Random Musings: Callan: T. P. McKenna

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Saturday, November 5, 2022

4-13. The Richmond File: A Man Like Me.

The walls are closing in on the elusive Richmond (T. P. McKenna).

Air Date: May 24, 1972. Written by: James Mitchell. Directed by: Reginald Collin. Produced by: Reginald Collin.

THE PLOT:

Time is running out for The Section to locate the KGB agent known as Richmond (T. P. McKenna). By this point, Richmond has taken care of his loose ends in the UK and is looking for a way back to the Soviet Union. Under increasing pressure, and fearful that Richmond will slip through their fingers again - this time permanently - Hunter reluctantly agrees to use a government computer to cross-check all information on the elusive agent.

Meanwhile, an offhand remark by Lonely sends Callan hunting for newsstands selling Russian newspapers and journals. This leads him to a name: Harris (Robin Ellis), who popped into a shop looking for a specific, obscure journal "for a friend." When Callan returns to Hunter, he learns that Harris was among nine potential Richmond contacts returned by the computer, along with one other name of partiuclar interest:

Callan himself!

Callan gets a breakthrough from an unexpected source...

CHARACTERS:

Callan: Suspicion was cast on Meres two episodes ago; now it's Callan's turn, after the computer returns his name. Most of the reasons are unspoken, but easy enough to guess: He was in a red file, he despises authority, and - the one reason that is voiced - he genuinely likes Richmond. Callan protests that you can't help who you like, which echoes Richmond's own words... but even though Hunter doesn't really suspect Callan any more than he previously did Meres, he remains unimpressed by that protest. He even reproaches Callan's soft-heartedness in a way that recalls the original Col. Hunter. This episode was clearly made as a finale, and Callan gets perfectly judged final exchanges with Richmond, Lonely, and Hunter - though I wish there was a similar final exchange with Meres as well.

Hunter: The extended hunt for Richmond has worn on him. The usually calm Hunter is now snappish and impatient, slamming file cabinet drawers and snapping at those around him. He hates using "American methods" such as a computer to do a job he prefers to do with agents, but he feels backed into a corner by the situation. He also gives what may be his first truly bad order of the series, refusing to just let Callan and Meres go into Ross's house to nab Richmond while he's still there. He's too wary of losing Richmond by spooking him - and comes very close to actually losing him as a result.

Meres: When he first stops by Ross's flat, he plays on his upper-class roots, putting on the persona of a vacuous Bertie Wooster clone while pretending to be putting together a class reunion. The grinning idiot act completely fools Ross. Later, he sees the man a second time... unfortunately for Ross. He still grins, but with gleeful malice as he pours a pitcher of water over his victim while promising an unpleasant time to come: "When I was at school... my school, not your school, I was an absolute stinker - and I haven't changed a bit!"

Lonely: Kills time reading through the personal ads in the newspaper. This is what gives Callan the idea that Richmond might be communicating through personal ads, which in turn leads him to Ross. Though the computer also returns Ross's name, Callan's investigation is important: Without it, Ross would likely have been casually cleared, Meres's initial visit having turned up nothing of interest. This makes Lonely instrumental in finding Richmond. He is also critical to the episode's climax, when he has to act in order to keep Richmond from escaping. For all of his surface cowardice and all the problems he has caused in the past, Callan still shows complete trust in him to do his part.

Richmond: Still more parallels are drawn between him and Callan. He handles Ross much in the way Callan has often handled Lonely, imposing his will through a series of barely veiled threats. He gets Ross first to put him up until his extraction, and later to run errands for him. He retains his fondness for Callan. Even at the end, he passes up a chance to shoot his adversary, instead attempting to bargain by offering to go freelance as partners. Callan turns the offer down, but he doesn't seem entirely untempted.

Meres, doing what he most enjoys: tormenting a prisoner.

THOUGHTS:

The Callan television series comes to an end with an episode that's rich in good character material, particularly for Callan and Richmond.

Richmond is the villain of both episode and arc, but he's a generally sympathetic one. As Hunter points out, the things he's done over the past three episodes were actions Callan himself would have taken under orders, even if he didn't like them; and the last episode showcased how little Richmond liked at least one of his orders.

Pacing has been a strong suit of Series Four, and that is true again here. The episode moves along quickly. It also provides some highly entertaining moments, from Richmond's casual domination of Ross to Meres's two encounters with the unfortunate (though far from innocent) young man.

