Callan (TV Series 1967–1972) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error David Callan is the top agent/assassin for the Security Service (British counterintelligence), but he is an embittered man who performs his duties "for Queen and country" under duress. This... See full summary » Creator: Captured by the KGB, Callan is drugged, brainwashed and released - with instructions to kill Hunter. He obeys - but who actually dies? Hunter? Meres? Or Callan? Who get shot in the process? 8.9 Callan is ordered to investigate Joan Mather, a government laboratory scientist who has expressed concerns that her work might be used for biological warfare. 8.8 Actor Ronald Radd returns as the first Hunter of the Section, blood-thirsty Col. Leslie. Callan is then sent to nail two minor Russian agents working from a pet shop.

8.7 a list of 826 titles created 29 Sep 2011 a list of 43 titles created 02 Jan 2012 a list of 197 titles created 05 Nov 2013 a list of 43 titles created 7 months ago a list of 25 titles created 5 months ago Search for " Callan " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 1 win & 3 nominations. See more awards » Videos David Callan, top agent/assassin for the S.I.S., was forced to retire because he had lost his nerve. Now, Callan is called back into service to handle the assassination of Schneider, a ... See full summary » Director: Don Sharp The missions of an elite British Intelligence covert operations unit. Stars: Roy Marsden, Ray Lonnen, Jerome Willis Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk are private detectives who specialize in divorce cases. Their long-running partnership seems to come to an abrupt end when Marty is killed by a hit-and-run, ...

See full summary » Stars: Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope, Annette Andre In the year 1980 the Earth is threatened by an alien race who kidnap and kill humans and use them for body parts. A highly secret military organization is set up in the hope of defending ... See full summary » Stars: Ed Bishop, Dolores Mantez, Michael Billington John Steed and his new accomplices Purdey and Gambit find themselves facing new and deadly dangers in the bizarre world of espionage. Mixing fantasy with a darker edge, the trio face ... See full summary » Stars: Patrick Macnee, Gareth Hunt, Joanna Lumley John Drake is a special operative for NATO, specializing in security assignments against any subversive element which threatened world peace. The series featured exotic locales from all ... See full summary » Stars: Patrick McGoohan, Richard Wattis, Lionel Murton Craig Stirling, Sharron Macready and Richard Barrett were agents for Nemesis, an international intelligence organization based in Geneva. Their first mission as a team was to investigate ...

See full summary » Stars: Stuart Damon, Alexandra Bastedo, William Gaunt An elite department within Interpol, Department S inherited those cases which the other member groups had failed to solve. The brains of the group was Jason King, a hedonistic maverick who ... See full summary » Stars: Peter Wyngarde, Joel Fabiani, Rosemary Nicols A group of convicts and outcasts fight a guerrilla war against the totalitarian Terran Federation from a highly advanced alien spaceship. Stars: Michael Keating, Paul Darrow, Peter Tuddenham Complex, involved science-fiction series about a special force of interdimensional operatives whose task is to protect the universe from evil forces trying to gain a foothold by disrupting ... See full summary » Stars: David McCallum, Joanna Lumley, David Collings In this series, inspired by real events during World War II, the kind, intelligent and worrisome Albert Foiret runs both a café, which is the only notable public house in a small Belgian ...

See full summary » Stars: Bernard Hepton, Angela Richards, Clifford Rose Terry and Bob from The Likely Lads (1964) continue their life after Terry arrives home from serving in the Army to discover that Bob is about to marry his girlfriend Thelma. Can Thelma lead... See full summary » Stars: James Bolam, Rodney Bewes, Brigit Forsyth Edit Storyline David Callan is the top agent/assassin for the Security Service (British counterintelligence), but he is an embittered man who performs his duties "for Queen and country" under duress. This bleak, "Spy who Came in from the Cold"-style espionage drama concentrates on the seamy underside of covert operations: assassinations, blackmail and dirty dealing. Written by Marg Baskin <marg@asd.raytheon.ca> 4 February 1967 (UK) See more » Company Credits Did You Know? Trivia James Mitchell created the gritty series as a reaction against the increasingly fanciful espionage images seen in The Avengers (1961) (for which he had written in its' earlier, more realistic days), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) and the Bond films.

See more » Connections Followed by Callan (1974) See more » Soundtracks Mitchell re-imagined his own character ... and it worked! 7 September 2013 | by A_Different_Drummer (North America) – See all my reviews The other reviews will tell you that this is one of the best TV series ever, much under-appreciated, and worth your time. They are mainly right, with a few exceptions. First the genesis of the series is odd. Callan was originally a successful novel (younger readers, this would be in the days of paper and ink, not portable devices) and a solid action-thriller. The original Callan, as written, did indeed have a conscience but always preferred a quick and reliable solution (guns and bullets) to soul-searching. When the author, Mitchell, was approached to turn the story into a TV series, he did something very unusual. Where other authors will usually blame someone else for interfering with their work, Mitchell re-imagined Callan entirely on his own initiative, turning a man of action into man of conflict. With hindsight it was a brilliant decision.

While we may never know what the British public would have thought of Callan as originally conceived (remember that TV violence was very stylized at the time, look at the Avengers, or Batman in the US) they simply fell in love with the re-imagined Callan as a soul-searching and reluctant spy. The show was #1 for several years and ultimately a much pudgier Woodward shuffled off to America to attempt to re-create the Callan persona for US tastes. With mixed success. 7 of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Callan (Series) - TV Tropes Dark and Troubled Past : Callan, big surprise. Deadpan Snarker - Most of the cast, but Callan in particular. Don't Make Me Destroy You : Callan usually manages to bully Hunter into allowing him to bring in the next mark instead of straight up assassinating him, but, of course, the success of that depends on the person they're after, and Callan will tell the person this and try to convince them they are beaten and should come along peaceably. Downer Ending : It would just be easier to list the episodes that end happily.

