In late Summer 1995, the BBC brough the Saint back to radio in a series of three radio plays starring Paul Rhys as Simon Templar: The Saint.<\/p>\n
The first two of these plays are collected in a single audio release, \u201cThe Saint Overboard\u201d and \u201cThe Saint Plays With Fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Saint Overboard\u201d has the Saint teaming up with a female insurance investigator who is trying to catch the culprit behind the looting of sunken vessels. She has a suspect but has to find out where he\u2019s hidden the loot.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Saint Plays with Fire\u201d on the surface level is about an arson and murder investigation but it has strong political overtones in a story that was originally written right before the outbreak of World War II.<\/p>\n
Of the two, \u201cThe Saint Overboard\u201d is the weaker story. It\u2019s not a bad tale, but it does drag a bit in the middle and some of the side characters were a little tedious. The Saint also plays much more of an anti-hero in the story.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Saint Plays With a Fire\u201d is a much more solid play. It\u2019s a good mystery and the pre-war setting is pretty intriguing.<\/p>\n
Overall, Paul Rhys is decent as the Saint. He\u2019s definitely not going to make anyone forget George Sanders, Roger Moore, or Vincent Price, but he does a good job. He\u2019s certainly not Val Kilmer and he\u2019s a cut above Hugh Sinclair who replaced Sanders as the on-screen Saint in the 1940s.<\/p>\n
The rest of the cast turns in exactly the type of solid performance you\u2019d expect from the BBC. While it\u2019s not a must-hear for fans of Leslie Charteris\u2019 most famous creation, it\u2019s still a well-done adaptation.<\/p>\n
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.0<\/p>\n