Search - The Spy Collection Megaset (The Prisoner / The Persuaders / The Champions / The Protectors) on DVD

What's Inside the Box?

Richard Ball | Charlottetown, PEI | 11/11/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Spy collection

Patrick J. Faeser | 05/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!"

Even SMERSH wouldn't have dreamt up something this frustrati

Michael Giltz | 06/20/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"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 michaelgiltz dot com."