PETER BRADY

Full Name:	Peter Brady
Series Name:	The Invisible Man
Nationality:	British
Organization:	British Intelligence
Occupation	Agent

Creator:	Ralph Smart
Time Span:	1958 - 1959

ABOUT THE SERIES

Peter Brady is an agent with British Intelligence.

No, not really, or at least not a first. When we meet him he is a research scientist at a major secure facility of the British government. His specialty is light wave refraction and it is his belief that the secret of invisibility is with his grasp. He is running one of his experiments on a poor guinea pig when there is a leak of some compound. The detectors in the building catch it and alarms start blaring with security guards racing hither and fro but Dr. Brady, seated right next to the chamber the animal was in, did not shut off the machine in time and was turned invisible. Apparently permanently. [No word on the fate of the animal who also disappeared.]

Immediately Brady is deemed a state secret and is locked away for reasons that are never quite explained. Brady is a resourceful chap, though, and with the fact that no one can see him, he gets away and races home. Home is a nice-sized house with a picket fence. He shares it with his widowed sister Diane and her young (10-ish) daughter, Sally.

Whatever is causing his invisibility also affects all natural material he wears, such as cotton and wool, meaning that the clothes he wears, assuming they are made of such things, disappear as well. Swathes of bandages, which look to be made of cotton, do not vanish so he is able to wrap his head and on sunglasses and wear a hat and he looks like an accident victim. Throw in a trench coat, gloves, and pants and he can move about. Doffing those items and quickly unwrapping and instant ultra secret weapon.

The use to British Intelligence is shown immediately when Brady approaches a fellow lab scientist with the discover only to have the man try to kill him to steal the formula and head out. By single-handedly catching the traitor, Brady shows to Intelligence his worth. After than he becomes an agent with them and handles some very tricky missions both home and abroad.

Not to mention a personal item or two such as the time Sally suspects one of her friend's mother is about to be killed by her new husband. Or when his invisible status gets more known and would-be robbers kidnap Sally to force him to pull off a bank heist.

We never see (pun kinda meant) whether Brady is given any special training to do the missions like he is assigned, such as parachuting in his first assignment, but he has his hands full and many a sharp opponent will spot small traces of movement, such as carpet indentations, so while he has a great weapon in not being visible, nothing is perfect.

Good Lines:
- Peter: "I could gladly murder him in cold blood." Diane:"[chuckle] Well, come along and have your dinner first."

TELEVISION


Number of Episodes:	26
First Appearance:	1958
Last Appearance:	1959
Network:	ITV

REGULAR CAST
Paul Carpenter	Peter Brady [ 1 ]
Tim Turner	Peter Brady [ 1 ]
Lisa Daniely	Diane Wilson [ 1 ]
Deborah Watling	Sally Wilson [ 1 ]

1	Secret Experiment Episode 1-1, first aired 09/14/1958 Director: Pennington Richards Writers: Michael Connor, Michael Cramoy Experimenting on making guinea pigs invisible by lowering their refractive index to that of air, Dr. Peter Brady becomes invisible himself after a radioactive leak. Brady becomes an official secret and seeks help from fellow scientist, Crompton, to make him visible again, but Crompton sees the advantages of invisibility and steals Brady's notes.

2	Crisis in the Desert Episode 1-2, first aired 09/21/1958 Director: Pennington Richards Writer: Ralph Smart Brady is asked to rescue a British agent who has been captured by Colonel Omar and his soldiers in the Middle East. With the help of local resistance fighter Yolanda, Brady plans to rescue the agent from a high-security hospital before he reveals this knowledge to Omar.

3	Behind the Mask Episode 1-3, first aired 09/28/1958 Director: Pennington Richards Writers: Stanley Mann, Leslie Arliss Hideously disfigured millionaire Raphael Constantine volunteers to be a guinea pig for Brady's experiments, to which Brady agrees. Unknown to Brady, Constantine has an ulterior motive which could be deadly to the visiting president Domecq.

