The Secret Service

"DO de do dedada dabadaba do dedod deda, DO de do dedada dabadaba do dedod deda" The strangest but most brilliant TV series EVER. Watch this drunk or St**ed............... its the best.

It seems to me that some of us have forgotten that Gerry Anderson's productions were originally aimed at *children*. A generation of confirmed adolescents have laid claim to 'Thunderbirds', 'Captain Scarlet', etc., with their SF elements and spectacular model work. When Mr Anderson decided on a change of pace with a whimsical espionage story people were baffled: "A Gerry Anderson show - starring a Model T Ford? What's that about?"

Well, don't forget the 60's was also the era of 'The Avengers', when England's green and pleasant land was full of power-mad eccentrics. It seems to me that Anderson combined elements of 'The Avengers' (off-the-wall spy stories in an apparently innocent setting) with the Father Brown character of GK Chesterton (unobtrusive village priest as super-sleuth). Father Unwin lives in an England of parish churches, tea on the vicarage lawn, and tree-lined country lanes free of traffic. He thinks getting 42 m.p.h. out of his Model T is cutting a dash. If anything I would like to know more about how he came to be involved in B.I.S.H.O.P.

The result was not (and is not) to everyone's taste, but it should not be dismissed just because it's different. The stories are not repetitive, although they do repeat the same elements. 'Thunderbirds' is repetitive: a huge disaster requires the fantastic equipment of International Rescue to save the day. Only the circumstances change: skyscraper, monorail, airliner. We saw the launch sequence of Thunderbirds 1 & 2 in every episode.

And in my opinion Stanley Unwin was a genius whose wordplay lay as much in the subtle association of ideas (a typewriter becomes a 'tripewriter', a trombone is a 'slideyhuff') as the simple scrambling of the words themselves. Read Unwin's 'House and Garbidge' or 'The Miscillian Manuscript' then John Lennon's books 'In his own write' and 'A Spaniard in the works' to see how influential he was (even those titles are 'Unwinesque'). He could also be extremely quick-witted and funny without resorting to 'Unwinese'. When, as 'Professor Unwin', he was asked about the castrati (male singers who were castrated to preserve their boyish voices) his reply was simple: "I'm not cut out for that sort of thing." Deep joy!

After Thunderbirds and that mysteron series, I looked forward to this Anderson offering. Tried to like it, but it was too slow and the concept of a priest working for the British Secret service (British Intelligence Secret Headquarters Operation Priest or BISHOP) didn't really take off. I guess if I wanna watch a show with marionettes as the cast, I need more toy rockets and explosions.

This is actually quite fun and, as another reviewer has pointed out, seems to reference other 1960s TV series. (I did wonder if the shot of the Centrepoint building was meant to echo the shot of the Nemesis offices in The Champions (1968). But I don't know that The Champions would have already aired when this series was being made.)

The first (*** see EDIT below ***) episode was almost psychedelic -- or at least F-A-B -- as I was only half-watching it and so didn't realise a shrink-ray was involved. The teeny-tiny car and occupants had a feel of Michael Bentine's Potty Time (1973-1980). It's only when watching the second episode that I realised the shrink-ray is an important part of their equipment.

So, do please give it a go. Like me, you might just find it a fun watch.

EDIT: it turns out that what I thought was the first episode was actually the 13th and final episode. Having subsequently watched the actual first episode, I can confirm that the shrink-ray (and suitcase) is clearly introduced in the first episode.

The Secret Service was one Gerry Anderson show that got it all wrong. Firstly, you can't have a show mixing puppets with real live actors, it's either one or the other. Secondly, the idea of a Church bishop doubling up as a secret agent and going on dangerous missions is too far fetched for its own good. The episodes weren't that memorable either; each puppet show has standout episodes, but this has none. And that whole 'Unwinese' thing was just plain silly. Only worth watching if you are a die hard Gerry Anderson fan, otherwise, this is a very disappointing series.