Department S & Jason King Complete Series

1969 · action · adventure · crime · thriller · ITC Entertainment

Pair of British adventure series connected by the central character of Jason King (Peter Wyngarde), a dilettante dandy and author of adventure novels featuring his self-insert Mark Caine. Department S (1969 - 70), is a spy-fi series created by Dennis Spooner and Monty Berman, focusing on the eponymous Interpol division which tackles international cases that other agencies are unable to solve. They are headed by Sir Curtis Seretse (Dennis Alaba Peters), and the team consists of leader and ex-FBI agent Stewart Sullivan (Joel Fabiani), ideas man King, who uses their escapades as inspiration for his novels, and computer expert Annabelle Hurst (Rosemary Nicols). This series has been upscaled in HD. Jason King (1971 - 72) is the spy/crime thriller spin-off, again created by Spooner and Berman and focusing on King after he leaves Department S to focus on his writing career; his research trips to exotic locales and tendancy to respond to calls for aid frequently pulling him into daring situations featuring glamorous women, menacing villains, political turmoil, and espionage. The series co-stars Anne Sharp as his publisher Nicola Harvester, and Raiders of the Lost Ark 's Ronald Lacey as Ryland, who often tricks him into aiding the British Government. Both series are classics of the 60s/70s British TV adventure canon, and Wyngarde's performance and stylish outfits as King were the primary inspiration for Austin Powers .