I was a teenager when I saw Alan Badel playing the Count of Monte Christo in the TV series. In those days I remember Sundays as virtually wasted days and my family avidly watched whatever BBC serial was on at the time. The Count of Monte Christo was something special though. Having seen it I read the book from cover to cover. As thorough as it was the series left out some of the detail from the book or it would have run more than its 13 weeks (which I believe was how long it ran.) Apart from that it was so true to the spirit of the novel that I saw the series in my head as I read the book. And Alan Badel simply WAS the character of Monte Christo. No-one else will ever do it as well. It was the best TV series I ever saw and would pay big money to have a copy of it now. I would love my sons to see it, and I have wanted to see it again for the last 30 years. Please BBC, release the series on DVD, it is a national treasure.