Early Installment Weirdness : In some of the first episodes, Callan narrates what he's thinking; however, this was soon dropped in deference to Woodward's ability to convey everything on his face and put layer upon layer of emotion into Callan's dialogue with the other characters which made inner monologue redundant, and they worked harder at inserting slick and interesting exposition into the dialogue where needed. Emotionless Girl : Liz, Hunter's secretary, is generally unemotional and the steady right hand of all the Hunters. The one time her stoicism breaks, it throws the entire Section into chaos. Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" - The head of the Section is always called "Hunter" (or addressed by his codename "Charlie") and never known by any other name except of course for Callan himself in season 4. Faux Affably Evil : Meres. Always carries a demeanour of polite friendliness and charm, whether just chatting, snarking, wooing, insulting, threatening, or torturing. Gentleman Snarker : Meres' particular brand of snark. Cross tries to be this, but fails. Good Is Not Nice : Type 6.

Though being the most moral member of The Section, Callan has to hide the compassion he does have under a pretty mercenary, bitterly snarky, jerkass attitude otherwise his opposition AND his co-workers pick up on it and start trying to tear him apart. Go-to Alias : Callan's is David Tucker, though since "Callan" is an alias itself it could be said that "David Callan" is his go-to alias. Hitman with a Heart : And boy does he suffer for every remnant of that heart. Callan tries to avoid and is upset by any collateral damage to innocents, often chewing out Hunter or his much colder fellow agents at the least and occasionally wreaking his own brand of justice on those who perpetrate it or finding his own gruff way to try to lend some measure of comfort to innocents involved. He is troubled by what he does, and, quite frankly, seems to hate himself for it. I Did What I Had to Do - On more than one occasion Hunter makes it clear that he doesn't like the orders he's giving Callan any more than Callan does, but he expects them to be carried out nonetheless.

Implied Death Threat : These get thrown all over, and are used by almost everyone in, The Section. Incredibly Obvious Tail - Justified when agents follow a Russian diplomat around in order to harrass him. Jerkass : Meres, Cross, and most of the Hunters. Jerk with a Heart of Gold : Strangely enough, Meres is an example of this. Though he usually tries to make everyone's lives miserable and enjoys seeing others in pain, he does eventually build and display a sense of camaraderie towards Callan, even showed concern in the second season finale when it seemed that The Section had turned on Callan, and even reluctance and sadness when he was forced to shoot a Brainwashed and Crazy Callan. Just Following Orders : Cross lampshades this trope after Callan has been promoted to Hunter mentioning that now Callan can't use this excuse for the assassination of their targets since he's the one now issuing the orders. Kick the Dog - Callan has to "Rebuke" Lonely on occasion. On the other hand... Pet the Dog - ...

Callan also does his best to protect the little man, going so far as to tell his superiors that if they try to kill Lonely, they'll have to take him down first. Killed Off for Real : Cross. Leader Wannabe : Meres has always had his eye on the position of Hunter. When Callan has the role of Hunter, this rather rubs Meres the wrong way as he believes himself to be the natural replacement and Callan Unfit for Greatness . Long Lived : A subjective example. Callan is in his forties, much older than most people live to in his profession. Needless to say, he's quite painfully aware how every hour exponentially increases the likelihood he's going to get killed on a mission or (if he's not up to standard) 'retired' by The Section or assassinated by some young buck who has his eye on Callan's position as 'Top Man' in The Section. Loyal to the Position : Liz as general factotum to the Hunters, even going so far as to make it look like she is sleeping with a current Hunter to cover for him against a previous Hunter. Make It Look Like an Accident - The Section is not above arranging this.

Manipulative Bastard : All the Hunters to varying degrees. Mandatory Unretirement : How Callan gets forced back into The Section at the beginning of the series, and ever afterwards is told that resignations are not accepted unless he'd care to end up in a red file. Mean Boss : Ronald Radd's Hunter, especially, who will select a job for Callan (seemingly) based on how much psychological pain it will give him. Mind Rape : Callan is captured by the KGB and put him on a drug that will slowly drive him insane to the point where he will be begging to give them information. Fortunately, he's traded for before this goes too far. My God, What Have I Done? : Callan has a major one of these after he realises he's been tricked and manipulated into killing one of the least bastardly Hunters. Necessarily Evil : Callan and some of the better Hunters. The other agents and Hunters range from Well-Intentioned Extremist to Sociopathic Hero . Not So Different : Callan and Richmond acknowledge this on their first meeting, and rather find they like and respect each other. Only Friend : Lonely is this to Callan. Seriously.

Lonely is the only person Callan considers a friend. Word of God confirms it in those exact words. Pointy-Haired Boss - Both played straight and averted; some of the Hunters are a good deal more capable than others. Prisoner Exchange - The opening episode of season 4. Psycho for Hire : Subverted with Callan. Callan hates himself for the fact that he can like killing, and it's part of the reason he's so very controlled and tries to avoid assassination if there's another option available. Played straight with Cross and Meres who jump at the chance to do an assassination. Put on a Bus : Meres, we're informed in the first episode of series 3, took an assignment in the U.S., but The Rat : Lonely. Reckless Gun Usage : Surprisingly invoked in the 1974 film. Callan is at the shooting range and is handed a new Magnum. The gun is clearly loaded, yet prior to shooting, Callan (an experienced marksman) points the gun directly at Hunter while examining it. Given the context of the film and the series, this might be deliberate, but very reckless of the character if that's the case.

