The Saint: The Brazilian Connection

A decade after the Ian Ogilvy version, 'The Saint' was back on our screens, this time played by Simon Dutton. We were promised a tougher, grittier take on the character, but the series failed to deliver. Dutton was handsome but lacked the charm required for the role. Once again, there was expensive location filming, but with no noticeable benefit. The old Moore episodes were more entertaining even though they rarely strayed beyond Elstree. This 'Saint' resembled those cheap Continental Bond knock-offs of the '60's. The decision to upgrade the show from one hour to two hour episodes proved disastrous. 'The Saint' isn't 'Inspector Morse'. It also suffered from the absence of writer John Kruse. 'The Software Murders' was the best episode by far, one wonders why it wasn't used to open the series. After the second episode - the atrocious 'Blue Dulac' - went out, L.W.T. yanked 'The Saint' from its prime-time Saturday evening slot, and the rest went out the following summer to nobody's great pleasure.