3-05. Suddenly - At Home.

Callan becomes attracted to a widow (Zena Walker)
who is under surveillance by the Section.

Air Date: May 20, 1970. Written by: James Mitchell. Directed by: Piers Haggard. Produced by: Reginald Collin.


THE PLOT:

Lady Lewis (Zena Walker), the widow of the former foreign secretary, agrees to a television interview with Rene Joinville (Tony Beckley), a successful documentary director noted for his coverage of Communist leaders. This sparks worries that Joinville may successfully get her to talk about classified and sensitive aspects of her late husband's work - including plans put in place for a potential first strike against the Soviet Union.

As it turns out, there's no reason for panic. Callan easily persuades her that the interview would be a mistake, both for the country and for her children's social status. These two attractive, fortyish singles find themselves infatuated with each other, and agree to a date. Unfortunately for them, neither Hunter nor the Opposition are content to just let the matter go. Hunter assigns Cross to watch the widow. Meanwhile, the enemy wonders if there isn't another way she can be used to embarrass the West...

Cross asks Callan for help.

CHARACTERS:

Callan: He accomplishes the job with efficiency and professionalism. When it becomes clear that Lady Lewis is interested in him, however, we see a different side. It's not the first time we've seen him in a relationship - but in the past, we've seen him with younger women and clearly in full control. Here, with an intelligent woman roughly his own age, he is visibly nervous and not quite sure what to say at a given moment. I love his smile when he sees her studying one of his model soldiers with enthusiasm - happiness at not feeling embarrassed by a hobby many find silly, and pleasure at sharing it with someone whose company he enjoys.

Hunter: Congratulates Callan, and approves of the use of Lady Lewis's children as a means to dissuade her. He picks up on something in Callan's manner, however, and decides to cover his bets by assigning Cross to watch her for a while. He berates both Cross and Callan when they violate protocol in various ways... but he seems more inclined to allow Callan slack, in deference to his skills and experience, than he does Cross.

Cross: I almost feel sorry for him in this episode. First, he gets chewed out by Hunter when he follows procedure and goes to ground following an incident. After that, he violates procedure to ask Callan for help... and ends up getting chewed out a second time. Adding insult to injury, this is one episode where the worst Cross is guilty of is some sloppy work, when he's lazy in fully checking a room and ends up on the wrong end of a gun for his sloppiness.

Lonely: Protests when Callan offers him a job, stating once again that he's out on parole. When Callan reminds him that there are jobs that don't get you arrested, he becomes even more outraged: "You mean WORK?" He is surprisingly sensitive to Callan's emotional state, tentatively observing that Lady Lewis is "real class." We again see that Callan may often himself be abusive toward Lonely, but that he's fierce in defending him to others. In front of Cross, he insists that Lonely does good work, and even refers to him as "a genius."

Lady Lewis: When Callan comes to her to dissuade her from doing the interview, she does not react with the anger or outrage we've seen from people in previous seasons. She comprehends that he's doing a job he's been assigned; her husband's work left her with an understanding of such matters. It's clear that she finds him attractive, and she is delighted to pick up on his model soldier hobby. As soon as he leaves, she calls her brother, a fellow collector, to ask for a book on the subject so that she'll be able to talk with Callan about it - a nice little beat that helps to sell the attraction and budding relationship.

Lonely admires one of Callan's miniatures.

THOUGHTS:

The first half of Suddenly - At Home feels a bit "Callan-by-numbers," with The Section overreacting to the prospect of a widow conducting a television interview. When Callan and Lady Lewis became involved, and then Cross was assigned to continue watching her, I braced myself for a retread of the formula that was well-used in The Most Promising Girl of Her Year (and not so well used in The Little Bits and Pieces of Love).

Then, around the halfway mark, the episode took a turn that I hadn't expected.  Not one that's too unpredictable in retrospect, but I didn't see it coming. From that point on, the episode kicks into gear, the plot gathering some real energy.

There are some unusually sloppy moments in this episode. Cross is implausibly inept at searching a room (rookie policemen are better trained), and an attempt to lampshade this with a line about him being "new at this" doesn't make it more credible. Also, Act One ends with Callan confronting Cross... a scene that is never referenced for the entire rest of the episode.  The bit plays very much like it was inserted to keep viewers from switching over during the commercial break, and the rest of the episode actually makes more sense without it.

The real saving grace here is the character work. Series creator James Mitchell knows his characters, and portrays them well. In the midst of an unremarkable plot, the real interest lies in seeing new sides to Callan and Cross, observing sharp interactions between Callan and Lonely, and receiving some well-judged reminders that the fourth Hunter might be both the smartest and most cold-blooded of any of the men to sit in that chair.

Overall, Suddenly - At Home is a decent installment, given a lift by the character scenes.  It's just a shame about those moments of sloppiness, which I find myself not fully able to forgive in assigning my final score.


Overall Rating: 6/10.

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