The Saint - House At Dragons Rock (1968)
Simon Templar finds himself on a trip to terror, in Wales (LOL!) & arguably, his most deadly adventure to date! Whilst enjoying the hills & valleys that produced Tom Jones. In a lovely country pub, he is immediately greeted by paranoid village folk. It would seem that a lot of poor horses & cattle have been found dead, mutilated by some unknown creature (not Aliens?). To add to the hysteria, a local turns up in shock, so much so that he has lost the ability to speak of what he witnessed in those foggy moors! It turns out that there's an unwelcome scientist, among the villagers, in a creepy, isolated house, (yes, that sort of cliché thing). What transpires, is an experiment so deadly that it could threaten the entire Human race!
The Saint is a show about a freelance do-gooder who tackles baddies in all shapes & sizes. Mostly the James Bond type villains. But in the end, he's a down to, salt of the Earth type, you could happily, & safely introduce to your grand-mother. So nothing like James Bond!
This episode is of the "Now, for something completely different!" type. Pure Science-Fiction & wow, does it demonstrates that fact! Dr Sardon is a megalomaniac of "Davros"-like proportions. This unique episode is crammed to the brim with atmosphere. The understandably worried villagers, that the mad scientist dismisses as superstitious, simple yokels, appear hostile to Simon Templar (minus a little girl) at first. & a young woman called Carmen (Annette Andre) who works at the mysterious laboratory, is practically barred. Simons' chivalry rescues her, at the pub from the 'antsy' (so sue me!) locals, even though she was concerned for the welfare of the villager who was in shock from what he witnessed. & am I the only one to notice Dr Sardon refer himself as Dr Frankenstein, allegedly called so, by the locals he's barely met?!
Not only has Sardon created the first, a Queen as it were, (yes, I'm trying to sound like the 4th Doctor!) race of giant ants complete with eggs in wait, for hatching. looking at you, Ridley Scott! But, he's so over-zealous about his creations that he's even willing to kill his fellow scientist who has moralistic reasons for not wanting the experiment to continue! Think about the strength & ability of your average ant. Even at their size, at those areas of the World where they are a menace. They swarm as a collective, devouring everything in sight! Even the most hostile of creatures (including Humans!) get the heck out of their way or get consumed. Now imagine that scenario if your average ant was as big as a house(?!) Of course that ethical debate comes up via Sardon. We Humans haven't exactly been very kosha with this Earth. Still Simon must commit genocide to protect Humanity from extinction! I should probably watch more of Sir David Attenborough's brilliant documentaries.
I'm not going out of my way to type this as my favourite episode, along with The Convenient Monster & Death Games. It's unique narrative is obvious! I can only imagine what children must have thought at the time of this one, for me it's spellbinding! The effects of the monster are fab for the era in spite of what what Roger Moore thought! Speaking of which, Roger Moore shows his all as an actor. As 007, he came across as ruthless & cold. Necessary attributes for a secret agent who has to think like the ruthless foes he goes up against to save the World. Here, however, The Saint lives up to his nickname, he's practically a pacifist beyond having to exterminate a deadly monster! He cares about your average joe on the street even sympathising with "The Master". The late Roger Delgado who was tragically killed in an accident on June 18th, 1973. He was playing a South American policeman, whose hands are tied to stop a powerful Nazi war criminal in Locate & Destroy.
Seriously, I really love this episode with deep affection. ( I did make my appreciation clear?) Like the occasional Avengers episode, this swings in the B-movie, Sci-fi direction for us, & does so with such technique! Thank you, Roger Moore, for adding the Sci-Fi monster motive into The Saint!
Stay Safe, & don't let the bed bugs bite!
Borgduck,
Stewart,
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