Dec 6, 2019
Special Branch: Diversion (4.12, Thames, 1974)
"Oh, how's your husband?"
"Alright."
"Good. I've decided that you and I must have a dirty weekend together some time soon. Would you arrange it with him, please?"
#special branch#Special branch rewatch#diversion#classic tv#1974#george sewell#patrick mower#paul eddington#Frederick jaeger#Nicolette mckenzie#John cairney#denis lill#Keith Marsh#Peter sproule#Sandra hale#William brayne#Peter Hammond#Having been very much in the background of the last few (not appearing at all in the previous ep) it's Eddington to the forefront#For this one. Strand is on a mission: he's pretending to be a security risk and leave himself open to blackmail in order to flush out the#Real traitor. A fine idea and a pretty good episode except that it doesn't really feel like Special Branch at all; this is altogether#Something else. Not unlike a Callan ep or maybe even Sandbaggers. It's grim and grimy and builds to a decidedly unpleasant conclusion#Eddington shines here and has a whale of a time acting drunk (or should that be acting acting drunk). Some top drawer guests in Lill and#Mckenzie and Cairney help keep it a tight ep (this must be one of the latest things I've seen Cairney in; a very fine actor he more or less#Retired from the screen by the mid 70s to concentrate on staging one man shows about famous Scots). The ending is as I said#Very very dark although a last second reveal at least makes clear that Strand although a real bastard is not Head Bastard.#It's nice to have Freddie Jaeger back. I wonder why he dipped out for a couple of episodes