Created by Robert Barr, Spy Trap ran for three series and 61 episodes between 1972 and 1975. When comparing it to similar programmes in the same genre, it’s fair to say that it’s more like The Sandbaggers than Callan (Spy Trap mostly revolves around men and women talking, rather than gunplay and murder).
One of Barr’s notable earlier series was Spy-Catcher (1959 – 1961). Based on the memoirs of Lieutenant-Colonel Oreste Pinto, a WW2 MI5 interrogator, each episode saw Pinto (Bernard Archard) test the story of refugees and others who may be friends or may be foes.
Spy Trap has a similar feel – with Commander Ryan (Paul Daneman) cast in the Pinto role. Ryan’s job in most of the episodes (or at least the ones which still exist) is to relentlessly probe and question. When circumstances dictate, Ryan can be affable and friendly, but he can change at the drop of a hat.
Some episodes operate rather like a whodunnit – with multiple suspects – others such as The Cornet and The Beast, The Melioidosis Report and The Merrin Memoirs are more basic in their setup, with Ryan facing off against a single opponent. This is no criticism though, as these examples (all from the third and final series) show the series at its best.
The first series ran for thirty six 25 minute episodes and was scheduled in an unusual way. The first four stories all ran for four episodes and were stripped across the same week – Monday to Thursday. From then on, two-parters were more common (although there was another four-parter as well as a six episode story) with the remainder of series one airing on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Spy Trap hasn’t fared too well in terms of surviving episodes, with only 14 left in the archives – the first four from series one and all of the third and final series. Although with my glass half full hat on (if you excuse the image) it could have been worse – at least we have an example of the original format plus a complete run from later on.
The debut story, Checkpoint, was written by Barr and aired between the 13th and the 16th of March 1972. Whilst Ryan would be ever-present in every story, Checkpoint is the only opportunity to see some of the other series one and two regulars – Commander Anderson (Julian Glover), Lieutenant Saunders (Prentis Hancock) and Trent (Kevin Stoney) – in action.
The basic plot of Checkpoint is a simple one – an agent called Brady (Norman Rodway) engineered a daring escape from behind the Iron Curtain, bringing three people with him. The respected scientist Dr. Richter (Gerard Heinz) is seen as a notable prize (if, of course, he can be trusted) but there are question marks over the other two – Peter (Paul Aston) and Magda Rajik (Janet Key). And since Ryan isn’t too happy with Brady’s story he’s quite prepared to carry on digging until he’s satisfied.
The tension between Ryan (always a desk-man) and Brady (a slightly flaky and burnt out field officer) is nicely teased out and Janet Key also impresses (and receives a good chunk of screentime) as Magda.
Ryan eventually finds out the truth of the matter, although that’s not the most important part of the story – Checkpoint is all about the journey, rather than the destination.
Reviewing this first story, Graham Clarke in The Stage and Television Today, confessed that he found himself a little underwhelmed by the denouement but then said that “the play was well-written and directed with an uncluttered economy of effort: it was also very well acted and the quality is likely to be sustained by its excellent and competent leading players.” He closed by commentating on his disappointment that Julian Glover was given little to do (and was hopeful he would have better in the future stories). Fingers crossed that one day further examples of series one turn up to see if this did happen ….
We then jump to the beginning of series three and Look for the Ugly. By this point the core team comprises Ryan, Major Sullivan (Tom Adams) and Carson (Michael Gwynn). With Barr no longer contributing scripts, a varied selection of writers were used – all of whom bring their own stamp to the series. Amongst them were John Kershaw, P.J. Hammond, Ray Jenkins, John Wiles and Bill Craig.
Jenkins and Craig had also worked on Callan, so it’s possibly not surprising that – my earlier comments notwithstanding – it’s possible to see occasional echoes of the ABC/Thames series. For example, Craig’s script (To Kill A Unicorn) finds Ryan and Sullivan operating undercover in East Berlin. This is a far cry from Ryan’s comfort zone and he’s forced at times to play second fiddle to Sullivan – a man with (secret) orders to kill if necessary.
The rotating crop of writers used during this third series, ensures that Spy Trap never got into a rut. Although some episodes are more engaging than others, there’s always something of interest – especially guest performers. Such as Peter Miles in Look for the Ugly, Michael Aldridge in The Cornet and the Beast as well as James Bree (a typically idiosyncratic turn) and Diane Keen in Distant Relations.
Spy Trap may be a forgotten series but it’s one that’s aged well (provided you appreciate dialogue-heavy VT studio drama – and if you don’t, why are you on this blog?!) At present, all the existing episodes can be viewed here.