User reviews

This is a suprisingly good series. The basic story is that three people crash in the Himalayas and are rescued by monks and taught mystical powers. They then return to civilisation and become sort of special agents, using their powers for good.

It sounds cheesy, but it is actually good fun. The special powers are understated - exceptional hearing, healing and telepathy are among them and whilst playing a key role in the shows, are by no means the central aspect which the series revolves around (unlike later series such as the Hulk etc.)

If you can get to see this series, it'll pleasantly surprise you.

I don't know what was the more "out-there" ITC fantasy series from the late 60's, this or the equally wonderful "Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)". I think I'll call it a draw and a high-scoring one at that.

As a child of 8, I slavishly watched this series on first release so my warm memories of it are very strong and long-lasting, completely over-powering my critical faculties screaming how improbable and incredulous the concept and plot-lines were.

The three actors in the lead roles gelled together so well, Stuart Damon, the handsome, smooth-talking athletic American, Richard Gaunt the more grounded, thoughtful Britisher second wheel while Alexandra Bastedo provided the glamour and feminine wiles, triggering a major crush in my boyhood self.

The trio's special powers weren't so all-powerful as to make them immune from danger (unlike say Steve Austin's in the next decade) and they invariably relied on teamwork to get the job done, usually to the consternation of their permanently flummoxed boss Anthony Nicholls.

Looking back, I just feel so pleased that I started watching TV as a boy when adventure series like this were airing, including "The Avengers","Mission Impossible", "Department S" and others too numerous to mention. How lucky for us nostalgia-freaks that they are almost all readily available again on DVD or streaming channels.

My siblings and I stumbled upon The Champions when our local station aired re-runs of it one summer in the 1970's. We absolutely adored it. There was something so exotic and mysterious about it, especially when compared to the usual American re-runs (Petticoat Junction, Green Acres... you get the idea). It had a similar feel to The Avengers (not too much of a surprise, since it was also British and in the spy/adventure genre).

I would love to see it again now -- hopefully it holds up. I've mentioned this show to others and no one has ever heard of it, so I began to wonder if I'd imagined its whole existence. But the wonder that is the web has allowed me track down information about it. Hopefully it will find a new generation of fans.

I was 10 years old when this show was on TV. By far it was my favorite. The actors were very credible. Alexandra Bastedo was just gorgeous.... I just order the DVD (15 episodes). They didn't have super-powers. They just had superior human skills (strength, hearing, sight). The 3 actors were very good in their rolls, very believable. There was a good story in each episode. At the time, there were no special effects or explosions everywhere, so the script was suppose to be good, and the characters performs were great. There was no fancy stuff, like in other shows. They didn't try to make a joke every 2 minutes to make a light show. I highly recommend this TV show to anybody that like good stuff.

Three secret agents crash their plane in Tibet, but are saved by the people of a lost civilisation who endow them with the powers of super humans.

Fun fantasy series which has had some good actors and directors working on it including John Gilling (THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES, THE REPTILE for Hammer), veteran cinematographer-director Freddie Francis (who won an Oscar for SONS AND LOVERS) and Cyril Frankel who worked on just about every cult British TV show from that era. On the acting side John Carson and Gerald Harper have made guest appearances. It was the skills of all the people involved, not forgetting Stuart Damon, Alexandra Bastedo and William Gaunt who made nonsensical material credible to watch.

This show has been re-run on BBC 2 in the mid-1990's and several of the episodes are out on video and DVD.

You can tell by the Buddhist overtones in the first 2 episodes that Dennis Spooner was involved here. The Champions, or what I've seen of the series (6 episodes), is yet another in the long line of 60s-70s spy shows from Great Britain. But the marked difference here is the special abilities given to each of the main characters.

They all have unusual, superhuman powers which aid them in their crime-busting. It's a bit cheesy at times, but whatever gets the job done...

I know that The Champions are virtually unheard of in my native country, but the videos are commercially available in the UK. If you're fond of obscure technicolor british action-adventure, then you can't miss The Champions.

The only problem I have with the series so far: Why do so many British shows have American actors at the helm?

The 1960s were a time of secret agent series such as The Avengers (1961) or The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) (which has a tone similar to this one), but also of sitcoms involving supernatural powers in ordinary daily life, such as Bewitched (1964) or I Dream of Jeannie (1965). This British series produced for private television combines the two ideas by equipping three secret agents of Geneva-based UN organization NEMESIS with superhuman powers which they must hide even from their organization. Although not among the very best and never too original beyond the basic premise, this is a solid entry in the genre.

In the first episode, Richard Barrett, Sharron Macready and Craig Stirling crash land in the Himalayas, where they mysteriously acquire their superpowers. No doubt it is no accident that similar to James Hilton's novel "Lost Horizon" and the film based on it (Lost Horizon (1937)), this happens while they are fleeing from China. The mysterious culture they meet, which may consist of aliens or of a secret parallel civilization, must be identical with the famous Shangri-La.

