The original post: /r/television by /u/KneeHighMischief on 2026-01-25 17:13:42+00:00.
Before this was a series it originated from ITV’s Armchair Theatre that ran weekly plays. Another show The Sweeney originated from there as well.
Edward Woodward of The Equalizer fame plays David Callan. He works for the mysterious government branch called The Section answering to his section Chief known only as Hunter.
The series lives & dies based on the lead performance. Woodward is amazing here as probably the most miserable spy I’ve seen in media. He loathes his job, feels trapped & desperately wants out even though there’s nothing else that he could do with his life.
His missions include scooping up defectors, investigating potential instigators & routine assassinations. It’s all standard fare but it’s presented as mundane grimy work.
The earliest episodes are in black & whire… I feel like it loses some of its atmosphere once it goes to color. The show was a victim of the poor archiving that was commonplace at the time so 10 episodes of the 44 are lost.
Going in be aware the production values are very much of its time. I think the stark nature of it adds to things rather than detracts. The color episodes are on Prime video which you can check out with a BritBox free trial. Episodes are on YouTube as well though.