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The Protectors

TV·1972–1974·2 seasons, 52 episodes·Associated Television·Action & Adventure, Crime, Drama·25m·Created by Gerry Anderson

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The Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It was Anderson's second TV series using live actors as opposed to electronic marionettes, and also his second to be firmly set in contemporary times. It was also the only Gerry Anderson produced television series that was not of the fantasy or science fiction genres. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company. Despite not featuring marionettes or any real science fiction elements, The Protectors became one of Anderson's most popular productions, easily winning a renewal for a second season. A third season was in the planning stages when the show's major sponsor pulled out, forcing its cancellation. The Protectors first aired in 1972 and 1973, and ran to 52 episodes over two series, each 25 minutes long - making it one of the last series of this type to be produced in a half-hour format. It starred Robert Vaughn as Harry Rule, Nyree Dawn Porter as the Contessa Caroline di Contini, and Tony Anholt as Paul Buchet. Episodes often featured prominent guest actors.

Highest-rated episodes all ranked

  1. 01The Protectors S01E25The First CircleS01E25 · 10.0Harry is hired to protect a disturbed Vietnam war veteran.

Cast

Episodes by season

Season0126Episodes1972–73Aired 10.0Season avg
  1. S01E01The Protectors S01E012,000 ft to DieSeptember 29, 1972A friend of Harry's insists on doing a dangerous skydiving trick despite the fact that gold smugglers are trying to kill him.
  2. S01E02The Protectors S01E02Brother HoodOctober 6, 1972A wealthy recluse hires the Protectors to break his brother out of prison.
  3. S01E03The Protectors S01E03See No EvilOctober 13, 1972While in Rome the Protectors try to help a senator who is being blackmailed.
  4. S01E04The Protectors S01E04Disappearing TrickOctober 20, 1972The Contessa ends up putting her life in danger when she agrees to help an old friend win a wager by making him disappear.
  5. S01E05The Protectors S01E05Ceremony For the DeadOctober 27, 1972The wife of a president hires the Protectors to guard her critically ill husband whom she fears may be kidnapped.
  6. S01E06The Protectors S01E06It Was All Over in LeipzigNovember 3, 1972While investigating a plot to overthrow the government of a Mediterranean nation the Protectors end up confronting two old friends of the Co
  7. S01E07The Protectors S01E07The Quick Brown FoxNovember 10, 1972The West German government hires the Protectors to put a pension fund that is supporting fugitive Nazi's out of business.
  8. S01E08The Protectors S01E08King ConNovember 17, 1972The Protectors devise an elaborate con to recover a priceless antique which a woman had been conned out of.
  9. S01E09The Protectors S01E09ThinkbackNovember 24, 1972Harry and the Contessa are the victims of a car crash that was engineered to get information out of them.
  10. S01E10The Protectors S01E10A Kind of Wild JusticeDecember 1, 1972The daughter of a gangster whom Harry helped put in prison fails twice in her efforts to kill Harry.
  11. S01E11The Protectors S01E11Balance of TerrorDecember 8, 1972The KGB hires the Protectors to capture a renegade Russian scientist who plans on destroying London with a new virus to show the world how d
  12. S01E12The Protectors S01E12Triple CrossDecember 15, 1972A kidnapped Paul will be blown to bits unless Harry and the Contessa help steal jewels which they have been hired to safeguard.
  13. S01E13The Protectors S01E13The Numbers GameDecember 29, 1972The Protectors only hope of putting a drug smuggling ring out of business lies in being able to decode a coded letter.
  14. S01E14The Protectors S01E14For the Rest of Your Natural ...January 5, 1973The Contessa is captured by a psychotic killer who puts her on trial for her life.
  15. S01E15The Protectors S01E15The BodyguardsJanuary 12, 1973The police hire the Protectors to guard the corpse of a bank robber as part of a ruse to capture his accomplices.
  16. S01E16The Protectors S01E16A Matter of Life and DeathJanuary 19, 1973In Malta, with only the body of a dead hippie as a clue, the Protectors go after smugglers despite having no idea what it is that is being s
  17. S01E17The Protectors S01E17The Big HitJanuary 26, 1973After unsuccessful attempts on their lives, Paul and the Contessa are too late to warn Harry that someone is out to kill him.
  18. S01E18The Protectors S01E18One and One Makes OneFebruary 2, 1973The Protectors are hired to track down Bennett, a missing Canadian agent who holds valuable information about a new American-Canadian sky pr
  19. S01E19The Protectors S01E19TalkdownFebruary 9, 1973Harry must land a small plane on his own when the pilot dies.
  20. S01E20The Protectors S01E20VocalFebruary 16, 1973Drug dealers plan on using someone who can impersonate Harry's voice in order to get information out of a blinded Paul.
  21. S01E21The Protectors S01E21With A Little Help From My FriendsFebruary 23, 1973Harry finds his family being threatened after he agrees to guard a visiting president in London.
  22. S01E22The Protectors S01E22ChaseMarch 2, 1973The Contessa gives Harry a shotgun for his birthday which he soon puts to good use when while investigating political blackmail he becomes t
  23. S01E23The Protectors S01E23Your WitnessMarch 9, 1973An important witness to a murder who doesn't want the Protectors protection, vanishes soon after she is placed in the Protectors charge.
  24. S01E24The Protectors S01E24It Could Be Practically Anywhere on the IslandMarch 16, 1973A small fluffy dog called Muffin is kidnapped from a hotel to place a microfilm in its collar. The dog is due to be ttansaported to NY. Har
  25. S01E25The Protectors S01E25The First CircleMarch 23, 1973 10.0Harry is hired to protect a disturbed Vietnam war veteran.
  26. S01E26The Protectors S01E26A Case For the RightMarch 30, 1973The Protectors end up in trouble in the Roman tombs.