The last Act is very strong. Callan is left to face Richmond alone, with only Lonely to back him up. His final instructions to Lonely before he goes in show none of his usual bluster, or threats, or even condescension. When Lonely asks if he's scared, Callan freely admits that he's terrified. The sequence that follows is tense and well-shot, making excellent use of lighting and shadow as the two men stalk each other. It also never loses sight of them as characters. This carries through to the tag, with the final scenes between Callan and Richmond, Callan and Lonely, and Callan and Hunter all perfectly judged.

A few minor debits keep me from ranking this among the series' very best. The rivalry/not-quite-friendship between Callan and Meres has been a touchstone of the series, and yet the two receive no real final scene. In fact, though he's received several entertaining scenes, Meres has been generally underused throughout the three-parter.

The idea of Callan falling under suspicion has potential, particularly in the series finale. However, it comes far too soon after Call Me Enemy's attempt to do the same thing with Meres... and as with that episode, nothing is done with it. In the end, the computer naming Callan only fuels a single fade-to-commercial. Finally, a nit-pick: Across all three episodes, we never learn Richmond's reason for coming to the UK. Tying up loose ends with Flo was explicitly a secondary goal, but his primary objective is never disclosed or even hinted at. I'll allow that his objective ultimately doesn't matter to his interactions with The Section. Still, it feels like a dropped plot point, and that can't help but annoy.

Still, this remains a strong finale overall. Most important is how well it showcases Callan's greatest strength: Character interactions that are interesting and entertaining, and that feel authentic. I would rate Callan overall as a genuinely great series, one that has aged startlingly well; and while this spells the end of the television series, I'm glad of the two movies that remain, which give me just a little more time with this world and (some of) these characters.

Overall Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: The Richmond File - Do You Recognise the Woman?
Next: Callan (1974)

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Saturday, October 22, 2022

4-12. The Richmond File: Do You Recognise the Woman?

Callan gets a little too close to an old adversary (Sarah Lawson).

Air Date: May 17, 1972. Written by: Bill Craig. Directed by: Peter Duguid. Produced by: Reginald Collin.

THE PLOT:

After Richmond (T. P. McKenna)'s escape, The Section takes a two-pronged approach toward tracking him. Toby Meres supervises a surveillance van, intercepting the very short, staggered transmissions coming from Richmond's safe house and attempting to pinpoint its location. It's slow work, but each transmission narrows the potential target area.

Meanwhile, Callan goes to Flo Mayhew (Sarah Lawson), the KGB operative arrested and imprisoned after her failed attempt on his life. The Section knows that she is a former associate of Richmond's, and both Callan and Hunter believe that she could lead them to him. They know she won't talk; she is confident that the Soviets "always get (their) people back." Instead, they play on that belief, springing her from prison on the pretext that she's about to be exchanged.

Flo's status does not go unnoticed. Richmond's safe house is in a church run by two deep cover KGB operatives. When they learn that she is in the hands of The Section, it is enough for them to start pushing for drastic action - something Richmond is reluctant to do...

Richmond clashes with his allies over Flo's fate.

CHARACTERS:

Callan: This episode reminds me of an observation Col. Hunter made all the way back in the pilot, when he acidly stated that Callan's empathy was a weakness. Here, that statement is proved true. Initially, seeing Flo merely as the enemy who tried to have him killed, Callan is fully on board with the deception. Then he starts getting to know her as a human being, and an operation he endorsed - even pushed for! - becomes every bit as distasteful as the ones the various Hunters have forced on him.

Hunter: It's almost certainly deliberate that the two most callous Hunters (Col. Hunter and the present Hunter) have been the series' two successful ones. William Squire's Hunter is utterly calm as he awaits the results from both Meres and Callan. When both results come in at once, revealing the danger Flo is in, he applauds Meres' discretion in not informing Callan. Even Meres is moved to comment at his coldness: "Don't applaud, sir. That way your left hand would know what your right hand was doing."

Meres: Spends the first half confined to the surveillance van, becoming increasingly (and amusingly) waspish about the failure of the technicians to trace Richmond's transmissions. Later, he finds Callan in an awkward position... a moment he savors with great satisfaction. Anthony Valentine makes the most of his brief screen time, though it seems like a lost opportunity that at no point is any mention made of Richmond's accusations of the previous episode; even if neither Hunter nor Callan believe the charges, they should at least be shown to be watchful.

