Destination danger

There are so many things Ralph Smart got right in the earliest Danger Man, it's almost a pity he couldn't stick to the commercially problematic 30-minute format. The stories are taut, clever Cold War mystery-thrillers. Within the hurried time constraints it isn't all plot as Smart finds room for characterization and texture, even to interject some interesting ideas and questions. A lot of this is done by way of the mercurial Patrick McGoohan but Smart had no shortage of talented collaborators in directors and actors.

McGoohan's early performances are fluid yet quirky. While he projects a kind of reserved elan, he also draws on a trove of itchy, improvisational mannerisms that allow us into more than a few nooks--not all of them pleasant--of John Drake's anxious cynicism. (McGoohan is to the TV spook what the late Jeremy Brett was to Sherlock Holmes: a perturbable, high-strung exotic, haunted but smirking.) I prefer him here to the more celebrated Prisoner, in fact, where he's customarily arch and lacks the variety of situation and emotional register. His narration is another treat, delivered in one of the most delectably ironic voices in dramatic TV history.

The writing bests most on TV, then or now. The tone in the better scripts is wry, veering toward acid, with more than a hint of melancholy. This is not the Cold War as a stage for Kennedyesque moxie, and certainly not the idiotic glamorization found in Bond, but rather as in Le Carré, a stage for the peeling away of deceptions that are as likely to originate at home as in dens abroad. This is not to say it isn't above the occasional stereotype; see, for instance, the leering North Koreans in the episode The Honeymooners. But a mark of this generally very humane work is that it more typically treats nationalistic conceptions of the enemy with skepticism, and even pits Drake in frustration against his own morally ambiguous NATO bosses. Nor is the day always won, and some seeming victories prove Pyhrric. How refreshing this is to watch in 2007, for obvious reasons.

The production design, fairly cheapo and simplistic, never detracts (charmingly, old file inserts make do for exterior locations) and in fact the studio sets somehow hold surprise delights: here a gloomy early 60s facsimile of a Munich street recalling Carol Reed's chiaroscuro in The Third Man, there the lobby of an International Style hotel with its sexy mid-century modernism. That it's all in gorgeous high-contrast black and white only deepens the interest: shadow play for shadowy deeds.

A word too about the memorable score by Albert Elms, particularly his incidental music. The understated jazz is part and parcel of the sensibility here--aloof and insinuating. There is so much intelligence pulsing through Elms' music and the series as a whole that it seems vaguely unlikely; watching this work, I can't help but admire its virtues while ruing what's become of the medium.

Danger Man in this early incarnation is grown-up art on TV, the likes of which in the U.S., anyway, we rarely hope to find today outside of HBO, practically its last refuge. A treasure.

I think the "Danger Man" series I remember, with its distinctive racy theme tune, was the later hour-long remake series from 1964 onwards, which would fit in with my own youthful time-line I suppose. Hunting down the show on the web I came across the first episode from 1960 entitled "The View From The Villa", which I was interested to see was co-written by the great Brian Clemens of future "The Avengers" fame.

This episode contained a neat little mystery taking in a murder, the city of Rome, and an enigmatic femme fatale which Patrick McGoohan's John Drake solves with his eye for a painting, all in a brisk 25 minute time-frame. The show, unlike its successor, is pre-Bond so there are no gadgets and there's also an icy detachment from the glamorous and flirtatious ladies he encounters which 007 would never countenance.

No, Drake is there simply to get the job done, which he does with steely aplomb, dispensing what might have been an early catchphrase "Obliged" as he does so. He's handy with his dukes too, but again not in a flashy or contrived way.

McGoohan strolls through the part with laconic ease and as well as elements of the early Bond, you can also see the genesis of Roger Moore's Simon Templar character here, the latter of course with added humour, suavity and raised eyebrow.

I'll certainly make an effort to try to watch more of this entertaining series, confident it will retain the standard of this opening programme.

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.

"DANGER MAN"-"SECRET AGENT"-Produced by ITC Productions. The Half-Hour Episodes,30 minutes each,1960-1961,black and white. The Hour Long Episodes,60 minutes each,1964-1966,black and white. Episodes ran on British Television from 1960-1961,1964-1966. Episodes that ran on American Television from 1965-1966,CBS-TV.

