I would put this among the top half-dozen of the thirty episodes. The story is an exciting one. Sharon kicks some you-know what, and the plot has a good sci-fi angle which is credible. Bernard Lee, who so often played 'M' in James Bond movies, adds a lot here as a tough villain!
The direction is good and we keep up a fast pace, with a good amount of action. There are some nice exteriors, including a fine old country mansion that does indeed look very English.
It's such a pity that the US network which aired some episodes didn't roll it out better, because this show could easily have gone another season, or two or even three, if there had been US network backing.
Fans of our three main characters will enjoy this one. They all do a fine job, and William Gaunt is the standout here, with the most screen time. A good one.
5 Reviews
The Champions head to Wales
bensonmum216 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
A journalist investigating a secret research facility in Wales asks Richard for help after one of his colleagues is killed while snooping around. It seems the research facility is working on cryogenics and has a very powerful United States general as one of its patients. The man running the facility, Squires, intends to "sell" the frozen general and all his secrets to a foreign power.
The Body Snatchers is an above average episode (hence my 6/10 rating), but I don't find it overly spectacular. The story just never drew me in and the baddies' plan didn't really seem all that compelling to me. On the positive side is James Bond regular Bernard Lee as Squires. Lee could play a tough, murderous baddie as well as anyone. He has a powerful presence about him that he puts to excellent use in The Body Snatchers. His treatment of the journalists is proof of that - he comes off as incredibly vicious. Other highlights include: a nice final showdown, Sharon and Craig playing lost tourists, and Sharon getting to do a little hand-to-hand combat with a guard.
The Body Snatchers is an above average episode (hence my 6/10 rating), but I don't find it overly spectacular. The story just never drew me in and the baddies' plan didn't really seem all that compelling to me. On the positive side is James Bond regular Bernard Lee as Squires. Lee could play a tough, murderous baddie as well as anyone. He has a powerful presence about him that he puts to excellent use in The Body Snatchers. His treatment of the journalists is proof of that - he comes off as incredibly vicious. Other highlights include: a nice final showdown, Sharon and Craig playing lost tourists, and Sharon getting to do a little hand-to-hand combat with a guard.
This was a fine episode. Very good.
Sleepin_Dragon1 July 2023
Two reporters break into a so called research Centre in North Wales, where they make a disturbing discovery, Richard working alone tracks one of them down, and soon discovers a sinister plot.
I thought this was a very well measured, well paced episode, the plot unravels well, the excitement coming in a suitably dramatic conclusion.
It didn't quite go the way I was expecting, I thought there'd be some sort of gravedigging plot, the eventual story was different, but very well imagined.
I thought they may have made it a bit more overly Welsh, apart from one character, the mechanic, it was all very....... English.
Good to see Sharron having more of an involvement, she's been somewhat subdued up until this point.
I really enjoyed the presence of JG Devlin, who can forget his performance in Steptoe and Son, Ann Lynn was good, Bernard Lee steals the show however, he's excellent as the villainous Squires.
8/10.
I thought this was a very well measured, well paced episode, the plot unravels well, the excitement coming in a suitably dramatic conclusion.
It didn't quite go the way I was expecting, I thought there'd be some sort of gravedigging plot, the eventual story was different, but very well imagined.
I thought they may have made it a bit more overly Welsh, apart from one character, the mechanic, it was all very....... English.
Good to see Sharron having more of an involvement, she's been somewhat subdued up until this point.
I really enjoyed the presence of JG Devlin, who can forget his performance in Steptoe and Son, Ann Lynn was good, Bernard Lee steals the show however, he's excellent as the villainous Squires.
8/10.
Better ep
Leofwine_draca29 December 2021
A better episode of THE CHAMPIONS, benefitting immensely from the casting of the great Bernard Lee as the big bad and he certainly makes full use of the part. The rest works very well as a thriller, with oodles of suspense and some well-judged action.
Immortality for sale!
ShadeGrenade12 July 2012
Warning: Spoilers
It should come as no great surprise to find Terry Nation - creator of the 'Daleks' in 'Doctor Who' as well as many other fantasy shows such as 'Survivors' and 'Blake's 7' - contributing to a series like 'The Champions'. He penned two episodes, the other being the excellent 'The Fanatics'. 'The Body Snatchers' is set in Wales. Two journalists break into a cemetery under cover of darkness, eluding the regular guard patrols. They climb into an air shaft and find themselves in a room full of strange-looking medical equipment. 'Frank Nicholls' ( J.G. Devlin ) sees a man in military uniform inside a transparent case and recognises him as 'General Patterson', a top man in the Pentagon. Guards arrive. One of the men is shot dead, but Nicholls escapes. Convinced he has unearthed a major spy plot, he calls on NEMESIS agent Richard Barrett for help...
