Callan Season One DVD Review

Thanks to those excellent folks at clearvision.co.uk we can now see again one of the best spy dramas ever with the release of season one of Callan.

The series told the cases of dour British secret service agent David Callan. Initially developed by ABC and then taken on by Thames when it secured the ITV London franchise in 1968, ‘Callan’, with its distinctive ’swinging lightbulb’ opening sequence, remains one of the great TV dramas.

Influenced more by the down at heel Harry Palmer style of British spying than the glamorous James Bond version, Callan was an edgy, friendless and reluctant assassin trapped in a job he loathed. This excellent three disc set is available either as box set or individually and is also available on VHS in a set which contains the whole of season one, 9 episodes in fact.

THE DVD
Surprisingly good sound and vision considering the age of the show, extras include Animated menu, Scene selection, a very good series overview with pictures, Episode info – Transmission times/synopses/cast and credits and a secret services fact sheet.

SPECIFICATIONS
Format: PAL Region 2 Total Running Time: 300 minutes Certificate: 15
Disc One contains Season Six episodes 1-3 , disc two contains Season Six episodes 4-6