Believe it or not, I did not see any of this programme until 1992-93. It was shown one per night on CBC-Windsor at difficult to establish late hours. In spite of the inconvenience, I made it my business to see as many as possible; my first was when Drake had a car crash, blacking out . . . and you will just have to see it.
It was well cast with well-crafted supporting characters. I had no idea it was the progeny of an earlier show about a NATO operative, a few episodes of which I saw in 1961 (and none since). One notes comment that SECRET AGENT was inspired by the 007 films, which is beyond dispute, but I respectfully disagree that it was as "gadgety" as the Bond films, and furthermore it was devoid of the latent camp. Exception: "Would You Like Some Wine" (if memory serves). Perhaps it was the b.&w. presentation that made it more -- pardon the cliche -- gritty.
Most of the episodes were good. It seems some of the later ones (did the series run into 1967?) were the weakest: Far-fetched and in a few cases ridiculous without being tongue-in-cheek. I cannot say whether SECRET AGENT came to an end because it ran out of petrol or because the more ambitious THE PRISONER was on the drawing boards. All said, I agree that one should make every attempt to see the series, and no, being period piece does not distract for those able to make a mature adjustment to such.
