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Secret Agent Man

Known in the States as Secret Agent Man, Danger Man – with just a few misfire episodes, is for me, the best television in history. Better at what it does than what Seinfeld did for its genre, better even, than the BBC's The Office. 'The Best.' The stonking, pound-for-pound champion of television. Better still, than its successor, The Prisoner.

Despite what has dated, what is stunning about Danger Man is what has not. In a sense, it's sickeningly depressing, because the plot concerns are eerily of the moment. Right wing takeovers, identity theft, internment camps, Geneva and Rome endings for unlucky agents … and a majority of episodes concerning the Middle East, which- either through huge coincidence or prescience, relate to Iraq, Israel and Lebanon! There is even a slightly anti-Israeli cautionary tale – how likely is that, today or any day? (No turncoat is John Drake; there is a touching episode or three when Drake doesn't cut any slack to those who have sold out their country, whatever their sad stories.)

Despite rumors, Patrick McGoohan was apparently never in British Intelligence. A little boxing, stage acting and chicken farming, yes; spying, no. McGoohan certainly fits the perception of the professional spy: Incredibly handsome, tall, and tough – but separate that image - also, humane, free of racial prejudiced and pro-women. Drake uses brain and brawn- he throws a good right hander, for example, though his pathetically slow running, is thankfully, kept to a minimum. (For a real laugh, dig Sean Connery running in You Only Live Twice. These spy cats ain't sprinters.)

As has been noted countless times, it's rather remarkable, that the program's standard of writing –in an average episode, as high as a good film - was maintained, week in, week out. Rare duff episodes aside, Danger Man is that rare show with consistently great and novel writing. Many episodes demand repeated viewing.

The Danger man formula included fine photography. There are exotic exteriors – McGoohan who incidentally, co-wrote several of the better episodes, let his camera people fly around the world and film whatever they liked. The interiors were filmed - I believe at Shepperton and with a few conspicuous exceptions, (some 'beaches' set in the Caribbean are dire) the interiors are HIGHLY convincing. Thus, the exterior shots of the Alps are followed by cuts to Switzerland- at- Shepperton, if you will; just marvelous; though the lighting of course, never matched.

In most episodes, Drake meets his masters for assignments in a variety of London locales. Brilliant. Are our own security services this smart? The wonderful harpsichord tune, an inevitable shot of a jet plane landing God knows where and we know: 'Here comes Drake, the brainy detective to once again, prevail with his wits – with a little help from dem fists!'

The foresight is creepy. McGoohan, who must be a peacenik, seems, from almost 40 years ago, to warn us across the chasm of time, of the dangers of a society under constant surveillance, plagued by right-wing lunatics, both harassed and sold out. A society with an uncertain future. Using his masterful Shakespearian voice (he was voted tops on the stage in 60') a fairly good range and some specialties – drunks are particularly good; McGoohan and company are very formulaic per 1960's norm – but what a wonderful brew they've concocted.

The guest stars are, almost without exception, excellent and diverse. So good that when a well-known British character actor is doing the world's worst Scottish accent; somehow, the plot flows on. The terrible attempts at a burr are in fact, an unadvertised, campy bonus. Surprises abound from a talented cast of stars – in many cases, easily eclipsing the performances of name actors from the big screen.

In the final analysis, it is Drake, Pat McGoohan and the writers, himself included, which make this the best show in the short history of TV. Patriot and lover of Britain to the end, handy man with gadgets, hater of guns and promiscuous sex, these are part of the appeal. But it is the palpable sense of doubled standards worrying Drake that is the real star shower: 'How bad is the East,' and, 'Does the murder' (yes, murder) 'that our side gets up to … is it justified in a war on, among other things, terror and is the price sustainable?'

The best episode is a pure fantasy rather than a espionage or political thriller. It is a tale of identity theft involving perfect plastic surgery – impossible in 1964, yet today's news. That episode, 'Slay It With Flowers,' with its dazzling guest stars – foremost, young Rachel Herbert with a stellar turn as the innkeeper's daughter, is probably the best that television will ever be A plot torn from today's headlines … fine acting, palpable danger, and above all John Drake's creed that people who don't deserve to get hurt, do.

But not if he can help it. And help he does.

Dangerman is here!

** If you can find the last two episodes in color, you're in for a treat. While most reviewers find them stilted, (McGoohan lost interest after filming the episodes and immediately ended the series) I beg to differ. The color is great and one scene, set amongst Kabuki 'dolls' one of which is a very real, murderous human, is one of the finest things I've ever seen attempted.

This spy drama was in the mold of the first '007' movie, "DR. No". A crossover from the paranoid deep cover spy of the 50's to the gadget and spoof of the 60's. And to top it off, Patrick McGoohan, as the secret agent, was terrific. Cool, low keyed, sharp as a tack, traveling to different ports of call. Plots were generally good. Unfortunately, due to its mature nature and age, chances of it being televised grows less year by year...Alas poor Yorick. If you do gain access to these episodes, go for it. You won't be disappointed.

For forty years, cult T.V. fans have been asking the question: "Who was Number Six?", referring, of course, to Patrick McGoohan's fantasy masterpiece 'The Prisoner'. But in an earlier series, he played a character who was equally mysterious and enigmatic. The show was 'Danger Man' and the character was 'John Drake'.