Out of all the espionage shows that came out in the 1960's,this show was among the tops of the list and set the standard for the next batch of espionage,intrigue shows to follow suit. This was indeed a highly entertaining series that was full of quick dialogue,twist endings,and some of the most inventive story lines anywhere. Besides,this was way better than James Bond! The series starred Patrick McGoohan as British secret agent John Drake. As for some of the episodes,this series was one action-packed show which feature McGoohan traveling to certain parts of the world to handle situations given to him by his superiors under orders of his Majesty's Secret Service. This was a show that had a lot of action-packed fighting scenes(where Patrick McGoohan's boxing experience shows in some of the episodes)which some were very inventive and very useful in taking out the baddies. The gadgets were amazing and for the most part which could actually exist,and are brought in as part of a plan in some dangerous situations. The gadgets were really cool items like The Exploding Pen,The Watch with a hidden camera and lots more cool stuff! And had a fare for a ladies as well and also show it in some of the love scenes where he trades affairs for sex secrets on the show and in some segments made him a detail well-crafted character. As for the diabolical villains,Drake had the deal with the evil doers out to destroy the world,but saves the day and the organization he works for.

ABOUT DANGER MAN-SECRET AGENT............... The series consisted of four seasons done in a unusual manner. In the first season,televised from 1960-1961,Patrick McGoohan's character of John Drake is a NATO intelligence officer working for the UN in New York. There were only 39 half-hour episodes filmed in black and white and some of the earlier Danger Man material hasn't been seen since its original broadcast,and most recently they are now on DVD for your enjoyment. The series was cancelled after its first season,and it was not until 1964 that it was reprised,when the "spy craze" of the time exploded with not only James Bond 007,but for every aspects of a lot of television shows that followed including,"The Avengers","The Man From U.N.C.L.E.",and so many more. It was here during its new format and under its second season,that John Drake not longer works for NATO,but for the British Government Intelligence Agency,"M9",which consisted of hour long episodes for seasons two and three(combined total of 45 episodes),which are filmed in black and white. It wasn't until the summer of 1965,that American audiences were interested in this series as well seeing the exploits of John Drake each week,and from that period in 1965,the ratings soared in which the "Danger Man" was shown as an summer replacement here in the states. The last two episodes of the series,also an hour long each,were filmed in color,and these two episodes were combined into a two hour TV-movie entitled "Koroshi" from 1966. This was actually a compilation of two Danger Man episodes,"Koroshi",and "Shinda Shima". Unfortunably,this was the last of the series,before Patrick McGoohan would made the transition from this role to the next series,"The Prisoner". The storyline deals with John Drake who is being sent to Japan to investigate the murders of two British agents who were under the society of the Koroshi who in turn plan to execute world leaders. However,Drake is sent to destroy the organization and at the end becomes sufficient in destroying the society and from there Drake sets out to destroy the society that is handling the affairs. If you wonder where the producers for the Sean Connery/James Bond thriller,"You Only Live Twice" came up the ideas,then you'll see why the last episodes of Danger Man were brilliant to the core.

patrick mcgoohans's dicey 'new englander' accent notwithstanding, he's in fine form here. fast paced and inventive plots, exotic locales, and the extremely moral hero john drake all make the first series of danger man great television.

though he doesn't bed down with every girl he comes across, there's more than enough sexual tension to go around, as every female within a thirty-foot radius ends up throwing herself at johnny d. not keen on guns, drake's a master fighter and the resulting fight scenes are always fun to watch. his gadgets are realistic, much more believable than the ones used by bond or the man from wherever.

the very first episode, 'a view from the villa', takes us to portmeirion, PMG's inspiration for the village in 'the prisoner'. another one of the best television programs ever made.

you'll see a host of familiar faces in supporting roles here too. donald pleasance, barbara shelley--all kinds of great actors popped up on dm from time to time. by all means, if you're a fan of espionage shows, danger man should be high on your list of must-sees. it's got all the chewy goodness and none of the camp that marred so many spy programs in the sixties.