Following 'Joe 90' ( 1968 ), Gerry and Sylvia Anderson decided not to stray too far from the world of international espionage for their next 'Supermarionation' show. 'The Secret Service' was built round a real-life person - actor/comedian Stanley Unwin, the inventor of 'Unwinese', a gobbledygook language.
Father Stanley Unwin ( as he was billed in the credits ) was an eccentric priest who lived in a beautiful English country cottage, had a home help called 'Mrs.Appleby' ( voiced by Sylvia ) and a work-shy gardener named Matthew Harding. Whenever a major crisis occurred ( such as top secret documents being stolen or whatever ), B.I.S.H.O.P. ( British Intelligence Secret Headquarters Operation Priest ) contacted the Father through a radio in his hearing aid. A gadget - known as a Minimizer - concealed in his Bible would shrink Matthew to the size of a doll, and Unwin could then carry him round in a specially-adapted briefcase. In the opening episode, Unwin mentioned that the Minimizer was bequeathed to him by one of his parishioner's, the late Professor Humbolt.
For thirteen weeks, this unlikely pair of secret agents thwarted villains and routed saboteurs. Father Unwin would often fall back on Unwinese to get him out of scrapes by confusing the enemy.
Another interesting feature was the amount of live action footage employed. The real Unwin would drive along a road, stop outside a house, get out, walk to the front door and knock. But when it was opened, the puppet Unwin was suddenly in place. You could not see the join, as Eric Morecambe used to say.
With its choral Barry Gray theme tune, 'Service' was a charming series, not too far removed from 'The Avengers' with its idyllic English country setting and bizarre plots ( as a matter of fact, an early 'Avengers' episode was called 'The Little Wonders' and featured enemy agents masquerading as priests ). But Lew Grade - head of I.T.C. - felt the show would not appeal to the American public, and had it cancelled. It was true that the potential for merchandising was severely limited - kids were hardly likely to nag their parents at Christmas for a Dinky toy of 'Gabriel', Father Unwin's Model T Ford. Many I.T.V. regions opted not to screen it. Even when B.B.C.-2 were raiding the Anderson back catalogue for their 6 P.M. Friday slot in the early '90's, they inexplicably passed up a golden opportunity to introduce 'Service' to a new audience.
I myself first heard of it through the early '70's children's comic 'Countdown' which ran a strip detailing the story of how Father Unwin acquired the Minimizer. Twenty years later, all thirteen episodes came out on video, and Network have since brought it out on D.V.D.
It was the last of the Andersons' famed 'Supermarionation' shows. From here on, it was live action only, commencing with the superb 'U.F.O.'.
Timeus to endey this reviewbold. Goodly-byecus!
Father Stanley Unwin ( as he was billed in the credits ) was an eccentric priest who lived in a beautiful English country cottage, had a home help called 'Mrs.Appleby' ( voiced by Sylvia ) and a work-shy gardener named Matthew Harding. Whenever a major crisis occurred ( such as top secret documents being stolen or whatever ), B.I.S.H.O.P. ( British Intelligence Secret Headquarters Operation Priest ) contacted the Father through a radio in his hearing aid. A gadget - known as a Minimizer - concealed in his Bible would shrink Matthew to the size of a doll, and Unwin could then carry him round in a specially-adapted briefcase. In the opening episode, Unwin mentioned that the Minimizer was bequeathed to him by one of his parishioner's, the late Professor Humbolt.
For thirteen weeks, this unlikely pair of secret agents thwarted villains and routed saboteurs. Father Unwin would often fall back on Unwinese to get him out of scrapes by confusing the enemy.
Another interesting feature was the amount of live action footage employed. The real Unwin would drive along a road, stop outside a house, get out, walk to the front door and knock. But when it was opened, the puppet Unwin was suddenly in place. You could not see the join, as Eric Morecambe used to say.
With its choral Barry Gray theme tune, 'Service' was a charming series, not too far removed from 'The Avengers' with its idyllic English country setting and bizarre plots ( as a matter of fact, an early 'Avengers' episode was called 'The Little Wonders' and featured enemy agents masquerading as priests ). But Lew Grade - head of I.T.C. - felt the show would not appeal to the American public, and had it cancelled. It was true that the potential for merchandising was severely limited - kids were hardly likely to nag their parents at Christmas for a Dinky toy of 'Gabriel', Father Unwin's Model T Ford. Many I.T.V. regions opted not to screen it. Even when B.B.C.-2 were raiding the Anderson back catalogue for their 6 P.M. Friday slot in the early '90's, they inexplicably passed up a golden opportunity to introduce 'Service' to a new audience.
I myself first heard of it through the early '70's children's comic 'Countdown' which ran a strip detailing the story of how Father Unwin acquired the Minimizer. Twenty years later, all thirteen episodes came out on video, and Network have since brought it out on D.V.D.
It was the last of the Andersons' famed 'Supermarionation' shows. From here on, it was live action only, commencing with the superb 'U.F.O.'.
Timeus to endey this reviewbold. Goodly-byecus!