The Rival : Cross views both Callan and Meres as his, but they are both way out of his league. Somewhat averted with Callan and Meres; they could almost count as each others' except that they don't really strive against each other for position, except maybe for the position of most epic snarker in The Section. Sadist : Meres. Just for some idea of context, he's the only assassin in The Section who will volunteer to go down to the interrogation department to see how an 'interrogation' is coming along, volunteers for 'interrogation,' and generally enjoys seeing even his co-workers in pain (emotional or physical) and is inclined to try to see how much he can get away with in regards to increasing it. Schoolyard Bully All Grown Up : Meres once, in his habit of making smooth understated comments and threats, mentions to a mook he is interrogating that he (Meres) was a "real stinker" at school and that he "hasn't changed." Scream Discretion Shot : Well, more of a groan discretion shot when Callan is captured by KGB agents and they start a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown .

Smug Snake : Cross. Spy Fiction - the bitterest of Stale Beer. Even more so than The Sandbaggers in a way, since Burnside at least believes in what he does, while Callan only does it because he'd be unemployable in any other job, and the Section would probably have him killed if he tried to quit. The Spymaster - The Section's Boss, Hunter, and his boss, Bishop. Spy Speak - The KGB are "The Opposition" for example. Suppressed Rage : Callan seems to live in an almost constant state of this, not surprising since he's a Rebellious Spirit forced into a job he hates. Suspiciously Similar Substitute : In the third season Cross replaces Meres. Both are Smug Snakes who are from a higher class than Callan, are generally rotten towards him, have very little in the way of conscience, suck up to Hunter, and enjoy their jobs. These Hands Have Killed Title Drop : Almost every episode contains a line of dialogue with the episode's title.

Torture for Fun and Information : Meres, quite frankly, enjoys the more violent "interrogative" parts of his job, and it quite creative, such as tying up a KGB agent at the end of a long room and practicing hitting golf balls towards that end (implied by the bruises later, that he hit the fellow more than a couple of times). Torture Technician : Dr. Snell is The Section's. Trouble Entendre : Callan definitely does not appreciate this kind of talk. Callan: You want a killing? You give an order. Straight. Direct. In front of witnesses. Tyrant Takes the Helm - On finding out that the original Hunter, played by Ronald Radd, has been temporarily reappointed, Callan is so appalled that he promptly announces he's going on leave. Needless to say he isn't allowed to. War Gaming : Callan's passion along with collecting the model soldiers used in doing it. He tries to go to conventions whenever he can to play against other military history enthusiasts. Hunters have specifically chosen Callan on two separate occasions for a specific mission because the mark was a gaming enthusiast, which Callan hates because it contaminates the one pleasure in his life.

Reality Subtext : Edward Woodward was actually an avid wargamer. What the Hell, Hero? - As cold blooded murder is in Callan's job description, instances of this hardly stand out, but systematically wrecking a couple's marriage to facilitate a defection in "The Little Bits and Pieces of Love" and making an engaged couple break up (resulting in the woman committing suicide) probably counts. edward woodward - thesection thesection This article is about the English actor. For the Australian jurist, see Edward Woodward (judge) . Edward Woodward Michele Dotrice (1987–2009) Edward Albert Arthur Woodward OBE (1 June 1930 – 16 November 2009) was an English stage and screen actor and singer . After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), Woodward began his career on stage, and through his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York. He came to wider attention from 1967 in the title role of the British television spy drama Callan , earning him the 1970 British Academy Television Award for Best Actor .

Among his film credits, Woodward starred as Police Sergeant Neil Howie in the 1973 cult British horror film The Wicker Man , and in the title role of the noted 1980 Australian biopic Breaker Morant . From 1985 Woodward starred as British ex-secret agent and vigilante Robert McCall in the American television series The Equalizer , earning him the 1986 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Drama Actor . Personal life Woodward was an only child, born in Croydon [1] to working class parents Edward Oliver Woodward and Violet Edith Woodward (née Smith). [2] He attended Eccleston Road, Sydenham Road and Elmwood High School in Wallington , as well as Hinchley Wood School , then known as Kingston Day Commercial School, all in Surrey .[ citation needed ] He then attended Kingston College . [3] [1] Woodward was married twice. His first marriage was to the actress Venetia Barrett (born Venetia Mary Collett) from 1952 to their divorce in 1986.

[3] They had two sons: Tim Woodward (born 1953) and Peter Woodward (born 1956), both of whom became actors, as well as a daughter, the Tony Award -nominated actress Sarah Woodward (born 1963). Woodward left Barrett for actress Michele Dotrice , the daughter of his contemporary Roy Dotrice . Woodward married Dotrice in New York in January 1987. Their daughter, Emily Beth Woodward [4] (born 1983), was present at the ceremony. [5] Woodward underwent triple bypass surgery in 1996 and quit smoking after two heart attacks . In February 2003 it was announced that he had prostate cancer . [6] In July 2009 it was announced that a performance planned for later in 2009 of Love Letters , co-starring his wife Michelle Dotrice, would be postponed because of damage caused to his hip when he fell down the stairs at his West Country home.

[7] Wikinews has related news: Edward Woodward, English actor, dies aged 79 Edward Woodward died at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro on 16 November 2009 at the age of 79. He had lived in Hawker's Cove, Cornwall , near Padstow and had been suffering from various illnesses, including pneumonia . [8] [9] He is survived by his wife, Michele and their daughter, and the three children of his first marriage. [10] [ edit ] Theatre Woodward wanted to become an actor but initially in the post World War II period became an associate member of RADA while taking amateur roles. Wanting to train as a journalist he eventually took work in a sanitary engineer 's office before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) from age 16. [11] He was reputedly torn between becoming an actor or a professional footballer.

