Secret Agent (aka Danger Man) – The Complete Collection Megaset [$189.95]

If you loved Casino Royal and thought this hard-edged yet flippant character — without the tongue-in-cheek that usually accompanies a 007 film — is exactly what the spy genre needs, go back to the beginning. Before Sean Connery became James Bond in 1962, Patrick McGoohan was finding danger as John Drake as early as 1960. No, he wasn’t the first in the spy genre, nor did he popularize it, but he was one of the coolest to covertly defend the free world this side of Golgo 13. Danger Man, better known as the “Secret Agent” to US viewers, had his own show from 1960 to 1966 and every episode can be found on the Complete Collection from A&E home video, further cementing the channel’s love affair with classic British programming. In each adventure, Drake must use his wits to find a way to route out his enemies. Sometimes this is nothing more than overpowering a strongman or wrestling a gun from a sharpshooter, but more often than not it means going deep undercover as a swinging disc jockey, a savvy technician, or an unassuming salesman. The series doesn’t have the same ’60s vibe of Mission: Impossible, but it does capture the optimism of the era after the Red Scare of the ’50s and before the gritty reality of the Vietnam War set in.