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By
WADE GOSSETT
Ask James Bond aficionados,
and they'll surely agree that the best Bond films
are from the '60s. And while a principal reason is
the presence and charisma of Sean Connery, I think
it was also the era. It was after all the height
of the Cold War and paranoia was everywhere. The
'60s were indeed the one and only spy season.
Well, before Bond there was "Danger Man" one of
the first TV shows to exploit the spy era. Like
Bond, the spy was British, and the actor was
Patrick McGoohan -- who reportedly declined the
role of Bond in "Dr. No." Connery was eventually
great in the role of the greatest spy ever, but
judging from McGoohan here, and in the subsequent
"The Prisoner," he would have made an excellent
Bond too.
"Danger Man" was produced in Britain for the
1960-61 TV season, as a half-hour suspense show.
In 1964, with spy stories in vogue all over the
world, McGoohan reprised his role as NATO agent
John Drake for the re-titled and re-tooled
one-hour version, "Secret Agent Man" -- even if
you've never seen it, you definitely know the
theme song by Johnny Rivers.
In each episode of "Danger Man" McGoohan is
involved with standard spy intrigue (penetrating
the Iron Curtain, assassinations, smuggling
political prisoners, etc.). I was surprised at how
well most episodes play in a mere 30 minutes. The
plots are consistently clever, and mostly
independent of each other. There are a few gadgets
sprinkled here and there, but "Danger Man" was
mostly a character driven-show and McGoohan is
simply perfect as the tough, phlegmatic, confident
and often somewhat amoral spy. For those who have
loved "The Prisoner," "Danger Man" will provide
the missing introduction.
Image-wise the black-&-white series looks
incredibly well-preserved. But extra materials
consist merely of a brief biography and
filmography for McGoohan and a few stills. For
more visit the the "Danger Man" website at
http://www.mcgoohan.co.uk. |