Flo Mayhew: She has been serving her sentence, calmly waiting for exactly the sort of exchange Callan promises her. Her very confidence that the KGB always recovers its agents makes her vulnerable to The Section's ploy. She and Callan bond surprisingly quickly, given that their last encounter involved her attempt to murder him. As she says, despite being on different sides, they have more in common with each other than with the people around them - an observation that is very familiar to Callan after his recent conversations with Richmond. Sarah Lawson has good chemistry with Edward Woodward, and she's altogether better-used here than in her previous appearance.

Richmond: Call Me Enemy spent much of its running time contrasting the cool, aristocratic Richmond against emotional, working-class Callan, ultimately concluding that for all their differences, they were startlingly alike at their core. This episode puts Richmond in a familiar Callan dilemma. He wants to protect Flo, but his contacts are downright eager to brand her a traitor. He's left leaning on his rank to keep his own allies from forcing action he doesn't want to take; and the longer the situation drags on, the less cowed his contacts become.

Hunter and Bishop: Two men equally without compassion.

THOUGHTS:

The second installment of the series-ending three-parter is nowhere near as good as Call Me Enemy. It's a little too slow-paced, even for a character-centric episode, and there are no surprises. By the twenty-minute mark, most viewers will know exactly where this story is going, and there are no particular twists or turns along the way.

That said, there are some fine character moments along the way. Though they share no screen time in this episode, the parallels between Callan and Richmond continue to be drawn. T. P. McKenna is again excellent, and Sarah Lawson is given far better material in this episode than she was in Call Me Sir!. The scenes between her and Callan are the best of the episode, and I appreciated Callan's comparison of his conversations with her to his recent talks with Richmond.

On the whole, it's an "in-between" episode. It's definitely better than the series' weakest entries, thanks to the fine character scenes. However, the slow pace and predictable story keep it equally as far from the series' better episodes. It's no trial to watch, and Meres' scenes provide some welcome comedy relief... but it still comes across as a bit of a placeholder. I'm left to wonder if The Richmond File wouldn't have been better served at two episodes instead of three.

Overall Rating: 6/10.

Previous Episode: The Richmond File - Call Me Enemy
Next Episode: The Richmond File - A Man Like Me

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Friday, October 7, 2022

4-11. The Richmond File: Call Me Enemy.

Soviet spy Richmond's observations about
Callan hit a little too close to home...

Air Date: May 10, 1972. Written by: George Markstein. Directed by: Bill Bain. Produced by: Reginald Collin.

THE PLOT:

Richmond (T. P. McKenna), the top Soviet agent who was once exchanged for Callan, has returned. After popping back up in London, complete with his old code name, Richmond turned himself in. Hunter has assigned Callan to debrief the enemy agent in an isolated safe house far from London, to learn what he knows and what he wants.

Richmond insists that he has no desire to betray his country. He has simply grown weary of the job, and he has no safe Soviet retirement option. As he tells Callan: "For people like you and me, safety can only be found amongst our enemies. It's our friends who will kill us." To buy his Western retirement, he has come with a piece of information.

There is a traitor inside The Section: None other than Callan's long-time rival/partner, Toby Meres!

Richmond accuses Meres of being a traitor;
Meres doesn't exactly make himself look innocent.

CHARACTERS:

Callan: The heart of this episode lies in the interactions between Callan and Richmond. Richmond, the faithful Communist, reminds Callan of the exact type of upper-class officer he despises. After it's revealed that Richmond was a colonel in the Soviet military, Callan begins snapping an angry but military-crisp "colonel, sir!" at him. Callan tries to get under Richmond's skin, using a photograph of the man's wife to rattle him at one point... but Callan is himself shaken by some of the other man's all too true observations about how trapped they are in their lives. While he doesn't believe Richmond's accusation against Meres, he also doesn't seem 100% certain that the other man is lying.

Hunter: When Callan reaches the safe house with Richmond with no problems, he is surprised, and a little unsettled, at the absence of any sign of pursuit. He spends most of the episode listening in on Callan and Richmond, reacting with annoyance when Richmond bids his listeners a good morning. Though he monitors the situation closely, it's clear that he can do nothing to affect the outcome; if the house is attacked, then he and his agents are simply too far away to do anything about it.

Meres: Only enters the episode in its final Act, after Richmond has fingered him as the traitor. His aloof manner and general callousness are well-established traits. In this new context, however, they make him into a sinister figure, and Callan cannot help but regard him with suspicion even while loudly insisting that he doesn't believe a word that Richmond is saying.