There is tendency for the plots to involve submarines and/or nuclear bombs, but apart from that they are as diverse as one would hope. After a typical assignment our three heroes return to Geneva where they make a detailed report to Tremayne, the head of NEMESIS. As a running gag, Tremayne gets frustrated because the report implies some superhuman power that they cannot convincingly explain.

Only one season of 30 episodes was produced. The series was essentially followed by My Partner the Ghost (1969), a detective series with a similar cross-over concept and a slightly more humorous tone. Episode 25 is very weak. I think the last 5 episodes contain some allusions to earlier The Avengers and The Man from UNCLE, fleshing NEMESIS out a bit more.

What a fantastic show! It's not perfect, but I enjoyed almost every single episode. The set-up: The Champions tells the story of Richard Barrett, Craig Stirling, and Sharron Macready. They are agents for an organization dedicated to law, order, and justice known as Nemesis. During a mission to China, their plane crashed in the mountains of Tibet. They were rescued by a secret civilization, nursed back to health, and given superpowers to use in their work with Nemesis. They keep their powers secret so they can best us them as they see fit.

The Champions stars William Gaunt, Stuart Damon, and Alexandra Bastedo as Richard, Craig, and Sharon. It's a strong core cast. Each of the three main actors brings something different to the show. They are joined by Anthony Nicholls as Tremayne, head of Nemesis. Each week, a new supporting cast was featured that included some very capable actors. Overall, the cast is a real plus to the show.

Next, the writing and directing are also responsible for making The Champions what it was. While I tend to favor the episodes written by Tony Williamson, there were a lot of talented people writing for the show. As for directors, The Champions employed some of my favorite directors working in England at the time. Names like Freddie Francis, Roy Ward Baker, John Giling, and Don Sharp popped up in the credits each week. It's a talented line-up.

As far as episodes go, I definitely have favorites. My top 5 would include: Project Zero (my absolute favorite), Shadow of the Panther, Nutcracker, The Dark Island, and Happening. It was hard picking just 5 as I rated 12 episodes an 8 or higher. Unfortunately, there were episodes that didn't quite measure up. The Iron Man, Reply Box 666, Twelve Hours, Full Circle, and The Interrogation didn't do it for me. i realize the last pick might be controversial as there are many fans of that particular episode.

While I really enjoy The Champions, it's not perfect. I have three complaints worth writing about. First, the unequal screen time given to the three main characters. As I wrote in a couple of episode reviews, Sharon too often has little to do other than play the damsel in distress. More Sharon would have been a good thing. Second, there are several instances in The Champions where their super powers are put in check for the sake of the plot. For example, in Full Circle, Richard gets destroyed by three attackers who he should have easily tossed aside. Third, even after 30 episodes, Richard, Craig, and Sharon still feel like 2-D characters. We learn almost nothing about them beyond their roles at Nemesis. They never seem like real people. Still, these quibbles are minor when compared to my overall enjoyment of The Champions.

I suppose that if I had to list one more issue I have The Champions it is that it ended after one season. I would have loved more.

Well, What can I say, other than these people are Super in every way. I quite like Sharon Mcreedy, I enjoy this pure Nostalgic Series And I have the boxed set of 9 discs 30 episodes, I did not realise that they had made so many, I also think that it is a great shame, that they have not made any more. I wish that I got given these powers, Imagine me, being knocked off my cycle, somewhere and being knocked out cold, then waking up in a special hospital. Later on, I discover that my body has been enhanced. Just like Richard Barrat. These stories are 50 Minutes of pure action and suspense all the way, You cannot fight these 3 people, as they would defeat you in all forms of weaponry. The music is well written, and to me, puts a wonderful picture of 3 super beings in my mind, The sort of powers that the champions have are the same as our domestic dog or cats, Improved sight, Improved hearing and touch. and the strength of 10 men for Richard and Craig and the strength of 3 women for Sharon. Who I thought was beautiful and intelligent. When I was a boy, I had a huge crush on her!!!! Now I can see why, on my DVD set. The box is very nice and it comes with a free booklet all about the series. I also thought that Trymane was a good boss, firm but he got things done!

The idea behind "The Champions," is certainly an interesting one and should have made for a classic series. Having regular characters who are imbued with special powers is a pretty good gimmick. Sadly what we are left with, is a show where the final results are weakened by the following. The three leads are about as dull as they come. There is ZERO chemistry between them and they don't seem very enthusiastic about giving even a digestible performance. Having an American in the cast didn't make any difference either. The other problem I find, is that some of the episodes are poorly written. Some are rubbish because they don't make much sense and others are just drawn out by relying upon thinly written material. The title music is actually better than I expected and Anthony Nicholls is well cast as the boss. The opening episode was OK and there are about 7 others that I can tolerate. How on earth this series lasted 30 episodes, I shall never know! 12 of them would have been more than enough.