Woodward was on the books of Leyton Orient and Brentford , making three appearances in the Football League for the latter; however, a serious knee injury kept him out of the game for over a year.[ citation needed ] His professional acting debut was in the Castle Theatre, Farnham , in 1946. [11] After graduation from RADA he worked extensively in repertory companies as a Shakespearean actor throughout England and Scotland , making his London stage debut in R. F. Delderfield 's Where There's A Will in 1955 [11] and also appeared in the film adaptation that same year, his first film, and then Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet (1955). Having established himself, he also worked in Broadway theatre in New York and in Australia . Woodward first appeared on Broadway in Rattle of a Simple Man (1963) and the musical comedy High Spirits (1964–1965), which won three Tony Awards , followed by the 1966 comedy The Best Laid Plans.

In 1970, after Woodward played Sidney Carton in the West End musical "Two Cities" based on Dickens's novel, Laurence Olivier invited him to choose his own role in the Royal National Theatre , and he chose Cyrano de Bergerac (1971). [11] [ edit ] Film He made occasional appearances until taking the role of Police Sergeant Neil Howie in the thriller The Wicker Man in 1973. Many critics have cited the final scene in The Wicker Man as one of the greatest visual shots in cinema history[ citation needed ]. Woodward was offered a cameo role in the 2005 remake but declined. He also appeared in the 1982 film Who Dares Wins , also known as The Final Option, [12] as Commander Powell. Woodward played the title role in the 1980 Australian biographical film drama Breaker Morant , which was highly acclaimed and his presence brought the film worldwide attention. Woodward also had a supporting role in the 2007 action comedy Hot Fuzz .

His last lead film role was that of the Reverend Frederick Densham in A Congregation of Ghosts ; the story of an eccentric vicar who is said to have alienated his congregation and preached to cardboard cut-outs. [ citation needed ] Robin Hardy, who directed The Wicker Man , said, "He was one of the greatest actors of his generation, without a doubt, with a broad career on American television as well as on British film." Sir Noel Coward once said of him, "He was one of the nicest and most co-operative actors I've ever met or worked with." [ edit ] Television During his career Woodward appeared in many television productions. In the early 1960s he was a jobbing actor who made a number of minor TV appearances in supporting roles. His casting as Guy Crouchback in the 1967 adaption of Evelyn Waugh 's Sword of Honour trilogy, dramatised by Giles Cooper and directed by Donald McWhinnie , established him as an actor of quality and standing. Crouchback was the central character in Waugh's iconic three novels set against the background of Britain's involvement in World War II.

This black and white TV dramatisation is now much less well known than a more lavish 2001 colour version with Daniel Craig playing the part of Crouchback. However, the 1967 dramatisation enjoyed a high profile at the time and it featured several leading actors of that era including Ronald Fraser , Freddie Jones , Vivian Pickles , Nicholas Courtney and James Villiers . Moreover, Evelyn Waugh had met and approved Giles Cooper as the scriptwriter, having their schooling at Lancing College in common, albeit more than a decade apart. In 1967 he was cast as David Callan in the ITV Armchair Theatre play A Magnum for Schneider, which later became the spy series Callan , one of his early television roles and one in which he demonstrated his ability to express controlled rage. His iconic performance assured the series success from 1967 to 1972, with a film appearing in 1974. In smaller roles, Woodward made appearances on the BBC 's The Morecambe and Wise Show in 1969 and 1970.

His name was used in a joke: when asked by Eric Morecambe who would ever appear in one of Ernie Wise 's 'little plays what he wrote', Ernie replied "Edward Woodward would." Another children's joke starts "Why does Edward Woodward have so many Ds in his name?" the response being: "Because otherwise he would be Ewar Woowar." He also appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in a 1978 adaptation of Saturday, Sunday, Monday in the Laurence Olivier Presents anthology series. The success of Callan typecast him somewhat, but the enduring success of the genre allowed him to gain leading roles in similar productions, though none would prove as iconic as Callan. [13] In 1977 he starred in two series of the BBC2 dystopian drama 1990 , about a future Britain lurching into totalitarianism. [14] The late 1970s were spent on both stage and film, but it was not until he took the lead role in the American television series The Equalizer (1985-89) as a former British intelligence operative that he found recognition and popularity exceeding that of Callan.

After filming a few episodes of the third season, Woodward suffered a massive coronary . For several episodes, additional actors were brought in to reduce the workload on Woodward as he recovered from the condition. The first episode filmed following Woodward's heart attack involved his character being severely injured by a KGB bullet, providing Woodward with a chance to rest over several episodes. Later in the season, Woodward resumed his full duties and carried the show through an additional, fourth season during the 1988-1989 season.[ citation needed ] Subsequently he starred in the short-lived CBS series Over My Dead Body , which ran in 1990, playing a mystery writer who gets involved solving real crimes. In 1994 and 1997 Woodward starred in the BBC drama Common As Muck in which he played a binman called Nev. In 1993, Woodward appeared in the Welsh-language drama, Tan ar y Comin. Versions were made in both English and Welsh, and Woodward appeared in both, being specially coached in the latter since he did not speak a word of the language.

[15] In 1999 Woodward appeared alongside his son Peter in The Long Road, an episode of the Babylon 5 spin off, Crusade , on which Peter was a regular cast member. [16] While both actors were playing the part of unrelated Technomages , the on-screen chemistry between them was clear. His career continued with TV guest star roles including an appearance in The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Mr. Jones (aka Philip, codename 'Flavius') in the series La Femme Nikita . He also guest starred with his son Tim and grandson Sam as a London gangster family in a special storyline for The Bill in 2008. In March 2009, he joined EastEnders , playing Tommy Clifford . Woodward was a wargamer and hosted a series of programmes for Tyne Tees Television [17] in 1978 about the hobby with fellow enthusiast Peter Gilder, who built and owned the beautiful Gettysburg diorama used for one of the gaming scenes from the 1974 film Callan.

