The Champions: The Complete Series [DVD]

Now some people think its odd how a show that was made at the end of the 60s and aired from 1968 through the early 70s could appeal to someone not born until the early 80s. It was my mother who brought this show to my attention, when it was repeated on BBC 2 on a Friday evening at 6 o'clock during the early 90s. After viewing the first episodes I was hooked.
This series was from the same genre as Man from U.N.C.L.E, Randall & Hopkirk Deceased and also came around the same time as all the Gerry Anderson productions such as Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet. All shows that appealed to me as a child.
This series was my favourite though as it had that little something extra. The show focused on three secret agents of the organisation Nemisis, who during a mission to recover a biological agent, during their escape their plane crashes in the Himalayas. Doomed to die up there on the mountains, when all seems lost, a lost civilisation of Tibetan Monks save their lives and are also given special powers such as super strength, speed, agility, telepathy and ESP. The three agents head back to the world where they can use their new powers in fight against villains intent on destruction, drug-smuggling, espionage and kidnapping.
The characters themselves were very interesting, Craig Sterling (Stuart Damon) was the American of the group, very slick and certainly James Bond-ish, the ladies man of the group. Richard Barrett (William Gaunt) was the English opposite of Sterling, very calm, relaxed, calculating and very dry in personality and humour. Sharron Macready (Alexandra Bastedo) was the female of the group, trained in a variety of fields and having the beauty to match her powers that set her high above any other female agent character in any other show. The only flaw is that the amount of time certain characters get on screen is a little biased, Sharron doesn't have too many staring roles, the stories tend to favour Craig and Richard, which is a shame because as a male I'd have rather watched Sharron in secret agent action more often. Especially considering she has tricks up her sleeves in the fight against crime that Craig and Richard don't have, like her ability to hypnotise people.
This show is certainly good fun to watch and lacks any amazing special effects which tended to distract from the story. When ever one of the characters uses their special powers, it's all done by physical means, which in places makes it look funny, rocks can be seen to be made out of polystyrene and doors made out of cardboard for example, but I like that over CGI ladened modern day counterparts.
This boxset is great giving us all 30 Episodes of the show, spread over 8 DVDs. It does lack extras but then again who'd have imagined the show would be released on DVD when it was made 30 years ago. The extras consists of Character Biographies, Trailers and Stills Galleries. The lack of extras can be forgiven for the 30+ hours of actual episodes. So I would certainly recommend this to anyone who likes this sort of show, other people less familiar I would recommend it anyway, after you've seen a couple of episodes you'll like this show as well.

If you loved The Champions first time around, you'll love it all over again. I was mad about Stuart Damon when at primary school and I've enjoyed the fantasy once again in my early forties. I can still remember the rush of excitement when I tripped home from school all set to watch The Champions. Looking back at the 'Thunderbirds' technology and the very wooden Tremayne, I can't believe how they got away with it, but it's simply great. My whole family have laughed along the way but have thoroughly enjoyed the ride. This is a must buy and worth every penny at this bargain price. The box set is very nicely put together and the colours are as sharp as anything on TV today. Well done to Carlton for releasing the complete 30 episodes in this giant box set. All I want now is to get the fantastic theme tune to install as my mobile ringtone. Take a nostalgic trip back 30 years and enjoy this excellent stuff!

I never saw this series when it originally aired in the 60s. I ended up watching it on the recomendation of a friend. I'm glad now that I did follow that advice.

This is a spy/detective drama with a SciFi edge to it. When 3 NEMISES agents crash in Himalayas and almost die they are healed by a mysterious people and given enhanced "natural" human abilities that they are warned to keep secret when they get home.

The series is a spy/detective drama that takes place all over europe and the UK. The "superpowers" of the agents help with their cases, but only equally as much as their natural investigative skills which they posessed before their "enhancement".

The "superpower" special effects are subtle and the plots at least as intelligent as anything you'll see in TV today. The show is somewhat dated by its fashions and technology and the limits of TV special effects at the time, but it otherwise still very enjoyable and worth watching even today. Especially if you like shows with a SciFi tinge to them.