The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (TV Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" (NBC, 1956-57) was one of several costume adventure series produced in England that followed the very successful release of "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (CBS, 1955-58) a year earlier on CBS. Produced by Sapphire Films, the company that produced "Robin Hood" and "The Buccaneers" (CBS, 1956-57), "Sir Lancelot" brought the legend of King Arthur and Camelot to the small screen. Although it only lasted a single season, "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" is historically important in the annals of television history as it was the first British television series with multiple episodes produced in color.
"The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" was issued on DVD in its entirety in England by a company called Network, but previous U.S. DVD releases have been limited to a few selected episodes on discs such as The Adventures of Sir Lancelot Volume 1 and The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, Vol. 1. With the release of this 3-DVD, 30-episode set from Timeless Media, those previous releases are no longer necessary for anyone collecting episodes from the show; this release has it all. The series' entire run of 30 episodes is included in this set and the audio/visual quality, while far from perfect, represents a major improvement over all previous U.S. DVD releases of the series. Most importantly, 12 of the 14 color episodes that were produced have survived the ravages of time and are included in this set. Some of the color episodes are faded and a few are quite vivid, but the color episodes were, apparently, only broadcast during the 1956-57 season and subsequent airings of the series were broadcast in black & white. So it's a revelation to see the color schemes employed for this show after more than half a century.
William Russell is well cast in the starring role as the gallant knight, and other cast regulars included Ronald Leigh-Hunt as King Arthur (Bruce Seton portrays Arthur for the first three episodes), Jane Hylton as Queen Guinevere, Cyril Smith as Merlin and Robert Scroggins as Squire Brian. British character actors like Nigel Green and Derren "Derry" Nesbitt are featured as different characters in numerous episodes, and Patrick McGoohan makes one of his earliest television appearances as a villainous knight in one of the series' early episodes titled "The Outcast."
This release is a must for anyone who enjoys the British costume adventure shows of the mid to late 1950s and early 1960s. Timeless Media has also released episode compilations of The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Buccaneers and William Tell. All of these series are enjoyable and highly recommended.
My rating for "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" is closer to **** & 1/2 due to some comparatively minor film flaws here and there as well as some of the faded color issues previously mentioned, but it's really not much of a deterrent to anyone's enjoyment of this series.

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The British television series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot brings the legend of King Arthur and his Round Table to life in these lavish and detailed television productions by the renowned ITV network. Many of Britain's finest actors of the time took part in the series. William Russell played Lancelot, both Bruce Seton and Ronald Leigh-Hunt played King Arthur, Guinevere by Jane Hylton and Merlin the Sorcerer by Cyril Smith. The supporting cast was equally strong, too, including a very young Patrick McGoohan cast in a small role.The producers took great care to be historically accurate in re-creating the Arthur legend, using background material researched at Oxford University. To re-create 14th Century Britain, an entire pre-Norman Conquest village, complete with sheep and goats, was constructed at the huge Nettlefold Studio sound stages in Walton-on-Thames. Allington Castle in rural Kent, home to Ancient Britons, Romans and Saxons, was used for location shooting, lending grand visuals to the re-created court of King Arthur.TMG brings you the complete Adventures of Sir Lancelot, all thirty episodes in this 3-DVD boxed set. They are your passport to the lost world of Sir Lancelot, Guinevere and King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, a world of mystery and magic, chivalry and honor.

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