Oh, the 60's were a great era for all genres from action to sci-fi to comedy. Will we ever reclaim those days?

The Champions was an outstanding fantasy show about three agents who worked for Nemesis, an international agency. In the pilot episode they were given powers by a mysterious monk. They had powers of telepathy, super strength and other powers.

As for the adventures themselves, the Champions battled villains who were threatening no less than the world itself. The Champions were a bit too powerful at times but it was still fun seeing them beat the bad guys. And for a male like myself, it was fun to see the beautiful Alexandra Bastedo kicking butt.

The Champions was one of many great 60's shows.

I like The Saint but they made far too many episodes and a lot of the episodes were poor I think.

I first saw the Champions as a kid. Imagine the scene,Scotland early 1970s,school summer holidays and it always seems to be raining. Daytime tv was only on for a few hours I think. School holidays meant they showed old series like this. I could never get interested in Belle and Sebastian or White Horses but I like The Champions and Time Tunnel and things like that.

I suppose The Saint and Man In A Suitcase were for adults but The Champions was regarded as a kids show.

Anyway looking again at this series I am struck by how the plots are pretty good and the acting is pretty good. The plot idea (superpowers for ordinary people) is good. The plots meant that the series needed a bigger budget and different locations than the London based ITC series you might be used to.

One of my favourite series as a kid. First ever crush was Alexander Bastedo. She was utterly beautiful! I can still hear the title music and the fountain in the background at the beginning.. Rally brings my childhood back to the present moment. Wonderful.

I am of the age where I watched the original series although I didn't really understand it I still found it enjoyable. Now it is back on Talking Pictures TV and I'm loving it. It's old time TV at it's best, cheesy perhaps, but, oh so enjoyable unlike most modern TV dramas these days. The three agents gain enhanced senses and strengths from a hidden Tibetan society after their plane crashes while on a mission to China, not superpowers as many have said in other reviews. They are clean cut and glamourous and immensely watchable. Just plain good old fashioned fun. However, many younger viewers may find it naive and even offensive at times, although it absolutely isn't.

Talking Pictures TV has done it again, yet another wonderful series from the 1950's, 60s and 70s to remind us what TV was about, entertainment. No messages, political correctness or colour casting. It was what it was and I wish they made more programmes like these ones, no graphic sex, bad language or over the top violence.. lovely.

Three agents with superhuman physical and mental abilities fight crime for a Swiss intelligence organization known as Nemesis in this British series. They acquired their powers from a lost race in no telekinesis the mountains of Tibet following a plane crash.

I was first brought to my attention of this superb slice of spy sci-fi back in1985 when shown on Saturday morning on ITV, and I was hooked. It certainly wasn't your run of mill agent story from ITC; three of the heroes, who work for Nemesis, have superpowers ( the first episode is an origin story), ranging from super strength, mind reading and telekinesis- and each have their own distinct personality: Craig Stirling ( well played by Stuart Damon) is a cold and rather aloof, tough guy with wise cracks, William Gaunt is an intelligent but wise person, and Alexander Bastedo is a smart and quite sensible hottie. The three of them carry themselves with ease, gusto and style. Their chemistry is a part of the winning formula.

The episodes are fast-paced, sprinkled with thought-provoking ideas, action-packed, great locations ( though it's all studio-laden locations), and plenty of clifffhanger moments. I like most of the episodes, even the lesser or routine ones are bolstered by the charismatic leads who seem to care for each other. The title soundtrack is infectious. Definitely a brilliant action-escapist extravaganza.

I remembered this fondly from my younger days and have looked for it to be repeated somewhere but had not found it. Now that a streaming service offered it I subscribed and watched the first 11 episodes.

It surprised me how cheaply the production was done. Each show highlighted somewhere in the world where the action was to take place but it was clear nothing was ever shot outside England. Instead they used stock footage of other places in the world and then created very cheap sets to do the filming.

The idea of them having special powers was watered down a lot. About all the episodes I watched made a point of how they could sense what was happening to each other (you always heard ethereal music) but many showcased little else. All three supposedly had great strength but if the script needed one of them to be overcome it suddenly vanished.

The stereotyping of cultures was a hoot! In one episode in Australia you saw members of the Australian army all wear bush hats INSIDE a control room just to remind us where they are. Chinese actors seemed to always wear coolie clothes and the Russian bad guys chewed up the scenery.

The stories barely held together without much regard for believability. I stopped after 11 episodes.

Still a great memory.

