John Buss – författare

The Saint is a classic that continues to be reinvented for each generation. Simon Templer is the Saint, a modern-day Robin Hood, or Raffles – a gentleman debonair charmer, not entirely honest but always morally on the side of good. Originally created in the 1920s by Leslie Charteris, for many it is Roger Moore who will always be the Saint, having been perfectly cast in the role in the 1960s ITC series. Moore brought a knowing charm to the role, a likeable rogue, unlike the aloof far more egotistical Saint of the literary incarnation. The Saint worked outside the law, often putting him at odds with local law enforcement agencies and in particular Inspector Teal of Scotland Yard. This continued when Ian Ogilvy took over the role in the seventies Return of the Saint series.Displaying a treasure trove of superb merchandise that will make the memories come rushing back, John Buss looks at the story behind the collectibles produced in relation to this iconic figure in pop culture.

Danger Man is possibly the show that started the whole sixties spy craze, first appearing a full two years before the first James Bond movie hit the big screen. The show’s hero was John Drake, an agent for NATO’s secret service played by Patrick McGoohan. While immensely popular around Europe the series may well have ended after its first series, if were not for the success of the Bond movies. The show was resurrected and extended to hour-long episodes, and subtlety altered to reflect a more Bondish style. The show was a worldwide hit and McGoohan became an international star, going on to create and star in The Prisoner, possibly one of the most talked about and discussed TV series ever created. Are the two series connected? Was Drake number 6? Many things would suggest both. These series truly define Cult TV.John Buss takes the reader through the collectible items related to these iconic TV shows.

From the mid-1950s through to the late 1970s Sir Lew Grade’s company ITC (Incorporated Television Company) were quite possibly the most dominant force in British television. The earliest series from this new company were predominantly swashbucklers or, more accurately, historical action adventure shows. The Adventures of Robin Hood was the first of these shows, proving to be extremely successful both in the UK and USA.It was soon followed by other shows of the same ilk. ITV channels in the UK quickly becoming dominated by not only Robin Hood, but other ITC programs including The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, William Tell, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel, The Buccaneers, Sword of Freedom and the last of ITC’s swashbucklers, Sir Francis Drake.

It is now over four decades since the famed archaeologist and explorer Indiana Jones first appeared on our screens in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The creation of George Lucas, it borrowed heavily from the Saturday morning cinema serials of the 1930s and 1940s. Although not quite as prolific as Lucas’s ‘Star Wars’ franchise, Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels spawned a whole range of merchandise.This book brings together a large selection of the multitude of products that have been created as a result of the adventures of Indiana Jones.

What is the appeal to Irwin Allen’s shows? Well, to a sixties TV audience used to a diet of westerns and hard-boiled detectives, they were new and exciting compared to what had appeared before. As for the appeal, much of this is down to the groups of diverse characters within each series. The sense of family within Lost in Space was carried through into Land of the Giants, with the passengers of the doomed transatlantic flight. Irwin Allen’s shows soon became a dominant force in TV science fiction throughout the decade. It started with Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea in 1964, which was soon followed by his best-known series Lost in Space, before moving on to The Time Tunnel and his final 1960s series, Land of the Giants, which ran between 1968 and 1970.Each of these series spawned huge swathes of merchandise, much of which is covered in this book.