3-04. A Village Called 'G.'

Liz March (Lisa Langdon), Hunter's
secretary, pursues a personal vendetta.

Air Date: May 13, 1970. Written by: James Mitchell. Directed by: Mike Vardy. Produced by: Reginald Collin.


THE PLOT:

The Section is put on alert after Liz, Hunter's secretary who has never missed a day of work, fails to appear. When Callan and Cross don't find her at her apartment, Hunter worries that she may have been kidnapped by the opposition. "That girl's a walking memory bank," he observes.

As Callan continues to investigate, he learns that Liz was originally from Poland, and as a child survived when her village was wiped out by the Nazis. In the weeks leading up to her disappearance, Liz had processed an identification of a psychiatrist, Sabovski (Joseph Furst), as Kleist, the officer responsible for the atrocity. After The Section declined to take action, Liz began receiving shooting lessons from Judd (Harry Towb), the group's armorer.

The signs are clear. With The Section refusing to act, Liz has taken matters into her own hands!

Callan threatens Judd (Harry Towb) when he learns
he's been giving Liz private shooting lessons.

CHARACTERS:

Callan: Becomes instantly wary when he receives a "Charlie wants to see you" call that isn't from Liz, a reaction which speaks more strongly to Liz's perfect attendance than anything Hunter might say. He is highly protective of her, and he is not at all subtle in threatening Judd when he learns about the private shooting lessons. He shares a good scene with Hunter at the end, the two men agreeing that The Section needs both Liz and Cross to function properly.

Hunter: It's clear he values Liz, but he is prepared for the worst.  He carefully words his instructions to Callan and Cross - "It would be best if you brought her back unhurt" - in a way that makes clear that, if she has been taken and cannot be recovered, they are authorized to kill her. At the shooting range, he demonstrates that he is not just a capable paper pusher, as he takes a turn and matches Callan's result: Three perfect bullseyes.

Cross: Has been sleeping with Liz, for which Callan rakes him over the coals.  Not only is it poor judgment and a violation of Section protocol - Cross was stupid enough to lie to Hunter about it! At one point in the episode, Callan talks about how Liz has nursed this grudge for 25 years... only to be caught up short by the realization that the same span is the majority of Cross's life. For a heartbeat, Callan seems genuinely surprised at remembering how young Cross is, and he behaves more tolerantly toward him after that - though that tolerance proves temporary.

Liz March: This episode shines a rare spotlight on Liz, who emerged from a voice on the phone in Series One to become a reliable background character throughout Series Two. We learn not only her backstory, but also much about her current life. She lives alone, with no family or attachments beyond short-term boyfriends. She reads, and her flat is full of books in multiple languages, all of which she is fluent in. She's focused and determined in her personal mission, and Judd observes that she showed rapid progress in her shooting lessons - though shooting a man is ultimately very different than shooting a paper target.

Callan and Cross find evidence about Liz's private mission.

THOUGHTS:

A Village Called 'G' is by Callan creator James Mitchell, whose sharp eye for his characters shows throughout. He immediately puts Liz at the center of the episode by her absence. Actress Lisa Langdon barely even appears in the first half, but everything comes back to her, and in turn to the ways in which she is surprisingly very like Callan.

The first image is of her empty desk, followed by Hunter's reaction to her absence. A few lines of dialogue tell us about her lonely life - which isn't particularly different than Callan's own. We are told that Liz owns many books, indicating that she spends most of her free time reading alone. Callan is introduced here on his day off... which he spends alone, reading a book. Hunter and Callan discuss how Liz has no one in her life aside from The Section. Callan's only consistent acquaintance outside The Section is Lonely, and their main association is to work on Section business. Judd even talks about how quick a study Liz is with a gun.

The plot kicks into gear in its opening scene, and every scene thereafter furthers the story, making this easily the best-paced episode thus far this season. The plot involving the former Nazi is stock stuff, but it isn't the real focus here: The villain exists to give Liz a reason to go rogue, allowing the episode to happen and allowing us a closer look at Liz as a character. At the same time, we get strong character scenes for all of the regulars, all wrapped up with an effective ending.


Overall Rating: 9/10. My favorite episode of Series Three thus far.

Previous Episode: The Same Trick Twice
Next Episode: Suddenly - At Home



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