"Secret Agent" Whatever Happened to George Foster? (TV Episode 1965) Poster

(TV Series)

(1965)

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9/10
Whatever Happened to George Foster?
guswhovian18 June 2020
Drake faces opposition from all sides when he discovers that respected politician Lord Ammanford is financing political agitators in the small South American country of Santo Marco.

Whatever Happened to George Foster? is one of the best episodes of the series. Patrick McGoohan is on top form, and the episode has a refreshingly different plot than usual.

The guest cast is fantastic. Bernard Lee, the original "M", is very good, and Adrienne Corri is excellent as Drake's Fleet Street contact. Jill Melford, who had given a memorable performance in The Galloping Major, gives an equally good performance here.
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9/10
A Closer Look at The John Drake Character Portends The Prisoner
mbanak7 November 2012
A few minor kinks in the script keeps this gem from getting a full 10 points. I was drawn to this episode in my quest to find some kind of verification that "The Prisoner" was originally conceived as a "John Drake" vehicle. A friend more observant than me noticed that "Number 6", The Prisoner, was a bit more cocky and moody than the John Drake character portrayed in the few Danger Man episodes I showed him. But in most episodes, Drake is really playing someone else. So we really see only glimpses of Drake in most episodes.

But in this episode, Drake goes rogue, bypassing his supervisor to investigate an international criminal. And so here we see Drake a few layers deeper. Angry, pushy, cocky and witty all at once.

If you enjoy fancying The Prisoner as a continuation of Danger Man, I think the fed-up John Drake in this episode is getting closer to take that leap and resign from the organization ... as did the man who became The Prisoner, Number 6.

Combine this episode with "Judgment Day", "It's Up to the Lady", and "Yesterday's Enemies" and you have an agent nicely outraged, perched on the edge of resigning.
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9/10
Drake Does Citizen Kane
aramis-112-8048805 September 2022
Sometimes the best things about this series are its enigmatic episode titles. Not this time.

In this episode Drake, on a personal vendetta, pits himself against a rich industrialist (are there poor industrialists?) he believes is funding a (vaguely) South American revolution. Drake's attempts at learning about the industrialist's background get him into increasing difficulties.

This is a solid mystery Drake has to unravel with the help of a journalist willing to turn a blind eye to strict legalities. Drake also, curiously, is fought over by two ladies.

Btw, the industrialist is played by Bernard Lee, M in the early James Bond movies.

Also btw, I rarely rank episodes of this series above 8, even the best ones (which nearly all co-star Susan Hampshire, apart from the very best episode of the series, "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove"). So I think highly of this tale. It's one of the best.
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10/10
Drake opens a can of worms
ShadeGrenade10 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
A classic episode of the famous I.T.C. spy series starring my favourite actor, the late Patrick McGoohan, as special agent 'John Drake'.

The Latin American republic of Santa Marco is riven by days of looting and bloody riots. Drake discovers that the beautiful 'Certhia Cooper' ( Jill Melford ) is behind the discontent. 'Lord Ammanford' ( Bernard Lee ) runs a foreign aid agency which is being used as a cover for a plot to subvert the democratic process in that country. His Lordship does not appear unduly concerned, in fact he tells Drake to mind his own business. So rich and powerful is he he even goes over Drake's head to 'Sir George Manton' ( Richard Caldicot ) of the Foreign Office. The M9 agent's home is broken into, and he is hauled over the coals in Manton's office, but he stubbornly persists with his enquiries, with the help of Fleet Street journalist 'Pauline' ( Adrienne Corri ). His investigation into Lord Ammanford's past takes him to Wales where trouble awaits...

Written by David Stone - one of the show's best writers - this is an intriguing, exciting story which, for a change, sees Drake in peril not from Russian or Chinese agents, but from the British establishment itself. As well as his home being burgled and his boss giving him a wigging, he is also roughed up viciously on a country road. Ammanford sees Santa Marco as a future business interest which he is prepared to go to any lengths to protect. He also has a skeleton in his own cupboard - he is a bigamist.

Interesting cast - Bernard Lee ( 'Lord Ammanford' ) is best remembered as 'M' in the early James Bond films, Adrienne Corri ( 'Pauline' ) was in numerous movies, including - infamously - Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' - while Jill Melford ( 'Certhia' )'s credits include the 1962 Norman Wisdom comedy 'A Stitch In Time'.

Drake seems a bit more human here, particularly in the scenes with Pauline, who fancies him like mad. She and Drake make such a good team its a shame she was not used in the show again.
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10/10
Perhaps Drake's scariest foe...
planktonrules14 January 2014
When "Whatever Happened to George Foster?" begins, John Drake is in the turbulent nation of San Marcos. Amongst all the rioting, Drake happens to watch a British business woman who appears to be paying off the agitators--as if she'd been paying them to run amok! So, Drake decides to follow Pauline to discover for sure if this is occurring as well as who is financing her. Unfortunately for Drake, the trail leads to a very rich industrialist--a powerful and well-respected member of British society--and a Lord! And, when he tries to stop the man, he meets with opposition from folks who are supposed to be his friends.

This is an interesting episode. Instead of fighting communists, Drake is fighting amoral capitalists--folks who don't care about nations or ideologies--just power and wealth. It's also interesting because the evil man behind all this is played by Bernard Lee (M from the James Bond films). All in all, a chilling episode--one of the best of the series. It has lots of twists and turns and, for once, it appears as if Drake may meet his end.
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