Tagged departments

Department S Episode 23: Spencer Bodily is Sixty Years Old

Department S_Spencer Bodily is 60 Years Title Shot

A strange medical impossibility, a man who looks like he is in his 20s was actually born in 1909. There is conclusive evidence that the dead man is over 60 years old and was a POW in World War II. The only clue as to who or why this person existed is two red dice with a white mexican wheat emblem on them. Jason is called back from Egypt to help Annabelle and Stewart to solve this extreme mystery. It is found that Mr Bodily is a part of experiment to stave off aging. The hypnotic effects of the conditioning Mr Bodily was wearing off and he was soon losing his mind with the realisation that his mind was 60 but his body was 20. If the secret to eternal life was to get out, there would be havoc across the world. Department S must stop the spread of the secret.

Personal Synopsis

There are many reasons to love this show, in my opinion. I enjoy storyline with the quest for the “fountain of youth”, but this is an example of how even if possible there are some drawbacks. The isolated walk in the park is a wonderful example of the despair and loneliness the character was experiencing, enough to top himself off. One of the lines of dialouge between Jason and Ingrid Von Etzdorf is absolutely brilliant.

Ingrid: “You are so basically evil Jason, I must do your horoscope”

Jason: “Oh no astrology bores the pants off me”

Ingrid: “Doesn’t everything?”

Jason: “Yes but astrology more than most things. I know in my future I shall die exquisitely of drink and sensual indulgence and enjoy every moment of it.”

Location

London, England

Starring

Original Air-Date: February 11, 1970

Directed by Leslie Norman

Written by Harry W. Junkin

Jason King- Peter Wyngarde

Stewart Sullivan- Joel Fabiani

Annabelle Hurst- Rosemary Nicols

Curtis Seretse- Dennis Alaba Peters

Kendall- Iain Cuthbertson

Ingrid Von Etzdorf- Patricia Donahue

Graves- Warren Stanhope

Martin- Robert Sessions

Mendham- Garfield Morgan

Green- Arthur Cox

Gadden- Barry Andrews

Hughes- Richard Heffer

Lydia- Hilary Pritchard

Guido Volponi- Leonardo Pieroni

Spencer Bodily- Gavin Campbell

Gerald- Reginald Jessup

Arab- Milton Reid

Source: IMDB, Wikipedia

You can Buy the DVD here:

Department S DVD

Department S Episode 22: The Bones of Byrom Blain

Department S_The Bones of Byrom Blain Title Shot

A chauffeur has failed his job by allowing the disappearance of his passenger and whats left is a pile of bones. A VIP from the diplomatic political world has gone missing, but it appears that he is dead and the bones are proof of that. A baffling case initially, however when Sir Curtis also goes missing, Department S is destined to focus all their attention to the bones mystery. There was a diplomatic meeting scheduled for Mr. Blain, Sir Curtis and a still to arrive American diplomat, to discuss exchanging espionage finding between the US and the UK.  Jasons snooping gets him into trouble, opening the door for Stuart and Annabelle to find the missing diplomats. After a hypnotic evening, a coup was averted by a crafty Department S investigation.

Personal Synopsis

An interesting story about missing people but a full skeleton of the missing person is bound to bring at least some interest to the story. Its hard to say whether it has that effect on me. This episode was a fair enough compilation of missing diplomats, hypnosis and skeletal remains. I did find it hard to correlate the various elements to this story without the disbelief of its possibility.

Location

Marling Dale, Cheshire, England

Starring

Original Air-Date: January 28, 1970

Directed by Paul Dickson

Written by Tony Williamson

Jason King- Peter Wyngarde

Stewart Sullivan- Joel Fabiani

Annabelle Hurst- Rosemary Nicols

Curtis Seretse- Dennis Alaba Peters

Kilvern- John Carson

Byrom Blain- John Barron

Crawley- Patrick Barr

Eldon- Gerald Campion

Supt. Collins- Michael Griffiths

Head Waiter- Richard Durden

Logan- Davyd Harries

Lomax- Albert Shepherd

Police Sergeant- Julian Herrington

Miss Garwood- Katharine Schofield

Special Branch Man- Ian Cullen

Stewardess- Anoushka Hempel

Delivery Man- Ben Howard

Captain of Aircraft- John Acheson

Source: IMDB, Wikipedia

You can Buy the DVD here:

Department S DVD

Department S Episode 21: A Small War of Nerves

Department S_A Small War of Nerves Title Shot

A rogue chemical warfare scientist has walked off the job with enough nerve gas to kill over 1 million people. This is a risk for the people of London as well as the possibility of the Russians getting their hands on the nerve gas. Halliday has been missing for over a week and Department S is struggling to find him. Halliday is kidnapped and tortured to get the stolen nerve gas from him, the crooks find that harder than they imagined. He escaped his captors hands and his rescuers hands. He wont be caught because his anger towards society for allowing the manufacturing of such chemical weapons. The only way the world or at least London is saved is by the small war of nerves.