Richmond: Richmond is very much Callan's opposite. Callan is working class, while Richmond affects the mannerisms of the upper class. Callan is emotional and prone to anger, while Richmond is almost continuously unflappable, seeming to find his situation amusing even when Callan threatens him. His calm is so absolute that it makes the rare moments in which it breaks all the more effective... and McKenna keeps those breaks brief and subtle for the most part, minor twitches that belie an otherwise perfectly placid mask.

The enigmatic Richmond (T. P. McKenna):
What does he know, and what does he want?

THOUGHTS:

The series' final arc begins with this excellent first installment. It would not be difficult to adapt this script into a two-hander. The bulk of it consists of conversations between Callan and Richmond, the story boiling down to a battle of wills and wits between two smart, experienced, and stubborn men.

Edward Woodward and T. P. McKenna are tasked with carrying the hour, and they play off each other splendidly. George Markstein's script gives both actors good material, too, zeroing in on the two spies as characters. Callan is theoretically in the more powerful position, as Richmond is in his custody. Nevertheless, Richmond's statements increasingly hit home for him. The ending sees each man taking a moment to size up the other. Both men's observations seem entirely accurate... but Richmond's assessment of Callan seems to strike closer to the core than Callan's does of Richmond, leaving our anti-hero to mull a few unpleasant truths in the final moments.

Though this episode features all the current regulars (even Bishop returns after a few episodes away), most of them have little to do here. Lonely is disgruntled by the long drive; Liz is clearly worried at a situation that's beyond immediate Section control; Bishop fumes about the risk to Callan; and Hunter has some amusing interactions with the surveillance man (an entertaining Brian Croucher) who dresses a bit too casually for the older man's liking but who shows a sharp mind, catching on quickly to the ramifications of the situation.

The episode is a gold mine for continuity lovers. References are made to events from earlier this season: Callan's imprisonment in Russia and his brief stint as Hunter receive mentions. Richmond also tries to enhance his accusations against Meres by reminding Callan (and us) that Meres once shot him, almost fatally, while playing on Callan's resentment against the Section by noting that they keep him in line through blackmail. All of these continuity points tie in well with the current situation. They also create the sense of the series being bound together just in time for its ending.

Several loose ends are left to bring us into the next episode. Callan, Hunter, and Bishop all agree that Richmond came back to the UK with good reason, leaving the enemy agent's agenda still unknown. Then there is the question of the traitor. While I don't believe Richmond's claims about Meres (among other things, the sadistic Meres being a villain is too easy for a series that rarely opts for "easy"), it is nevertheless clear that he has a lot of information about The Section - enough that it seems probable that there's a leak at least connected to the team.

In any event, on its own terms, Call Me Enemy is a splendid opening episode to this arc: well-plotted, sharply-scripted, and impeccably performed. I'd rank it as one of the best of a very good final season.

Overall Rating: 9/10.

Previous Episode: The Contract
Next Episode: The Richmond File - Do You Recognize the Woman?

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Friday, March 25, 2022

4-01. That'll Be the Day.

A funeral for Callan.

Air Date: Mar. 1, 1972. Written by: James Mitchell. Directed by: Mike Vardy. Produced by: Reginald Collin.

THE PLOT:

David Callan is dead.

No, really. There's a funeral and everything. Lonely, however, is shocked when the parson talks about the departed as a quiet, gentle soul, and he becomes convinced that they "buried the wrong geezer."

He turns out to be entirely correct. Callan was picked up by the KGB during an operation in East Germany and is now undergoing drug-induced questioning by a thoroughly professional Soviet interrogator (Julian Glover). The funeral is a precaution by Hunter, to fend off any enemy attempts to use Callan for propaganda purposes.

Hunter orders Cross to frighten Lonely into silence. But first there's a more pressing task. His superior, Bishop (Geoffrey Chater) has ordered the immediate arrest of Richmond (T. P. McKenna), a top-level Soviet agent. Hunter hopes to break Richmond, to force him to divulge critical information. Bishop, however, has another plan, one Hunter strongly opposes: To exchange Richmond for Callan!

Just making sure? "Colonel Hunter" (Ronald Radd),
Callan's original handler, attends his funeral.

CHARACTERS:

Callan: In a hopeless situation, Callan firmly refuses to tell his captors anything. The KGB interrogator asks why he resists, given that they both know the end result is inevitable. Callan replies that he has to. It's not blind patriotism; he just, by nature, needs to fight. When he returns to England, he can't stop himself from visiting his own grave. The title - "That'll be the day" - is his retort to two words on the headstone: "At rest."

