Search - The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, Vol. 1 on DVD

Sir Lancelot comes to the small screen

Robert Huggins | Suburban Philadelphia, PA United States | 05/21/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The latter half of the 1950s and early 1960s saw numerous historical costume adventure series produced in England for export to the United States. In the wake of the very successful "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (CBS, 1955-58), the same production company, Sapphire Films, began production on two new series for the 1956-57 television season, The Buccaneers: The Complete Series for CBS and "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" for NBC. "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" starred William Russell (later of "Dr. Who" fame) and was similar in structure to the "Robin Hood" series in that both shows' heroes attempted to right the wrongs of their respective times. The two shows, along with "The Buccaneers" shared many of the same writers, directors and production crews. While these shows were originally made for a juvenile audience, they can be easily enjoyed by adults thanks to good writing and acting. In fact, many of the scripts came from black-listed Hollywood writers using aliases, and viewers will see numerous social justice themes throughout these series. Although a highly entertaining show, "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" only lasted a single season, the victim of poor ratings against "Make Room for Daddy" on ABC and "The Burns & Allen Show" on CBS.

"The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" has had an official release of the entire series in England, but there has never been an official release of the series in the U.S. Instead, there have been several releases of episodes that have, presumably, fallen into the public domain. The largest collection of episodes of "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" has appeared on Classic Adventurers (3pc) (Dol); ten of the series' 30 episodes are available on that collection. This DVD release from Alpha Video replicates the same four episodes that were previously released on another The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, Vol. 1 DVD from Critics Choice Video in 2006. Two of the episodes ("The Ruby of Radnor" and "The Lady Lilith") were originally filmed in color but, unfortunately, are presented on this, and all other U.S. releases, in their black & white versions. While well-worn syndication prints are used for this and the other U.S. releases, the episodes are watchable. The major reason for obtaining this DVD (or the Critics Choice disc) is the inclusion of the fourth episode of the series, "The Outcast." This episode features the future star of "Danger Man" a/k/a "Secret Agent" and "The Prisoner," Patrick McGoohan, in one of his earliest television appearances as the villainous Sir Glavin.

Despite the use of syndication prints, "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" holds up nicely. The black & white prints and low budget will probably turn off many modern day viewers, but fans of classic television programming from this era will find much to enjoy in these episodes. But you really won't need to buy this DVD if you already own the previous disc from Critics Choice.
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Young Lancelot defends the kingdom

George Fergus | Chicago, IL USA | 09/23/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"These are episodes of the 1956 TV series about young Lancelot's arrival at Camelot and his subsequent efforts to defend of the members of the court of King Arthur from enemies without and within. The four black & white episodes are "Ferocious Fathers," "The Outcast," "The Ruby of Radnor" and "The Lady Lilith." Although this is labeled Volume 1, Critics' Choice has not released a second volume."