Season 6 Intro & Credits: "Targets" vs "S

[Happychap 2.0]

I have always been fascinated by the alternate intro/outro to Season 6.
My understanding is that the "Targets" sequence was produced for the following 7 episodes in the USA only:

"Split"
"The Forget-Me-Knot"
"Invasion of the Earthmen"
"The Curious Case of the Countless Clues"
"Get-A-Way!"
"Have Guns- will Haggle"
"Look- (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers..."

Is that correct? And is it true that only "Split" retains these credits on all commercially available recordings?

Also, I learned that Fuest directed the "Suits of Armor" but who directed the "Targets" and also the Season 5 intros? Anyone?

[Avengerholic]

I've always preferred the target credits, they seem much more in keeping with the Rigg colour series style. The suits of armour credits are far too random.

[darren]

Harry Booth directed the target credits (he was post-production coordinator).

Loath as I am to accept the early episodes as their own season with the late Ring episodes (:)), I do like that the episodes had their own unique intros and they're nicely stylish.

But the proper season 6 titles are my favourite. They feel like a natural progression for the show titles. We start off with crude photos and then a bit of crude animation then the show goes into film and can afford a proper stylised photo session, then it goes into colour and can creative a physical space to shoot in and that's followed by titles that are shot outside - the series finally able to escape the confines of the studio.

It's a shame that the weather wasn't better for the titles haha but i love the air they give the show. And random pink doorways in fields is wonderfully sixties.

[Happychap 2.0]

Harry Booth directed the target credits (he was post-production coordinator).

Thank you for the info, Darren.

I must say I prefer the Targets. I just love Macnee's expression as he inspects the "injured" bowler.

If these have been omitted from the commercially available BluRays/DVDs, that is a great shame!

[frank]

even more interesting that the Targets intro/end credits which were shown in the US are slightly different from each other at the very end of the end credits

In one set Steed/Tara are walking away. In another set they are just posing

[mrspeel01]

One Interesting - or rather disappointing thing about the Targets opening credits for "Split" is that although the visual sequence is correct, the music track is not! The correct music soundtrack has a gunfire-sound at the end, at the point at which Steed quickly moves his bowler away from him, and it is left with a hole in it. The music track on all the current copies of "Split" , as far as I know, (DVD, Blu-ray) is the one used for the Armour opening credits. I can only assume that the correct music track has been lost. I would love to know if this is the case. I remember when Channel 4 showed the Thorson episodes originally, the episode "Look (Stop me if you've heard this one..)." had the Target credits with the correct music track. (I taped it at the time, though not sure if i still have the VHS tape somewhere.) So it means the track was available on at least one print as of the 1980s.

Just to add, I actually like both sets of titles equally. The targets one has Linda with the "hairstyle" (or really the wig!) seen in those episodes and the Armour one has her later hairstyle! That seems fitting to me.

[darren]

It's a shame we couldn't get the option on the DVD to watch the relevant episodes with the target titles.

I haven't had a chance to check them for ages but didn't the season 6 DVD include two sets of end titles for the Forget me knot..?

All previous releases of that episode had the full new recording of the season 6 theme music but the DVD presented the opening few sections as the 1965 recording before cutting into the new music.

[mrspeel01]

Funny you mention about having the option to view the Targets credits-i actually e-mailed Jaz Wiseman about this while he was preparing the special features for the Optimum sets. I also asked about the option to view the Chessboard opening sequence for series 4, just for completeness. (There were other features I asked about, but I can't remember them now). He kindly replied saying that they had got a limited budget for all the features and he wanted to concentrate on getting as many of them as he could. From this I gathered that it would be a bit costly to have the "branching" option on some, or all the discs in a set.

re: forget-me-knot closing credits. Yes, there is an alternative take on this. If memory serves, one features Linda Thorson turning to look at the camera as she and Patrick Macnee walk away at the end.

[cyberrich]

To be honest I think it's even stevens. Both are very stylish. I chose the suits of armour credits though, as it's very surreal and encapsulates season 6 perfectly. Rich.

[MikeR]

I have always been fascinated by the alternate intro/outro to Season 6.
My understanding is that the "Targets" sequence was produced for the following 7 episodes in the USA only:

"Split"
"The Forget-Me-Knot"
"Invasion of the Earthmen"
"The Curious Case of the Countless Clues"
"Get-A-Way!"
"Have Guns- will Haggle"
"Look- (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers..."

Is that correct? And is it true that only "Split" retains these credits on all commercially available recordings?

Also, I learned that Fuest directed the "Suits of Armor" but who directed the "Targets" and also the Season 5 intros? Anyone?

Happy Chap

Harry Booth directed the first set of Thorson opening titles before departing the series to direct episodes of The Magnificent 6 and a 1/2.

The suite of armour titles were devised by Brian Clemens and directed in main by Robert Fuest, with some inserts being handled by Charles Crichton. The closing credits involving the various card tricks were directed by John Hough.