Customer Reviews

Danger Man - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Recently, I received these DVDs from another source and I would like to strongly encourage all fans of the hour long Danger Man shows and The Prisoner to consider this set. First of all, the transfer is exceptional. The shows are remarkably clear in their black and white format. There is no fuzziness that I could see. Also, the half hour format suits the show well. The stories are as well plotted as the hour long show, just faster paced. And then there's the music. I actually perfer the score of the half hour shows to the score of the hour long programs. The music in these programs remind me of the type of music you would hear in the old series Peter Gunn, and anyone who is fortunate enough to have seen that series knows how much the music contributed to the overall effect of the show. Finally, the writing of the show is very strong. Of the twenty stories that I have viewed at the time of this review, only one stood out in my mind as a bit disappointing. That's a pretty good record for a weekly series.

But what I think may be of most interest for fans of this series is Patrick MacGoohan. There is no question what an exceptional actor he is and that would be reason enough to buy this set. However, the John Drake of this show is slightly different than the one in the hour long programs. To me, he seems almost optimistic. I realize this is an odd word to use when referring to this series, but the impression is given that Drake really believes in his missions and that he is on the side of right. In the hour long show, Drake comes off more world weary, more cynical and a bit disillusioned. By the time he becomes The Prisoner (and we know it is him-who else could it be?) his faith in the morality of the political system has collasped completely. For after all, Drake is an extremely moral person, which is one of the elements that make him so fascinating to watch. It might be interesting for new viewers to start with the half hour series, go to the hour long shows, and then end the journey with The Prisoner. No doubt it will give them considerable food for thought.

Though at the end of the day, one has to ask: Are these half hour shows entertaining? And the answer is: extremely so. I think you will be pleasantly surprised on how well the show was written, directed, and acted. I just hope everyone who buys this set enjoys it as much as I have!

If you're a Prisoner fan, there's nothing quite like popping this set in for the first time and watching John Drake wander about Portmeirion in the first episode. That's all you need to know. If you've already seen it on 4th generation videotape from the early 80's, you will be blown away by how crisp and clear it is. I watched the new Babylon 5 set right after one of these Danger Man episodes and I couldn't believe all the snow on the newer show.

For those of you unfamiliar with The Prisoner, I have to ask you to please ignore the way in which A&E are marketing this series. It's ludicrous. They seem to think putting "the spy who rarely carries a gun and isn't swayed by loose women" on the box is going to sell it. (Insert snore here....) Also, if you're looking at the package thinking "No sex, no guns... it must be good for the kids" you have to remember that everybody smoked and drank on these shows, and Drake is no exception. If that doesn't bother you, then it will be okay for the kids. The formula established here which combines the spy who relies heavily on acting skill with a series of exotic locations is still being used on Alias. Also, being filmed in black and white actually makes it feel less dated than shows like the Saint and the Avengers which overdid the color and "mod" style.

Drake specializes in infiltrating bad guy inner circles and rescuing other spies, not gathering information or stealing blueprints, so you get a mix of gritty spy work with a mystery or P.I. flair. He often ignores the plans of his superiors and redesigns his missions. He also makes fun of unneccessary procedures thought up by other departments. (My coworkers are now using the Drakeism "Coffee and eggs for two." to describe procedures like this.)

Ladies: the star of the show is Patrick McGoohan, 6 foot 2, athletic, a good flirt and even in greyscale he has the bluest eyes you've ever seen. He only gets more attractive when you get to know his character, Drake. John Drake is an opinionated but dedicated secret agent, a genuine good guy who regrets the bad things he sometimes has to do in his line of work.

Gents (and ladies who like fights): McGoohan's sport in school was boxing, so he insisted on doing his own stunts and fights, raising the bar for later action stars. His longtime friend and stunt coordinator Frank Maher even said McGoohan could have been a stunt man. Every fight scene is different and there are quite a few stunts which aren't allowed anymore because of higher safety standards today. They are a treat to watch!

