Production order: 18 | ITC code: 5125 | Airdate order: 25 | DVD order: 24
Those Responsible
Writer: Harry W Junkin
Director: Leslie Norman
Where & When
London, England: May 8th
The Inexplicable Mystery
A young man in a hotel room is knocked out by an attacker posing as a porter, who then steals a box, which he gives to a wealthy and grateful woman waiting outside. When the victim awakens and discovers the theft, he is so distraught that he commits suicide. But the post-mortem reveals that the dead man, one Spencer Bodily, was far from young: every test suggests that he is sixty years old.
The Mystery Explained
Scientist George Kendall had, decades earlier, stumbled upon a chemical formula that halts the human ageing process. He used it on himself and three test subjects, of whom Spencer Bodily was one. Ingrid von Etzdorf, one of the world's wealthiest women, wanted the formula for herself and had it stolen from Spencer when he tried to sell it to her. However, the case draws the attention not just of Department S but also agents of the World Health Organisation, who will do whatever is necessary to suppress all knowledge of the formula in order to prevent an overpopulation crisis.
Review
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| "Give me stillness! Give me an absence of passion! Give me death, baby, yeah!" |
Of all the international three-letter-acronym agencies to use as a bad guy, the WHO, a United Nations agency focused on medical matters, must surely be one of the least expected; it's not exactly as noted for global malevolence as the KGB or NSA. But here are its undercover agents, skulking around London hunting a formula for eternal youth to prevent another of those 1960s fears, like brainwashing, that doesn't resonate much today: overpopulation. Back then, there was a glut of science fiction worrying about having ever more hungry mouths crammed into shrinking amounts of personal space (Harry Harrison's novel Make Room! Make Room!, later filmed as Soylent Green, and Star Trek's episode 'The Mark Of Gideon' - the one where Kirk looks through a porthole on the Enterprise to find a sea of faces staring back at him - are probably the best-known), and Department S obviously decided to get in on the act.
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| Less a cravat, more a parachute. |
The end result is unfortunately less than the sum of its parts. It has an interesting initial mystery (how can this young man possibly be sixty years old?) backed up by a science fictional premise that you can imagine The Avengers having fun with, yet it doesn't really engage. The main issue is the lack of any particular drive to the narrative; a good chunk of the episode boils down to Annabelle phoning up various bureaucracies to ask for Spencer Bodily's address while Stewart has frustrated meetings with Seretse about the deliberate withholding of information on the case. It's not until Jason gets involved - he doesn't appear until almost halfway through the story - that things start moving at any pace.
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| "I rolled eight. Because 'wheat', get it? Huit? Oh, never mind." |
Even then, it's not exactly heart-pounding. Apart from a scene where Jason has a (comedic) scrap with Ingrid's boyfriend, the only moment of threat comes right at the end when Kendall threatens to kill Stewart and Annabelle to protect his secret, only to be shot himself by the WHO agents. Other than that, it's all talk. It's a shame, because exploring how a means to prolong life might affect both the recipients and society as a whole is a good concept, and of the run of anti-authority episodes (Stewart and Seretse are well aware that Department S is being used by someone higher up, and for once Sir Curtis is also in the dark and unhappy about it) this is the only one to offer any ambiguity about whether or not those in charge are up to no good. WHO goons Graves and Martin seem less concerned about the formula's existence than the idea that it's not being controlled by government and might fall into the wrong hands; ie, the teeming masses rather than the controlling elite. On the other hand, are they actually doing the wrong thing? In a world where nobody ages, what room is there for the young coming up below them? The story lets you decide for yourself.
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| "No, brown suits are sexy, and I'll tell you why at great length!" |
Interestingly, of our heroes Jason is the only one with a firm opinion on the subject, being truly appalled by the very idea of eternal youth - ironic, as he's been seen often enough expressing vain dismay at any sign of his own ageing! He gets a good scene where he expresses some rare moral outrage, as well as reminding Seretse that while he might work for Department S, it's on his own terms and he's not the diplomat's subordinate, before storming out with such force that he actually leaves the episode entirely. That's quite an exit.
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| When one set of pockets just isn't enough. |
Jason also provides another (in fact, the only other) high point. The gadabout author, wearing one of his most gleefully OTT outfits to date, pays a visit to Ingrid and has a whale of a time engaging in a verbal catfight while trying to tease information out of her. His hostess is less keen on the battle, eventually demanding to know if he would "like a saucer of milk." Me-ow!
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| The room's occupant was one K Moon, Esq. |
'Spencer Bodily' is an episode that before rewatching it for the review I was quite looking forward to, only to feel somewhat deflated and let down after actually viewing it again. It's not bad, it's just that not a great deal happens. 'Remembered as better than it actually was' could, unfortunately, almost be the show's motto at this stage...
Fancy Quotes
[The coroner is somewhat less than enthusiastically helpful]
Mendham: My job, Mr Sullivan, is to establish identification, age and cause of death. That's all I'm paid for.
Stewart: Let me give you a tip. If right now you started doing more than you were paid for, very soon you might be paid more for what you do.
Seretse: I'm sorry, Sullivan, but even I am excluded for security reasons.
Stewart: How do we solve a case if "they", whoever "they" are, won't tell anybody, not even you, what it's all about?
Stewart: Where is he?
Annabelle: Where's who?
Stewart: The poor man's Ian Fleming.
[Jason is currently unavailable]
Stewart: He didn't leave an address?
Annabelle: Yes - "Jason King, Egypt".
Jason: Astrology bores the pants off me.
Ingrid: Doesn't everything?
Jason: Yes, but astrology more than most things. You see, darling, I know my future - I shall die exquisitely of drink and sensual indulgence, and enjoy every moment of it.
Guido: It was a great pleasure meeting you, Mr King.
Jason: Oh, everybody feels that way.
Ingrid: Now, I'm going to swim thirty lengths in my pool, and if you're here when I get back, I'll have Guido throw you out. Is that clear?
Jason: Perfectly. [cattily] Don't drown!
Cheers!
• Jason and Ingrid share a bottle of champagne as they renew their acquaintance.
Fight!
Ingrid's 'pet' Guido catches Jason red-handed stealing her supply of the anti-aging serum and a brawl ensues - which Jason, somewhat to his surprise, wins when he beans the much bigger man with a thrown bottle.
This Looks Familiar
Department S's London office bears an uncanny similarity to its Paris office, bar the switch of the Eiffel Tower for Big Ben!
Kendall owns an oddly familiar Ford Zephyr.
