The Secret Service
| The Secret Service | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Science fiction, spy-fi, crime, action, children's television |
| Created by | Gerry and Sylvia Anderson |
| Written by |
Tony Barwick, Donald James, Pat Dunlop |
| Directed by |
Ken Turner, Leo Eaton, Alan Perry, Brian Heard |
| Voices of | Stanley Unwin, Gary Files, Jeremy Wilkin, Keith Alexander, David Healy, Sylvia Anderson |
| Composer(s) | Barry Gray |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Reg Hill |
| Producer(s) | David Lane |
| Running time | 25 mins approx. |
| Production company(s) | Century 21 Television |
| Distributor | ITC Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network | ATV |
| Picture format | Film (35 mm) |
| Audio format | Mono |
| Original release | 21 September – 14 December 1969 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Joe 90 |
The Secret Service is a British children's espionage television series, filmed by Century 21 for ITC Entertainment and broadcast on Associated Television, Granada Television and Southern Television in 1969. Created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, and produced by David Lane and Reg Hill, it was the eighth and last Century 21 production to feature – in a manner similar to Thunderbirds and other earlier series – marionette puppet characters as part of a filming technique known as "Supermarionation". Under the direction of Gerry Anderson, who wanted to increase the realism of the Supermarionation format, The Secret Service incorporates footage of live actors for long-distance shots. Following The Secret Service, Anderson would not work with puppets again until the 1980s, when he produced Terrahawks in "Supermacromation".
The series follows the adventures of Father Stanley Unwin, a character both voiced by and resembling the real-life comedian of the same name. Outwardly the parish priest of a rural English village, Unwin is in fact a secret agent for BISHOP, a covert branch of British Intelligence that counters criminal and terrorist threats from abroad. Aided by junior operative Matthew Harding, the Father answers to his London-based superior, "The Bishop". Whenever they must gather intelligence in a hostile situation, Unwin and Matthew deploy the "Minimiser" – a gadget capable of shrinking people and objects to a fraction of their normal size – to carry out secret reconnaissance. A form of gobbledegook of Unwin's devising is used to confuse and distract enemies when required.
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