Secret Agent (AKA: Danger Man) - Megaset (13DVD)

With this reissue of the complete '65-'66 series on DVD---and now that things in the culture have gotten a lot darker---my own thanks go to Patrick McGoohan for that particular moment in his career: for the glowing, graceful Cold Warrior he made of John Drake; for his insistence on a principled approach to the character; for the enduring mystery of personality he brought to a small-screen hero.

Can't go to the theater? Watch McGoohan, with his strange quality of aggressive shyness, in a repertory of amusing impersonations: the tipsy playboy, the wheeler-dealer businessman, the shy schoolteacher, the crisp colonial officer, the langorous beachcomber, the insolent artist, the veddy English butler, the flirtatious German encyclopedia salesman, the supercilious physician ("It's Bailey-Carpenter---ehm---there's a hyphen"). The darkness of "The Prisoner" and 35 years of villain roles haven't dimmed the glow of this princely performance, or the image of the decent, thoughtful man behind it, who seemed to care so genuinely about his influence on the television audience.

Faulkner said, "The artist's duty is to lift up men's hearts and help them endure." The people who worked on this series did their duty.

So spend your money. This is great stuff.
M.E.M.

The first series is now available from Amazon -- see DANGER MAN - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (ASIN: B0000TWNAQ).

It works because it offers a sort of purity, a sincerity. It isn't top-heavy with the preening narcissism that dominates modern acting. McGoohan was a good, though not great, actor with limited range, but he infused the Drake with character, self-effacement, and decency. All one has to do is compare McGoohan to another star of the same vintage, Roger Moore, to appreciate the former's acting substance. After watching dozens of episodes, though, McGoohan's methods are somewhat wearing.

Compared to a good book, the plots are thoroughly characteristic of TV; they are superficial and unrealistic.

An expensive and extensive set like this is for devotees, and they already know they will like it, naturally. Casual viewers will more likely watch a few episodes and leave the box on the shelf gathering dust. But if you have the spare cash, you could do a lot worse than Secret Agent when you crank up the idiot box.