Everybody: It's true Drake doesn't sleep with a new bird every episode, it doesn't mean there's no sexual tension. Women are constantly throwing themselves at him (And why not? Just look at him!), so his personal rule of avoiding romantic entanglements while working becomes a running joke.

If you watch this set in conjunction with Secret Agent (seasons 2-4 are the continuation of this set) and the Prisoner, you can have a lot of fun watching the ideological Drake who skips four years of vacations evolve into the rebellious Drake who wonders what he's missing by not being married and finally (maybe?) the nameless Number 6 who is imprisoned in the Village after unexpectedly resigning from a top-secret position.

The half hour Danger Man first season is the best spy show ever and some of the best TV ever made. Each episode is concise and believable. They are fast paced with great dialogue and characterizations. The plots are intricate and the action moves with the speed of an Olympic ping-pong game. The casting is marvelous and represents a veritable who's who of British TV from the fifties and sixties.
McGoohan's conception of a master spy is admirable. He is completely self-possessed and reveals no weaknesses. Unlike the characters of the eternally adolescent Bond films, John Drake is no sexual predator or sap who can't keep his pants up. He is always a gentleman and immune to feminine seduction or waterworks. He is noble but no patsy. Drake is intelligent, and perceptive. To accomplish his missions, he would rather fool, trick, or deceive his enemies. He does not like violence, and avoids the rough stuff if possible, but when it is the last resort he can mix it up with the best.
When one considers that Danger Man precedes Goldfinger by five years, it is amazing how much style and pacing of the later Bond films seems influenced by Danger Man. The opening line of each episode (credits) "...Oh, and my name's Drake, John Drake."
One of the outstanding things about Patrick McGoohan's career is his choosing consistently high quality projects. Most of his projects are classics from Danger Man, Dr. Syn, the Prisoner, many BBC productions, and his brilliant Edward I in Braveheart. This is a long awaited treat. Don't miss it.

For those unfamiliar--Patrick Magoohan is the superstar who never quite was. Like his John Drake/No 6 TV equivalent Magoohan was impatient with the trappings of stardom and at the height of his fame-just quit. If Drake is a dense and difficult hero to embrace so Magoohan was an enigma who always danced to his own drummer forever more interested in his point than his fame and fans. Onry and intolerant of compromise Magoohan refused to embrace the leading man persona that would have assured him a career the equivalent of a Sean Connery Michael Caine or Roger Moore. With his patented clipped delivery and firely disposition this guy was one of a kind and these half hour teleplays feature the young lion at the very inception of his small screen career. No less than Orson Welles considered him one of the greatest living actors and admitted to being intimidated when he cast a young Magoohan opposite him in the stage play of "Moby Dick". Many of these stories suffer from short handed plotting due to there length but most compensate with skillful voice overs to get to the meat of the plot and both production values and print quality are fully the equal of the later series. Add the high caliber of the supporting cast and you come to realize how good viewers had it in 1960. Highly Recommended.

I see no need to reiterate the other reviewers' comments on the premise of Danger Man. That's already well covered and if you've read the other reviews on this page you'll know all about what to expect.

I'd rather address Danger Man - Season One's value to up-and-coming filmmakers. I first saw this series on the DVD's of the later, hour-long episodes, and I wasn't sure the concept could work pared down to half-hour length. I was gloriously wrong.

These shows are a model of precision storytelling on film. Watch carefully and you'll see very little to no narrative fat in the scripts, and yet if these episodes have any less depth than their later hour-long counterparts, you won't notice. The stories are paced with remarkable efficiency, offering solid characterizations, well structured plots, and suspense in a swift 26 minutes of screen time. In other words, what we have here is one of the best collections of short films on DVD.

If you are a filmmaker just starting out, and wanting to learn exactly what goes in to making a first-rate short film, you owe it to yourself to buy this set and watch it carefully. Study the episodes, take notes if you must. You'll find some excellent lessons to apply to your own work, in addition to splendid entertainment.

