It is definitely in a league with the Sandbaggers, but not quite as
action-oriented. Mr. Palfrey works for one of the intelligence services,
doing things that no one else will do, but we are never told exactly who he
is or what the real job is. He reports to someone called the Coordinator,
played beautifully by Caroline Blakiston. The only other ongoing characaters
are his secretary and his assistant, the mysterious Blair. Blair has
actually been hired by the Coordinator to "watch" Mr. Palfrey, since the
Coordinator thinks he is too much of "a one man band." Sound familiar?
Palfrey is more cerebral and much sweeter in disposition than Neil Burnside,
but there is similarity in their jobs . Palfrey is also very shrewd. I have
not seen enough of these recently to make a good analysis. This is kind of
MI5's answer to the sandbaggers, where Palfrey, with the help of Blair and
his secretary, take on these little assignments that need to stay out of the
public light. I assume they are MI5 related, since they stay in England. The
one episode I have seen recently concerned a would-be defector, who was in
London for a conference, and who turned out to be a KGB plant. Palfrey, of
course, sniffed this out. But there were twists and turns and it did not end
as you anticipated.
Another similarity is that Palfrey has a hell of a time with his boss. As I
say, she doesn't trust him, and he finds her a nuisance at times. But there
is more respect here than with Burnside and his masters. The dynamic is
interesting because of the gender difference, and also because you get the
feeling Palfrey was demoted and this woman took his old job. But lots of
frustration on both their parts.
Anyone out there that can comment on other similarities and differences? I
do not think Palfrey is available on video (if he is please tell me). Also,
if anyone has personal tapes they can dup, please, please let me know. But
this is another jewel of a series that hardly anyone knows about. Only the
British seem to be able to do these, and I am grateful.
Denise Primm