The Secret Service
The Secret Service is a 1969 British children's espionage television series, produced by Century 21 / ITC Entertainment for Associated Television, Granada Television, and Southern Television. Created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, and produced by David Lane and Reg Hill, it was the eighth and final Century 21 production to feature Supermarionation. Under the direction of Gerry Anderson, who wanted to compensate for the inadequacies of Supermarionation and increase the realism of the format, The Secret Service incorporates footage of live actors for long-distance shots. Father Stanley Unwin, voiced by and resembling the real-life comedian of the same name, is the parish priest of a rural English village. But Unwin is in fact a secret agent for BISHOP, a covert British Intelligence branch that battles international criminal and terrorist threats. Aided by junior operative Matthew Harding, Unwin answers to his London-based superior 'The Bishop', as he would in his public profession.
Details
First Aired: 9/21/1969
Languages: English, French
Created by: Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson
Type: Scripted
Production
Associated TelevisionCompanies: Century 21 Television, ITC Entertainment
Countries: United Kingdom
Where to watch · US
Cast
Seasons
Series 1
Specials
1 episode
Gallery
Keywords
Reviews
Bytecrawler
In my opinion, probably the worst of Anderson's series. He only used Supermarionation in its most limited sense, to animate the marionettes and even then he occasionally reverted to live actors. He may have intended "to compensate for the inadequacies of Supermarionation and increase the realism of the format," but it came across to me as a cost cutting measure that took away one of the most fascinating aspects of his earlier series -- the amazing miniature scenes brought to life with brilliant models. As far as stories, they were OK, and occasionally entertaining, but not enough to make me want to watch this series a second time.
