Embedded Files
"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."
First series titles
Danger Man is a British espionage television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. It was created by Ralph Smart, who also wrote many of the scripts, and starred Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. The programme was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment for ATV, and aired in the United Kingdom on ITV.
Like James Bond, the main character is a globetrotting spy who works at first for NATO, in series one, and then for the fictional British intelligence service M9 for the remainder of the show's run. Like Bond, Drake cleverly extricates himself from life-threatening situations, albeit with gadgetry which is less fantastic than Bond's, and introduces himself as "Drake... John Drake."
McGoohan affected character development with key differences from Bond: no firearms (with a few rare exceptions) and no outright seduction of female co-stars.
Drake's missions involve international espionage, dealing with threats to global security, which often require him to go undercover. Drake is known for his resourcefulness, intelligence, and ability to think his way out of difficult situations. Unlike many spy shows of that era, the show focused on the use of intellect, rather than violence, notably avoiding excessive violence and romantic entanglements.
Patrick McGoohan as John Drake
In 1960, the first series of 39 episodes ran at 25 minutes each and portrayed John Drake as working for a Washington, DC–based intelligence organisation, on behalf of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), whose assignments frequently took him to Africa, Latin America, and the Far East. They were filmed in black and white. When American financing for a second series failed to materialise, the programme was cancelled.
For the second and third series (1964-66), the episode's length was extended to 50 minutes and Drake's nationality became British, and he was an agent working for a secret British government department, called M9 (analogous to Secret Intelligence Service). These were also filmed in black and white.
The fourth series consists of only two episodes, "Koroshi" and "Shinda Shima", the only two episodes of Danger Man to be filmed in colour. Broadcast in 1968, these two separate but related episodes were recut together as a feature for cinemas in Europe and for American broadcast.
Other than the largely nominal change of employer and nationality, Drake's mandate remains the same: "to undertake missions involving national and global security". In keeping with the episodic format of such series in the 1960s, there are no ongoing story arcs and there is no reference made to Drake's NATO adventures in the later M9 episodes.
Episodes
Episodes
All 49 episodes from the second, third and fourth series were shown on ITV in 1972. Series two and three were mixed up and not shown in their original broadcast order. Between 1984 and 1986, Channel 4 aired all 39 episodes from series one.
Series 1 (1960-62)
View From The Villa
Time To Kill
Josetta
The Blue Veil
The Lovers
The Girl In Pink Pyjamas
Position Of Trust
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 GIs
Name, Date And Place
Vacation
The Conspirators
The Honeymooners
The Gallows Tree
The Relaxed Informer
The Brothers
The Journey Ends Halfway
Bury The Dead
Sabotage
The Contessa
The Leak
The Trap
The Actor
Hired Assassin
The Deputy Coyannis Story
Find And Destroy
Under The Lake
The Nurse
Dead Man Walks
Deadline
Series 2 (1964-65)
Yesterday's Enemies
The Professionals
The Galloping Major
Fair Exchange
Fish On The Hook
The Colonel's Daughter
The Battle Of The Cameras
No Marks For Servility
A Man to be Trusted
Don't Nail Him Yet
A Date With Doris
That's Two Of Us Sorry
Such Men Are Dangerous
Whatever Happened To George Foster?
A Room In the Basement
The Affair At Castlevara
The Ubiquitous Mr Lovegrove
It's Up To The Lady
Have A Glass of Wine
The Mirror's New
Parallel Lines Sometimes Meet
Series 3 (1965-66)
The Black Book
A Very Dangerous Game
Sting in the Tail
You're Not In Trouble Are You?
Loyalty Always Pays
The Mercenaries
The Outcast
English Lady Takes Lodgers
Are You Going To Be More Permanent?
To Our Best Friend
The Man On The Beach
Say It With Flowers
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
Someone Is Liable To Get Hurt
Dangerous Secret
I Can Only Offer You Sherry
The Hunting Party
Two Birds With One Bullet
I Am Afraid You Have The Wrong Number
The Man With The Foot
The Paper Chase
Not So Jolly Roger
Series 4 (1968)
Koroshi
Shinda Shima
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