The opening credits show an aerial flyover of the Roman Coliseum, and indeed this episode is set entirely in the capital city of Italy. Inside the city we find our hero John Drake setting himself up as a target to take down a murder-for-hire ring. Inside Drake's hotel room we find John encumbered by the beautiful Susan Hampshire as his all-too-earnest femme fetal foil. Drake of course refuses to succumb to her charms as she succumbs to his.
By the way, there is a deeper take on this common motif where Drake never gets the girl. In point of fact our hero does indeed "get the girl" in nearly every episode. It's just that he never *takes* the girl. Think about that when you watch most any episode, for example the masterpiece "No Marks for Servility", with the stunning Francesca Annis inquiring as to whether John Drake might ever need an "upstairs maid".
Susan also appears later in the season in 'Are You Going to Be More Permanent?', with the title of both shows terminating with a question mark. Both episodes are worthy entries in the series.
This is the first time the ubiquitous electric razor that doubles as a tape recorder is seen! It seems like it shows up in every other episode, and is equaled in appearances only by the lighter that takes pictures. By the time I get through the entire series I'll know which gadget wins for most appearances, and will report such in a review of the final episode.
Note: We did see the razor once before in 'Colony 3', but in that episode it turns into a radio transmitter that allows Drake to phone home for evacuation from the hellish spy colony.
By the way, there is a deeper take on this common motif where Drake never gets the girl. In point of fact our hero does indeed "get the girl" in nearly every episode. It's just that he never *takes* the girl. Think about that when you watch most any episode, for example the masterpiece "No Marks for Servility", with the stunning Francesca Annis inquiring as to whether John Drake might ever need an "upstairs maid".
Susan also appears later in the season in 'Are You Going to Be More Permanent?', with the title of both shows terminating with a question mark. Both episodes are worthy entries in the series.
This is the first time the ubiquitous electric razor that doubles as a tape recorder is seen! It seems like it shows up in every other episode, and is equaled in appearances only by the lighter that takes pictures. By the time I get through the entire series I'll know which gadget wins for most appearances, and will report such in a review of the final episode.
Note: We did see the razor once before in 'Colony 3', but in that episode it turns into a radio transmitter that allows Drake to phone home for evacuation from the hellish spy colony.