John Drake is a special operative for M19, specialising in security assignments against any subversive element which threatened world peace. The lid show made Saturday evening a treat. Not only for the great opening sound track by JOHNNY Rivers, but the creative exploits of the main character John Drake. At the time it followed the spy craze created by the 2 James Bond movies made just prior to the show's debut, Dr. No and From Russia With Love. What made this show different as well was several years after it went off the air on CBS, a spin off series was crest called "The Prisoner". The show gained rave reviews during a ST run. It picked on what happens to John Drake after he quits the British Secret Service.. Somewhat dated but still both shows are exciting TV fare. Believe it or not, I did not see any of this programme until 1992-93. It was shown one per night on CBC-Windsor at difficult to establish late hours. In spite of the inconvenience, I made it my business to see as many as possible; my first was when Drake had a car crash, blacking out . . . and you will just have to see it.<br/><br/>It was well cast with well-crafted supporting characters. I had no idea it was the progeny of an earlier show about a NATO operative, a few episodes of which I saw in 1961 (and none since). One notes comment that SECRET AGENT was inspired by the 007 films, which is beyond dispute, but I respectfully disagree that it was as "gadgety" as the Bond films, and furthermore it was devoid of the latent camp. Exception: "Would You Like Some Wine" (if memory serves). Perhaps it was the b.&w. presentation that made it more – pardon the cliche – gritty.<br/><br/>Most of the episodes were good. It seems some of the later ones (did the series run into 1967?) were the weakest: Far-fetched and in a few cases ridiculous without being tongue-in-cheek. I cannot say whether SECRET AGENT came to an end because it ran out of petrol or because the more ambitious THE PRISONER was on the drawing boards. All said, I agree that one should make every attempt to see the series, and no, being period piece does not distract for those able to make a mature adjustment to such. I recently watched all 47 episodes in a row over a weeks time and I love this show. That said, there are some silly moments and no agent in his right mind would find himself in a situation where virtually every job requires him to depend upon someone walking in at the precise moment to upset the bad guys' plans or have someone make a mistake and let him (Drake) get out of the situation at the very last moment. Note how many fights he is in with 2 guys where one gets shoved and is dazed enough to wait while Drake finishes off the other or how many times a bad guy is merely jostled and fires his weapon in the air allowing Drake to escape or beat up the villain. I wonder how many concussions Drake suffered and how many shots were fired at him at close range by professional killers which happened to conveniently miss? Well, all TV shows and movies are like that, but better writing would be in order here. Love the music, love the plane jetting in, love the scenes all throughout Europe and several other continents, love the old character actors who are mostly dead now, but who gave us all huge amounts of enjoyment in the 60s. Personal favorite episode: "That's Two Of Us Sorry". Great twist at the end.
Fernphy replied
354 weeks ago