4	The Locked Room Episode 1-4, first aired 10/05/1958 Director: Pennington Richards Writers: Ralph Smart, Lindsay Galloway Tania, a Russian scientist working in London, criticises her government and is abducted. Brady comes to her aid, believing she can help him to become visible again.

5	Picnic with Death Episode 1-5, first aired 10/12/1958 Director: Pennington Richards Writers: Leonard Fincham, Leslie Arliss One of Sally's friends is afraid her mother is going to be murdered by her stepfather and his sister, and Sally asks her Uncle Peter to use his invisibility to save her.

6	Play to Kill Episode 1-6, first aired 10/19/1958 Director: Peter Maxwell Writers: Robert Westerby, Leslie Arliss Brady tries to prove actress Barbara Crane did not accidentally run down and kill a tramp – for which she is being blackmailed – when even she believes she did.

7	Shadow on the Screen Episode 1-7, first aired 10/26/1958 Director: Pennington Richards Writers: Ralph Smart, Ian Stuart Black, Philip Levene Brady goes aboard an Iron Curtain ship in the London docks to rescue a prisoner, but discovers it is a trap using a form of radar to catch him and his secret of invisibility.

8	The Mink Coat Episode 1-8, first aired 11/02/1958 Director: Pennington Richards Writers: Ian Stuart Black, Leonore Coffee Unknown to puppeteer Penny Page, the mink coat she is wearing on a plane to Paris contains smuggled microfilm of atomic research papers. Fellow passenger Peter Brady becomes involved in the intrigue.

9	Blind Justice Episode 1-9, first aired 11/09/1958 Director: Pennington Richards Writer: Ralph Smart When Brady's friend Arthur Holt is accused of drug smuggling and is nearly killed by the gang responsible in front of his blind wife Katherine, he becomes the woman's eyes to break the smuggling ring.

10	Jailbreak Episode 1-10, first aired 11/16/1958 Director: Pennington Richards Writer: Ian Stuart Black Convinced Joe Green, who has been convicted of armed robbery, is innocent, Brady searches for a girl who can provide an alibi.

11	Bank Raid Episode 1-11, first aired 11/23/1958 Director: Ralph Smart Writers: Doreen Montgomery, Ralph Smart When Sally is taken from school by a gang of ruthless criminals, Brady is forced to rob a bank to pay a £50,000 ransom for her safe return.

12	Odds Against Death Episode 1-12, first aired 11/30/1958 Director: Pennington Richards Writers: Ian Stuart Black, Stanley Mann To save the daughter of Professor Owens, a brilliant scientist, from danger, Brady uses his invisibility to manipulate the casino tables in Italy in Owens's favour. But little does Owens know that he is gambling his daughter's life away.

13	Strange Partners Episode 1-13, first aired 12/07/1958 Director: Pennington Richards Writer: Michael Cramoy After his briefcase of scientific documents is stolen, Brady is held prisoner by the man responsible, Lucian Currie, who wants him to kill his partner Vickers. The Invisible Man discovers that although his invisibility is a defence against detection from humans, it is no protection against a vicious guard dog trained to hunt him down if he attempts to escape.

14	Point of Destruction Episode 2-1, first aired 04/12/1959 Director: Quentin Lawrence Writer: Ian Stuart Black When four test pilots die while testing a top secret fuel diffuser, Brady investigates as to whether it is sabotage.

15	Death Cell Episode 2-2, first aired 04/19/1959 Director: Peter Maxwell Writer: Michael Cramoy Ellen Summers escapes from a mental institution and pleads with Brady to save her fiancée who is awaiting execution in a cell for killing a police inspector.

16	The Vanishing Evidence Episode 2-3, first aired 04/26/1959 Director: Peter Maxwell Writer: Ian Stuart Black When international spy Peter Thal murders Professor Harper and steals vital secrets on which he had been working, Brady is called in by Colonel Ward for help in following Thal to Holland.