Personal Synopsis

Anthony Hopkins is stunning in this intriguing story of the ethics of nuclear weaponry. You could imagine the real possibility of scientist questioning their own governments action in developing weapons of catastrophic proportions. This story is intense in its consciousness. Weapons are on such large scales, can produce complete devastation and the exploration of the ethics would do us some good. I was engage in this story to see how the fight against the manufacturing of deadly chemical weapons, would translate in a Department S format.

Location

Wiltshire, England

Starring

Original Air-Date: January 21, 1970

Directed by Leslie Norman

Written by Harry W. Junkin

Jason King- Peter Wyngarde

Stewart Sullivan- Joel Fabiani

Annabelle Hurst- Rosemary Nicols

Curtis Seretse- Dennis Alaba Peters

Greg Halliday- Anthony Hopkins

Major Harwood- Frederick Jaeger

Doctor Stickney- Colin Gordon

Mrs. Evans- Eleanor Summerfield

Ruckert- Brian Worth

Corbett- Mark Elwes

Reggie- Peter Graves

Mechanic- Larry Martin

The Porter- Charles Lamb

Policeman- David Rendall

Carl Young- Nosher Powell

Source: IMDB, Wikipedia

You can Buy the DVD here:

Department S DVD

Department S Episode 20: The Last Train to Redbridge

The Last Train to Redbridge and  the last car on the train have reached the end of the line. All are dead in the carriage but not from wounds. The suspicious deaths are on the top of the list of cases for Department S. The foul play was airborne and in the form of a nerve gas. Luckily the Department could source where the nerve gas was created, unluckily the source is a chemical company that is run by Sir Curtis Seretse’s good friend. When Jason and the wife of one of the ill-fated passengers go missing, Annabelle and Stuart take desperate measures to find the reason for this tragedy. Jason is found nearly dead and “drunk”. His recollection of the hideout is foggy but it eventually becomes clear whats happening underground.

Personal Synopsis

A golden episode. I found this episode quite fun for a few reasons. I think the nerve gas approach is a wonderfully unique approach to the criminal intent. This is when there were no known events, in real life, of nerve gas being used on the public. The running scene with Stuart and Sir Curtis is a classic amateurish example of rear projection screen magic. The storyline does fail a bit in depth as the reason for this criminal activity is to tap into the gold market. I believe there could have been a far more sinister reason to use the nerve gas but all in  all the story holds well.

Location

London, England

Starring

Original Air-Date: January 14, 1970

Directed by John Gilling

Written by Gerald Kelsey

Jason King- Peter Wyngarde

Stewart Sullivan- Joel Fabiani

Annabelle Hurst- Rosemary Nicols

Curtis Seretse- Dennis Alaba Peters

Draper- Leslie Sands

Mrs. Taylor- Patricia English

Clark- Derek Newark

Rogers- Harvey Hall

Taxi Driver- Tommy Godfrey

Bray- Inigo Jackson

The Doctor- Neil Arden

Sawyer- Frank Forsyth

The Policeman- Victor Brooks

The Porter- Reginald Barratt

Hooper- Roger Avon

Police Driver- Lionel Wheeler

Source: IMDB, Wikipedia

You can Buy the DVD here:

Department S DVD

Department S Episode 19: Death on Reflection

Department S_Death on Reflection Title Shot

On the auction block is a mirror with many potential buyers, the unique thing about the auction is that the mirror sales for a higher than expected price and a buyers battle ensued to obtain the “prized” mirror. When the man who won the auction is found dead Department S is called in to sort out the mess. There must be a devious reason for these excessively priced auctions. Jason finds himself a beautiful lady, who has some vital information but also finds a jealous man that comes with the package. There is a hidden jewel behind the mirror which doesn’t show in its reflection.

Personal Synopsis

This episode coincides with Department S’s producers love for everything French. The storyline is a familiar one but still with an intrigue that would stimulate a mystery buff. Mirrors or paintings have aways been used to front a surprise “filling”, especially when hiding a stolen piece of art and this story is no different. I enjoyed this episode for a few reason but mainly for Sir Curtis Seretse larger role within the episode. Up to this point, he has always remained the mysterious head of the department who’s comings and goings are not really visually accounted for.

Location

Bond Street, London, England

Starring

Original Air-Date: December 17, 1969

Directed by Ray Austin

Written by Philip Broadley

Jason King- Peter Wyngarde

Stewart Sullivan- Joel Fabiani

Annabelle Hurst- Rosemary Nicols

Curtis Seretse- Dennis Alaba Peters

Yves- Guy Rolfe

The Comtesse- Jennifer Hilary

The Auctioneer- Peter Copley

Gresford- Paul-Whitsun Jones

Heppel- Michael Barrington

Terry Mitchell- Harvey Sokolof

Cynthia- Susan Denny

Joanna- Vicki Graham

Moira- Cathy Graham

Marie- Vivienne Cohen

Source: IMDB, Wikipedia

You can Buy the DVD here:

Department S DVD