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

Season0226Episodes1973–74AiredSeason avg
  1. S02E01The Protectors S02E01QuinSeptember 21, 1973Harry travels to Spain in order to track down a bounty hunter named Quin.
  2. S02E02The Protectors S02E02BagmanSeptember 28, 1973The Protectors are called to deliver the ransom for the kidnapped daughter of a Danish aristocrat.
  3. S02E03The Protectors S02E03Fighting FundOctober 5, 1973A revolutionary group steals and auctions off a priceless art collection in order to purchase dynamite to fund their cause.
  4. S02E04The Protectors S02E04The Last FrontierOctober 12, 1973The Protectors are hired to smuggle into Britain a Russian scientist who wishes to marry her childhood sweetheart.
  5. S02E05The Protectors S02E05Baubles, Bangles and BeadsOctober 19, 1973In Denmark, a young woman and her father call on the Protectors to deliver a huge ransom for a stolen jewelry shipment.
  6. S02E06The Protectors S02E06PetardOctober 26, 1973The Protectors go after industrial spies who are threatening to topple a chemical company by scooping their best products.
  7. S02E07The Protectors S02E07Goodbye GeorgeNovember 2, 1973Alone in Italy, the Contessa goes to Venice to find out why the son of a wealthy Brit is making huge withdrawals from his account.
  8. S02E08The Protectors S02E08Wam (1)November 9, 1973In Salzburg, the Protectors must rescue a group of vacationers whom are unknowingly being held hostage on top of an Austrian mountain.
  9. S02E09The Protectors S02E09Wam (2)November 16, 1973In Salzburg, the Protectors must rescue a group of vacationers whom are unknowingly being held hostage on top of an Austrian mountain.
  10. S02E10The Protectors S02E10ImplicadoNovember 23, 1973In Spain, an English boy is framed and arrested on drug charges after a drug dealer plants some hash in his backpack.
  11. S02E11The Protectors S02E11Dragon ChaseNovember 30, 1973In Britain, Harry is called on to protect a Russian author from publishing his anti-socialist book.
  12. S02E12The Protectors S02E12DecoyDecember 7, 1973An old friend who has a new lead on an insurance scam calls Harry and the Contessa to Venice, but he is murdered just before they arrive.
  13. S02E13The Protectors S02E13Border LineDecember 14, 1973The Protectors are hired by a Hungarian actress wanting to bury her now deceased revolutionary father in their homeland.
  14. S02E14The Protectors S02E14Zeke's BluesDecember 21, 1973Harry's college friend Zeke, a pianist, is blackmailed into setting Harry up by mobsters.
  15. S02E15The Protectors S02E15LenaDecember 28, 1973In Venice, Harry aids Lena, a journalist, expose a corrupt politician.
  16. S02E16The Protectors S02E16The BridgeJanuary 4, 1974Undercover as an explosives expert, Harry seeks to rescue a kidnapped girl and prevent a bridge bombing.
  17. S02E17The Protectors S02E17Sugar and SpiceJanuary 11, 1974In order to protect the daughter of a rich industrialist who has received threats against her life, Harry poses as her tutor.
  18. S02E18The Protectors S02E18Burning BushJanuary 18, 1974Harry masquerades as a drunk in order to get a Canadian heiress out of a cult.
  19. S02E19The Protectors S02E19The Tiger and the GoatJanuary 25, 1974The Contessa is used to lure her former lover, a British spy, out into the open.
  20. S02E20The Protectors S02E20Route 27February 1, 1974Knowing where a huge stash of heroin is hidden, Harry confronts the drug dealers.
  21. S02E21The Protectors S02E21TrialFebruary 8, 1974The Protectors are called upon when the father of a man on trial for murdering a policeman goes after the judge.
  22. S02E22The Protectors S02E22ShadboltFebruary 15, 1974Harry is stalked on a train by Shadbolt, a professional assassin.
  23. S02E23The Protectors S02E23A Pocketful of PosiesFebruary 22, 1974Harry Rule is called upon to see if Eartha Kitt's (guest star)home is haunted.
  24. S02E24The Protectors S02E24WheelsMarch 1, 1974The Protectors are hired to discretely research stolen secret Swiss bank account information.
  25. S02E25The Protectors S02E25The InsiderFebruary 25, 1974The Protectors aid a movie director in the retrieval of film being held for ransom.
  26. S02E26The Protectors S02E26BlockbusterMarch 15, 1974The Protectors chase after a stolen platinum shipment.

Season 2 ranked & reviewed

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