The Persuaders!
Two wealthy playboys, British Lord Brett Sinclair and American Danny Wilde, are teamed up by Judge Fulton to investigate crimes that the police cannot solve. These two men are complete opposites, but become great friends through their adventures and constantly risk their own lives for each other.
- 1971-1972
- 1 season
- ABC
- Action & Adventure, Comedy
Two wealthy playboys, British Lord Brett Sinclair and American Danny Wilde, are teamed up by Judge Fulton to investigate crimes that the police cannot solve. These two men are complete opposites, but become great friends through their adventures and constantly risk their own lives for each other.
Season 1 Episode Guide
24 Episodes 1971 - 1972
Episode 1
Overture
Sat, Sep 18, 1971 52 mins
British playboy Lord Brett Sinclair and his American counterpart Danny Wilde are summoned by retired Judge Fulton to an hotel on the French Riviera where they get into a fight. As an alternative to being arrested the judge 'persuades' them to work for him to apprehend criminals seemingly beyond the law. Their first assignment involves locating Maria Lorenzo - a girl identified by an unusual birthmark. Her brother, head of a crime syndicate, was supposedly killed two years earlier but is very much alive and still carrying on his illegal activities, unknown to Maria. Through Maria, Brett and Danny must find her brother and end his wicked ways.
Episode 2
The Gold Napoleon
Wed, Jan 26, 1972 52 mins
In sun-kissed Côte d'Azur, on the tarmac of Nice's Airport, Danny accidentally comes across Michelle Devigne, an alluring blonde art student of the Vallauris Art Centre, carrying a sketchbook with an unidentifiable ink portrait of a man. However, this brief encounter will abruptly end, when out of the blue, an assassin from a distance will shoot Michelle on the shoulder, sending her to the hospital. Why would someone shoot a girl like that or was the bullet actually meant for Danny? As the Authorities require him not to leave the country, Judge Fulton, Brett and Danny will try to find out the connection between Michelle's jeweller uncle who specialises in medals and gold coins and the unauthorised gold trafficking in the shape of counterfeit 100-franc gold Napoleon III coins. Undoubtedly, this seemingly legitimate operation funnels something much bigger, but will the boys figure it out before the birds fly away?
Episode 3
Take Seven
Sat, Oct 2, 1971 52 mins
Judge Fulton sends Brett and Danny to the aid of Jenny Lindley, whose supposedly long dead brother Mark has suddenly reappeared to wrest possession of the family estate from her. The judge believes that Mark is an impostor and his suspicions seem considerable when somebody tries to kill Jenny. Whilst Mark has an alibi, a hit-man has been involved, who, in turn, is shot dead. The Persuaders find a diary, belonging to a former employee of the Lindley family, which provides the answer to the mystery but by this time Jenny has gone to see Mark and Brett and Danny fear that she may be in danger.
Episode 4
Greensleeves
Sat, Nov 13, 1971 52 mins
Brett is surprised to learn that Greensleeves, an empty country house that once belonged to his family, has been reopened without his knowledge. Finding a letter from its new 'owners' to a theatrical agent he goes to the house masquerading as himself with Danny posing as his valet. The occupants need his reassuring presence as they are hosting the president of Zanda, whom Brett once knew. In fact they are planning to kidnap the president in an effort to gain control of his country's mineral resources. Fortunately Brett has the advantage of them as he knows all the secret passages in the house.
Episode 5
Powerswitch
Sat, Sep 25, 1971 52 mins
Julie Blake is murdered and, helped by her friend and fellow dancer Pekoe, the Persuaders conclude it is because she discovered that millionaire Lanny Koestler was a fake. In fact he is an actor, Morgan Alcott, employed by Koestler's duplicitous wife, to impersonate him until she can transfer his assets into her own accounts. When she has done so he will have outlived his purpose and will be murdered. The Persuaders seek to prevent this and to expose her and her accomplices.
Episode 6
The Time and the Place
Sat, Oct 30, 1971 52 mins
While driving along a country road, Danny's attention is attracted by a leggy girl in a short skirt. He quickly leaves her however when he hears a suspicious sound from within the woodland, confirmed by finding a dead body. But by the time he has dragged Brett back to see it, the body has mysteriously vanished and the pair are marched off as trespassers by a hostile gamekeeper.
