I have just received my mega-set of "Danger Man/Secret Agent", and have a question. I am starting the "Secret Agent" set, but the order of episodes on the DVD's are not the same as the ones listed on the IMDB Episode Guide. For example, IMDB lists "Yesterday's Enemies" as the first episode, but the first one in the set is "The Battle of the Cameras". Does anyone know which list is right?
shareI don't think it makes much difference. I don't recall any of the shows having any plot carry-over. Even the episodes where the same character reappears have no particular connection. Some viewers see Drake changing in character as the series progresses but I don't think it makes much difference really. This web-site has the original broadcast dates for the UK:
http://www.mcgoohan.co.uk/
Thanks!
shareI noticed that the episodes were out of order too. I hadn't seen the show before and am renting a few of the discs from Netflix. Even if watching them in order doesn't really matter for narrative sake, I just don't understand why they would make the disc set out of order. Seems really slap-dash and disorganised, especially if you're trying to market a 13-disc set to a customer that presumably is a fan of the show.
http://saucybetty.blogspot.com
Depends what you mean by order. In Britain, the shows were not broadcast the same in different parts of the country (and Britain is quite small). Some were never broadcast at all, until later repeat runs. You are looking for an order that was never intended.
Watching some episodes, John Drake seems much more tetchy than he does in others. There seems no reason within the episode as to why he should be more brusque and sharp, than he was in another. His haircut varies, as well as his mood.
Making so many episodes, these traits probably reflect more about the mood of the actor at the time he was filming those sequences, than they do any narrative intention. To that extent, the production order may be most valid as you'll see the personality changes of Patrick McGoohan as he ploughed his way through the shows. Not that they have any relevance to anything in particular.
The production notes in the book by Andrew Pixley, in the recent Network set show also indicate that one or two episodes were left on a shelf for a while and then worked on at a later date, to pull the footage together. So parts of them were filmed long before the episode was 'produced'. The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove was one that had that feature, Mr. Pixley says.
Some episodes have evident character breaks, where Drake seems to change personality/wardrobe style as well. You could almost break these episodes into smaller pieces. I can think of several episodes where you could easily conclude Drake was schizophrenic!.... ..... if you just went by the film as finally presented.
A lot of these quirks have similar characteristics to the way McGoohan produced the prisoner. He obviously learned working methods from his Danger Man producers. Of course the prisoner ruuning order is a conundrum hotly debated as well..... but maybe for different reasons!
http://flickr.com/photos/11417707@N04/
The ITC filmed series were often shot long before they were aired so the producers often had the luxury of shooting them in a more logistically sensible order.
For example, The Champions had a submarine set built and then shot two entirely separate submarine-based stories back-to-back; obviously more cost-effective than building the set, striking it, then rebuilding it months later. The two episodes were then eventually shown some weeks apart.
I'd be surprised if Danger Man didn't do much the same as there were often quite extensive sets built and re-used (with or without some minor re-dressing) for e.g. Middle Eastern, Eastern European or sea-side stories. Obviously they wouldn't want to show two episodes with recognizably the same set representing two different places only a week apart.
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