Someone Like Me

The Persuaders, Someone Like Me:

Many people mite not realise that this is similar to the initial story

of Roger's earlier appearance as "The Man Who Haunted Himself." (1970)

h t t p s : / / e n . W i k i p e d i a . O r g / w i k i / T h e _ M a n _ W h o _ H a u n t e d _ H i m s e l f

h t t p s : / / w w w . I m d b . C o m / t i t l e / t t 0 0 6 6 0 5 3 /

Both plots involve a character who suddenly aquires a double.

With increasing confusion for the main character.

Only towards the end does it veer away from the original plot.

So not even original. Very disappointing.

Seems like the scriptwriters had a writers block.

This episode of "The Persuaders" focuses on Roger Moore's Lord Brett Sinclair character. Not for the first time, he thinks he's coming to the aid of a pretty young damsel in distress, only to get a knock on the head for his trouble and waken up to find he can't quite remember what's happened to him. He's now in a strange country house, apparently in the care of a doctor and nurse who tell him he's been injured in an accident but as he gradually pulls himself together, he's able to escape when an disorderly orderly trips and falls downstairs, killing himself in the process, coincidentally just when the doctor and nurse have temporarily absented themselves from the scene.

So Brett meets up with an initially sceptical Danny and learns that he's actually been out of commission for a week, then goes to his doctor who can't find any evidence of physical trauma barring the hit on his head and where they've been injecting him in his arm. Some photos he's picked up at the scene lead him to suspect he may have a surgically-adjusted double running about programmed to carry out some evil deed, which emerges as the planned murder of a highly secretive millionaire friend of Brett's who's come to town to do some business and also show off his pretty young bride, shades of Rupert Murdoch. So is a Brett-double or as Danny suspects, merely a programmed Brett running loose out there tasked with assassination? It's all up to Danny as he races across town to save the day, but will he make it on time...

This inventive episode, written by Dalek creator Terry Nation is probably more reminiscent of an episode of "Man in a Suitcase", "Department S" or "The Champions" which is however absolutely fine by me. The plot borrows liberally from the classic movie "The Manchurian Candidate" and also nods to Moore's recent appearance in Basil Deardon's excellent thriller "The Man Who Haunted Himself" as Moore and Curtis continue their easy relationship as competitive friends who always seem to end up in some intrigue or other, whether it's in pursuit of desirable young females or nasty, plotting villains. It's always fun seeing them in a fist-fight with one another as happens here too.

A really good episode and don't fast forward past John Barry's brilliant theme tune which perfectly evokes the class of the whole programme.