When I was six yo, I learned about a series called "Los Campeones", and even if I was just a kid I did everything I need to convince my parents to let me watch "The Champions" and "the Avengers" once every week. I think that was the Golden Age of English series... (I already own the complete cycle of "The Prisoner"!) but lasted also a few years later with "The Tomorrow People", "the Worst Witch" (I just me, or this is "Harry Potter" in girl, of course, before As much as I want "The Campions" to be in Zone 1 or Zone 4, I'm also waiting for "Dr. Who" (pack the whole series in a set of, uhm, maybe 300 DVD's, please, I couldn't expend more for it, 8), "People of Tomorrow", and several other 'low budget', but great stories to be available within my reached zones. I speak and understand English, but not all my relatives do, including my parents, whom introduced me into these great stories... I hope someday, someone could feel the attraction of these series and then could sell them as I originally view them... Dubbed or subtitled, but in the same format I saw them. Remember, Zone 1 or 4 are OK with my TV set!

So many series in the 70's 80's and we early 90's that today is likely would not be seen, this is a great little series, great nostalgia and still very watchable.

Another classic slightly fantastical series with a super premise,enhanced humans putting the world to rights every week,one baddie at a time. I was very young when I got into this but I remember being aware of the almost unearthly beauty and handsomeness of the 3 Cast members,Alexandra Bastedo,surely one of the most beautiful ladies ever to appear on Screen,(..although in later rewatchs,it was clear that the Showmakers did not give her too much to do,apart from looking absolutely gorgeous..),Almost impossibly handsome Stuart Damon as the main muscle,(...I read somewhere that he was nearly Roger Moore's Oppo in 'The Persuaders' but wasn't judged quite famous enough,so T Curtis got the gig. Bizarrely,I remember him appearing on 'The Wheeltappers and Shunters Club'.... I wondered if I'd dreamt it but it's on YouTube so I definitely didn't...he sang 2 songs,I think,'Mac the Knife' & 'Yellow Rose of Texas'.... Bizarre!!...),and the campy William Gaunt who nevertheless was great in his role. This was the first series that I became aware of the actors in certain scenes casting multiple shadows,meaning they were on a set,not actually in a Jungle or a Desert and also the extensive use of stock footage from oodles of other films and series but that certainly did not detract from the enjoyment to be had from this super series. Classic theme tune as well.....

I want go over again what the premise of the show is about as it's been told over and over.

What I will say it's a hidden Gem of British Sci-Fi from the 60s. It has great lead actors and storylines that aren't too far fetched ( if you discount the lead actors powers. )

I've recently rediscovered it on ITV4 because although I watched it when it first came out I was little and only could remember it as if it was a dream.

Well the reality is as good as the dream.

Watch it you won't be disappointed.

I missed this first time round. JFK said on April 27th 1961 in the Waldorf Astoria he was aware then of a ruthless conspiracy he intended to unmask.

The CIA had previously begun Operation Often which tried to collect all the information on this sort of enhanced agent and covert agency. They had to field many organisations and techniques, much like this program. It turned up many organisations and concluded they were franchises for the over mind feared by JFK. I took early retirement after discovering the secret had been to inhibit by trauma (or historically by disinhibition aka shamanism of ancient lineage) and then manipulate anyone from leader, ruler to a eventually slave when economies became slave economies. Thus Slave Economies could flourish without rebellion. Nations of course under this rubric become slave economies and the website I compiled called monarchprogramming (dot) com has to suffice in a world where everybody does not shake the bough upon which their jewels might reside. I won this information in many ways over a lifetime, yet few follow the words to the ideas they represent. I am beachhutman (Tim Baber) where for the 15 years since retirement I have tweeted three contributions each day of the motifs that appear to work the best and are repeated the most for background sensitisation and offer ideas about how people are targetted. Hypnosis seems to be the central pillar upon which this carousel revolves and those skilled in the art, apart from Derren Brown in the UK, rarely get any attribution. The lack of information means that when an actor (Bernard Cribbins) career is mentioned o n his death, you suddenly realise an actor has been pivotal in so many productions ,competing for our inattention, passes almost unnoticed for hisw role. The program the Champions is another one of these...30 programmes in the Series, and surely the plot referencing the ethnocentric view a nation should be in control for all the right reasons, and as such. Our complicity is required, making the ethoc of the Championsd somewhat forgiving if counterfeit based om MK Ultra in its own tikmes, in the USA and the five eyes. Google my name Tim Baber with Mengele ( whom I met) and you will see the role of trauma, real;, reported or sublimated in this global game for survival of the fittest, from one who was permitted to seek any leaks and thus be a Useful not useless idiot?

That the media carry on with this carousel irrespective of the fear of exp[osure shows they are not in fear of any exposure. So I carry on, since in the survival of the fittest the happiest slaves seem to be being cultivated by my work, and thus the work of those who conceived this series and many others! I wonder if they were truly aware as you now may become?