Regular Price $99.95

Starring:
Directed By: Patrick McGoohan, 
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Release Date: 1961-04-05
Studio: A&E Home Video
Format: Box set,  Black & White,  DVD-Video,  Full Screen,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about Danger Man - The Complete First Season

Amazon.com
Before The Avengers and the James Bond films, the pioneering 1960 British series Danger Man helped to usher in spy-mania in Great Britain. Patrick McGoohan stars as "Drake, John Drake," an agent of NATO's secret service branch. "A messy job," he informs us, "That's when they usually call on me." Most Americans only know Drake as the Secret Agent Man, the title of the hour-long series that debuted on these shores in 1964. This half-hour series never aired in the United States, making this five-disc set, containing all 39 first season episodes, essential for Brit-TV aficionados, not to mention that branch of Prisoner devotees who insist that the kidnapped "No. 6" is actually Drake himself. Like 007, the dapper and unflappable Drake possesses a keen wit and "animal sense of danger," and his assignments take him all over the world, from Rome and Paris to the Arabian desert. But Drake is old school. He very rarely uses a gun. He is not a womanizer. He does not possess an arsenal of cool gadgets. His missions are more gritty and realistic; classic "cloak and dagger" stuff. He foils not megalomaniacs trying to take over the world, but a rogue's gallery of embezzlers, assassins, slave traders, traitors, and the like. Also fun for Anglophiles are early glimpses of favorite British character actors, including Miss Moneypenny herself, Lois Maxwell ("Positions of Trust"); a pre-Avengers/Pussy Galore Honor Blackman ("Colonel Rodriguez"), Judy Carne, Laugh-In's Sock-It-to-Me girl ("Hired Assassin"; Charles Gray from the Bond films You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever ("The Key"); and Jean Marsh of Upstairs, Downstairs fame ("Name, Date and Place"). The jazzy score is also killer. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews for Danger Man - The Complete First Season

A place in History
"Danger Man" was the first well done spy genre in a 1/2 hour version on television. A tight, swiftly developed story usually in some exotic locale would flash past with a neat hero played perfectly by Patrick McGoohan. And it had a great theme music score. Takes you back in time, when a crisp story could be told in 1/2 hour, much like the original Twilight Zones.Danger Man - The Complete First Season

hooray for NATO and JohnDrake!!!!!!!!
I am glad I got this megaset of Danger Man. I quite agreed
with an earlier reviewer who said Drake seems more optomistic in this than the later somewhat sadonic series Secret Agent (aka Danger Man)and altogether sarcastic demeanor of the Prisoner. By all means start with these
classic episodes of John Drake. You won't be sorry.Danger Man - The Complete First Season

"That's when they call on me. Oh yes, name is Drake, John Drake."
Tighty controlled, these episodes are only 25-30 minutes in length, but retain the sound plot development that would later characterize the hour long installments of "Secret Agent" that would be released a few years later--an improvement in my opinion.

In "Danger Man" Drake works for NATO rather than MI6 and his character is more impulsive and less defined than in later episdoes of "Secret Agent." We see this as the writers and directors sacrificed character development for action and the fast-paced episode plotting. Similarly, in "Danger Man" we witness some lower production values--the same sets were redressed at MGM Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire (now demolished)although fans didn't notice.

McGoohan would return to this location to shoot "The Prisoner" later. Some episodes really stand out; for example, "Bury the Dead" and "The Relaxed Informer." These are enjoyable to watch, but I prefer the hour-long "Secret Agent" episdoes that can withstand repeated viewings.Danger Man - The Complete First Season

The Secret Agent's Auspicious Beginning--wonderful television!
Reasons to own this set:

First: Patrick McGoohan. A young Patrick McGoohan. If that isn't reason enough for you to run out and seize this set, you are made of tougher stuff than I. Women want to be with him, men want to be him (wait, that's Austin Powers...still....)

Second: the screenplays are absolute marvels. Even though these are half-hour episodes, the writing is tight as can be. These seem like full-length films. You can't take your eyes off for a second as the action is nonstop.

Third: these period pieces, filmed at the height of the Cold War are the real spy genre. John Drake (McGoohan's character, later transformed into Secret Agent) is the cool, "I don't do wet-work", get the job done action man. It was reported that McGoohan turned down the job of James Bond because the Bond role required jumping in and out of beds and doing a lot of killing; John Drake rescues damsels in distress, not dames in a state of undress.

We ration out watching McGoohan trudging around Portmerion-as-Italy or on location in some other places and it never, ever palls. For Prisoner fans, this is a must-have as a precursor to that iconic series. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all fans of spy drama.Danger Man - The Complete First Season

Buy this now!
My favorite british television. Danger Man and Secret Agent.

Probably my favorite tv period...well Twilight Zone and Outer Limits are prob#1 these are #2. #3 would be Have Gun Will Travel and Wanted Dead Or Alive.

Trust me...you want all of the above. Serious stories, excellent acting, exotic locations, etc.Danger Man - The Complete First Season

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