Customer Reviews

Secret Agent AKA Danger Man: The Complete Collection (Slimline Packaging)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One year before The Avengers started avenging, and two years before Bond started claiming his extravagant living expenses, there was Danger Man.
All the usual ITC hallmarks are here, good actors, beautiful actresses and fast paced storylines.
This is the most real interpretation of spying on TV before Callan, Drake has some fancy gadgets, but nothing in the unbelievable Bond league.
Plus, the added bonus of McGoohan's smouldering personality.

Series one introduction:- "Every government has its secret service branch. America, CIA; France, Deuxième Bureau; England, MI5. NATO also has its own. A messy job? Well that's when they usually call on me or someone like me.
Oh yes, my name is Drake, John Drake".

Watch "View From the Villa" and see Portmeirion being used for the first time.
(The 30 minute series.)

Watch "Colony 3" and see where McGoohan started to formulate the idea of The Prisoner.
(The 50 minute series.)

The last two episodes made "Koroshi" and "Shinda Shima" were filmed in colour.
Drakes contact in,"Koroshi" called Potter reappears in The Prisoners,"The Girl who was Death" episode.

I can't help noticing the US theme music "Secret Agent Man" has aged worse then Edwin Astley's UK instrumental theme.

My favourite episode is the atypical episode "The Ubiquitous Mr Lovegrove", most bizarre, and refreshingly different. I think it must have influenced the writers of the Prisoner episodes "A, B & C" and "Living in Harmony".
I am aware that this show is Danger Man and not The Prisoner, but it's hard not to notice the location's, actors and director (Don Chaffey) who would also be involved with The Prisoner.

All 39 of the thirty minute episodes are here along with all 47 of the fifty minute version.
Originally aired; 1960-62 (30 min eps.), 1964-66 (50 min eps.)

Life without this collection is just too full of danger....man!

If I had to choose my all time favorite show, it would be this, as well as its 30 minute predecessor. It is a perfectly realized spy show and the stories have not dated. McGoohan had tremendous screen charisma and intelligence, neither of which can be faked. He made a few movies and was exceptional in those as well, but true superstardom eluded him for reasons I could never understand. If you're thinking about buying this series, I could not give it a stronger recommendation. McGoohan followed this show with his more famous "The Prisoner" which I also give 5 stars to, but I think Secret Agent is even better. You'll love it and watch it many times over.

Growing up I always liked to watch Secret Agent (Man). We always added the word "Man" to the title because of the song "Secret Agent Man" (they're giving you a number and taking away your name).
What I like about the program, after years of reflecting on it, but didn't realize as a child, was the moral outlook of John Drake. He differed from James Bond. He was bold, brave, and acted on the situation, but he had morals. You could see that he was not the amoral, uncaring secret agent. He struggled to do the right thing. Many times he uses brain over the gun. He was a good role model to follow. Many times when his superiors said the person was not the primary concern of the mission but national security was, John Drake differed and made the person involved the primary concern. Nor was he seduced by a beautiful woman. He was romantic, but always kept clear of sexual liasons. He proved you could be a dynamic, caring, and loyal person without ending up in bed with the enemy.
I never saw "Danger Man" as a child, that I can remember, so this collection with the "Danger Man" part of John Drakes life is great. It is like getting new episodes.

Patrick McGoohan probably was the only one who could portray John Drake, given his moral upbringing and his strict contract signing conditions for this series. In McGoohan eyes, John Drake had to be a very moral man. He turned down the role of James Bond and similar characters because of the moral issues. Here he shows the morality of John Drake. McGoohan shows this aspect in the opening of the sequel to "Secret Agent", "The Prisoner." The opening of "The Prisoner" shows a secret agent quiting because of the moral ramifications of the job. His bosses don't understand this aspect and try to find out why he defected. McGoohan wanted to be a moral role model in an amoral world of spying.

I would recommend this series for children because it portrays a definite right and a definite wrong in characters and moral situations.

This show has some of the best acting quality that I have ever seen. The story lines are very intelligent, unlike the movies and TV shows produced nowadays. This is a fabulous DVD set for anyone looking for a show to watch that moreso parallels a well written book than the slapstick, crude humour of today.
Patrick McGoohan's body language alone does a large percent of his acting. He was a very smart and talented man, as well as many of the fellows he worked with.

Secret Agent is, quite simply, the best TV series ever made. It depends on superb acting and great scripts for its content and its quality. There are no special effects. There is little or no violence, and almost never does a gun make an appearance. Most of the episodes were noticeably shot on the same set, often with the same cast. But the level of suspense the episodes generate is incredible. The music--often in the form of single notes, or even silence--coupled with the action puts the viewer on the edge of his or her chair.

If you want to watch a gimmick-free, brilliant, suspenseful, intelligent, and timeless series, this set is for you. It shows that consistent high quality of scripts and acting can trump high budgets and gore. There is a lesson here somewhere.

"Secret Agent aka Danger Man: The Complete Collection" is an 18-disc box set of the series that debuted in America on CBS in 1965. This spy drama aired at the height of the popularity of the big screen's James Bond. The Bond films inspired the TV series "Secret Agent" in England as well as NBC's "The Man From U.N.C.L.E" in America.

Patrick McGoohan plays agent John Drake, who travels all over the world in pursuit of international criminals, corrupt politicians, and stolen secrets. All 86 episodes are included in broadcast order, from the original season, which aired only in the United Kingdom as "Danger Man," to the 47 episodes of "Secret Agent" that were seen internationally, including two color episodes that marked the finale to the long-running suspense thriller.

If you have a high-resolution TV set, it might be surprising that shows from the 60's look better than shows from 70's, 80's and 90's. Back then, TV shows were filmed instead of videotaped, and film has a much better resolution than early videotape. Filmed B&W looks gorgeous on a big TV.

I am a huge fan of The Prisoner, which also looks gorgeous. So I decided to check out Danger Man. Black and White can look very crisp when done with this level of care.

There is an amusingly SHOCKING amount of smoking in these shows. Smoking while trying to hide. Numerous people smoking in bed. A sniper is smoker while he's trying to get a shot. When a trauma patient wakes up, they try to get her to smoke. Every episode, John Drake has his cigarette case out to offer cigarettes. I would have liked to see a selection of 1960's cigarette commercials that went along with these shows, just so I could get some context. As I said, amusing.

Patrick McGoohan is fantastic as John Drake, and gives him a very fascinating character. He isn't always pleasant, but always well-grounded. Lots of really long takes, often with excellent dialog.

Highly recommended.

I've only watched some of the 30 min episodes so far, but I really like what I see. These shorter shows pack a punch and never drag. Mcgoohan is as always, controlled, focused, intimidating...

Very good looking product.

I completely enjoyed this series and would recommend it as bring back an era - which to many would include fond memories. A point of correction wuold be that I only viewed it as 'Secret Agent Man' in the States. During my years in Canada, Australia, and Southern Africa it was always shown as 'Danger Man'. One should remember that international does not mean just the States.
By any name, it is worthy as a pick for your libary.

This is a complete collection of the "Secret Agent AKA Danger Man" TV show, shot in a similar style as the "Saint" series.

I collect early area TV classics, and this is one for the collection. The production (UK studio's) is late 50's-60's spy thriller series, post WWII / cold war, with enough of a international theme to spice up the plots.

If you looking for entertainment that is easy to watch, free of sex and blood, with a few plot twists thrown in; go pop some corn pull up a chair, this might be what you are looking for.