[ edit ] Recording artist His capability as tenor enabled him to record twelve albums of romantic songs, as well as three albums of poetry and fourteen books to tape. His vocal capability and acting skill enabled him to make a number of appearances when time allowed on the BBC 's Edwardian era music hall programme, The Good Old Days . [18] [19] [ edit ] Awards In 1969 and 1970, he was Television Actor of the Year, and Best Actor at the Sun Awards in 1970, 1971 and 1972. Woodward won the 1970 BAFTA Award for Best Actor for his title role in Callan. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1978. At the 1987 Golden Globe Awards , he won Best Actor in a Dramatic TV Series for his role of Robert McCall in The Equalizer. At the Emmy Award from 1986 to 1990, he was nominated each year for The Equalizer.

RTS Television Actor of the Year - 1969, 1970 Sun Award for Best Actor - 1970, 1971, 1972 1955 - Where There's a Will 1958 - Romeo and Juliet 1962 - Rattle of a Simple Man 1968 - Two Cities 1975 - Male of the Species 1976 - On Approval 1980 - The Beggar's Opera (also director) 1980 - Private Lives 1982 - Merlin and the Sword 1983 - Operation Comeback (Love is forever) 1989 - The Man In The Brown Suit 1990 - Over My Dead Body 1990 - Hands of a Murderer 1995 - The Shamrock Conspiracy (TV) 1996 - Harrison: The Cry Of The City (TV) 1996 - Gulliver's Travels h2g2 - 'Callan' - the TV Series - Edited Entry 2 Conversations A hugely popular ITV drama series of the late 1960s

 and early 1970s, Callan took viewers into the world of espionage, away from the glamour of James Bond and down the backstreets of London in pursuit of some of the shadiest and deadliest individuals around.

The characters were forced to make life-and-death decisions that always had repercussions and wider implications, where the 'removal' of one man or woman might result in the safety of thousands - maybe even millions. The series' background was the Cold War, but its focus was one man - a government assassin. It was a choice of career that provided fresh challenges and moral ambiguities with every job. His name was possibly David Callan - at least, that's what he was known as - and each week viewers would join him on the trail of another target that his boss had identified as 'too dangerous to live'. One of TV's first real anti-heroes, he was moody, violent and often unpleasant - and he, more than anyone, was aware of that. But the main thing holding him back was a rigid code of ethics. Who is Callan? His weapons are theft, blackmail, murder. The tools of the trade are the knife, the gun and an icy courage no other man possesses. He is the Destroyer. His ordinariness is his protection. He is a highly-skilled cracksman, a master of unarmed combat, a dead-shot with a pistol. He is a killer. But he looks so much like everybody else he is invisible.

It is only when you know him well that you realise his strength, his menace - and his charm. Format Document for Callan TV series by creator James Mitchell 1 . In his early-to-mid-thirties, David Callan speaks with a slight working-class London accent as much to differentiate himself from the establishment figures around him as to make him appear subservient or insignificant to his targets. He's world-weary, contemptuous of both his superiors and of the job that he happens to have such a talent for. Occasionally we're let into his confidence as, through voice-over, we hear his innermost thoughts, revealing much about the man behind the killer. He doesn't look that deadly. He'd possibly be considered handsome if his smile ever met his eyes, but he manages to appear nondescript thanks to his choice of plain clothes: a simple brown suit, sometimes accompanied by a battered grey mackintosh. His hair is neat but mousy and his eyes give nothing away. He could pass you in the street and you'd never notice. And if he comes to your door, you've almost certainly done something to bring him there.

Callan's an excellent shot - one of the very best, and he has a persuasive manner that makes him the perfect man to befriend, seduce or manipulate targets into giving him the information he needs. In short, he's the perfect spy and a talented assassin. If only he didn't allow himself to care so much; if only he could stop himself from worrying about whether his targets deserve to be treated like pawns in a game of chess. He eventually suffered a minor breakdown as a result of his growing worry that not all of his targets deserve to die. While he recovered, he worked as a book-keeper, but the routine monotony and the nitpicking of his boss made him realise he just wasn't suited to the strictly nine-to-five life. He has one passion: war games. He collects, makes and paints lead replicas of soldiers from great battles and has studied all the great battle strategists, from Napoleon to General Lee. Occasionally this interest has proven useful in gaining the trust of targets who share his interest, but for those who get to know Callan it's a surprising hobby and one he can be particularly defensive of if a person makes the mistake of referring to his models as 'toy soldiers'.

We learn that Callan served in the army, in Malaya. Having completed his National Service, he was discharged into 'Civvy Street' with no plan or career. According to one of the later novels, Russian Roulette, he grew listless after his girlfriend left him and he decided to pull a burglary as much for the money as the thrill of doing something illegal. Unfortunately, his raid on a supermarket after hours was the only burglary he ever attempted; as he fled the scene of the crime he ran right into a squad of policemen. Ironically, the job hadn't been anywhere near as exciting as Callan had hoped it would be and he ended up serving three years in Wormwood Scrubs. Lonely It was in the Scrubs that Callan met the man known only as Lonely, a recidivist serving time for housebreaking and petty theft with a charge sheet as long as your arm. Whenever he was afraid, Lonely would be enveloped by a horrific stench - and Lonely was always afraid. But he showed respect for Callan and they became unlikely allies after Callan became his protector. Outside of prison, Lonely remains a useful contact for Callan to use as necessary.

Callan uses him for tailing suspects, obtaining information from London's criminal underworld or, occasionally, obtaining guns or other items. Callan is himself a trained locksmith and is adept at breaking and entering, but he still prefers to use Lonely when he can; a lifetime of thievery has made Lonely the perfect stooge for breaking into the homes of targets without leaving any signs of entry. Lonely's a pathetic figure; a timid, pleading, subservient wretch whose fear of Callan is matched by his loyalty to him. For many years, Lonely remains ignorant that he's in fact working for British intelligence; he thinks Callan's a big-shot crimelord, and Callan does nothing to dissuade him from this belief. Lonely aside, Callan has few friends and no family. Only very rarely does he allow himself the luxury of relationships and even then they tend to be brief and far apart. Women like him; he listens to them and shows genuine interest in them, unlike most single men. But it's the job; he can't risk his loved ones being used against him. Callan might not even be his real name; he juggles many identities at once when at work.

