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Description
He describes himself as "just a civil servant." But in the cloak and dagger world of the British security services, mild mannered Mr. Palfrey (Golden Globe® nominee Alec McCowen, Travels with My Aunt) is an invaluable player in the spy game. A master of counterespionage and a spy catcher extraordinaire, he's smart, discreet, cunning and likes to do things his own way.
His new boss quickly realizes the talents and the dangers of the deceptively charming, utterly ruthless Palfrey. Known simply as "the Coordinator" and splendidly played by Caroline Blakiston (Brass, Scoop), she appoints an assistant (Clive Wood, Pillars of the Earth) to work with Palfrey but report back to her. As always, however, Palfrey has his own ideas.
Alec McCowen plays Palfrey to perfection in this stylish British spy series seen on public television and featuring guest appearances by Julian Glover (The Young Victoria), Leslie Phillips (Chancer), Richard Johnson (The Camomile Lawn), and Deborah Grant (Bergerac).
Due to the age of these programs and the improved resolution that DVD provides, you may notice occasional flaws in the image and audio on this DVD presentation that were beyond our ability to correct from the original materials.
The Times, U.K.
"Alec McCowen plays [Palfrey] to perfection"
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quietly invincible,
By Constant reader "TBY" (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mr. Palfrey of Westminster: The Complete Collection (DVD)
Definitely not a classic 'secret service' figure, but an engrossing one nonetheless. Formidable performances by Alec McCowan, and Caroline Blakiston as his boss.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Most Intriguing Spy Cather,
By
This review is from: Mr. Palfrey of Westminster: The Complete Collection (DVD)
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster: The Complete CollectionDVD: 3 discs in regular size case with cardboard protector. Excellent Transfer. Story: Set during the cold war shortly before the Berlin wall crumbled,, Mr Palfrey is a quiet nondescript man wearing a British hat and carrying an umbrella, but beneath that deceptively placid manner Palfrey is describes by his ememies as "a cobra". A new Coordinator, the first woman, is promoted over Palfey and not knowing him begins by setting him the task proving the man she's chosen is a mole. Palfrey insists on working "his way" stating "I usually find the spy". The plot becomes intriguing as Palfrey ignores her instructions and does his job his way. I don't usually reccommend half hour TV shows even if they did appear on PBS because there's insufficent time to develop the plot, but in this series Palfrey's plots follow twists and turns from Russian defectors to moles or traitors in Westminster. Given that this is a cold war series and we no longer worry about the Russian menace, the series is fascinating as Palfrey maneuvers through the red tape of government, ignores his boss while remaining politically savy and sleauths his way to rooting out the enemy within. From the box: "He describes himself as just a civil servent, but in the cloak and dagger world of British security services, mild-mannered Mr Palfrey(Alec McCowen) is an invaluable player in the spy game and a master of counter espionage and spy- catcher extaordinaire, he's smart, discreet, cunning .... His new boss (Caroline Blakiston) quickly realizes the talents and dangers of the deceptively charming, utterly ruthless Palfrey. She appoints an assistant (Clive Wood) to work with Palfrey and report to her. This young, heavy turns out to be as illusive as Palfrey when it comes to keeping The Coordinator in the loop. If you're a British spy fan, this series is as good as the Sandbaggers (altho different) and better than Callan. Little violence and lots of psychological intrigue and thrills.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Slow and drab,
This review is from: Mr. Palfrey of Westminster: The Complete Collection (DVD)
I have only watched two episodes of this series and will not watch the rest. My husband and daughter and I all found it exceedingly boring. The development of the story line is dreadfully slow and the dialogue is dull. The production values are poor even for the 1980s. The camera work, lighting, sets, sound, editing and even costumes suggest low budget and poor craftsmanship. Overlengthy shots of people doing nothing are meant to evoke the tedium of surveillance - instead they provoke tedium in the viewer. A few good actors cannot rescue this drab series. We are usually huge fans of Thames, BBC and other British productions including Rumpole of the Bailey, To the Manor Born, Yes Minister, Yes Prime Minister and Good Neighbours - all produced in that era, as well as Vicar of Dibley, Chef, Kingdom, Doc Martin, George Gently, Judge John Deed, Poirot, Miss Marple, Midsummer Murder, and countless other series made more recently. The poverty of this offering came as a surprising disappointment.
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