A man was held in an Indian prison for spying. However, they eventually released him and the man has been on the run since, as he knows agents might try to kill or apprehend him. The case is given to Drake (Patrick McGoohan) and he goes to the mountains of Kashmir to find the man. Oddly, when the do meet up, everything is initially chummy and the guy thinks he's lucky to have a visitor. However, his wife sends a picture of Drake to her country's spy network and they discover who he is. Now here is where the show gets BAD. In the past, the same thing happened and the pursuers were killed. Now, Drake talks the guy into just giving himself up...and he agrees to do so!!! Huh? Well, at least the ending is decent in this otherwise dull and talky episode of "Danger Man".
3 Reviews
Barbara Shelley returns
bensonmum230 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
John Drake's Mission: Drake sets off for the mountains of Kashmir to catch an agent passing sensitive information on to a foreign (Chinese, I presume) government.
Another below average episode, The Traitor succeeds in being a confusing mess. Why did the agent just give himself up? Why did Drake spend so much time with the worthless contact in India? Why did Drake spend so much time with the garage owner? Why do people who live "at the top of the world" who have had only three or four visitors in years feel it necessary to "dress" for dinner? When Drake discovers his cover has been blown, why is he so casual about the Chinese government ordering his death? The answer to all these question - poor writing. The Traitor is easily the worst written episode of the series I've seen so far.
The major highlight for me was the return of Barbara Shelley to Danger Man. From the moment she walks on screen, she steals every scene she's in. She has poise, presence, and beauty - she's just fantastic.
As much as I hate to do this, I'm rating The Prisoner a 5/10.
Another below average episode, The Traitor succeeds in being a confusing mess. Why did the agent just give himself up? Why did Drake spend so much time with the worthless contact in India? Why did Drake spend so much time with the garage owner? Why do people who live "at the top of the world" who have had only three or four visitors in years feel it necessary to "dress" for dinner? When Drake discovers his cover has been blown, why is he so casual about the Chinese government ordering his death? The answer to all these question - poor writing. The Traitor is easily the worst written episode of the series I've seen so far.
The major highlight for me was the return of Barbara Shelley to Danger Man. From the moment she walks on screen, she steals every scene she's in. She has poise, presence, and beauty - she's just fantastic.
As much as I hate to do this, I'm rating The Prisoner a 5/10.
(cue music): "What's NATO got to do with it, got to do with it..."
lor_12 April 2024
Very badly dated, this John Drake adventure battling the British spy couple Ronald Howard and Barbara Shelley who are sending secrets in Northern India to the dastardly Communist Chinese is hard to swallow.
Shot in a British studio (including fake exteriors), it fails even as Cold War propaganda due to a confused, contradictory screenplay. Why NATO would be involved in such a far-flung mission (where an agent dispatched from New Delhi would have made more sense) was never explained. And to top that off, the lousy script earnestly tries to build lots of sympathy for the couple of traitors.
Funniest scene has McGoohan, as a guest at the baddies' home high in the Himalayas, skulking around dressed in a sweater and tie outfit looking more like Mr. Rogers than the next best thing to James Bond. Use of England's version of blackface for character actor Derek Sydney portraying an Indian servant who tangles with Drake seals the CANCELED fate of this lousy episode.
Shot in a British studio (including fake exteriors), it fails even as Cold War propaganda due to a confused, contradictory screenplay. Why NATO would be involved in such a far-flung mission (where an agent dispatched from New Delhi would have made more sense) was never explained. And to top that off, the lousy script earnestly tries to build lots of sympathy for the couple of traitors.
Funniest scene has McGoohan, as a guest at the baddies' home high in the Himalayas, skulking around dressed in a sweater and tie outfit looking more like Mr. Rogers than the next best thing to James Bond. Use of England's version of blackface for character actor Derek Sydney portraying an Indian servant who tangles with Drake seals the CANCELED fate of this lousy episode.
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