The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs is a 25-minute British television comedy series created by Bernard McKenna and Richard Laing and produced by Humphrey Barclay for LWT. It was transmitted on the ITV network in 1974 and featured David Jason as the inept Edgar Briggs, personal assistant to the Commander of the British Secret Intelligence Service[1] who, in spite of his cluelessness (and ineptness), manages to solve case after case.
| The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Written by | Bernard McKenna Richard Laing |
| Directed by | Bryan Izzard |
| Starring | David Jason Noel Coleman Michael Stainton |
| Theme music composer | Sam Fonteyn |
| Opening theme | "Defective Detective" |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Humphrey Barclay |
| Production company | London Weekend |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 15 September – 20 December 1974 |
Cast
edit- David Jason as Edgar Briggs
- Noel Coleman as The Commander
- Michael Stainton as Buxton
- Mark Eden as Spencer
- Barbara Angell as Jennifer Briggs
- Elizabeth Counsell as Cathy
Episodes
edit| Episode # | Episode Title |
|---|---|
| 1-01 | The Assassin |
| 1-02 | The Defector |
| 1-03 | The Leak |
| 1-04 | The Escape Route |
| 1-05 | The Abduction |
| 1-06 | The Exchange |
| 1-07 | The Courier |
| 1-08 | The KGB |
| 1-09 | The Traitor |
| 1-10 | The Drawing |
| 1-11 | The President |
| 1-12 | The Appointment |
| 1-13 | The Contact |
Reception
editAccording to David Jason's biographers, Edgar Briggs was not a ratings success in Britain but proved popular in overseas markets. Nevertheless, Jason reportedly vetoed repeat screenings of the series for many years on the grounds that he "[knew] how raw he looked in those days" and was "not at all anxious to share that with his public."[2]
DVD release
editThe complete series was released on DVD in March 2015.[3]
References
edit- ^ Dave Rogers, The ITV Encyclopedia of Adventure, page 564, ISBN 9781852832179, pub 1988 by Boxtree Ltd for TV Times Publications, somewhere in the UK.
- ^ Hildred, Stafford; Ewbank, Tim (2012). Sir David Jason - A Life of Laughter. John Blake Publishing. pp. 95–96. ISBN 9781782190721.
- ^ "The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs: The Complete Series". Amazon.co.uk. 2 March 2015.