Hunter: Though we have seen how much he values Callan, he does not want to exchange Richmond for him. He's done the cold calculations, and he regards Richmond as more valuable. When Bishop overrules him, he issues a formal protest. After that, however, he follows his orders, and is firm in making sure Cross does the same.

Col. Hunter: Ronald Radd's "Colonel Hunter" makes his final appearance, as one of the mourners at Callan's funeral. Since we are explicitly told that only Bishop and the current Hunter are aware that Callan is alive, this indicates that it was his decision to go, I suspect to show genuine respect. The Callan/Colonel relationship was a lot more complicated than is sometimes remembered: Callan despised the colonel, but at the same time respected him (note how appalled he was when the colonel was replaced in Series Two); and the colonel never showed any real dislike for Callan and unquestionably respected him... Though given that Callan threatened his life before the opening credits of the first regular episode, it's possible that he went just to make sure. In any event, Radd's brief appearance is a welcome nod to the series' origins.

Lonely: Loyal to Callan despite his protector's absence. He is so certain that Callan is alive that he even considers going to the police. His aunt quashes the idea, but word gets back to Hunter, who is alarmed enough to unleash Cross. Lonely may be a coward, but when Cross tries to boast that he killed Callan, he overcomes his terror to call out the lie: "You ain't up to it," he declares, fully meeting Cross's gaze despite having a gun pressed against his chin.

Cross: The latter part of Series Three saw Cross develop into more than just a Meres replacement. Cross was a True Believer, absolute in his conviction that The Section was serving a greater good. He had no problem using violence, but never showed any of Meres's sadistic tendencies, and even reacted with distress when an innocent woman was hurt as a result of an operation. I mention all this previous character development, because... Well, this episode throws it all away. The scene in which he frightens Lonely, forcing him to play a game of Russian Roulette, is probably the episode's most dramatic moment. It's an excellent scene for Lonely... but it reduces Cross to nothing more than a cut-rate Meres, drawing pleasure from his victim's terror.

Karsky: Julian Glover is typically excellent as Callan's soft-spoken KGB interrogator. He is entirely amiable, even friendly, as he urges Callan to give up his information voluntarily before the drugs destroy him. He is the only one of his captors Callan shows any respect - though when he returns to The Section, he describes him as a man "who could be (Section interrogator) Snell's brother."

Richmond: The KGB's top man in England, basically Callan's equal-but-opposite. Actor T. P. McKenna does well with what he's given, though his role here is likely just planting the character for the series-ending Richmond File 3-parter. The episode parallels the two spies: Both are captured, both are questioned by similar interrogators, and finally they are exchanged for each other. During the exchange, both Callan and Richmond are seen drinking in their rooms, offering their surly watchers a drink. When they come face-to-face, they chat briefly but amicably, observing that they now know exactly how much their respective employers value them.

"You ain't up to it." A terrified Lonely
refuses to believe that Cross killed Callan.

THOUGHTS:

Like many Callan episodes, That'll Be the Day's story is both simple and well-worn. Also like many Callan episodes, it succeeds by spotlighting interesting characters and creating effective atmosphere.

This is a surprisingly modern season premiere, setting up elements to be used later in the season. Bishop and Hunter discuss how Callan's role could be more important than it currently is. Karsky asks Callan specific questions about Toby Meres. Richmond is introduced. All the major threads of Series Four are established here.

Given that Callan spends most of the story imprisoned, it is critical that the episode actually demonstrates for new viewers that he is as good an agent as Hunter and Bishop say. The final ten minutes see him at full alert. Practically the instant he is free, he demands a gun, paranoid that the KGB might try something now that they've recovered Richmond. When Cross scoffs that the Opposition always plays fair with exchanges, Callan retorts: "There is always a first time, lad, I do not want it to be me, so shut up and give a gun!" He also spots a KGB tail before Cross, and finds the tracking device that has been planted on him - a device Cross would never have found, given that he mocked Callan for even believing one was planted.

I mentioned throughout my Series Three reviews how cheap the season looked, far more so than the 1960s black-and-white episodes did. That'll Be the Day shows improved production values across the board. Hunter's office looks more like a real office and less like a studio set whose walls might fall down at any moment; exterior scenes are better shot; and even the recycled prison set used for Callan's interrogation doesn't look half-bad. Much of Series Three overcame its cheap look through good scripts and performances. Even so, the cheapness created a barrier, particularly when a given script failed to hit the mark. It's a tremendous relief to have that barrier removed, and to see the show looking decent again.

Overall Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: Amos Green Must Live
Next Episode: Call Me Sir!

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