Customer Reviews

The Spy Collection Megaset (The Prisoner / The Persuaders / The Champions / The Protectors)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a 14-DVD set from A&E with selections from four "cult TV" Brit spy/adventure shows: The Prisoner, The Persuaders!, The Champions, and The Protectors. OK, The Prisoner isn't exactly a spy show, but then, what is it, anyway? The problem is, the box doesn't tell you what's included. It just says that it includes "debut episodes" from each of the four series, contains 14 DVDs, and runs for approximately 38 hours and 30 minutes. I contacted A&E and asked them exactly what the contents were, but they couldn't tell me -- but they could and did ask me if I wanted to buy it for $199!

Dec. 2008 Update: The product is now listed on Amazon.com, complete with a full list of contents. A&E has also provided a full description of contents. Based on contents, I would upgrade my rating to ****. As is usual with A&E offerings, don't expect subtitles.

This megaset contains:

* The first 13 episodes of The Persuaders!, which equals "Set 1", a $36 value (as of Dec. 2008). If you love Roger Moore in the Saint, you will like him in The Persuaders!. Series features the world's largest telephone answering machine. Near the end of the series, see a cameo appearance of Mr. Moore's young daughter. An enthusiastic glove-wearing Tony Curtis crosses the pond as the improbably named Danny Wilde. He runs circles around Roger Moore who, by the end of the series, had Bond, James Bond, on his mind.

* The first 15 episodes of The Champions, which equals "Set 1", a $72 value (as of Dec. 2008). A bit more zing than The Persuaders!, this set will help you get in touch with your heightened super-powers. Darth Vader, or, at least, the actor who played him, makes a guest-appearance. A bit like the Avengers.

* The first 26 episodes of The Protectors, which equals "Season One", an $80 value (as of Dec. 2008). Robert Vaughn escapades his way across Europe in these 30-minute slightly out-of-focus episodes.

* 3 episodes of The Prisoner -- a great way of sampling this series, but you really need to buy the complete set so you can join the rest of us in being upset with the final episode.

The megaset is a good deal and a sensible buy, because, if you like what you see, you can complete your sets by buying the second set in each of the three respective series (The Prisoner excepted).

One final problem: it is called "The Spy Collection" on the box, but is listed as "The Spy Collection Megaset" at Amazon and as "Cult TV Spy Collection" at A&E.

If you're not a completist and you get this box set for 45 dollars or under, then you've found a great bargain full of wonderful TV spy entertainment from the late 1960's/early 1970's. It contains 14 dvds featuring four episodes of the Prisoner, the first season of the Protectors (26 episodes), and half or so episodes of the Persuaders and the Champions (13 and 15 episodes respectively). Enjoy!

The Spy Collection Megaset (The Prisoner / The Persuaders / The Champions / The Protectors)
For six bucks, who can complain? These disks are full of clear, first rate transfers to DVD as opposed to the grainy
mess you usually expect from such collections, these look like they were made yesterday. This set is a bargain. Do the math-
over 38 hours of early British spy series for this price is a steal. It may well satisfy your urge, or serve to whet
your appetite for more of a certain series -ether way, you wont be sorry.

England was home to many super-cool spy shows in the 60s and 70s. My favorite is "The Protectors" but I also enjoyed "The Persuaders". I had never seen "The Champions" and I remembered not getting "The Prisoner" when it ran in reruns when I was younger. I would agree with others who have said that "The Prisoner" is not really a spy show and I admit that I still don't really get it. But The Champions was fun. While the production quality is primitive, the episode topics ring hauntingly true today and it's fun to see Dr. Alan Quartermaine in his prime. "The Persuaders" is just a fun romp through southern France and London with Moore and Curtis and if you enjoy that, you'll find this part of the collection fun. As mentioned, "The Protectors" is, for me, the best in terms of locations, plots, action/adventure and production--a more laid back Man From Uncle with a new crew. Fun when you're in the mood to escape a little.

First I have the complete collection of the Persauders one of the best
tv series ever made! Curtis and Moore made a great team. This series
should've been on for years. I got this set for The Protectors and
The Prisoner which I haven't seen since I was a kid. The Champions
I don't recall but would like to see it. I thought this was a great
package for the price to see these shows again. If your a fan of
these kind of tv shows this is a great package to start with.

These shows are cetainly a "megaset".

There's a lot of hours of entertainment here, but what level of entertainment is the question.

For me, I gew up in the 60's, it was a really nice trip down memory lane into an era that no longer seems to exist [for the most part].

These were the days when things like smoking and drinking were culturally acceptable on television and in real life, drink driving wasn't the taboo then it is now either - expect it.

The series are from the late 60's to early '70's and reflect the times and values.

Being British in origin there's next to no language, the odd dead body that shows up is remarkably gore free and when people get "eliminated" they just tend to fall down.

