The
lowdown: 'Jason King' was yet another action/adventure drama
series from ITC Entertainment, starring Peter
Wyngarde as the title character,
an author and playboy who regularly finds himself in exotic locations,
embroiled in
mystery and intrigue. Many
of his adventures involve King working for the British government, albeit
reluctantly, while
a frequent recurring character
was his publisher, Nicola Harvester, who was always pressing him about
deadlines.
The Jason King character
was notorious for 1970s fashion taste, including perhaps the worst hairstyle
to ever appear
on tv. King first appeared
in an ITV series called "Department S", a British espionage series featuring
the adventures
of an agency of Interpol.
The 26 episodes of 'Jason King' were first broadcast on ITV from 15 September
1971 to 28
April 1972, and featured
a host of guest actors who became famous in other roles.
'The Stones of Venice' was
first broadcast on 17 March 1972, and was the 20th episode of the series.
It sees King
travel to Venice to receive
an award for his latest Mark Caine novel - the problem is that he did not
write the book.
(The episode title comes
from the name of the novel). Meanwhile, he manager of a jewellery store
disappears with
a valuable necklace, and
the police believe that she stole it. However, her twin sister believes
that she has been
abducted, and asks King
to find her. At the same time, King survives an attempt on his life, and
tracks down the
woman and her abductors.
The story is told in flashback, and begins with King being arrested by
Captain Garozzo
(Roger Delgado). King proceeds
to tell the policeman about the circumstances that led to his arrival in
Venice and
his arrest. It turns out
that the novel was written by a computer, based on an analyses of King's
plots and writing
style, and was created by
the sister to entice King to come to her aid.
Trivia:
Roger
Delgado had guest roles in many ITV action/adventue shows of the 1970s,
including 'Danger Man',
'Man
in a Suitcase', and 'The Saint'.
Many were very brief appearances, but his role in 'Jason King' involved
much
more
screen time.
Quotes:
King:'I
demand to see the British consul.'
Garozzo
(feigning deafness): 'But it's strange.
This is a very
worrying complaint. I must remember to do something
about it sometime.' |
Video Clips:
Jason
King is arrested (4.8mb)
Captain
Garozzo (7.5mb)
King
is released (3.7mb) |
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