In this installment our hero John Drake meets who I would term his third most formidable opponent . The other two enemies that nearly bested Drake were Lord Ammanford (played by Bernard Lee in 'Whatever Happened to George Foster?') and Rachid Noureddine (played by Derren Nesbitt in 'Sting in the Tail').
Not going to spoil the episode by giving away the punch line, or even the plot outline, but early on in the episode the antagonist kills an M9 agent and Drake is sent in to pick up the pieces. Bad guy "Volos" (picture Colonel Klink without the monocle) is sort of a truly evil, yet gentlemanly type. The various bad guys start one step ahead of Drake from the get go and this will continue with Volos outmaneuvering Drake at every turn... right up until the end of the show.
The acting here is marvelous and the production is tight and... hmm ... thoughtful. For example, when the M9 agent is killed, he is shot through the lens of the headlamp he is wearing. The subsequent closeup reveals a blackish spot around the hole in the glass where the bullet entered. Nice touch. And near the end of the show Drake has a bad limp from an injury he's suffered and is dragging his foot. At one point he bursts away from the frame (as best he can), yet as he starts down the hallway off camera you can still hear the foot dragging. He stayed in character, and they mic'd it properly!
Keep your eye on his #1 henchman (Holst). The guy is straight-faced throughout the episode, casting an unrelenting evil eye toward Drake even when he is in the background. I have this guy sized up as quite intimidating until Drake fools him into thinking he's escaped, and the supposed tough guy falls apart, fear breaking out all over his face in anticipation of getting crucified for losing his Drake. Quite delicious, and this triggers a very satisfying end to the show as Drake delivers comeuppance upon Volos.
Finally, you will see inside John Drake's bedroom for the first time (keep calm ladies), where we are introduced to his high-tech headboard. He receives his mission via videocast, while a female voice states his mission.. and speaking of "mission", this sequence is straight out of Mission Impossible. What a rip off! But wait. Mission Impossible did not come on the air until 1968... so who's stealing from whom?
Three new spy gadgets are introduced in this episode. And as usual, rather than their presence being related to the latest technological breakthroughs, the gadgets appear as necessary plot devices to the story. For the second time in as many episodes John is sporting a handy knock out gas dispenser tucked in his sleeve. He also comes up with a handy tracking device disguised as a burr which easily sticks to his victims clothing. Mated to this bug is a new tracking receiver disguised as a small clock. This trio of gadgets brings the count for both the 1/2 hour and 1 hour series up to of 36!
Be seeing you...
Not going to spoil the episode by giving away the punch line, or even the plot outline, but early on in the episode the antagonist kills an M9 agent and Drake is sent in to pick up the pieces. Bad guy "Volos" (picture Colonel Klink without the monocle) is sort of a truly evil, yet gentlemanly type. The various bad guys start one step ahead of Drake from the get go and this will continue with Volos outmaneuvering Drake at every turn... right up until the end of the show.
The acting here is marvelous and the production is tight and... hmm ... thoughtful. For example, when the M9 agent is killed, he is shot through the lens of the headlamp he is wearing. The subsequent closeup reveals a blackish spot around the hole in the glass where the bullet entered. Nice touch. And near the end of the show Drake has a bad limp from an injury he's suffered and is dragging his foot. At one point he bursts away from the frame (as best he can), yet as he starts down the hallway off camera you can still hear the foot dragging. He stayed in character, and they mic'd it properly!
Keep your eye on his #1 henchman (Holst). The guy is straight-faced throughout the episode, casting an unrelenting evil eye toward Drake even when he is in the background. I have this guy sized up as quite intimidating until Drake fools him into thinking he's escaped, and the supposed tough guy falls apart, fear breaking out all over his face in anticipation of getting crucified for losing his Drake. Quite delicious, and this triggers a very satisfying end to the show as Drake delivers comeuppance upon Volos.
Finally, you will see inside John Drake's bedroom for the first time (keep calm ladies), where we are introduced to his high-tech headboard. He receives his mission via videocast, while a female voice states his mission.. and speaking of "mission", this sequence is straight out of Mission Impossible. What a rip off! But wait. Mission Impossible did not come on the air until 1968... so who's stealing from whom?
Three new spy gadgets are introduced in this episode. And as usual, rather than their presence being related to the latest technological breakthroughs, the gadgets appear as necessary plot devices to the story. For the second time in as many episodes John is sporting a handy knock out gas dispenser tucked in his sleeve. He also comes up with a handy tracking device disguised as a burr which easily sticks to his victims clothing. Mated to this bug is a new tracking receiver disguised as a small clock. This trio of gadgets brings the count for both the 1/2 hour and 1 hour series up to of 36!
Be seeing you...