Episode 7
Someone Like Me
Sat, Nov 27, 1971 52 mins
Knocked unconscious after a staged road block, Brett awakes in a fake hospital, from which he eventually escapes, to be told by Danny that he has a double who has been impersonating him. Reclusive millionaire Sam Milford is due in town and Brett is one of the few people he trusts to come near him. Danny reasons that the double is out to kill Sam but then realises that there is no double and Brett himself was programmed to kill whilst in hospital.
Episode 8
Anyone Can Play
Wed, Jan 19, 1972 52 mins
Following coincidental events in a Brighton casino, Danny is mistaken for a Soviet spy and given a mysterious list of names. British intelligence is far from happy as they were on the verge of discovering the identity of the true spy. Brett joins Danny in his efforts to locate the real Russian agent by using the list - which, rather oddly, consists of the names of railway stations.
Episode 9
The Old, the New, and the Deadly
Sat, Oct 23, 1971 52 mins
Danny becomes the target of assassination attempts after accidentally exposing Count Marceau as a Nazi. At the same time Suzy Denton is anxious to clear the name of her late father who, thanks to Marceau, died with the stigma of being erroneously termed a Nazi. The key to Suzy's mission lies in a statuette of a bird, which the Persuaders must obtain from Marceau along with the kidnapped Suzy.
Episode 10
Angie... Angie
Wed, Mar 8, 1972 52 mins
Angie is an old male friend of Danny's from the days before he struck it rich and Danny finds it hard to believe that Angie, re-encountered on the French Riviera, is now a hitman paid to rub out a witness against corruption in big business. Despite Brett's warnings of caution Danny is prepared to champion Angie but this leads to a showdown between the two old friends, which only one can survive.
Episode 11
Chain of Events
Sat, Oct 16, 1971 52 mins
Danny finds himself in a deadly situation when a dying parachutist chains him to an attaché case, containing secret information which the British government are anxious to obtain. Not only does the head of MI6 mistake him for a renegade C.I.A, agent but X-rays of the case show that it contains an electronic device which will cause it to explode unless unlocked with a key. Brett tries to locate the key whilst Danny evades 'Franz Schubert', an unfriendly European also after the attaché case.
Episode 12
That's Me Over There
52 mins
Thaddeus Krane is a ruthless millionaire who has made his wealth from the sufferings of others - and his young secretary Cliff aims to expose him by contacting Brett. However, Cliff is killed, and Brett abducted and whisked away so that Krane's henchmen can ascertain how much he knows. To confuse Krane, Judge Fulton persuades Danny to impersonate Brett, and all is going well until a lady friend of Brett's almost ruins the situation with her curiosity.
Episode 13
The Long Goodbye
Wed, Feb 2, 1972 52 mins
On holiday in Scotland the Persuaders find a crashed plane containing dead scientist Brian Wilks and a formula he has written down. Three girls turn up claiming to be the dead man's daughter and after the formula, a way to make cheap, synthetic fuel, but the Persuaders correctly Carla as the true claimant. Further complications arise when both Andreas Theopolos, the dead man's business partner, and tycoon Sir Hugo Chalmers both lay claim to the formula - which one of them, having already murdered Wilks, will kill to obtain.
Episode 14
The Man in the Middle
Sat, Oct 9, 1971 52 mins
Somebody in British intelligence is selling secrets to foreign powers and Brett agrees to pose as the traitor, incurring the curiosity of British agent Kay Hunter, who follows him. Brett is approached by a man named Krilov, anxious to buy secrets from him but when it is discovered that Brett is a decoy, Krilov imprisons him. He is rescued by Danny and Archie, a foolish, impecunious relative of the Sinclairs, and manages to flush out the real traitor. However Krilov abducts Kay and it is down to Archie to save the day.
Episode 15
Element of Risk
Wed, Mar 1, 1972 52 mins
Danny is mistaken for Lomax, an international criminal, and taken to meet Mitchell, who has engaged Lomax to mastermind a plot to rob an American air force base of a huge amount of gold bullion. Learning of his friend's plight, Brett poses as the gang's getaway pilot - but the game seems to be up when the real Lomax arrives. Can the Persuaders rely on female gang member Charlie to save them?
