Danger Man - Vol. 2 - The Lovers / Girls In Pink Pyjamas

Starring: Patrick McGoohan, Richard Wattis Director: Charles Frend, Peter Graham Scott, Ralph Smart, Seth Holt Original UK Premiere: 1960 Dvd Release: 12th February, 2001 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: Black & White, PAL, Region 2 Encoding

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Danger Man was a British television show that ran for four seasons from 1960 to 1966. It starred Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. The series was created by Ralph Smart. The first seasons episodes were 30 minutes in length & portrayed Drake as an Irish-American secret agent, possibly working for a secret arm of NATO, who often argued with his superiors about the ethics of his missions. The series was a major success in Europe, but was unsuccessful in syndication in the United States, so when American financing for a second season fell through, the show was cancelled. After a hiatus & in the wake of the popularity of the James Bond movies in the interim, Danger Man s creator, Ralph Smart, rethought the concept & with the second season, the episodes ran a full hour & had a new theme tune, entitled High Wire. Drake had mysteriously lost his American accent & was no longer in conflict with his bosses.

A classic 60s show. . No wait , where are you going? ......No,No theres been a misunderstanding - Dangerman is actually good.

Oh Yes! screamed the reader in an feverish uneven voice. I know all about 60s t.v. shows . They start off normal then degenerate into episodes about giant Ferrets threatening to brainwash the population of London by singing backwards over & over again in their chipmunkily-high voices.......

Narrator:Yes we know , we know, then the hero saves the day by throwing shoes at itor by blinding it with the sheer gaudiness of his Denis the Menace style Red & black stripy jumper, or by doing a campy dance or by attacking it with a giant marigold , or by going on a trek to Tibet to meet a chinstroking man who says ,"HMMMMMMMMMM ,GRASSHOPPER", all day, every day.

Listen weve all had bad experiences with 60s t.v. . THe vast majority of the audience of the day were stoned at the time & so their fond recollection of some shows owes more to the fact that they beleived their t.v. was a portal which their foggy rainbow ship was approaching then to engaging stories & plotlines. ITCs Dangerman is different though.

"ITC", the reader will murmur suspiously, didnt they make the saint & the avengers? ..... well yes but we all make mistakes you know......And isnt Dangerman partially based on the abysmally bad Bond Franchise?........ Well kind of........And isnt it in black & white?.........Yeah but it adds mood.

I initially bought this out of my interest in the t.v. masterpiece "The Prisoner" which Dangerman is vaguely\distinctly linked to.But now I love the show on its own merit. WHY?-Because its so damned entertaining,so damned film-noirish.

The episodes last 25 minutes & the plots belter along at a frantic pace - it never drags like other T.V. shows do, because the writers try to pack as much excitement, suspense & cold war intrigue as they can into 25 short minutes.

The series stars Patrick McGoohan who magnificently plays the role of NATO secret agent John Drake. John Drake is a thinking secret agent & generally tries to avoid trouble by relying on his head first,and his fists second.Drake is a realistically portrayed agent & is perhaps the only 60s spy not to rely on campy gimmicks & catchphrases.

Fans of the prisoner & good t.v. will adore this a perfect exemplar of how old T.V. doesnt neccesarily mean old crap.And at 8 episodes ...it also represents excellent value for money.

Patrick McGoohan is an American -born Irish actor who starred in the 1960s television series Danger Man & cult classic The Prisoner. He has also appeared in a number of films, including Hell Drivers, Scanners, Ice Station Zebra, Escape from Alcatraz, Silver Streak, Braveheart & A Time to Kill. Born March 19, 1928, the same date as the infamous, nameless character he created & portrayed in The Prisoner, Patrick McGoohan seemed destined for something special, but not what his parents expected of him. His mother had promised God if her first child was a boy, he would grow up to be a priest & Patrick spent the first 15 years of his life working toward that goal. At school, he excelled in mathematics & boxing & later worked as a chicken farmer, a bank clerk & a lorry driver before getting a job as a stage manager at Sheffield Repertory. When one of the actors became ill, Patrick took to the boards & never looked back. It was there he immediately fell for a tanned & vivacious actress named Joan Drummond, the woman he reportedly writes love notes to every day. Posters Of The Prisoner

Editors Choice: The Prisoner, Escape From Alcatraz, The Man In The Iron Mask, Cult Tv Legends, Danger Man, All Night Long, Brand, Vol 4, View DVDology

Seth Holt was a British film director born in Palestine in 1923 & dying in London, England in 1971. He worked as editor on a number of Ealing comedies before directing a number of features for Hammer Studios. The most enduring of the Hammer movies were the psycho-thrillers Taste of Fear & The Nanny & the gory Blood from the Mummys Tomb, which was completed by Michael Carreras after Holts unexpected death from heart failure. His films are characterized by their tense atmosphere & suspense, as well as their striking visual style.

Editors Choice: Blood From The Mummys Tomb, Lust For A Vampire, Scars Of Dracula, The Devil Rides Out, The Horror Of Frankenstein, View DVDology

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