But his close associates know him as 'David' or 'Callan'. To Lonely, he's 'Mister Callan'. The Section At some point, Callan's services were acquired by The Section, a secret department of British Intelligence that deals with jobs MI5 or the police could never admit to being connected to. If your line of business is in arms trading, narcotics, extortion or espionage you might well find yourself being investigated by the Section, even if you don't know it. They'll definitely have a file on you, colour-coded according to the risk you pose to National Security. If your details are kept in a red file, that's the sign that your time has run out; you're been marked for death by any means. The Section is housed in a disused school, disguised as a scrap metal merchants, somewhere in the East End of London. The basement of the school now contains a shooting gallery, while the Headmaster's office is used by the Section Head, Hunter. Hunter Hunter - aka 'Charlie' - is the pseudonym assumed by whoever is in charge and there have been many 'Hunters' in Callan's time.

His first was a gruff, balding stocky man who used the red file system to bully Callan into resuming work for the Section. He was replaced briefly by a man Callan had little respect for, a pen-pushing civil servant who never seemed to grasp the reality of the job; he paid for his naïvety with his life [in the episode 'Let's Kill Everybody']. Callan was sent to rescue the next Hunter from East Germany ['Heir Apparent']. He was a former colleague of Callan's and had already earned his respect in the past. However, a KGB plot resulted in Hunter being shot dead by a brainwashed Callan, believing his superior to be a traitor ['Death of a Hunter']. Callan himself was shot and he spent nearly a year convalescing, trying to clear his mind of the KGB's tricks and come to terms with what they'd made him do. On his return to the Section ['Where Else Could I Go?'], Callan was greeted by yet another Hunter and it soon became obvious that as far as this man was concerned it was 'business as usual'.

If Callan was still up to the job, he could remain; if not, his details would be placed inside a red file. Callan himself spent some time as a Hunter too ['Call Me Sir!'], though the promotion didn't last long and his predecessor soon returned to take his place ['If He Can, So Could I']. Meres and Cross A job like Hunter's and a career like Callan's attracts some particularly unpleasant people. Take Toby Meres, a public school bully who fancies himself as Hunter's Number Two. He's callous, vicious and ambitious, he envies Callan's privileged position within the Section and he believes himself to be Callan's equal. To him, Callan is past it and should have been disposed of a long time ago. His youthful vanity is a weakness Callan often uses against him. When the KGB's brainwashing led Callan to kill Hunter, it was Meres who shot Callan. Realising there may be old scores to settle, Meres was sent to work in New York for a while and his place was taken by Cross, a man in his twenties with even more arrogance and vanity.

Like Meres, he fancied his chances as Callan's replacement, but instead he remained Callan's junior. His rashness and unwillingness to take orders blotted his copybook on more than one occasion; thanks to Cross pushing a commuter under a train while in pursuit of a suspected assassin, Callan was forced to act as an eyewitness at the dead man's inquest, keeping him from participating in the hunt for their target ['Summoned to Appear']. When Callan was promoted to become the new Hunter, Cross was killed in action - though it's debatable whether Cross's death was as a result of his own incompetence or Callan's, but the incident resulted in Callan's demotion and the return of the previous Hunter to the Section. Production of the Series Callan first hit British TV screens in 'A Magnum for Schneider', a one-off episode of the anthology series Armchair Theatre. Broadcast in 1967, it was penned by James Mitchell, a prolific writer from Tyneside (see below). The story followed Callan, a former assassin for the British Government who was working in a dull accountancy job after a breakdown.

He hated his former life, but loathed the boredom of routine - and besides, he had a talent for killing. Contacted by Hunter, the head of 'the Section', to perform one more job and prove his worth, Callan was tasked with befriending a man called Schneider to see if there was any truth in intelligence reports that he was a vital link in an arms-dealing chain. As Callan played on his and Schneider's shared passion for lead soldiers and war games, Hunter despatched his underling, Toby Meres, to make sure Callan killed Schneider - and to ensure the police caught him in the act. But when Callan turned the tables on Hunter and left an unconscious Meres lying next to the dead Schnedier, Hunter decided it was time Callan's details were transferred to a red file - the sign of a man marked for death. Even before it was screened, the play was recognised as being the right kind of material to be developed into a TV series. Producer Terence Feely worked with James Mitchell to flesh out the characters and develop further storylines.

Other writers were brought in to help Mitchell fill the show out, including Robert Banks Stewart, who, as Mitchell had done, would later write for The Avengers , and Trevor Preston, who also wrote for Thames's police drama series The Sweeney and created the children's fantasy series Ace of Wands. Spy stories were enjoying something of a renaissance in the 1960s thanks to the arrival of James Bond in cinemas, the novels of John Le Carré and the real-life events on both sides of the Iron Curtain involving the Cambridge Spies . On television, The Avengers had successfully made the transition from hard-nosed, gritty thriller to fun action-adventure, while Lord Lew Grade's ITC company was churning out such thrills as The Champions , Danger Man and The Prisoner . From the beginning, Callan was designed to be different. There were no supervillains, no madcap schemes or surreal fantasy elements. This was real life - albeit a part of life few of us long to experience close up - and all the stories revolved around believable situations and credible characters. Like most British low-budget drama of the time, Callan was mainly recorded on videotape, with filmed inserts used for location work.