17	The Prize Episode 2-4, first aired 05/03/1959 Director: Quentin Lawrence Writer: Ian Stuart Black Brady arrives in Scandinavia to collect a prize for his contribution to science. However, he ends up crossing the border to help save Soviet writer Tania Roskoff, who has been arrested while crossing the border.

18	Flight into Darkness Episode 2-5, first aired 05/10/1959 Director: Peter Maxwell Writers: Ian Stuart Black, William H. Altman Dr. Stephens believes that his discovery in the field of anti-gravity will endanger mankind, and so destroys all his papers and disappears. Brady is asked by Stephens' daughter to track him down.

19	The Decoy Episode 2-6, first aired 05/17/1959 Director: Quentin Lawrence Writer: Brenda Blackmore Identical twins Toni and Terry Trent are a popular musical act, performing for the troops on a USO tour of Britain. Brady volunteers to help Toni when Terry disappears at a Soho hotel where she had earlier witnessed a murder.

20	The Gun Runners Episode 2-7, first aired 05/24/1959 Director: Peter Maxwell Writer: Ian Stuart Black After a family is gunned down in a market in the small Mediterranean state of Bay Akim, the British Government ask Brady to travel there and help gun inspector Zena Fleming discover who is supplying the guns.

21	The White Rabbit Episode 2-8, first aired 05/31/1959 Director: Quentin Lawrence Writer: Ian Stuart Black Brady travels to France when a young doctor, Suzanne Dumasse, sees a white rabbit materialise out of thin air, and her evidence points to a Fascist plot to use the discovery of invisibility to launch a revolt.

22	Man in Disguise Episode 2-9, first aired 06/07/1959 Directors: Quentin Lawrence, Peter Maxwell Writers: Brenda Blackmore, Leslie Arliss Brady finds himself involved in an international drugs racket when a beautiful girl called Madeleine steals his passport in Paris, enabling her accomplice Nick to impersonate Brady and smuggle dope into England.

23	Man in Power Episode 2-10, first aired 06/14/1959 Director: Peter Maxwell Writer: Ian Stuart Black Brady helps the brother and sister of a Middle East king – who has been murdered by his power-crazy army chief – to regain their father's throne.

24	The Rocket Episode 2-11, first aired 06/21/1959 Director: Quentin Lawrence Writer: Michael Pertwee The transporting of a top-secret rocket is compromised when the transport officer, Ronald Smith, runs into gambling debts and agrees to give a criminal gang information about the rocket. When it is hijacked by the criminals, Brady starts a desperate search for the missing rocket.

25	Shadow Bomb Episode 2-12, first aired 06/28/1959 Director: Peter Maxwell Writers: Tony O'Grady, Ian Stuart Black Captain Finch is trapped in a pit with an experimental bomb detonator – invented by Brady – that has been designed to explode a bomb instantly if a shadow falls across the device. Only Brady can enter the pit to deactivate the detonator before the sun casts a shadow over the bomb.

26	The Big Plot Episode 2-13, first aired 07/05/1959 Director: Peter Maxwell Writers: Ian Stuart Black, Robert Smart, Tony O'Grady When a plane crash with no survivors reveals that someone aboard was smuggling into England a canister of Uranium 235, used in the manufacture of atomic weapons, Brady uncovers a plot to start a Third World War.

MY COMMENTS

I was but 6 years old and living in the different country when the U.K. broadcast of this show happened so naturally never saw any of the 26 episodes that came and went quickly.

Luckily they were preserved and they are, as of this typing, available on YouTube. Watching them now, many items jump out as rather silly and illogical (getting past the whole invisible man shtick) but there are elements which are quite impressively done considering the lack of green-screening and other modern special effects tools. And the plots were not bad at all.

I enjoyed what I saw and found myself finishing one episode and moving on right away to the next.

GRADE

My Grade: B

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