1970s nostaligia: The Protectors

I have spent chunks of the past two days wrestling with public transport and losing, so here is some 1970s nostalgia to cheer me up. To be honest, I have much clearer memories of the theme song than I do of the series itself.

The Protectors was unusual in being a Gerry Anderson series that had nothing to do with puppets or science fiction. It starred Robert Vaughn (searching even then for the lost vowel in his name) and Nyree Dawn Porter (famous in those days for The Forsyte Saga).

Fifty-two episodes were made between 1972 and 1974. According to TV Heaven:

Written by the top TV scriptwriters of the day, The Protectors scripts were of a frequently high calibre, set against a backdrop of glamorous locations and told at a cracking pace. In typical Gerry Anderson style, the introduction sequence featured car chases, punch-ups and explosions and the ending had a stirring theme tune, ‘Avenues and Alleyways’, which became a top forty hit (charting at number 37) for Tony Christie and until 2005 it remained the singers longest-running chart hit.

You can hear the full song - and see Christie in front of some very 1972 decor - on Youtube. The video above shows the opening and closing titles of the show.