Callan - The Monochrome Years [DVD] [1976] [1967]

David Callan (Edward Woodward) is an ex~soldier with a somewhat dubious past, who is forced back into working for the British Security Section. An assassin with a conscience who always ask his superiors ( Hunter ) and other authority figures "WHY"?.So why force him back into the section?The reason is that Callan also has some other rather useful and expert attributes. Attributes, that in the ruthless world of kill or be killed espionage, not to mention the running of operations in the British Security Section during the cold war, are not only very useful to have at your disposal, but also damned dangerous not to have to operate for your side.., worlds away from the glamour of 007.Then there is also Lonely ( Russell Hunter) a little thief and helper, perhaps Callan's only trusted friend.

It is worth the price alone to see the excellent performances of Edward Woodward as Callan and Russell Hunter as Lonely. The strength of this show is in the writing. It is of it-s time, but if you want an in depth study of a conflicted assassin this is the best you will find.

This is still every bit as good as when it was first broadcast.Superb acting all round, Edward Woodward is outstanding.None of this infantile whip panning,zooming in and out for no reason,proper stuff.They don't make 'em like this anymore,sadly.Buy it,you won't be disappointed.

Okay, it may be only February but I can safely say this as a fan of my second all-time favourite television series -'The Prisoner' being the first, as there are indeed certain similarities and connections between the two shows - that'Callan - The Monochrome Years' may well be my favourite television series DVD of the year!And why do I say this, despite that I have already noted that it is a favourite show of mine? Well primarily for'Callan' fans like myself who are so used to seeing the series in colour, it is really interesting to see it inblack and white because it does actually suit the dark nature of the series, and I actually prefer the monochromelook because it gives the early episodes a film noir feel to it, particularly the scenes shot at night.The low budget production values also gives the early episodes of 'Callan' a claustrophobic atmosphere, whichat that time was the total opposite of 'The Avengers' which was being shot on 35mm colour film for the US market.The reason I mention 'The Avengers' - another favourite show of mine - was not only was it produced by ABC/Thames,which also made 'Callan' - that many of the people who worked on that series' early years also worked on it's moredown to earth counterpart, including series creator James Mitchell who intended his show to be the flipside of thesurrealistic fantasy world of John Steed and his trusty female sidekicks - after it's original more realisticincarnation, like 'Callan'.I will not go to great lengths to actually give a thorough review of 'Callan - The Monochrome Years' because I feelthat if you not seen this brilliant series before, then I suggest you order a copy from Amazon (after you have readmy review, of course!) but I will say two things: the conclusion of the second series, 'Death of a Hunter' is justsuperb and the late, great Edward Woodward was in top form in this particular episode and it was actually the firstone I watched when I received my copy two days ago because I have read many great things about it.And another: having watched the 12 episodes of this Network DVD set in just two days, I have to ask this question:what on earth were ABC/Thames thinking of when they wiped the missing ten episodes (four from season one - 1967and six from season two - 1968-69)? If someone does happen to have knowledge of the missing ten episodes or actuallyhave them in existence, please bring them over to Network because I - and other Callan fans - are crying out for more!'Callan - The Monochrome Years' is true heaven not only for fans of this series, but for those who enjoy greattelevision drama too. Bring on 'The Colour Years'!

It says Callan was a national phenomenon in the late 60's and I can see why - it must have been the Game of Thrones of its time. There are some very good series from the 60s and 70s that still work today, like Danger Man and the Prisoner, Callan is one of those but is also frequently surprising both with its plot twists and also its ability to shock viewers in a manner similar to GoT, you could easily imagine people gathering round the water cooler to discus it.Callan is a well trained professional killer and the writers don't shy away from that, he's as cold as ice when he needs to be and there's no softening of the character to make him more likeable which is very refreshing especially compared with the somewhat emotionally weak male characters of recent years, and no time at all is spent on sentiment.Although many of the early episodes are lost forever fortunately the ones they have are included here in order. Definitely watch the black and white episodes first before the colour ones as they all make sense when viewed in order and you miss an awful lot if you skip them.Brilliant series.