A few months back I wrote about A&E’s excellent “Secret Agent” Megaset. It contained all 47 episodes of the hour-long series, including the two rarely seen color episodes. All the episodes have been remastered, so the transfers looked and sounded great, considering the show was produced in the 60’s. There weren’t a lot of extras, but taking into account that there were 13 discs to contend with and so many episodes, I wouldn’t have had have time to watch them. “Secret Agent” was one of those great British spy shows that were tremendously popular in the 60’s, and one that I watched all the time. Along with “The Avengers”, it was one of my favorites. The series started out life in 1960 as a half hour British show called “Danger Man.” Patrick McGoohan was John Drake, a security specialist working for NATO. The character became instantly popular in Britain, and McGoohan made sure the character was unlike any other British spy out there. First of all, Drake never kissed a woman in the series as he felt it would promote promiscuity.

And rarely did he ever use a gun. The idea was not to promote the idea that violence was the answer to everything.

This was not to say the series was in any way boring. If anything, these two clauses helped the writers to become ever more creative with the plots and resolutions, making the series one of the best written at time. As the popularity of the series grew in Britain, American shores started calling. So “Danger Man” became the first spy drama to air on American televisions, when it aired on CBS in 1961.

The series ended after 39 episodes, but its end was short lived. In 1964, the series was brought back in a one-hour format. In Britain, the original title remained, but in America it became “Secret Agent.” There were a few changes, such as Drake now working for M9, which was a fictional branch of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. This later version of the show ran for two seasons before finally ending. McGoohan did end up filming two more episodes, which aired in 1968. These two, oddly enough ended up being in color!

After watching the set and catching up on the series, my attention turned to the original half-hour version. I started hoping that A&E would release these episodes in another set. I really wanted to see where the series began. As it turns out, the A&E wish elves were listening in and lo and behold, here I sit with the set in hand. This new five-disc set of “Danger Man” does indeed include all 39 original episodes, re-mastered to offer up the best sound and picture possible. Like the first set, there are few extras, but when you have a show of this caliber, who needs them? This first series was every bit as good as the follow-up, so if you’re a fan at all of “Secret Agent”, you’ll definitely want to catch these.

One of the interesting things I learned when I was doing some of my background research on the series, was that many fans of McGoohan’s other great series, “The Prisoner” seemed to think that his character Number 6 was actually Drake, and the series took up where “Secret Agent” left off. Of course no one has ever been able to prove that theory.

Even though the famous Johnny Rivers theme song for “Secret Agent” wasn’t used for “Danger Man”, I guarantee if you sing it along with me, it’ll still get you in the mood to watch this new set. Sing with me….

There's a man who leads a life of danger
In everyone he meets he sees a stranger
With every move he makes another chance he takes
Odds are you won't live to see tomorrow

Secret agent man
Secret agent man
They're giving you a number
And taking away you're name

Beware the pretty faces that you find
A pretty face can hide an evil mind
Be careful what you say you'll give yourself away
Odds are you won't live to see tomorrow

Episodes:
View From the Villa
Time to Kill
Josetta,
The Blue Veil
The Lovers
The Girl in the Pink Pajamas
Position of Trus
The Lonely Chair
The Sanctuary
An Affair of State
The Key
The Sisters
The Prisoner
The Traitor
Colonel Rodriguez
The Island
Find and Return
The Girl Who Liked G.I.s
Name, Date and Place
Vacation
The Conspirators
The Honeymooners
The Gallows Tree
The Relaxed Informer
The Brothers
The Journey Ends Halfway
Bury the Dead
Sabatoge
The Contessa
The Leak
The Trap
The Actor
Hired Assassin
The Deputy Coyannis Story
Find and Destroy
Under the Lake
The Nurse
Dead Man Walk
Deadline

Starring: Patrick McGoohan, Richard Wattis, Lionel Murton
Extras: Patrick McGoohan Biography and Filmography, Photo Gallery
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: A&E
Release Date: 12/31/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll Danger Man give an A.