The Mirror's New

This is a very unusual episode because the plot is so unusual. A show begins with a British diplomat, Bierce, meeting with a man to whom he owes money. However, instead of paying the guy, he murders him. During the process of carting away the body to hide it, however, Bierce takes a nasty fall and is knocked out. He regains consciousness some time later.

In the meantime, the embassy is very worried. Bierce is always very reliable and punctual--but he's gone. So, Drake is called in to find him. Soon after Drake arrives, Bierce appears again--but cannot account for the lost time. Does Bierce have amnesia or is he faking it? And, why did he kill that man? This is all for Drake to discover...or else he'll become Bierce's next victim.

I liked this episode because it was very unusual. There are not the usual evil communists to contend with and the finale is very satisfying. Well worth seeing.

The title of this review is a line uttered by John Drake during the episode. McGoohan's razor voice and cynical pitch makes you chuckle at the statement. I think some form of this line may have made a better episode title than 'The Mirror's New'. A weak title for a strong episode.

We're here today to talk about a new spy gadget Drake has conjured up, but first I would like to direct your attention to an example of why people say the acting in this series is so good. Watch the conversations taking place between Drake and Ambassador Sir Jeremy (the antagonist's boss), played by David Hutcheson. Notice how real their conversations seem. Each actor nails the cadence, body language, and nuance of a real life conversation. McGoohan and Hutcheson are perfectly natural and truly appear to be thinking about what they're going to say next.

Now on to the latest spy gadget, which according to my calculations is the 11th bonafide spying device witnessed so far spanning the 1/2 and 1 hour series. Why it's a car spotlight that doubles as a camera. With a zoom lens no less! And a view screen stored in the glove box. How clever. What will they think of next? Guess we'll just have to keep watching! ;>

But wait! There's more. It's not enough to be able to SEE your prey, you have to HEAR what he's saying too. So what appears shortly after the spotlight camera is a wireless bug that looks a lot like the bug with the suction cup in the recent episode "Have a Glass of Wine" that Drake launched from a sort of rifle that adhered the bug to a window pane. Although the bug in this show just needs to be stored in a cigarette wrapper and dropped next to a telephone booth, it's still sporting the suction cup. Oh well.

By the way, right after the suction cup bug is used, the suspect enters an apartment complex. Whatever set / building they used as the interior hall way of the building ... the one with two elevators at the end... this set is utilized in several DM episodes.

Finally, although there are some repeat guest stars in this episode, of special note is a one-time appearance by the striking actress Nicola Pagett as the goofy but ostensibly goodhearted gold digger Nicola (the producers must have liked her real name). I know Nicola best from the epic series 'Upstairs, Downstairs'. Her appearance on Secret Agent, six years prior to Up/Down is one of the first times we see her on the screen. She gets off a great line as well; "I don't care what men do... only what reaction they have to me- only that matters". Her performance is wonderful and you can see she is bound for bigger things.

How lovely is the young Nicola Pagett. With a pretty good French accent, too.

Drake is sent to find out what happened to a missing government worker who has access to sensitive material, who then waltzes in a day late as if nothing has happened, and is living a day behind. What transpired during those missing 24 hours?

Like an episode of "Colombo," which McGoohan appeared on a few times, the viewer knows what's going on, but Drake has to follow the clues, including those dropped by the man's girlfriends, Wanda Ventham and Nicola Pagett.

A fun little episode with a few shocks along the way. As with Bo Derek, after this episode you'll never hear Ravel's "bolero" the same again.