It has been widely noted that the real life character of Sidney Reilly played by Sam Neill was probably the prototype for Ian Fleming's dashing hero James Bond. However, it is difficult from this first episode of RAOS to see a resemblance.. Bond was charming, sophisticated, charismatic and endlessly fun to watch. By comparison, Reilly is rather staid, stolid, genteel and somewhat bland. While both Reilly and Bond were attractive to women and visa versa, the energy level invested by each leading man into activities involving the opposite sex seems decidedly different. At times, it almost appears like Neill is just on the surface of his portrayal of Reilly in the first episode of the RAOS series. This observation is not intended in any way to disparage Neill's talents as an actor. After all, he did not write the script. It is interesting to note that notwithstanding the success of the RAOS series, its creators did not find a reasonable way to resurrect the Reilly character and continue depicting his future possible adventures. Could this be explained by referring to the old adage: "Why eat bread (Reilly) when you can have cake (Bond)?"
The producers of RAOS have assembled a talented cast of interesting actors to set the stage for our story, including such familiar players as John Rhys-Davies and Leo McKern. The locales and costumes seen in the first episode enhance the authentic period feel of the narrative and add to its credibility. As for Neill, while he may not be Sean Connery, in his own somewhat understated way------he created a character we could definitely accept as a believable spy who just might be On His Majesty's Secret Service.
This first episode of RAOS may not be one of its best, and unfortunately might have turned off some viewers from staying with the series. This is too bad, because several of RAOS's future escapades were much more interesting and entertaining. For a made for TV special series, RAOS was definitely a cut above the ordinary. While RAOS will not cause the viewer to abandon Bond for Reilly, it does offer a valid alternative when considering the matter.
The producers of RAOS have assembled a talented cast of interesting actors to set the stage for our story, including such familiar players as John Rhys-Davies and Leo McKern. The locales and costumes seen in the first episode enhance the authentic period feel of the narrative and add to its credibility. As for Neill, while he may not be Sean Connery, in his own somewhat understated way------he created a character we could definitely accept as a believable spy who just might be On His Majesty's Secret Service.
This first episode of RAOS may not be one of its best, and unfortunately might have turned off some viewers from staying with the series. This is too bad, because several of RAOS's future escapades were much more interesting and entertaining. For a made for TV special series, RAOS was definitely a cut above the ordinary. While RAOS will not cause the viewer to abandon Bond for Reilly, it does offer a valid alternative when considering the matter.