Episode 16
A Home of One's Own
Sat, Dec 4, 1971 52 mins
When Danny buys a ramshackle country cottage which he plans to renovate he is surprised by the fact that local squire Rupert Hathaway is desperate to buy it from him and will resort to violence when Danny refuses to sell. A woman called Lucy comes to see Danny. She is a member of the Fraud Squad, investigating the death of a colleague whom she believes was killed by Hathaway. The squire is at the centre of some highly illegal goings-on to which the cottage is crucial and Lucy seeks Danny's help in bringing him to justice.
Episode 17
Five Miles to Midnight
Wed, Feb 16, 1972 52 mins
Judge Fulton charges Danny and Brett to get former gangster Frank Rocco from Italy to America to testify against a large crime syndicate. They must evade both the police and Torino, a rival mobster out to silence Rocco. Accompanied by photo-journalist Sidonie, the party eludes the police but are forced to take shelter in a villa owned by wealthy Count Sangallo, who is in alliance with Torino and is about to deliver them to him.
Episode 18
Nuisance Value
Wed, Feb 23, 1972 52 mins
Whilst Danny is on a date with Lisa Zorakin, spoilt daughter of a millionaire, the girl is abducted. Zorakin suspects that Danny is involved but in fact Lisa is a willing captive, her kidnapper being Michel, her lover, and the plan is to extract a 'ransom' to set them up together. Danny agrees to investigate on behalf of Zorakin to clear his name but further complications are provided by Lisa's long-suffering companion Mary, who also wants a share.
Episode 19
The Morning After
Sat, Dec 11, 1971 52 mins
Brett wakes up to a unique 'morning after'. He has acquired a wife, Kristen, and there is evidence that a legal marriage took place. However, one of the two witnesses is involved in a plot to abduct Swedish diplomat Lars Seelman, arriving in Britain on important business. Will Kristen aid the plotters or will her attachment to her new husband lead her to help him save Seelman?
Episode 20
Read and Destroy
52 mins
Whilst being exchanged for a Soviet spy at a remote border crossing, freelance agent Felix Meadowes goes on the run and asks his old schoolfriend Brett to help him lie low. Felix has written his memoirs, and both the British and American governments - the latter employing Danny as their man - are anxious to retrieve them. Danny and Brett are now working against each other - and to complicate matters Felix has two wives, and has made provision for both in the event of his death. The memoirs are actually on a microfilm hidden in Felix's toupee, but who will get to them first?
Episode 21
A Death in the Family
Wed, Jan 12, 1972 52 mins
Brett attends the funeral of his uncle Randolph, where his cousin Kate, a crime novelist, tells him that she believes he was murdered. Brett is not convinced but then six more members of the Sinclair family are all bumped off, as well as the family undertaker. It becomes apparent, however, that one of the dead men is not dead after all when he traps Kate and Danny in the family vault. It is down to Brett to rescue them.
Episode 22
The Ozerov Inheritance
Sat, Jan 1, 1972 52 mins
The Persuaders are called in to assist the Grand Duchess Ozerov, an elderly Russian former aristocrat. There is contention as to the rightful owner of her jewels, kept in a Swiss bank. The Russian government is one claimant and her nephew Sergei another, in addition to the duchess herself. Brett and Danny are to go to the Russian village where there is proof of her marriage to Prince Ozerov and, consequently, her right to own the jewels. However two men in the pay of Sergei are out to stop them.
Episode 23
To the Death, Baby
Wed, Feb 9, 1972 52 mins
Wealthy Shelley Masterson is being courted for her money by the suave Foster, who is being backed by gangster Coady and Brett and Danny vie for her affections to save her, particularly as she has signed a document leaving everything to Foster should she die. To help her they give her money with which to pay off Foster, only to find that they have been duped. She is not a victim but a confidence trickster herself.
Episode 24
Someone Waiting
Sat, Dec 18, 1971 52 mins
After Brett enters his car for a motor race, attempts are made on his life. A man called Vine approaches him, asking him to throw the race. He is working for Louise Cornell, head of a race-fixing gang, but she denies any allegations of trying to kill him - she just bribes people to lose. Could the would-be assassin be Jenkins, a former racer who, after an incident years earlier where he tried to overtake Brett, leading to an accident which incapacitated him, was never able to drive again?