Watched in the frame of reference, they're still very good although quite dated. Anyone trying to put todays special effect standards into made for TV shows of that era will be sadly disappointed.

The box set is nicely presented and will make an excellent gift. The contents are nicely laid out and I personally found them very enjoyable. They don't contain every episode from each of the series, but a really good representative sample is here at least.

Sit back, relax and enjoy, with the right expectations you will have quite a few entertaining hours.

DVD's were received in a very short time. All of the shows I've been able to watch are great. Good quality. Thanks.

If you like stories of spies, secret agents, and detectives from the '60s and '70s, this 14-disc omnibus edition will definitely be an excellent entertainment value--as long as you fully understand what you're getting. This collection doesn't contain any complete series, but instead is a repackaging of 'set 1' of each of for any of the four shows represented within it. They are the same discs, albeit with uniform 'Spy Collection' labeling, that you would get if you purchased set 1 of 'The Prisoner', 'The Persuaders', 'The Champions', or 'The Protectors'. The thing is, a careful shopper can get all of them in this set for less than the price of any one of them when purchased individually. That's a heck of a value proposition! Let's take a look at what you get:

'The Prisoner' (2 DVDs)--The very epitome of cult classic TV, 'The Prisoner' should be required viewing for any genre TV fan. It is a highly existential 17-part mini-series, starring Patrick McGoohan as "Number Six", a secret agent who resigns and is subsequently abducted and sent to "The Village," a prison disguised as a seaside resort, where retired agents who are too dangerous to remain at large are warehoused in seeming comfort. This collection includes the first three episodes of the series, plus a supposedly rare alternate version of "The Chimes of Big Ben". The only thing I've spotted that's different from the regular version, which appears on a later disc in the complete series collection, is the opening credits. Other than that, you get to enjoy inferior sound and picture quality, compared to the other three episodes. As the title of my review suggests, the main gripe I have with this collection is that 'The Prisoner' gets short shrift when compared with the other shows represented herein. Fortunately for me, I already have this entire series on DVD. Thematically speaking, set 1 of Patrick McGoohan's earlier series, known alternately as 'Danger Man' and 'Secret Agent' might have been a better fit for this set.

'The Persuaders' (4 DVDs)--Easily the gem of this collection, 'The Persuaders' stars Tony Curtis and Roger Moore (in the time between his roles as The Saint and James Bond), as an unlikely duo with an amazing on-screen chemistry as Danny Wilde, a self-made millionaire who grew up on the mean streets of Brooklyn and Lord Brett Sinclair, an Oxford-educated English nobleman, who together solve cases of murder and international intrigue while exchanging comparative witticisms on the relative merits of British and American culture with early '70s style and panache. To me, this is the most fun of the four series. This collection includes the first 13 episodes of the show. I'm now considering ordering set 2 of 'The Persuaders', which includes the remaining 11 episodes. Ironically, that four-disc collection will cost me more than the 14-disc 'The Spy Collection'.

'The Champions' (4 DVDs)--The story of three secret agents whose airplane crashes somewhere in the Himalayas and are imbued with superhuman strength, heightened senses, and the ability to sense each others' thoughts. Although the premise is intriguing, the execution is somewhat lame. The writing is all too predictable and the characters just aren't terribly compelling. Nonetheless, the series is mildly entertaining for what it is.

'The Protectors' (4 DVDs)--The series centers around an international trio of detectives who jet set around Europe, solving messy cases. The show stars Robert Vaughn, who is better known for his role in 'The Man from UNCLE' and Tony Anholt, who played Tony Verdesci in the abysmal second season of 'Space: 1999'. The plots seem largely derived from the formula Patrick McGoohan perfected in 'Danger Man' and deliver a result that is equally entertaining and forgettable.

While 'The Spy Collection' is not without its faults, it still represents an outstanding entertainment value, especially given that new and used copies can easily be had for less than a dollar a disc, including shipping.

Here is one of the dumbest boxed sets I've seen in ages. It contains pieces of four UK spy shows -- The Persuaders!, which starred Tony Curtis and Roger Moore; The Champions, which is vaguely sci-fi-ish; The Protectors, with Robert Vaughn; and The Prisoner, one of the most wonderfully odd TV shows ever made. You do get the premiere episode of each series but there the logic ends. You get three episodes of The Prisoner when of course anyone who loves the show will want them all, about half of the episodes of The Persuaders!, maybe a quarter of the 52 episodes of The Protectors and half of The Champions 30 episodes. Does that make any sense whatsoever? If someone actually knows and loves these shows, naturally they'd want them all. And three episodes of the widely available The Prisoner? Absurd, especially when no one could possibly enjoy just three episodes of such an intricate puzzle. If they'd given you a complete set of the three other series, bundled them together to make these little known shows more appealing and offered a very cheap price, it would have been nice. But this is neither fish nor fowl and won't satisfy anyone. Visit me at [...]