ACTION TV ONLINE EPISODE GUIDE
EPISODE GUIDE INDEX
Cold Warrior
BBC 1984
Bright Sting
TX : 12th September 1984
Script : Murray Smith
Director : Andrew Morgan

Publicity : Cold Warrior (BBC-1, 8:30pm) respects the tradition (exemplified in the Bond and Superman films) that one man can save his country and, if needs be, the entire civilised world. In the case of tonight's thriller, the saviour of Britain wears a bowler, carries a rolled umbrella, relaxes to Elgar, has rounded upper-class vowels, lives in a luxuriously appointed barge moored in the shadow of Westminster, and is no more emotionally affected when frying mushrooms as a reward for services rendered by his two assistants than when he is told that the arms manufacturer he has caught selling top-secret missile systems to Russians will find his life dramatically shortened as a result. Michael Denison plays the custodian of Britain's security. Tonight's yarn, the first of eight, moves so fast that it does not have time to worry about little things like plausibility. (The Times, September 12, 1984).

Cast : Philip Bond, Andrew Robertson, David Caddick, Allan Corduner, Michael Wynne, Douglas Reith, Rex Robinson, Diana Weston and Ron Pember.

Synopsis : "When I discover how the Soviets mean to acquire `Bright Sting', I will take the appropriate action".

Notes : Episodes were transmitted 8:30pm to 9:00pm on BBC 1.

Dead Wrong
TX : 19th September 1984
Script : Murray Smith
Director : Andrew Morgan

Cast : David Swift (Sir William Logie), Rupert Frazer (Ewan Benman), Sebastian Breaks, Alibe Parsons, Julian Fellowes, Jan Collins, Catherine Rabett, Patrick Newell, Michael O'Hagan, Roger Walker and Colin Starkey.

Synopsis : "Her Majesty's Government does not arrange the deaths of unpopular journalists. Or anyone else who irritates us. We'd be knee-deep in them. My own personal prejudices would fill Oxford Street - end to end …". Ewn Benman's decision to avenge the death of a friend threatens plans made by Captain Percival and Sir William Logie.
What's Good For General Bullmoose
TX : 26th September 1984
Script : John Brason
Director : Pennant Roberts

Cast : David Swift (Sir William Logie), Bruce Boa (Colonel Elliott), Harry Fiedler, David Lyn, Eugene Lipinski, Michael Walker, Mark Stewart and Charles Stapley.

Synopsis : "IIf we fall for it, it could put us on the wrong track for half a decade. And possibly lead us to eliminate perfectly loyal and valuable agents …"

The Man From Damascus
TX : 3rd October 1984
Script : Murray Smith
Director : Andrew Morgan

Cast : Stephen Grief (Doctor Riffi), John Carlin, Kevork Malikyan, Christopher Reich, Stephen Kemble, Michael Lees, James Griffiths, Paul Chapman and Michael Sheard.

Synopsis : "My knowledge of Riffi, or Abu Wahid as he is known in the abbatoir of international politics, is more intimate than most mothers have of their favourite child …".

The Immigrants
TX : 10th October 1984
Script : John Brason
Director : Andrew Morgan

Cast : David Swift (Sir William Logie), Patrick Jordan, Michael O'Hagan, Peter Whitbread, Arnold Yarrow, Metin Marlowe, Hossein Karimbeik and John Lester.

Synopsis : "What I am afraid of is an assassination attempt". Fearing an assassination, Jo and Captain Percival shadow the Israeli Foreign Minister.

The Sprat
TX : 17th October 1984
Script : Arden Winch
Director : Pennant Roberts

Cast : George Gabriel and Charles Morgan.

Synopsis : "As you no doubt know, if people defect from Russian Intelligence and do not manage to disappear completely, their lives tend to be, in the words of Thomas Hobbes, nasty, brutish and short …".

Witness
TX : 24th October 1984
Script : David Reid
Director : Pennant Roberts

Cast : Martin Cochrane, Adrienne Burgess, Madhav Sharma, Michael Redfern, Ian Ratcliffe, Betsan Jones and Godfrey James.

Synopsis : "We do nothing until I tell you. Don't look so glum - your chaps will get all the glory in the end. On the whole we prefer not to draw attention to ourselves …".

Hook, Line And Sinker
TX : 31st October 1984
Script : Murray Smith
Director : Pennant Roberts

Cast : Dulcie Gray (Cecily Broome), Edward de Souza (Fernandez), Tracey Childs (Sophy Fitzgerald), Alan Penn, David Swift (Sir William Logie), Francesca Gonshaw, David Dixon, Hubert Rees, Shelagh Gough, Jennifer Hill and Joan Blackham.

Synopsis : "I must say, a freelance secret agent is one of the safest covers. Precisely when did he join the KGB? And what's he doing in London …?". Romance mingles with intrigue as top international spy Fernandez pursues the lovely Sophy Fitzgerald.

Characters
Portrayed By
Captain Percival
Michael Dennison
Sergeant Danny Quirk
Dean Harris
Jo
Lucy Fleming

 


Michael Dennison and Dean Harris in Cold Warrior.

The success of serials written by or based on characters created by Arden Winch, namely Blood Money and Skorpion, has successfully cultivated audiences who enjoyed tightly-paced thrillers embracing the world of terrorism, kidnapping, blackmail, political conspiracies, secrets and lies, had proven palpable throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The emergence in Blood Money of what would prove a recurring organisation and character, the Special Intelligence Service (SIS), headed by Captain Percival (Michael Denison), was a stroke of inspired genius, as it effectively enabled Winch and those who adapted his work to write a linear, ordinary storyline into which could be inserted this organisation as a means of extending the dramatic capabilities above and beyond the normal law (as personified by a plethora of Detective Inspectors and the like over the years).

His return appearance in Skorpion afforded viewers a more detailed insight into the workings of the organisation and its pursuit of terrorist cells and their varied activities, whilst in Cold Warrior, the third and final instalment of the trilogy, viewers entered the cloak-and-dagger espionage world in which Captain Percival often found himself. Joined by assistants Danny (Dean Harris) and Jo (Lucy Fleming), the programme drew heavily from the content which had predominately featured in ITV's The Professionals, though more in terms of behind-the-scenes activities than confronting terrorists, spies and the like on the front line.

The topicality of its storylines (missles, dealings with the Soviet powers, political conspiracies uncovered by journalists - in the ilk of Paul Abbot's State Of Play - and matters arising from the Middle East) certain fuelled its popularity, further consolidated under the production stewardship of the extremely versatile Gerard Glaister, who would venture on the nautical merriment of Howards' Way following the completion of this project.

An attractive, well-produced and high-calibre espionage thriller serial, the programme enjoyed script contributions from Murray Smith, John Brason, Arden Winch and David Weir, matched with directorial turns from Andrew Morgan and Pennant Roberts. In virtually the first entry in an enduring partnership between themselves and Gerard Glaister, Simon May and Leslie Osborne were responsible for the wonderful musical score and signature tune which accompanied the series. Cold Warrior was globally exported but has never been commercially released in any format.

Text © Matthew Lee, 2004.

The series was created by Arden Wimch and produced by Gerard Glaister.