For forty years, cult T.V. fans have been asking the question: "Who was Number Six?", referring, of course, to Patrick McGoohan's fantasy masterpiece 'The Prisoner'. But in an earlier series, he played a character who was equally mysterious and enigmatic. The show was 'Danger Man' and the character was 'John Drake'.
Throughout the series, we see little of Drake himself. We know he lives in London, at a fashionable mews address, drives a Mini Cooper, is fond of cigars and doesn't seem all that fond of women. Whenever one throws herself at him, such as the Jill Melford character in 'The Galloping Major', he keeps her at arms length. This self-imposed chastity endeared him to us kids, as it meant that the stories could not get bogged down in soppy romantic sub-plots. Like Bond, Drake loves gadgets - the 'From Russia With Love' variety - radios in electric razors, microphones concealed in walking sticks, typewriters containing cameras and so on. Occasionally, Drake is called upon to impersonate an army major, butler, or schoolteacher, which meant his entire personality would go submerged. In this respect, 'Danger Man' was the forerunner to the U.S. series 'Mission:Impossible', which also featured agents about whom the viewer knew next to nothing other than their names.
The series was grounded in reality, unlike the later 'Avengers' and 'U.N.C.L.E.'. Each week, Drake would be assigned to rescue a captured British agent, locate stolen defence plans, or penetrate an enemy spy ring. McGoohan played 'Drake' in a terse, arrogant yet oddly charismatic way, preempting Sean Connery's early performances as 'James Bond'.
'Danger Man' was produced in two batches - one transmitted in Britain in 1959/60, and another from 1964-67. Its the early half-hour episodes which work best for me, being more tightly written and directed. In these, Drake works for N.A.T.O., and appears to be an American, but later on, he would be redefined as an Englishman attached to the British Secret Service outfit M9. Of the hour-long episodes, I cite 'Colony Three' ( the inspiration for 'The Prisoner' ), 'No Marks For Servility', 'Not So Jolly Roger' and 'Whatever Happened To George Foster?' as amongst my personal favourites.
'Danger Man' ended with a rousing two-part colour adventure set in Japan - 'Koroshi' and 'Shinda Shima'. Though not popular with many fans, for my money they rounded off the series nicely, and made one wish McGoohan had done more in similar vein before moving onto 'The Prisoner'.
'Danger Man' does not get repeated often because it was mostly made in black and white. Yet, for anyone who loves '60's action television, it is essential viewing.