Throughout the series, we see little of Drake himself. We know he lives in London, at a fashionable mews address, drives a Mini Cooper, is fond of cigars and doesn't seem all that fond of women. Whenever one throws herself at him, such as the Jill Melford character in 'The Galloping Major', he keeps her at arms length. This self-imposed chastity endeared him to us kids, as it meant that the stories could not get bogged down in soppy romantic sub-plots. Like Bond, Drake loves gadgets - the 'From Russia With Love' variety - radios in electric razors, microphones concealed in walking sticks, typewriters containing cameras and so on. Occasionally, Drake is called upon to impersonate an army major, butler, or schoolteacher, which meant his entire personality would go submerged. In this respect, 'Danger Man' was the forerunner to the U.S. series 'Mission:Impossible', which also featured agents about whom the viewer knew next to nothing other than their names.

The series was grounded in reality, unlike the later 'Avengers' and 'U.N.C.L.E.'. Each week, Drake would be assigned to rescue a captured British agent, locate stolen defence plans, or penetrate an enemy spy ring. McGoohan played 'Drake' in a terse, arrogant yet oddly charismatic way, preempting Sean Connery's early performances as 'James Bond'.

'Danger Man' was produced in two batches - one transmitted in Britain in 1959/60, and another from 1964-67. Its the early half-hour episodes which work best for me, being more tightly written and directed. In these, Drake works for N.A.T.O., and appears to be an American, but later on, he would be redefined as an Englishman attached to the British Secret Service outfit M9. Of the hour-long episodes, I cite 'Colony Three' ( the inspiration for 'The Prisoner' ), 'No Marks For Servility', 'Not So Jolly Roger' and 'Whatever Happened To George Foster?' as amongst my personal favourites.

'Danger Man' ended with a rousing two-part colour adventure set in Japan - 'Koroshi' and 'Shinda Shima'. Though not popular with many fans, for my money they rounded off the series nicely, and made one wish McGoohan had done more in similar vein before moving onto 'The Prisoner'.

'Danger Man' does not get repeated often because it was mostly made in black and white. Yet, for anyone who loves '60's action television, it is essential viewing.

Taken as a whole, "Danger Man" is one of the finest Television series of its era. Patrick McGoohan did an excellent job portraying British Intelligence Agent John Drake, providing a frankly refreshing alternative to the James Bond type character of the Spy genre.

Danger Man consisted of 4 seasons done in a somewhat unusual manner. In the first season, televised 1960-1961, John Drake is a NATO intelligence officer working for the UN in New York. There were 39 half-hour episodes filmed in black and white. The series was cancelled after this first season and it was not until 1964 that it was reprised (because of the "spy craze" of that time) for its second season. John Drake no longer works for NATO but rather for the British Government intelligence agency "M9". The shows are also now 1 hour episodes, and for seasons 2 & 3 (combined total 45 episodes) are filmed in black and white. The fourth season consists of only 2 1-hour episodes that are filmed in color (or is it "Colour" :-)?

The character of John Drake is one of a spy with morals. He doesn't use women, rarely carries a gun much less uses one, and prefers to think his way through his missions. He is no weakling however ( McGoohan is 6' 2.5") and knows how to handle himself very well in hand-to-hand fighting. He is adept at several languages and reasonably good at disguises. The gadgetry is more sparse and more believable than that found in the Bond films, with the most common spy accessories being a camera hidden in a cigarette lighter, and an electric razor that doubles as a tape recorder. He is sometimes at odds with his superiors when they request him to do things that he considers immoral or dishonorable and pays the price for doing what he sees as right.

When aired in the US, a different opening sequence and song was added. Originally the series title of "Danger Man" was going to be retained but at the last moment it was deemed that "Secret Agent" would catch a bigger share of the US audience. The famous "Secret Agent" song sung by Johnny Rivers had its refrain originally phrased for "Danger Man" but then had to be changed to "Secret Agent MAN" to work.

As of this writing, A&E Home Video has brought to DVD region 1 (USA/Canada) the first 38 episodes of Seasons 2&3. It is hoped they will pubish the remaining 7 Season 3 episodes and the 2 Season 4 episodes, and it is the personal hope of this author that the will then consider to publish the original 39 half hour episodes of Season 1.

Patrick McGoohan stopped doing Danger Man because he thought the stories had run their course and because he wanted to do his own unique project, which became the legendary series "The Prisoner". There has been ongoing rumor that a Prisoner Movie is in the make, with McGoohan having the hand at writing the script, and possibly directing and staring in a cameo role. To Patrick, your fans hope in relation to this project, that one more time we can all "Be seeing you".

This show never laughs at itself (setting it apart from most of the James Bond and follow-on genre shows). Instead, it projects the inimitable Patrick McGoohan as a consistently efficacious hero: fast-thinking, innovative, ultra-capable, tenaciously-focused on the mission, yet when achieving the mission is not enough, he's able to think outside the box, to re-define his goals and achieve success in a wider context.

For a little boy starving to see a hero on television, "Danger Man" (and the subsequent "Secret Agent Man") was just what I needed. A hundred times over the years, facing my own moments of challenge, I remembered how John Drake had handled things. Nevermind the detail of his job being a "secret agent," the essential of this show is: a man of quintessential skill and reason who uses his mind to take him over, under, around or through all obstacles -- and *that* is what you take away from every episode.

It's food for the soul.