Mr. Palfrey of Westminster

Mr. Palfrey of Westminster
GenreSpy drama
Directed byGerald Blake[1]
StarringAlec McCowen
Clive Wood
Caroline Blakiston
Briony McRoberts
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes10
Production
Running time50 minutes
Production companyThames Television
Original release
NetworkITV
Release18 April 1984 (1984-04-18) –
11 June 1985 (1985-06-11)

Mr Palfrey of Westminster is a British television drama produced by Thames Television for ITV which ran between 18 April 1984 and 11 June 1985.

Plot summary

Mr Palfrey is a mild, middle-aged man—the epitome of a middle-ranking British civil servant. He is also a spy.[citation needed]

Two series in total were made, in addition to the pilot. The pilot, "The Traitor", by George Markstein, aired as part of Thames Television's Storyboard anthology on 23 August 1983. Series 1 consisted of four one-hour episodes, and first aired on Wednesday evenings from 9.00 to 10.00pm, 18 April to 9 May 1984.[2] Series 2 consisted of six one-hour episodes and aired on Tuesdays, again from 9.00 to 10.00pm, 7 May to 11 June 1985. A subsequent play featuring Blair, "A Question of Commitment", by Philip Broadley, was first transmitted in the Storyboard anthology on 23 May 1989.

Regular cast and characters

Episode list

Series 1 (1984)

Episode number Title Written by Directed by Original airdate
1"Once Your Card Is Marked"George MarksteinChristopher Hodson18 April 1984 (1984-04-18)
2"The Honeypot and the Bees"Michael ChapmanPeter Cregeen25 April 1984 (1984-04-25)
3"The Defector"Philip BroadleyChristopher Hodson1 May 1984 (1984-05-01)
4"A Present from Leipzig"Anthony SkenePeter Cregeen8 May 1984 (1984-05-08)

Series 2 (1985)

Episode number Title Written by Directed by Original airdate
5"Freedom from Longing"Philip BroadleyChristopher Hodson7 May 1985 (1985-05-07)
6"Return to Sender"Philip BroadleyGerald Blake14 May 1985 (1985-05-14)
7"Music of a Dead Prophet"Michael ChapmanJohn Davies21 May 1985 (1985-05-21)
8"Official Secret"George MarksteinChristopher Hodson28 May 1985 (1985-05-28)
9"Spygame"Barry AppletonGerald Blake4 June 1985 (1985-06-04)
10"The Baited Trap"Philip BroadleyJohn Davies11 June 1985 (1985-06-11)

DVD release

The complete series, including the pilot episode ("The Traitor") and the 'postscript' play transmitted in 1989 and featuring Clive Wood as Blair, was released on a 3-DVD set by Network Distributing Ltd.[3] on 16 August 2010.[4]

Notes

  1. ^ Jerry Roberts (2009). Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Scarecrow Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-8108-6138-1.
  2. ^ Television listings for all ITV regions, The Times (18 and 25 April 2 and 9 May 1984). Richard Down and Christopher Parry, The British Drama Research Guide: 1950–1997 (Bristol: Kaleidoscope Publishing, 1997), ISBN 1-900203-04-9, p. DM-11, indicate that Central TV transmitted the last two episodes one day earlier, on Tuesdays, 1 and 8 May 1984. These are the dates also given on the container of the Network 7953332 DVD set. Dave Rogers, The ITV Encyclopedia of Adventure (London: Boxtree Ltd, 1988), ISBN 1-85283-205-3 (cloth) ISBN 1-85283-217-7 (pbk), p. 336, also gives the date of episode 4 as Tuesday 8 May 1984, without specifying the ITV region(s). The Times, on the contrary, lists on Tuesday 1 May 1984, 9.10–10.10pm, and on Tuesday 8 May 1984, 9.00–10.00 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ("The Dancing Men" and "The Naval Treaty", respectively) on all ITV regions, and these dates for the Sherlock Holmes episodes are confirmed for Central TV in Down and Perry 1997, p. DA-4.
  3. ^ Mr. Palfrey of Westminster: The Complete Series – Network Distributing Limited, Ref. 7953332, Barcode 5027626333249]
  4. ^ RadioTimes DVDs