The Saint is a character created by author Leslie Charteris in the 1920's.  The star of a long series of books, Charteris' hero has also been the subject of a series of Hollywood films in the 1940's (not to mention a recent film staring Val Kilmer...the less said about that the better), and a radio series staring Vincent Price in the late 40's and early 50's, and even a newspaper comic strip, among many other incarnations.  The Saint is probalby most widely remembered though through the British television series staring Roger Moore that aired for six seasons starting in 1962.  A & E started releasing this series on DVD putting out the first color episodes first.  Now that those have all been released, they are going back and releasing the earlier black and white episodes starting with this first season.

Simon Templar is a regal and suave figure, perfectly played by Roger Moore.  He dresses well, is charming to talk to, and looks at home driving his bright white Volvo P1800.  He also has a strong sense of justice, and is willing to get involved in a dangerous situation in order to help out someone less fortunate than himself.  More often than not a gorgeous woman.  That willingness to help, along with his initials, have given him his nickname:  The Saint.   Templar doesn't use fancy gadgets and devices like James Bond, he gets out of tough predicaments using his wits.  He is never flustered, no matter how dire the situation seems he never loses his cool.

The Saint often goes into action when the police's hands are tied.  He isn't above bending the rules, or even breaking them, in order to bring a crook to justice.  His calling card is a stick figure of a man wearing a halo, an image that would confound and scare the criminals while putting a smile on viewers faces.

I was a little disappointed that the first episodes in this season didn't include some background on Simon, explaining just who he was and how he became known as The Saint.  This lack of explanation does make him more mysterious though.

When watching these shows today, they are a little bit dated.  The stories unfold is a fairly predicable manner, something that probably wasn't the case in 1962.  More often than not I was able to see what Templar was going to do early on in the show, but that didn't ruin that show.  The actual journey to the end of the show was half of the fun.

This three disc set contains all twelve hour long episodes from the first season. The shows are:

The Talented Husband
The Latin Touch
The Careful Terrorist
The Covetous Headsman
The Loaded Tourist
The Pearls of Peace
The Arrow of God
The Element of Doubt
The Effete Angler
The Golden Journey
The Man Who Was Lucky
The Charitable Countess

Audio:

The two channel mono mix was not very good.  There was a fair amount of distortion in the soundtrack, with loud noises sounding muddled and some dialog cracking.  Some episodes were better than others, but overall the quality was below average.  There was also a low background hiss present, which is to be expected for a show of this age.  There are no subtitles.

Video:

The full frame black and white image looked very good, especially considering the age of the show.  The picture is sharp with a very good amount to detail and contrast.  There were some infrequent defects, the occasional scratch and some spots on the print, but these were minor.  Digital defects were nearly nonexistent, and edge enhancement wasn't present.  A fine looking set of shows.

Extras:

There are only a few extras, all inclulded on the third disc.  There is a text biography and filmography of Roger Moore as well as a text History of the Saint.  The only other bonus feature is a photo gallery of stills from the series.  

Final Thoughts:

After watching this series, it is easy to see why Roger Moore was offered the role of James Bond when Sean Connery left the franchise.  Moore's Saint has all the class and upper-class demeanor of James Bond, with an unflappable demeanor that makes the show a lot of fun.  Though the program is a little dated by today's standards, fans of mystery/action shows will still enjoy it.  Recommended.