CALLAN – SERIES 1 AUDIO DRAMA (BIG FINISH)

There are few television series which can rightfully be compared to The Prisoner series, but one is the sublime 1960s series Callan, which starred Edward Woodward as a government agent, dealing with the red files, a loner, fighting against the bureaucracy. The series had input from Prisoner co-creator and script editor George Markstein, and is now available on DVD, and now as a re-imagined audio drama.

Big Finish are the world-renowned creators of audio drama re-imaginings, and continuations, of popular TV series, and more. Their ranges include Doctor Who, The Avengers, The Prisoner, and more.

This CD set comprises of Full-cast adaptations of Callan stories originally published in the Sunday Express.

Starring Ben Miles, Frank Skinner, and Nicholas Briggs.

David Callan works for The Section, a top-secret counter-espionage organisation. He’s a killer, a trained assassin, and the best at what he does.

But that doesn’t mean he has to like it.

With the aid of the burglar Lonely; fellow operative Meres; and Section secretary Liz, Callan fulfils the orders of departmental head Hunter and finds himself in very murky waters.

Murder, betrayal and model soldiers. It’s all in a day’s work for Callan.

1.1 File on a Deadly Deadshot by James Mitchell, adapted by Peter Mitchell

With Lonely posing as his gentleman’s gentleman, the section’s top operative David Callan is sent to a country estate in Northumberland to infiltrate a rich men’s shooting party. One of his companions is an assassin but which one? High living and high stakes on the grouse moors as Callan attempts to work out which of the dead-shots is a man-hunter.

1.2 File on a Classy Club by James Mitchell, adapted by Peter Mitchell

Callan finds the odds are stacked against him when he poses as a high roller at London’s top casino. His mission is to lose all his money but he almost loses his life when he stumbles into an East German spy cell. Perhaps a card sharp from Lonely’s past can help Callan turn the tables.

1.3 File on an Awesome Amateur by James Mitchell, adapted by Peter Mitchell

Callan and Meres are despatched to a cultural festival in Venice to snatch a Russian poet from under the noses of the KGB. But the success of the mission depends upon the expertise of amateur sleuth and keen ornithologist Cynthia Widgery. Feathers fly on the Grand Canal…

1.4 File on a Harassed Hunter by James Mitchell, adapted by Peter Mitchell

Callan is drawn into a dark secret when Hunter invites him to fly to Newcastle for a trip to the theatre. The plot thickens when an alcoholic actor and a decoy called Prenderghast lead Callan to one of the KGB’s most proficient killers. The setting for the denouement is far too close for comfort.

Originally broadcast in 1967, Callan took the burgeoning world of spy drama, and brought a much darker tone to the genre. With James Bond’s career beginning in film in 1962, Michael Caine’s Harry Palmer beginning in 1965 (The Ipcress File) and hot on the heels of the surreal series The Prisoner in 1967, Callan took a darker approach to espionage. Having similar responsibilities to MI5, Callan used the most ruthless and lethal techniques to get the job done, each method meticulously filed by ‘The Section’ (the organisation behind operative Callan), colour coding each lethal tactic.

Four series of the original television series were produced between 1967 and 1972, plus a cinema film released in 1974 and a TV comeback in 1981. And now, Callan is set to return on audio at Big Finish.

Adapted from series creator James Mitchell’s Sunday Express Short Stories by his son Peter Mitchell, four new adventures expand the themes explored in the television show.

REVIEWS

“The Section’s finest killer – together with Lonely, Hunter, Meres and Liz – is resoundingly back. Big Finish have played a blinder.” We Are Cult

“Engaging scripts, expert directing, perfect performances complemented by brilliant sound design and music make this first volume of Callan essential listening to anyone interested in the spy thriller genre in any way.” Blogtor Who

“One word to describe this set? Superb! Mitchell has got the pacing of his adaptations totally in tune with the original series” The UnMutual

“This is a collection of pithy, well-observed dramas full of fantastic character interactions. An excellent debut for Callan in the full-cast audio format, this is a more than welcome addition to the growing roster of darker, bleaker, tougher dramas on Big Finish’s books.” Starburst