The Mask of Janus
Encyclopedia
The Mask of Janus is a British
television
series produced by the BBC
in 1965.
The series was set in the fictional Europe
an country of Amalia and dealt with the political interests of the British, American
and Communist espionage
communities within. Eschewing the action formula of its ITV
contemporaries (e.g. Danger Man
and the early seasons of The Avengers
), the series dealt with more politically-oriented plots such as defections to the west, awakening "sleeper" agents and the leaking of official secrets. As of 2009, 7 of the original episodes of this programme are still missing from BBC archives.
A spin-off series called The Spies
followed in 1966.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series produced by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1965.
The series was set in the fictional Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an country of Amalia and dealt with the political interests of the British, American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Communist espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
communities within. Eschewing the action formula of its ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
contemporaries (e.g. Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
and the early seasons of The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
), the series dealt with more politically-oriented plots such as defections to the west, awakening "sleeper" agents and the leaking of official secrets. As of 2009, 7 of the original episodes of this programme are still missing from BBC archives.
A spin-off series called The Spies
The Spies (TV series)
The Spies is a British television series produced by the BBC in 1966.A spin-off or rebranding of the previous 1965 series The Mask of Janus, The Spies was a more conventional espionage thriller series than its predecessor, being more explicitly concerned with the actual operations of British secret...
followed in 1966.
External links
- Action TV (retrieved from the Internet Archive)