended for lovers of the genre.
Classic TV.......2005-11-14
When I was a kid 2 ITC series used to thrill me week after week. One of these was The Baron. Although a little dated the series is still as good as I remember it. Exciting, well written and produced and wonderfully performed. I heartily recommend this set.
ps - The other series was Man in a Suitcase.
Customer Reviews:
At last - the COMPLETE first series.......2007-03-17
I'd been desperately waiting for this to be released, as the original DVD turned out to be edited highlights, and I loved the second series dvd and the third series, which I'd seen part of in the UK when on holiday last year.
This first series turned out to be great - and includes more episodes than the other one. Just waiting now for number 3 to become available, as we are likely to have a long wait for any more to be shown here on NZ TV.
Customer Reviews:
Should never have been made.......2008-02-27
Paul Merton is clearly a real tstudent of comedy, and has a great affection for the comedians of the past - as his later series "Silent Clowns" demonstrates. Whatever your opinion of Merton as a comedian and panel game guest, improv artist, and comedy historian, one fact is completely unavoidable:
Paul Merton is a truly rotten actor.
As such, to see scripts originally performed by some of the comic genii of the past being recreated by one of the worst actors of the present, the result is inevitable disaster. It's all very well to try and make these classic scripts come to life for a new generation, and the enthusiasm is obviously there, but it all just falls flat on its face.
Avoid at all costs.
MmmmmmmmMerton's Half-Hour!.......2007-06-09
Watching young comedians attempting to mimic their heroes is always an uncomfortable experience. A few years ago, Ant & Dec remade a classic episode of 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads' for I.T.V. Not only was it horribly unfunny, but pointless, seeing how the original still exists in the archives. Then there was the time Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer reenacted a Morecambe & Wise song ( "Exactly Like You" ) with Tom Jones. It was so bad a member of the audience - Ronnie Barker, actually - contacted the B.B.C. and asked them not to screen it. Unfortunately, they did.
In the mid-'90's, Paul Merton starred in two seasons of 'Galton & Simpsons' for I.T.V., in which he tried to step into the shoes of Hancock ( no, not Nick. 'Room 101' happened later ).
Of the 15 scripts updated, six were from 'Hancock's Half-Hour', the rest sourced from various 'Comedy Playhouse' series and 'Dawson's Weekly', a short-lived series starring the late, great Les Dawson. As expected, the Tony Hancock remakes came across as flat, partly due to overfamiliarity with the material ( the 'Hancocks' were being repeated at that time on B.B.C.-2 ), whereas the others veered from good to merely okay. Fine comedian though he undoubtedly is, Merton wasn't able to duplicate the great man's wonderful comic timing, expressive face and mannerisms. The whole experience was akin to watching a third-rate Beatles tribute band.
"I Tell You Its Burt Reynolds" was originally part of Yorkshire T.V.'s 1977 'The Galton & Simpson Playhouse', and starred the late, much-missed Leonard Rossiter as a loonie who becomes obsessed with the crazy notion that he has spotted Burt Reynolds in an old episode of 'McMillan & Wife'. Though essentially a one-joke show, it was made watchable by Rossiter's tour-de-force performance. Merton's came nowhere near it.
Two of the better episodes - 'Sealed With A Loving Kiss' and 'Lunch In The Park' - are two-handers featuring Merton and the sublime Josie Lawrence. Also worth looking at is 'Don't Dilly Dally On The Way' which is all about the problems of moving house. Perhaps if the entire series had showcased Galton & Simpson's lesser-known work ( such as the funny 'The Last Man On Earth' from 1974 ) it would have been better received.
Is the D.V.D. worth buying? Yes, provided that you skip the 'Hancock' remakes ( thank goodness they did not do 'The Blood Donor ) entirely. Paul Merton fans should enjoy the collection though. He had the good fortune to appear alongside such talented actors as Sam Kelly, Brian Murphy, Lynda Baron, Rosemary Leach, Michael Jayston, Rob Brydon, David Daker and, his wife-at-the-time Caroline Quentin ( bizarrely playing the role of Sid James ). Galton and Simpson themselves can be seen in 'The Wrong Man', as part of a police line-up.
Just don't expect these to be as good as the originals. Why I wonder is this coming out when 'The Galton & Simpson Playhouse' and Channel 4's 'Paul Merton: The Series' have yet to be released?
DVD:
- The Big Boss - 2 Disc Platinum Edition [1971]
- The Boondock Saints [1999]
- The Delta Force [1986]
- The Duel At Silver Creek [1952]
- The Eagle Has Landed (Special Edition) [1977]
- The Hard Way [1991]
- The Last Castle [2002]
- The Last Dragon [1985] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Longest Day/Patton/Tora! Tora! Tora!
- The Long Ships [1963] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
DVD List
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Action & Adventure
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