This boasts a neat plot about cryo-biology ( a new idea at the time ). It hit the papers two years before when rumours circulated that Walt Disney had had himself placed in suspended animation to be thawed out only when a cure for cancer was discovered. 'Squires' ( the late Bernard Lee, best remembered as the original 'M' in the Bond movies ), is financing a medical clinic run by Swedish scientist 'Inga Kalmutt' ( Ann Lynn ) though not for humanitarian reasons. He has managed to abduct General Patterson from hospital - the General was reportedly close to death - and has had him preserved so that the valuable information in his head can be extracted by whoever pays him best. Squires plans on kidnapping other important people in this way. When he uncovers Barrett snooping around, he has him placed in one of the refrigeration units, but Richard breaks free. The other Champions arrive, leading to a satisfying battle.
Although Richard is on screen more often than his chums, the other Champions do their bit; Craig helping a boy whose head has got trapped in railings, and tearing a lock and chain off the main gate of the Mellion Institute, while Sharron takes care of a guard ( Patrick Durkin ) in a manner Mrs.Emma Peel would have approved of. Bernard Lee was good at villainous roles ( he is also to be seen in 'The Baron' two-parter 'Masquerade' and 'The Killing' ). His best moment comes when he catches Nicholls hiding in a gasoline store, whereupon he douses him in the stuff and sets him alight. He dresses his men in flat caps for some reason. Perhaps he fancied himself as a country squire? One of these men - 'Yeats' - is played by Philip Locke, who - as 'Vargas' - 'got the point' in 'Thunderball' ( 1965 ). Australian actor Fredric Abbot is henchman 'White'. 'Prisoner' fans will recognise him as 'Potter' in the superb 'Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling'.
As Nation was Welsh, the depiction of my homeland is a bit better here than in most shows of its type. No women walking around in national costume, for one thing, or singing, blackened coal miners. The town where the story is set is called 'Porthgerwyn', an authentic sounding name you would not be surprised to see on a map. The 'Prince Of Wales' pub looks good enough to have a pint or two in! An uncredited Talfryn Thomas pops up as a local man who gives Craig and Sharron directions.
Directed by Paul Dickson, who also worked on the underrated Linda Thorson 'Avenger' series.
This boasts a neat plot about cryo-biology ( a new idea at the time ). It hit the papers two years before when rumours circulated that Walt Disney had had himself placed in suspended animation to be thawed out only when a cure for cancer was discovered. 'Squires' ( the late Bernard Lee, best remembered as the original 'M' in the Bond movies ), is financing a medical clinic run by Swedish scientist 'Inga Kalmutt' ( Ann Lynn ) though not for humanitarian reasons. He has managed to abduct General Patterson from hospital - the General was reportedly close to death - and has had him preserved so that the valuable information in his head can be extracted by whoever pays him best. Squires plans on kidnapping other important people in this way. When he uncovers Barrett snooping around, he has him placed in one of the refrigeration units, but Richard breaks free. The other Champions arrive, leading to a satisfying battle.
Although Richard is on screen more often than his chums, the other Champions do their bit; Craig helping a boy whose head has got trapped in railings, and tearing a lock and chain off the main gate of the Mellion Institute, while Sharron takes care of a guard ( Patrick Durkin ) in a manner Mrs.Emma Peel would have approved of. Bernard Lee was good at villainous roles ( he is also to be seen in 'The Baron' two-parter 'Masquerade' and 'The Killing' ). His best moment comes when he catches Nicholls hiding in a gasoline store, whereupon he douses him in the stuff and sets him alight. He dresses his men in flat caps for some reason. Perhaps he fancied himself as a country squire? One of these men - 'Yeats' - is played by Philip Locke, who - as 'Vargas' - 'got the point' in 'Thunderball' ( 1965 ). Australian actor Fredric Abbot is henchman 'White'. 'Prisoner' fans will recognise him as 'Potter' in the superb 'Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling'.
As Nation was Welsh, the depiction of my homeland is a bit better here than in most shows of its type. No women walking around in national costume, for one thing, or singing, blackened coal miners. The town where the story is set is called 'Porthgerwyn', an authentic sounding name you would not be surprised to see on a map. The 'Prince Of Wales' pub looks good enough to have a pint or two in! An uncredited Talfryn Thomas pops up as a local man who gives Craig and Sharron directions.
Directed by Paul Dickson, who also worked on the underrated Linda Thorson 'Avenger' series.
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