Very much agree with the other comments.

Some additional bits...

He is American in this first series to appeal to American viewers and he tries to maintain a neutral accent.

As in the later hour-long Secret Agent series, he is an intelligence agency troubleshooter who is sent in to do "the messy jobs" (as he narrates in the intro.)

In the voiceover on the DVD for episode #2 he says he is from NATO, but his agency is left unnamed in the other intros. No doubt this is a clue that there were different versions of the half-hour intro for the UK and US markets. (The one-hour episodes shown on US TV had a different title - "Secret Agent" - and a different opening: with a twirling gun, a gloved hand firing three shots, and the Johnny Rivers song - all ending with a gunshot sound. More gunplay than in the actual episodes!)

The background shot is of the US Capitol dome. (In Secret Agent, there is often a shot of the dome of St Paul's.)

The half-hour shows don't have the plot complexity (most of the one-hour shows have a very realistic major setback or other plot twist at the half-way point) or the plot depth (the half-hour shows are nearly 100% action and suspense; McGoohan and the excellent guest stars have more time for characterization in the one-hour shows.)

And, of course, it is the later one-hour shows that bring out Drake's moral concerns and rebelliousness about his work.

As with the one-hour shows, they are beautifully plotted, written, acted, and filmed.

The half-hour shows are very satisfying and will give you a lift. I have to admit that some of the one-hour shows, being more realistic, can be a bit of a downer.

Get 'em all!

If you are even mildly considering buying this set...BUY IT! The transfers are amazing. I wish everything this old could look this good (including me!). I was a big fan of the Secret Agent series when I was a kid. In the early 80's I was teaching in London, and to my delight they began airing these original Danger Man episodes as a late night filler. Having the set in such pristine form is a real joy. And this just about rounds out my McGoohan collection (all I need now is The Scarecrow!).

This program was the earlier versions of Secret Agent Man. The episodes are 30 minutes long which makes them faster paced and focused on the plot with no tangents. The writers were associated with British Intelligence during the war which makes the episodes so realistic. The plots sometimes illustrate moral choices in the espionage business.

Some things to look for is the introduction where Drake is a NATO agent based in the US. The producer falsely thought that people in the US disliked the English. This was corrected in Secret Agent Man. In the introduction British MI6 is not mentioned because it was illegal to do so at the time. Instead they mention MI5 which is the equivalent of the US FBI and like the FBI is forbidden by law to do work outside the country.

Initially I would not have agreed that these 25-minute shows could measure up in any way to the later 52-minute Danger Man shows, but after watching this set I would have to change my mind. They are in some ways even better because Drake is a bit more naive and you can see he hasn't been hardened yet and is a long way from becoming the cynical and ocassionally bitter agent in the later shows. The picture and sound quality of this set alone makes it worth having for any McGoohan fan. I bought a DVD set of a recent TV series produced this century and it didn't look nearly as good as these episodes from 44 years ago--and that's the truth.

Yes the transfers are splendid. Yes the shows are fast. Yes McGoohan is a remarkable actor.

I write his for the Prisoner or Secret Agent fan wondering if this set is worth a look. I offer a most unqualified yes. As others have said here, the shows are amazingly tight and controlled. Actually too tight for me; the development is quite linear, and I think they recognized that as the reincarnation went to a full hour. But the scripts are excellent, and show how much story can be dsiplayed and developed in 25 minutes.

The acting is mostly superb. Faces known from later on show up, and do a wonderful job. The direction works perfectly. The story is laid out, told, and concluded with efficiency and class.

But the part of these I like best is their pre "we're all good guys and bad guys" thinking. One side was good, one was bad, and the moral equivocation of so much later spy stuff is not seen here. Check out "The Sisters", a deft tale of misdirection in which the losers beg not to be deported back to their eastern homeland. They know what awaits failure. The stakes were high, the penalties severe, and Danger Man pulls no punches about which side was working for freedom and which celebrated repression.