About this season
The Rat Catchers is a 1960s British television series about a top secret British Intelligence Unit who receive orders from the Prime Minister and without questions battles enemy spies, saboteurs, and other criminals in order to protect the security of Great Britain and the Western Alliance. The show centred around three major characters: Peregrine Pascale Smith, the Oxford University-educated managing director with 12 years' experience under his belt, Brigadier H. St. J. Davidson, the emotionless analytical brains behind the group, and newly-recruited Richard William Hurst, formerly a superintendent at Scotland Yard who though he was said to have gone by the book in the police force, seems to have some problems with authority now. Part of the problem is that the Brigadier refuses to tell him more than the minimum that he needs to know about the organisation. Officially he works for Smith's company: Transworld Electronics and in episode 3, he is not sure whether Smith or the Brigadier is his boss. The organisation was based at Whitehall but officially didn't exist, being denied at the highest level as they worked with the greatest secrecy. The show began with the arrival of Hurst who is out of step with the other two. Raymond Francis was originally picked for the Hurst role but changed his mind at the last minute. Many of the stories were continued, sometimes with cliff-hanger endings.
Episodes (12)
1. Showdown Vienna
Aired 15 December 1966 • 60 min
2. Mission to Madeira
Aired 22 December 1966 • 60 min
3. Death in Madeira
Aired 29 December 1966 • 60 min
4. Midnight Over Madeira
Aired 5 January 1967 • 60 min
5. Wednesday in Dubrovnik
Aired 12 January 1967 • 60 min
6. Murder in Mostar
Aired 19 January 1967 • 60 min
7. Dead-End - Dubrovnik
Aired 26 January 1967 • 60 min
8. Big Grab - Amsterdam
Aired 2 February 1967 • 60 min
9. Retribution Amsterdam
Aired 9 February 1967 • 60 min
10. The Heel of Achilles
Aired 23 February 1967 • 60 min
11. The Seven Pillars of Hercules
Aired 2 March 1967 • 60 min
12. The Mask of Agamemnon
Aired 9 March 1967 • 60 min