alexanderdavies-99382 "Adam Adamant Lives" was something quite different from the BBC in attempting to be a more original television series. I became susceptible to this from the moment I first heard of this series. It is about the coming together of two completely different worlds and cultures - the former being the very early 1900s and the latter being the swinging 1960s. I found the opening episode to be ideal in setting up the regular cast and Gerald Harper in particular. The opening scene where Adamant has a confrontation with his arch nemesis before being frozen alive is very exciting and imaginative. He displays much vulnerability in his adjusting to what was then modern day England and plays his role very well. I can't understand why some episodes were shot on film and others on videotape but it is of little consequence. As with most programmes of this era, a number of episodes of "Adam Adamant Lives" are still missing from the archives (thanks a f****** bunch BBC!). However, the ones that do exist present a pretty good idea at how this series works. I find most of the instalments to be thoroughly enjoyable and I like the way that Adam Adamant brings his own set of Edwardian values into the modern day. Typically, the budget was pretty modest but it's the writing and the acting that matter.

Maddyclassicfilms Adam Adamant Lives! was created by Richard Harris and Donald Cotton. Dr Who producer Verity Lambert also produced this series.Edwardian adventurer Adam Adamant(Gerald Harper)is frozen in 1902 by his arch enemy. In 1960's London, he is found by workmen and revived.Aided by Georgina Jones (Juliet Harmer), Adam continues to fight criminals and tries to adjust to a much changed world. I love the scenes in the first episode where Adam ventures out into 1960's London, he is disorientated and overwhelmed, Harper and the camera and sound capture that so well.Harper is superb as Adamant, in this character and his performance you can find traces of John Steed and Simon Templar. He is so suave and classy, he can defend himself very well and you certainly don't want to get into a fight with him.I love the relationship between him and Georgina, scenes between them are my favourites in the series.I'm not really a fan of remakes, but I think a new series of this set today would work very well if done right.

screenman Gerald Harper reprises the role of earlier hero 'Captain Moonlight' as back-from-the-dead Adam Adamant.The Edwardian gentleman-hero is seduced by a femme-fatale and defeated by his arch enemy. Quite why this enemy plunges him into suspended animation instead of just drowning him in the Thames is one of those riddles that have dogged master criminals for decades. He is discovered in a block of ice during demolition work, and revived in the swinging sixties. Oh Lucky Man.During his recovery phase he falls in with a typical dolly-bird of the decade, and a reluctant (on his part) companionship develops. The decade may be swinging, but he's still a gentleman, so there's no hanky-panky takes place - bit like 'Dr Who' and his nubile assistants.Whereas Cpt Moonlight drove a BMW Isetta bubblecar and was targeted at a kids audience, Adamant drove a Mini Cooper and was aimed at adults. Both had capes and swordsticks, both sorted out the scumbags of their time.It was a fun idea that - like so much British TV - was so badly funded it creaked. Harper was good in his role, though a tad uncharismatic. We didn't discover much about his personality during the programs. The series descended into what all series do if they go on for long enough. Just 10 episodes would have left it as a stand-alone minor classic.Ain't seen it since the original screening, though I believe it's out on DVD. Don't expect too much and you may enjoy it.

peter-faizey Adam Adamant Lives! is very much a product of it's time. Produced by Verity Lambert (fresh from Doctor Who) and created by 'The Avengers' creator Sydney Newman, the show was made on a shoestring budget by the BBC on a disorientating mixture of film and videotape. With one episode being produced every week the production is understandably often shaky and rushed, but nonetheless some excellent material was produced during its short run between 1966-1967. The show's central protagonist is the wonderful Adam Adamant, a hero from Victorian times, who during an encounter with his mortal enemy 'The Face' is cryogenic-ally frozen and remains hidden in this frozen state for 64 years, eventually being re-discovered again in 1966. The casting is excellent, Gerald Harper gives a wonderful performance as Adam Adamant, a hero from the Victorian era, unaccustomed and often outraged by the starkly different society he has been thrown into. Harper plays the character as a pure gentlemen, a charmer to the ladies despite his naivety of modern times, and they often serve as a enticement towards danger for Adamant in the series! Juliet Harmer makes an excellent sidekick in the form of Georgina Jones, a young woman who is the epitome of 1960's Swinging Britain and the wonderful Jack May as the Butler Simms who always can be relied upon to add a touch of humour to the programme. The show is quite rightly a cult, it's premise is nothing less than inspired and certainly extremely memorable, earning the programme much following during its forty odd years existence. The opening episode 'A Vintage Year for Scoundrels' with a guest performance from the brilliant Freda Jackson is good fun and sets up the story nicely. Unfortunately the following episodes are generally quite poor, both 'More Deadly Than The Sword' and 'Allah Is Not Always With You' feature dreadful racial stereotypes which date the programme considerably. Thankfully the series improved as it went along with the excellent 'The Sweet Smell of Disaster' by Robert Banks Stewart, no doubt an influence for the classic Doctor Who story 'Terror of the Autons' and the Brian Clemens script 'The Terribly Happy Embalmers' which put the programme as close as it has ever been to 'The Avengers' territory, Clemens notably being a regular writer and later producer for 'The Avengers'. Many see Adam Adamant Lives! as a attempt to emulate the success of the aforementioned programme, and there are certainly many similarities. In terms of production values Adam Adamant Lives! could never really compete. As the programme stuck rigidly to the common practice of film and videotape production, 'The Avengers' had just premiered its fourth season with Diana Rigg's Emma Peel as the new sidekick and new glittering production values which included an extra week for production (every episode was recorded in two weeks) and with American backing behind them, 'The Avengers' team also had a lot more money behind them. Adam Adamant Lives! could never afford the slick style of 'The Avengers'. As a result of this the direction of the programme is quite often industry standard for the time, making it easily distinguishable from the polished direction of 'The Avengers' or any of the ITC action series it was competing against during its original run. However, there are some exceptions. The excellent Ridley Scott shows off some of his early talent in the only surviving episode he directed 'The League of Uncharitable Ladies' which comes complete with some slick location footage and freeze frames aplenty and the late Paul Ciappessoni also directed some memorable work, as did the excellent Moira Armstrong who helmed probably the finest existing episode 'Black Echo' an early episode from the second season with a guest appearance from legendary actress Gladys Cooper. The show ran for two seasons and 29 episodes before being cancelled in 1967 after it failed to continue with any considerable success. Verity Lambert would later consider the show as a bit of a failure and it's a shame that it was never given the chance to grow on audiences, and perhaps more importantly that it was never given a bigger budget. Certainly the 17 episodes that remain are a mixed bag of the brilliant, to the quirky to the downright awful. Other than the episodes already mentioned, essential viewing includes 'The Last Sacrifice', 'Sing a Song of Murder', 'The Village of Evil' and 'A Sinister Sort of Service'. It is a tragic shame like so many other series that 12 episodes of Adam Adamant Lives! are missing, only two episodes exist from the Second Season and seeing as they are two of the best it is a great disappointment that more does not exist. Despite its flaws Adam Adamant Lives! is a fascinating piece of 60's television, one which brilliance often lies in its fantastic premise and performances from the lead actors rather than its execution. Not a classic, but worth a watch. To use a frequently used cliché 'They don't make them like this anymore!'.