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One in a series of many ITC shows during the 1960s and 70s, "Department S" was one of the highlights. Entrusted with especially baffling cases that other agencies had failed to solve, this elite department of Interpol had to find solutions to the seemingly unsolvable.

Interestingly enough, and somewhat ahead of its time, the official head of he Department was black. Sir Curtis Seretse (Dennis Alaba Peters) was a high-ranking diplomat from some (never named) African country (to whom early script versions simply referred to as "the African diplomat"). A little like M in the Bond movies, he would brief Stewart Sullivan on the case at hand and then leave it to the Department to solve it. Occasionally, he would later reappear and sort of supervise.

The American Stewart Sullivan (Joel Fabiani) was the field team leader. A former FBI agent, practical, pragmatic and professional, with a no-nonsense attitude, who solved cases with a stubborn insistence that there MUST be a logical explanation. He was also ready to use his fists when he had to, and to put his life on the line when it was called for. He would give chase while dodging bullets and cars bearing down on him, knock out a couple of bad guys single-handedly, and then emerge calm and cool and looking neat as ever in his three-piece-suit. For 'inspirational' input he always turned to the writer King.

A bestselling novelist, Jason King (Peter Wyngarde) had a galloping imagination. He solved cases by trying to imagine what Mark Caine, the hero of his novels, would do. On the other hand, he also used the Department's cases as inspiration for his books (much to the dismay of his colleague Annabelle Hurst), so it worked both ways. Eccentric to the core, sometimes Jason's input proved very helpful, or, as Stewart remarked, "he has a nasty habit of scoring near misses". At other times, his 'theories' strayed far away from the bull's eye, or, in the words of Annabelle, "he has a nasty habit of making wild generalizations that cover just about anything!"

The computer expert Annabelle Hurst (Rosemary Nicols) was the exact opposite: analytical and only interested in data, data, data, which she would then feed into her computer, "Auntie". While at times she appeared interested in little else than her work, at other times it was clear that there was some kind of romantic relationship between her and Stewart. The fact that this was never directly shown or openly stated, yet often subtly hinted at, was one of the many strong points of the show.

The chemnistry between the principals was definitely there, and the teamwork was a major factor in the success of "Department S". The acting was excellent, as was most of the writing. The cases were intriguing, and the stories usually very interesting: an airliner that vanished in midair, a passenger plane that landed completely empty, a man in a spacesuit dropping dead in the midst of London, or an entire village seemingly abducted over night. Some episodes were better than others, but most of them were very good. All in all, a real highlight of an era of television that will never come back.

Although, like many of the ITC shows, the series only ran for a year, it was syndicated worldwide, ran very successfully internationally, and has long since achieved its well deserved cult status. It's available worldwide on DVD in various versions (US, UK, Australian...), including special editions. The 40th Anniversary Special Edition (UK) is great, with lots of vintage bonus material. You can take your pick. This show is definitely well worth (re)watching. 10 out of 10

When a man calls the police to report his wife missing, nobody is overly concerned. Even when a reluctant Inspector Levine (Jack Klugman) finally drives out to get Daniel Corban's (James Franciscus) statement about how his wife drove off after an argument and hasn't returned since, Levine still maintains that Corban shouldn't worry, she'll probably reappear soon enough. And he appears to be proved right when the local priest, Father Kelleher (Joel Fabiani) visits Corban and tells him his wife wants to come back - but as soon as Elizabeth (Elizabeth Ashley) walks through the door, Corban insists that this woman is NOT his wife! And that's just the very beginning of the movie.

Now Corban tries to prove to Levine and Kelleher that the woman is an impostor, while Elizabeth tries to convince them that her husband is disturbed and potentially in need of psychiatric help. It is up to Levine to find out the truth.

The mystery is extremely well crafted and full of plot twists, until the viewer can no longer be sure as to who is doing what to whom and why. At the same time, it has a great sense of humor, exploring the absurdly comical side of the situation as well as the mystery. Especially Levine has a lot of funny lines, and it is hilarious to watch the couple arguing over whether she is or isn't his wife in front of a rather puzzled-looking Kelleher and Levine as spectators to the domestic drama.

Adapted from a stage play, the teleplay is excellent. The casting is great, and so is the acting. A true masterpiece of television entertainment. If you get a chance, you should definitely watch it! Every once in a while you might catch it on TV. It's around on VHS, and it's also on youtube.

10 out of 10

First addressing the issue of availability: It's not on DVD, but it's online, in full. However, it's a little hard to find, since it's under its Japanese title (but the movie is in English, and without subtitles or anything, and the quality is quite good.) Best google it as 'Dark Echoes 1977', and it'll direct you to the youtube link.

As for the movie itself: It's a strange but enjoyable little piece. A mixture of travelogue and horror movie. It has some gorgeous settings (the lake, the castle ruins, the cave), a distinctly European flair (the Austrian village with its pub and church, the strange local customs ("What's he doing?" - "He's the village artist. He paints the skulls for us." - "Paints the skulls?! What for?"), etc.), some nice underwater photography, and a very leisurely pace (you'll need some patience and a bit of an attention span).

It also has a likable hero and heroine: the American psychic Bill Cross (Joel Fabiani, "Department S"), who somehow manages to digest quarter-liters (!) of dry martini and still stay sober for the ghost-hunt, and the local journalist Lisa Bruekner (Karin Dor, "You Only Live Twice"). Actually, the mysterious sinking of the boat (no witnesses, no survivors, no explanation ever found) would make a good case for "Department S". And "You Only Live Twice" is certainly true for the zombie captain of the boat. There's also the rather fascinating character of the witch (Hungarian actress Hanna Hertelendy, "Raid On Entebbe"). The acting is decent, the story is solid, and apart from its slow pace, it's really not a bad movie. It definitely has its moments, even if he horror is rather subtle.

On the other hand, it also has its involuntarily comical moments, like the weird cult's clandestine meetings in the cavern, and especially when some of he minor characters sound as if these were the only lines in English they ever uttered in their lives. Come to think of it, that may actually be the case... But then again, you could see that as part of he movie's unique charm.

All in all, if you like strange European horror flicks, by all means, give it a try. At best late at night (like, around midnight, perhaps), with a snack and/or one of the hero's favorite martinis, and when you're in the right mood, it should make for a rather enjoyable experience. So, on a good day - or rather, night - eight out of ten, for the sheer fun of it.