The first two series had been made in black and white by ABC, the ITV franchise holder for London's weekend broadcasts. But as a result of the 1968 franchise reshuffle , the show's third and fourth series were produced by Thames TV and in colour. Callan's return had not initially been guaranteed; the final episode of series two ['Death of a Hunter'] saw Callan lying shot and fighting for his life. Fortunately, the series - and Edward Woodward - were popular with viewers (Woodward won the first of three 'Best Actor' awards for the role from the TV Times listings magazine that year). Even the then-Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, professed to be a fan. With that kind of pressure, Callan was given a reprieve and Thames began to assemble the cast for their own colour series (it's this first colour run that's been given a DVD release in the UK, somewhat misleadingly billed as the first series). The series finally came to an end when Edward Woodward showed signs of being a much-demanded film actor. The final episode saw Callan disobey Hunter and kill a sought-after target before leaving the Section for good.

The Cast Callan was played by Edward Woodward, a familiar face to British TV viewers though not to a degree that would get in the way of the rather anonymous aspect of the character. Woodward later starred in the cult film classic The Wicker Man as the ill-fated Sergeant Howie, the Australian legal drama Breaker Morant and in the American action TV series The Equaliser. Other Regular Characters Toby Meres - Peter Bowles ['A Magnum for Schneider' only], Anthony Valentine. 'Hunter' - Ronald Radd, Michael Goodliffe, Derek Bond, William Squire Cross - Patrick Mower Liz, Hunter's Secretary - Lisa Langdon Snell - Clifford Rose The Opening Titles and Music The opening titles for the TV series showed a dark room in semi-shadow, lit only by a lightbulb swinging like a pendulum and casting a shifting pool of light that briefly illuminates the face of Callan, lurking in the shadows. He squints as the harsh light from the bulb dazzles his eyes. Eventually, the bulb is shot out. In the first two series, the sequence is concluded by a framed photo of Callan also being shot, the glass shattering and distorting the monochrome image of Callan's face.

A stark black-and-white graphic of the shattered light bulb was also used to lead in and out of the advert breaks for the first two series. The melancholic music used as the show's theme and incidental music was a library piece that also featured in other productions at the time (the piece has been listed on compilation albums alternately as 'A Girl in the Dark' and 'A Man Alone'). Comprising a meandering electric bass, piano, a flute and some cymbals, it was composed by Jack Trombey, a Dutchman whose real name was Jan Stoeckhart. He was also responsible for 'Eye Level', the tune used on the 1970s TV detective series Van der Valk. Ephemera Callan - The Movie In 1974, Callan hit the big screen in a feature film directed by Don Sharp and written by James Mitchell based on his novel Red File For Callan (which was effectively a novelisation of the original pilot episode, 'A Magnum for Schneider'). Some of the main characters from the series were recast for the film: Eric Porter appeared as yet another Hunter, Peter Egan played Toby Meres and Veronica Lang was Hunter's Secretary, Liz.

Fortunately, rejoining Edward Woodward were Russell Hunter as Lonely and Clifford Rose as Dr Snell. The theme tune for the film eschewed the TV show's theme in favour of an inappropriately jaunty harmonica piece by Wilfred Joseph. 'Wet Job' - The Reunion Special In 1981, Callan and Lonely were reunited for a one-off 90-minute special, entitled 'Wet Job' (a rather grisly term used as a euphemism for an assassination or murder - the blood making it literally a wet job). Callan has been retired and running a gun shop under the name 'Tucker' for the last ten years. But the Section has a habit of not letting go and they decide that Callan must be recalled for one more job. Edward Woodward and Russell Hunter reprised their roles, with Hugh Walters taking on the part of the latest Hunter. The Spoof In the early 1970s, Edward Woodward also starred in his own light entertainment show, The Edward Woodward Hour.

One edition, shown in August 1971, saw Woodward recreate the part of Callan alongside Patrick Cargill, Ann Holloway and Natasha Pyne, playing their characters from the popular sitcom Father, Dear Father. The sketch was scripted by the sitcom's writers, Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. James Mitchell - Creator of Callan James Mitchell was born in South Shields on 12 March, 1926. He worked for a time in a shipyard, a travel agency and even as a teacher in Jarrow and Sunderland. He was also mayor of South Shields. His first novel, Here's a Villain, was published in 1957. He began to write for television in the early 1960s, contributing scripts for the first few years of the ITV series The Avengers before he came to the attention of Sydney Newman, head of ABC Television, to write for Armchair Theatre, a series that produced a play a week and provided a springboard for the careers of many great scriptwriters and playwrights. His first contribution to the series was 'A Flight from Treason', an adaptation of his novel A Way Back.

By 1965, he'd given up teaching and become a full-time writer. Soon after, he was commissioned to write 'A Magnum for Schneider', which in turn led to the TV series of Callan. In 1970, he won the Screenwriter's Guild Award for Screenwriter of the Year. His other TV work includes the BBC period drama When the Boat Comes In, which he created and wrote for and which was first broadcast on BBC One in 1976. Writing under the name James Munro, his work included the novels The Man Who Sold Death and Die Rich, Die Happy. He died on 15 September, 2002, in the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle. He was 76 and was survived by two sons from his first of two marriages. He'd been responsible for more than 70 novels and 100 episodes of television, in addition to stage plays and feature films based on his work. Episode Guide Note: Episodes marked with * are missing from the archives at the time of writing.

