Jason King (1971–1972)

This spin-off from the earlier "Department S" continued the adventures of hedonistic, womanizing dandy Jason King. After leaving Department S, Jason settled down to a full-time career of ... See full summary »

Creators:

Monty Berman, Dennis Spooner

Stars:

Peter Wyngarde, Anne Sharp, Ronald Lacey

Cast

Series cast summary:
Peter Wyngarde	...	Jason King (26 episodes, 1971-1972)

Storyline

This spin-off from the earlier "Department S" continued the adventures of hedonistic, womanizing dandy Jason King. After leaving Department S, Jason settled down to a full-time career of writing (trashy) Mark Caine novels. He philandered his way around the world, doing research for his stories and tripping over a variety of odd--often verging on surreal--cases, usually involving beautiful women. He was occasionally blackmailed into working for British Intelligence under the threat of being arrested for unpaid back taxes.

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Plot Keywords:

secret agent | character name in title

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 1971 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Betchworth Quarry, Betchworth, Reigate, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Scoton, Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (26 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in The Greatest: 100 Greatest TV Characters (2001)

User Reviews

Why was Shane Rimmer not credited

Finally we have a digital channel that is not afraid to run the old ITC pulp series from the late 60's and early 70's. These are the ones we 50-year-olds grew up with!

They were, of course, formulaic having the two-man/one girl teams (almost always with the Canadian/American Hero in order to sell over the pond). With the popularity of the formula it was surprising that 'Department S' spawned an untypical offshoot - Solo British Hero with very few Transatlantic guest parts. This was harking back to the glory days of 'Simon Templar'.

ITV4 has now re-run a number of these old 'Jason King' episodes most recently a two-parter entitled "All That Glisters.." I am absolutely convinced that Clinton Greyn's character of 'John Mallen' was voiced-over by Shane Rimmer, although no mention of this occurs in the credits. Anyone familiar with these stock actors would surely recognise the substitution instantly, unless Greyn had cultivated a mid-Atlantic accent of remarkable similarity during his time in the USA.

If true it is a shame that Rimmer (who, I believe has been unwell recently) received no accolade for the performance. Such 'Lip-Sync' on live actors must be far more demanding than marionettes and is to be admired!

Can anyone out there shed any light on this?