An admittedly
subjective list of the top ten "Secret Agent" episodes.
I was going to actually rank them 1-10, but at the
last minute I got cold feet and simply listed them
alphabetically.
Feel free to offer your own take on this list. Let me know what you come up with.
1. "The Black Book"
Drake reluctantly gets involved in helping his boss' brother-in-law out of a blackmail situation, then finds the matter is more complicated than he thought.
Bonus points: Drake's resentful rant about being loaned out on a private job
Bonus points: Mike Pratt as a Russian thug
Bonus points: Drake turns on the charm with the pretty blackmailer, coming as close as he ever does to having a romantic relationship with a woman
2. "Colony Three"
Drake infiltrates a training facility for Russian spies that happens to be a perfect mock-up of an English village.
Bonus points: A clear precursor to "The Prisoner"
Bonus points: Drake in Creep mode
Bonus points: Drake is mock-tortured; does he really come close to breaking, or is it all part of his cover?
3. "The Galloping Major"
Drake poses as an Army Major to prevent a coup in a former British colony in Africa.
Bonus points: Drake in a tuxedo
Bonus points: Drake spurns a female admirer's advances (Jill Milford, constantly panting, "Take me to the movies")
4. "The Man on the Beach"
Drake tries to flush out a security leak at a Caribbean station.
Bonus points: Drake as indolent beach bum
Bonus points: Drake, exhausted and bloody, swoons (you know, a very manly swoon) at the most dramatic moment
Negative bonus points: Avoid dancing, Johnny
5. "No Marks for Servility"
One of two "Drake plays a butler" episodes, and by far the superior one. Drake gets close to a exploitive land developer by becoming his butler, but ends up coming between the man and his abused young wife.
Bonus points: Francesca Annis, coming on like a freight train
Bonus points: An enraged Drake shattering a glass in his bare hand
6. "The Paper Chase"
Drake has a single weekend to recover important papers stolen from a diplomat in Rome.
Bonus points: Directed by Patrick McGoohan with great visual flair
Bonus points: Aubrey Morris as a hyperactive Italian
Negative bonus points: A disappointingly silly ending
7. "A Room in the Basement"
Drake undertakes an unofficial assignment to rescue a friend being held in a foreign embassy in Switzerland.
Bonus points: Frequent co-star Jane Merrow as Susan
8. "That's Two of Us Sorry"
When valuable papers disappear from a research lab in Scotland, fingerprint evidence points to a man believed dead for 20 years. Drake travels to an isolated fishing village to smoke him out.
Bonus points: Drake rants against the integrity of golfers
Bonus points: Francesca Annis (again), playing another minx
9. "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove"
If this list were rated, this episode would be Number 1 with a bullet. How to describe it without giving it all away? Drake smashes up his car...and then things get weird.
Bonus points: A sly, hilarious reference to Drake's reluctance to kiss a woman
Bonus points: Drake in a tuxedo
Bonus points: Mike Pratt as another thug
Mega-bonus points: A good 50% of "The Prisoner" comes straight from this episode
10. "Yesterday's Enemies"
Drake has to find the head of an independent spy ring in an unnamed Arab country.
Bonus points: Howard Marion Crawford as the villain
Bonus points: Drake, in Creep mode, tossed around by goons
Bonus points: Near-torture with a cigarette
Bonus points: Drake once again gets screwed by his double-dealing superiors.
Episode Guide Memorable Names & Faces