Pilot Episode Armchair Theatre: 'A Magnum for Schneider' (4 February, 1967) Series One 'The Good Ones Are All Dead' (8 July, 1967) 'Goodbye, Nobby Clarke'* (15 July, 1967) 'The Death of Robert E Lee'* (22 July, 1967) 'Goodness Burns Too Bright'* (29 July, 1967) 'But He's a Lord, Mr Callan'* (5 August, 1967) 'You Should Have Got Here Sooner' (12 August, 1967) Series Two 'Red Knight, White Knight' (8 January, 1969) 'The Most Promising Girl of Her Year' (15 January, 1969) 'You're Under Starter's Orders'* (22 January, 1969) 'Little Bits and Pieces of Love' (29 January, 1969) 'Let's Kill Everybody' (5 February, 1969) 'Heir Apparent' (12 February, 1969) 'Land of Light and

 Peace'* (19 February, 1969) 'Blackmailers Should Be Discouraged'* (26 February, 1969) 'Death of a Friend'* (5 March, 1969) 'Jack-On-Top'* (12 March, 1969) 'Amos Green Must Live' (24 June, 1970) Series Four 'That'll Be the Day' (1 March, 1972) 'Call Me Sir!' (8 March, 1972) 'First Refusal' (15 March, 1972) 'Rules of the Game' (22 March, 1972) 'If He Can, So Could I' (29 March, 1972) 'None of Your Business' (5 April, 1972) 'Charlie Says It's Goodbye' (12 April, 1972) 'I Never Wanted the Job' (19 April, 1972) 'The Carrier' (26 April, 1972) 'The Contract' (3 May, 1972) 'The

 Richmond File: Call Me Enemy' (10 May, 1972) 'The Richmond File: Do You Recognise the Woman?' (17 May, 1972) 'The Richmond File: A Man Like Me' (24 May, 1972) Reunion Episode 'Wet Job' (2 September, 1981) The Novels 'Equalizer' star Edward Woodward dies at 79 - LA Times Edward Woodward dies at 79; British actor starred in 'The Equalizer,' 'Breaker Morant' Edward Woodward in 1987 CBS Edward Woodward received five Emmy nominations and won a Golden Globe for his role as Robert McCall, a disillusioned former secret agent using his skills to help people who had nowhere else to turn to get justice, in "The Equalizer," which ran from 1985 to 1989.

Edward Woodward received five Emmy nominations and won a Golden Globe for his role as Robert McCall, a disillusioned former secret agent using his skills to help people who had nowhere else to turn to get justice, in "The Equalizer," which ran from 1985 to 1989. (CBS) Dennis McLellan Edward Woodward, the British actor who starred in the 1980s detective TV series "The Equalizer" and the movies "Breaker Morant" and "The Wicker Man," has died. He was 79. Woodward, who had suffered from pneumonia and other illnesses, died Monday in a hospital in Truro, Cornwall, England, said TV producer Ned Nalle, Woodward's brother-in-law. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art who launched his career on stage in 1946, Woodward starred in "The Equalizer" on CBS from 1985 to 1989. He received five Emmy nominations and won a Golden Globe for his role as Robert McCall, a disillusioned former secret agent using his skills to help people who had nowhere else to turn to get justice. As McCall's newspaper ad put it: "Got a problem?

Odds against you? Call the Equalizer." "Edward was brilliant in his portrayal of Robert McCall," said Richard Lindheim, co-creator of the series. "One of the reasons for it is you felt beneath what he was doing the sadness and the pain that had driven him to do this. "The brilliance of his performance was not always what he said but the emotion in his eyes and in his behavior. And that's the real mark of a wonderful actor: the ability to convey emotion and have you understand his feelings without having to say a line of dialogue." At one point during the run of "The Equalizer," a survey found that Woodward, well into his 50s and with graying hair and a slight paunch, outranked Don Johnson of "Miami Vice " and Ken Wahl of "Wiseguy" in what one journalist described as "the sexy-detective stakes." "I take this with great humor," Woodward told Australia 's the Sun Herald with a raucous laugh in 1989. "I'm the one who gets up in the morning and looks in the mirror, and I don't see a sex symbol. I'm at a loss to see why women see me as a sex symbol.

But that's their problem." Woodward had become a household name in Britain as the star of "Callan," a hit spy series that ran from 1967 to 1972 in which he played a British counterintelligence agent/assassin. He reprised the role in the 1974 movie of the same name. He also starred in the 1973 British cult thriller "The Wicker Man," in which he played a police sergeant who is sent to a remote Scottish island to investigate a missing girl and discovers that the locals are practicing pagans. At the time "The Equalizer" debuted, Woodward may have been best known in this country for playing the title role in "Breaker Morant," director Bruce Beresford 's acclaimed 1980 film about three Australian lieutenants on trial for murdering Boer prisoners during the Boer War in South Africa at the turn of the 20th century. "He was sensational in that part," said Beresford. "He's an actor with a tremendous emotional range." Beresford, who also worked with Woodward on the films "King David" and "Mister Johnson," said he "was lovely to work with.

He was very unpretentious and had a remarkably easy manner" -- an assessment echoed by Lindheim. "In person, he was a wonderful, warm raconteur who told great stories where he would play every role and would keep you in laughter for hours," said Lindheim. Woodward also starred in the 1990-91 CBS series "Over My Dead Body," playing an English mystery writer and amateur sleuth teamed with a San Francisco newspaper obituary writer played by Jessica Lundy. Born June 1, 1930, in Croydon, Surrey, England, he attended Kingston College and entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at age 16. As a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company , he played roles in "Romeo and Juliet," "Hamlet," "Pericles" and "Much Ado About Nothing." Other West End parts included the title role in "Cyrano de Bergerac" and Flamineo in "The White Devil," both for the Royal National Theatre in London under Laurence Olivier .

He also appeared on Broadway, including in "High Spirits," a 1964 musical comedy version of Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit," with Tammy Grimes and Beatrice Lillie. Woodward, who was named an officer of the Order of the British Empire, also recorded 12 solo albums as a singer and won an Emmy as host of the 1989 documentary "Remembering World War II ." He is survived by his second wife, actress Michele Dotrice; their daughter, Emily Woodward Wakem; his three children from his first marriage to actress Venetia Barrett, actors Tim, Peter and Sarah Woodward; and six grandchildren.

Question: In the British television series ‘Callan’ played by Edward Woodward, what is Callan’s first name?
Answer: David